Covers toned. [13] Along with most of the Fifth Army staff they felt that Shingle was properly a two corps or even a full army task. The Germans suffered too, with the 362nd Infantry Division estimated to have lost 50% of its fighting strength. If General Mark Clark had been in the German Army, Hitler would have had him shot. Clark did not feel he had the numbers on the southern front to exploit any breakthrough. On February 16 at a high level conference hosted by Alexander and attended by Mark W. Clark and Henry Maitland Wilson, commander Allied Force Headquarters it was decided to appoint two deputies under Lucas, Lucian Truscott and the British Major-General Vyvyan Evelegh. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. In the afternoon of May 25 Cisterna was captured by the 3rd Division. The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign of World War II that took place from January 22, 1944 (beginning with the Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle) to June 5, 1944 (ending with the capture of Rome). [48] On February 22, Clark replaced Lucas with Truscott, appointing Lucas deputy commander Fifth Army until such time as a suitable job could be found for him back in the United States.[49]. Monte Cassino. [34][35] Slowly the Allies were forced to give ground and by February 10 they had been pushed out of the salient. On the 26th the order was put into effect. 1,109 262 7. Bob Hanson. Only enough tank landing ships (LSTs) to land a single division were initially available to Shingle. Clark proposed landing a reinforced division to divert German troops from Monte Cassino. [63] Clark informed Alexander of these developments late in the morning of May 26 by which time the change of orders was a fait accompli. [30] The 3rd Brigade had been tasked with holding the tip of the salient 2 miles long and 1,000 yards wide on the road going north of Campoleone, but after the German attacks in the early hours of 4 February, the 2nd Battalion, Sherwood Foresters, 1st Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry and 1st Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment (all of 3rd Brigade) had been cut off and were surrounded in the pocket. It is likely that the caution displayed by both Clark and Lucas was to some extent a product of Clark's experiences at the tough battle for the Salerno beach head[12] and Lucas' natural caution stemming from his lack of experience in battle. "[10] However, his written orders to Lucas did not really reflect this. Agreeing, Clark canceled the operation, but Prime Minister Churchill revived it. It endured a prolonged barrage of shrapnel, machine-gun fire and bombs. After a month of heavy but inconclusive fighting, Lucas was relieved and sent home. Both had suffered nearly 20,000 casualties each since the first landings,[40] and it was "far the highest density of destruction in the Italian campaign, perhaps in the whole war". Numerous attacks were launched on 1st Battalion, Loyal Regiment (2nd Brigade) and they lost a company, overrun, and the day after had suffered 200 casualties. '[19] "However, Lucas did not have confidence in the strategic planning of the operation. Operation Turtle on the other hand foresaw a main thrust to the left of the Alban Hills taking Campoleone, Albano and on to Rome. He had clearly made great political efforts to procure certain resources, especially the extra LSTs needed to deliver a second division to shore, but also specific units useful to the attack such as with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. This push achieved little except to generate a further 2,500 casualties for the 14th Army. Previously uninhabitable due to mosquitoes carrying malaria, in Roman times armies marched as quickly as possible across it on the military road, the Via Appia. The operation started well, but then suddenly, when leading troops were only six kilometers from closing their trap at Frosinone, the Fifth Army was re-directed and sent north towards Rome. [66], On May 26, while the VI Corps was initiating its difficult maneuver, Kesselring threw elements of four divisions into the Velletri gap to stall the advance on Route 6. Operations from 23-25 May 1944 from the breakout of the Anzio beachhead to the capture of Cisterna. They question whether the initial landing of just over two infantry divisions, with no supporting armour, had the strength to achieve the objectives: of cutting Route 6 and then holding off the inevitable counterattacks that would come, as Kesselring redeployed his forces. Result: Allied victory Created/Published: Unknown Dimensions (Width x Height):12x12 Our printing is archive-quality. The Allies broke out in May. The Fifth Army's attack on the Gustav Line began on January 16, 1944, at Monte Cassino. Alan Whicker who as a war correspondent with the British Army's Film and Photo Unit, and who was present during the fighting, later said: After breaking out of Anzio, Alexander's plan was for the Fifth Army to drive east to cut Kesselring's escape route to the north and trap much of his Tenth and Fourteenth Armies. By the end of May 25, 3rd Infantry were heading into the Velletri gap near Cori, and elements of 1st Armored had reached within 3 miles (4.8 km) of Valmontone and were in contact with units of the Herman Göring Division which were just starting to arrive from Leghorn. Please see our other listings for more Games Workshop, Wargaming Rules, Miniatures and Accessories! The Germans 362nd Infantry Division lost 50% of its fighting strength. The initial landing achieved complete surprise with no opposition and a jeep patrol even made it as far as the outskirts of Rome. But, instead of striking inland to cut lines of communication of the German Tenth Army's units fighting at Monte Cassino, Truscott, on Clark's orders, reluctantly turned his forces north-west towards Rome, which was captured on June 4, 1944. My father, 1st Lt. Walter J. Gregory, US Army received a wound to his left shoulder on this day, seventy years ago, as part of the Breakout from Anzio Beachhead. Any time the enemy fired a shell in our direction it was almost certain to hit something, but we had taken what precautions were possible, and most of our supplies were protected by mounds of earth. Be prepared to advance on Rome". Thank you. On the Allies' far right, the 1st Special Service Force would protect the American assault's flank. [51], The next few weeks saw many changes in divisions on both sides. [20] At 5 a.m. he initiated Operation "Richard" and ordered the Kampfgruppe of 4th Parachute Division and the Hermann Göring Panzer Division to defend the roads leading from Anzio to the Alban Hills via Campoleone and Cisterna whilst his plans expected some 20,000 defending troops to have arrived by the end of the first day. The operation was initially commanded by Major General John P. Lucas, of the U.S. Army, commanding U.S. VI Corps with the intention being to outflank German forces at the Winter Line and enable an attack on Rome. Neither Clark nor Lucas had full confidence in either their superiors or the operational plan. Force dispositions at Anzio and Cassino January/February 1944 Battle of Anzio Map (Post-Breakout) The Allied breakout from Anzio and advance from the Gustav Line May 1944. Allied naval commanders for Operation Shingle, The invasion plan originally assigned this unit to make a. Livorno is referred to as "Leghorn" in contemporary Allied maps and documents. The 14th Battalion Sherwood Foresters was raised in 1940 at Markeaton Park in Derby. Required fields are marked *. Lucas wrote in his diary on February 15:[47]. His artillery units had a clear view of every Allied position. Advance on Colli Laziali"[11] giving Lucas considerable flexibility as to the timing of any advance on the Alban Hills. Operation Diadem, also referred to as the Fourth Battle of Monte Cassino or, in Canada, the Battle of the Liri Valley, was an offensive operation undertaken by the Allies of World War II (U.S. Fifth Army and British Eighth Army) in May 1944, as part of the Italian Campaign of World War II. [65], There has never been any doubt in my mind that had General Clark held loyally to General Alexander's instructions, had he not changed the direction of my attack to the north-west on May 26, the strategic objectives of Anzio would have been accomplished in full. On the night of 11-12 May, the Fifth and Eighth Armies launched their long-awaited spring offensive against the Gustav Line, finally capturing Cassino and breaking the Gustav Line by 15 May. The greatest loss was that if the U.S. Army VI Corps main effort had continued on the Valmontone axis from May 26, Clark could probably have reached Rome more quickly than by the route northwest from Cisterna. These canals divided the land into personal tracts with new stone houses for colonists from north Italy. . It is clear that Lucas' superiors expected some kind of offensive action from him. That's one of the better presentations that I've seen here in a long time. It was hoped that such an advance would draw German forces away from the Monte Cassino area and facilitate an Allied breakthrough there. Some hours after the attack started the coherence of the front line had been completely shattered, and the fighting for the salient had given way to small unit actions, swaying back and forth through the gullies. This second landing, however, instead of failing similarly[clarification needed], would hold "the shingle" for a week in expectation of a breakthrough at Cassino, and so the operation was named Shingle.[7][8]. Some of the Germans in dugouts had to be dragged out with only part of their clothes on, completely unready for battle. Owner stamp on front cover. Forty minutes later the guns paused as attacks were made by close air support and then resumed as the infantry and armour moved forward. DATE: [1948]. The U.S. 45th Infantry, 1st Armored and 3rd Infantry Divisions would attack … By early February, German forces in Fourteenth Army numbered some 100,000 troops organised into two Army Corps, the 1st Parachute Corps under Schlemm and the LXXVI Panzer Corps under Lieutenant General Traugott Herr. All available reserves from the southern front or on their way to it were rushed toward Anzio and Nettuno; these included the 3rd Panzer Grenadier and 71st Infantry Divisions, and the bulk of the Luftwaffe's Hermann Göring Panzer Division. Four days later it became the first Allied unit to pass through Rome. Area of operations, late May 1944. The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign of World War II that took place from January 22, 1944 (beginning with the Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle) to June 5, 1944 (ending with the capture of Rome). Anzio Beach head – contemporary film footage, Learn how and when to remove this template message, 46th (Liverpool Welsh) Royal Tank Regiment, Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg, United States Army Center of Military History, "Chapter 14: General Clark's Decision To Drive on Rome", "They Were All Left Behind: A History of the Royal Fusiliers Company Z", "A German defence Area on the Anzio Front", "Anzio — The Allies' Greatest Blunder of World War II", The official history of the London Irish Rifles containing an account of the unit's participation in the Anzio battle, Anzio 1944 – German 10. By late May, there were some 150,000 Allied troops in the bridgehead,[53] including five U.S. and two British divisions, facing five German divisions. In “Thinking Beyond the Beachhead” (MCG, Jan83), LtCol Michael D. Wyly cited the amphibious assault at Anzio as an example of what fate awaits an amphibious invasion force that fails to … "[14] The "amateur" can only have referred to Winston Churchill, architect of the disastrous Gallipoli landings of World War I and personal advocate of Shingle. The operation was opposed by German forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno. Invading armies from the south had the choice of crossing the marsh or taking the only other road to Rome, the Via Latina, running along the eastern flanks of the Monti Laziali, risking entrapment. Although resistance had been expected, as seen at Salerno during 1943, the initial landings were essentially unopposed, with the exception of desultory Luftwaffe strafing runs. [24][25] Lucas initiated a two-pronged attack on January 30. [27] After making exploratory probes on the Campoleone salient on the afternoon of February 3 the German forces launched a full counterattack at 23:00[28] in order to reduce the salient and "iron out" the front line. To be first in Rome was a poor compensation for this lost opportunity. Later, at Churchill's personal insistence, enough were made available to land two divisions. I am disappointed with VI Corps Headquarters. Then Allied infantry and armour moved forward.The first day's fighting was hard: 1st Armored Division lost 100 tanks and 3rd Infantry Division had 955 casualties. Canals and pumping stations were built to remove the brackish water from the land. Allied intelligence thought that five or six German divisions were in the area, although U.S. 5th Army intelligence severely underestimated the German 10th Army's fighting capacity at the time, believing many of their units would be worn out after the defensive battles fought since September. [6] General Harold Alexander, commander of the Allied Armies in Italy, had already considered such a plan since October using five divisions. After bloody battles to take San Pietro and cross the Rapido River, the 36th undertook a daring maneuver that led the breakout from Anzio. Nevertheless, an early breakthrough seemed unlikely until on May 30 Major General Fred L. Walker's 36th Division found a gap in the Caesar Line at the join between 1st Parachute Corps and LXXVI Panzer Corps. Members of former Blackshirt Lieutenant-Colonel Degli Oddi's "Vendetta" helped defeat a determined effort by the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division to overrun their positions and captured a number of prisoners. He ensured the event was a strictly American affair by stationing military police at road junctions to refuse entry to the city by British military personnel.[70]. Pages handled on corners but without tears, marks or heavy creasing. [21] Later that morning, he ordered General Eberhard von Mackensen (Fourteenth Army) and General Heinrich von Vietinghoff (Tenth Army – Gustav Line) to send him additional reinforcements. [42] Despite the misgivings of both Kesselring and von Mackensen,[43] a further assault was mounted on February 29, this time on LXXVI Panzer Corps' front[44] around Cisterna. I appreciate seeing photos…they give the letters he wrote to my mother a depth of understanding that I can’t see with just his words. It proved to be quite easy to organise an amphibious landing at short notice – but quite another to breakout of the small bridgehead that was then established. It also condemned the Allies to another year of bloody combat in Italy, notably around the Gothic Line from August 1944 through March 1945. Dispersed among German battalions, the German commanding officers later gave the Italians companies favourable reports. During World War II its amphibious assault at Salerno, Italy made it the first American division to land on the continent of Europe. The push to Rome was on… They are negative and lacking in the necessary drive and enthusiasm to get things done. Despite the exhausted state of the troops, Hitler insisted that 14th Army should continue to attack. However, Lucas, who had little confidence in the operation as planned, failed to capitalize on the element of surprise and delayed his advance until he judged his position was sufficiently consolidated and he had sufficient strength. The breakout from Anzio began at 0630 hours on May 23rd, with the First Special Service Force moving forward on the right of the VI Corps advance and guarding the flank of the 3rd U.S. Division attack on Cisterna. On the same day Hitler, fearing another Stalingrad, had ordered Kesselring that there should be "no defence of Rome". [39] On the same day Major-General Ronald Penney, General Officer Commanding (GOC) British 1st Division, had been wounded by shellfire and the division was temporarily commanded by Major-General Templer, GOC 56th (London) Division,[35] which had arrived complete. [c] Although VI Corps had suffered over 3,300 casualties in the three days fighting, Operation Buffalo was going to plan, and Truscott was confident that a concerted attack by 1st Armored and 3rd Infantry Divisions the next day would get his troops astride Route 6. They saw an operation that could have won the war in Italy, thrown away at the cost of many Allied lives, because of the obsession and vanity of one man. Advance and secure Colli Laziali [the Alban Hills] 3. Share. [46], Churchill had continued to bridle at Lucas' perceived passivity. They are naturally disappointed that I failed to chase the Hun out of Italy but there was no military reason why I should have been able to do so. Overall these mountains are referenced by the name Monti Laziali, the mountains of Lazio, the ancient Latium. They appeared to have become depressed by events. Mussolini also founded the five cities destroyed by the battle. He had written on February 10 to General Alexander[37] encouraging him to exert his authority and Alexander had visited the beachhead on February 14 to tell Lucas he wished for a breakout as soon as the tactical situation allowed. He said: "I had hoped we were hurling a wildcat into the shore, but all we got was a stranded whale". Any delay could result in the occupation of the mountains by the defenders and the consequent entrapment of the invaders. The Allied planning for their attack was detailed. I would not comply with the order without first talking to General Clark in person. Yes, we really are that fast! [50] Meanwhile, Lucian Truscott, who had been promoted from the command of U.S. 3rd Infantry Division to replace Lucas as commander of VI Corps on February 22, worked with his staff on the plans for a decisive attack as part of a general offensive which Alexander was planning for May and which would include a major offensive on the Gustav Line, Operation Diadem. He and his comarades must hide and eventually flee the German officers searching for them. Title: escape from anzio : Air Date: 10.01.1982: Plot: +An Army pilot is shot down over occupied Italy during World War II. The German units in the immediate vicinity had in fact been dispatched to reinforce the Gustav Line only a few days earlier. By midnight, 36,000 soldiers and 3,200 vehicles had landed on the beaches. But according to Keegan, Lucas's actions "achieved the worst of both worlds, exposing his forces to risk without imposing any on the enemy.". His concept was to land two divisions at Anzio, bypassing German forces in central Italy, and take Rome, the strategic objective of the current Battle of Rome. Almost every inch of space at Anzio was crowded with men, guns and ammunition in preparation for the attack. The Anzio beachhead is at the northwestern end of a tract of reclaimed marshland, formerly the Pontine Marshes, now the Pontine Fields (Agro Pontino). Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Kesselring was informed of the landings at 3 a.m. January 22. [5] By January he had recovered and was badgering his commanders for a plan of attack, accusing them of not wanting to fight but of being interested only in drawing pay and eating rations. Further troop movements including the arrival of U.S. 45th Infantry Division and U.S. 1st Armored Division, brought Allied forces total on the beachhead to 69,000 men, 508 guns and 208 tanks by January 29, whilst the total defending Germans had risen to 71,500. When Lucian Truscott's 3rd Division was first selected for the operation, he pointed out to Clark that the position was a death trap and there would be no survivors. The first day's fighting was intense: the 1st Armored Division lost 100 tanks and 3rd Infantry Division suffered 955 casualties. The success of an amphibious landing at that location, in a basin consisting substantially of reclaimed marshland and surrounded by mountains, depended on the element of surprise and the swiftness with which the invaders could build up strength and move inland relative to the reaction time and strength of the defenders. [32], From February 5 to February 7 both sides employed heavy artillery concentrations and bombers to disrupt the other side and at 21:00 on February 7 the Germans renewed their attack. As the artillery fire suddenly ended our tanks drove through the smoke, followed by swarms of infantry that caught the enemy outposts unprepared. I visit the area quite often – although not as often as I used to since I began spending my winters on your side of the Atlantic – and if there is anything I can offer in the way of photos or information I should be delighted to do so. Elements of eight German divisions were employed in the defence line around the beachhead, and five more divisions were on their way to the Anzio area. They held the line all day, taking heavy casualties, but were eventually ordered to pull back and made a fighting retreat at 5pm to the Factory with the aid of artillery, and a successful assault launched by the London Scottish, of 168th Brigade,[31] supported by the 46th Royal Tank Regiment (46 RTR). [55], However, Clark was determined that VI Corps should strike directly for Rome as evidenced in his later writing: "We not only wanted the honor of capturing Rome, but felt that we deserved it... Not only did we intend to become the first army to seize Rome from the south, but we intended to see that people at home knew that it was the Fifth Army that did the job, and knew the price that had been paid for it. In addition, he requested that OKW send reinforcements, and in response to this they ordered the equivalent of more than three divisions from France, Yugoslavia, and Germany whilst at the same time releasing to Kesselring a further three divisions in Italy which had been under OKW's direct command. Overseeing all on the ground was General Mark Clark: On 22 May I moved permanently into the forward echelon of my headquarters at Anzio in preparation for the break-out. Winston Churchill was clearly displeased with this action. Initially Lucas had received orders to "1. The 1944 Battle of Anzio stemmed from the Allied attempt to draw German troops off the Gustav Line during Operation Shingle. This was no time to drive to the north-west where the enemy was still strong; we should pour our maximum power into the Valmontone Gap to ensure the destruction of the retreating German Army. Raising the pressure further, Clark assigned U.S. II Corps which, fighting its way along the coast from the Gustav Line, had joined up with VI Corps on May 25 to attack around the right hand side of the Alban Hills and advance along the line of Route 6 to Rome. In Italy the Allied breakout from Cassino and Anzio was gathering momentum. Volume 5 of Churchill's The Second World War is riddled with implied criticism of Lucas, blaming the failure on his caution. [60], Mackensen had been convinced that the Allies' main thrust would be up the Via Anziate, and the ferocity of the British feint on May 23 and 24 did nothing to persuade him otherwise. Division Member. [57], Truscott's planning for Buffalo was meticulous: British 5th Division and 1st Division on the left were to attack along the coast and up the Via Anziate to pin the German 4th Parachute, 65th Infantry and 3rd Panzergrenadier in place whilst the U.S. 45th Infantry, 1st Armored and 3rd Infantry Divisions would launch the main assault, engaging the German 362nd and 715th Infantry Divisions and striking towards Campoleone, Velletri and Cisterna respectively. : At Anzio, Italy the disastrous Battle of Cisterna took place, as MG John P. Lucas sent Darby's Rangers to begin the breakout from the beachhead. On May 23 the Allied forces began their breakout from the Anzio beachhead. It was a halfway measure of an offensive; that was your basic error. [14] A few days prior to the attack, Lucas wrote in his diary, "They will end up putting me ashore with inadequate forces and get me in a serious jam... Then, who will get the blame? Aug 18, 2010 #1 My figure was meant to capture the look and feel of a 3rd INF DIV NCO during the breakout from Anzio, starting May22nd, 1944. General Mark Clark was so eager that the world should see pictures showing him as the liberator of Rome, that he allowed the armies of a delighted Kesselring to escape. See General Mark W. Clark: Calculated Risk. [45], Some RSI Italian units fought in the Anzio-Nettuno area, especially since March; the land units were part of the German 14th Army: only the paratroopers of the "Nembo" Battalion were there since February, participating in the German counterattack. 1,109 262 7. Although the landings came as a surprise, Kesselring had made contingency plans to deal with possible landings at all the likely locations. Italian Campaign of the 45th Infantry Division from their landing at Anzio to their breakout from the beachhead to bypassing Rome. In March the infantrymen of the "Barbarigo" Battalion (from Decima Flottiglia MAS) joined the frontline along the Canale Mussolini. The landing force was initially weak, only a division or so of infantry, and without armour. However, after a failure to immediately push towards Rome the allies would be trapped in trench warfare and would be forced to breakout of Anzio. Van Barfoot was a Choctaw Indian from Mississippi, and a second lieutenant in the Thunderbirds. Von Mackensen's 14th Army assumed overall control of the defence on January 25. "[56] He argued to Alexander that VI Corps did not have the strength to trap the German 10th Army and Alexander, instead of making his requirements clear, was conciliatory and gave the impression that a push on Rome was still a possibility if Buffalo ran into difficulties. This was, simply enough, called the Anzio Breakout. [54], Despite Alexander's overall plan for Diadem requiring VI Corps to strike inland and cut Route 6, Clark asked Truscott to prepare alternatives and to be ready to switch from one to another at 48 hours' notice. Seize and secure a beachhead in the vicinity of Anzio 2. Finally, the main indictment: his decision to drive for Rome after the Anzio breakout rather than encircling the German Tenth Army, which was at that moment retreating north in some confusion. Planners argued that if Kesselring (in charge of German forces in Italy) pulled troops out of the Gustav Line to defend against the Allied assault, then Allied forces would be able to break through the line; if Kesselring didn't pull troops out of the Gustav Line, then Operation Shingle would threaten to capture Rome and cut off the German units defending the Gustav Line. [citation needed] Their performance at Anzio led to designation as units of the Waffen-SS, with all the duties and rights that that entailed. TITLE: Anzio Beachhead (22 January-25 May 1944). At 5:45 a.m. May 23, 1944, 1,500 Allied artillery pieces commenced bombardment. Chapter VI The Anzio Beachhead Italian Lands vs. German Blood. Forty minutes later the guns paused as attacks were made by close air support and then resumed as the infantry and armour moved forward. . SGT Norm Zielinski is a member of company “G”, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division which played a role in the capture of Cisterna on 25 May, 1944. That obviously benefited the upcoming Operation Overlord. The Allied breakout from Anzio and advance from the Gustav Line May 1944. WARGAMES ILLUSTRATED - ISSUE 271 MAY 2010 THE BREAKOUT AT ANZIO 1944 NEW (MAY HAVE VERY SLIGHT SHELF-WEAR FROM STORAGE) SENT FIRST CLASS WITHIN 24 HOURS OF YOUR ORDER! PLEASE CONTACT US BEFORE OPENING A CASE AS WE WILL … For four days they slugged it out against 3rd Division until finally withdrawing on May 30, having kept Route 6 open and allowed seven divisions from 10th Army to withdraw and head north of Rome. Also in March the U.S. 34th Infantry Division and in early May, U.S. 36th Infantry Division, had arrived at Anzio. Corner on back torn with loss. Anzio Breakout is a scenario in Panzer Corps. This would also reflect the orders he had received from Alexander to "... carry out an assault landing on the beaches in the vicinity of Rome with the object of cutting the enemy lines of communication and threatening the rear of the German XIV Corps [on the Gustav Line].
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