23 Jan 1944 : The destroyer HMS Janus was lost off Anzio, Italy. [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. 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. [10] However, Clark's final orders stated "... 2. [17] The 1st Division penetrated 2 miles (3 km) inland, the Rangers captured Anzio's port, the 509th PIB captured Nettuno, and the 3rd Division penetrated 3 miles (5 km) inland. Advance on Colli Laziali"[11] giving Lucas considerable flexibility as to the timing of any advance on the Alban Hills. Then he wanted to attack Rome. 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. 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. 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. [57] On May 6, Clark informed Truscott that "..the capture of Rome is the only important objective and to be ready to execute Turtle as well as Buffalo". [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. A series of furious attacks failed to break the Allied line in what one historian has described as “a charge of the Light Brigade without the horses…sheer slaughter.”. Despite the exhausted state of the troops, Hitler insisted that 14th Army should continue to attack. January 22, 1944 was the start of the Battle of Anzio, a battle that was part of the Italian Theater of World War II. 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. Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. The 1944 Battle of Anzio stemmed from the Allied attempt to draw German troops off the Gustav Line during Operation Shingle. Anzio, Battle of (1944). His plan therefore was relying on the southern offensive drawing Kesselring's reserves in and providing the Anzio force the opportunity to break inland quickly. A good number of the consequences of the Battle benefitted the Allies, with the Germans getting distracted from Anzio and France through March and suffering many casualties. She will sail the seas dedicated to preserving the freedom won on the Anzio beachhead while keeping alive the legacy of the boundless bravery and fighting spirit of each Anzio veteran. The Battle of Anzio, which is also called Operation Shingle was an Allied sea landing in the Italian Campaign against German forces of Anzio and Nettuno, Italy. 22 Jan 1944 : 36,000 Allied troops landed at Anzio, Italy, facing little opposition. To observe the event, we've got a series of missions for Allied or Axis forces. On May 5, Alexander selected Buffalo and issued Clark with orders to this effect. Anzio and Artillery. After the war, Kesselring gave his evaluation: It would have been the Anglo-American doom to overextend themselves. © 2021 A&E Television Networks, LLC. From July 10 through October 31, 1940, pilots and support crews on both sides took to the ...read more, On June 15, 1944, during the Pacific Campaign of World War II (1939-45), U.S. Marines stormed the beaches of the strategically significant Japanese island of Saipan, with a goal of gaining a crucial air base from which the U.S. could launch its new long-range B-29 bombers ...read more, In late January 1944, a combined force of U.S. Marine and Army troops launched an amphibious assault on three islets in the Kwajalein Atoll, a ring-shaped coral formation in the Marshall Islands where the Japanese had established their outermost defensive perimeter in World War ...read more, The Battle of Midway was an epic clash between the U.S. Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy that played out six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. How many were built in the United States by 1943? Three days after the landings, the beachhead was surrounded by a defence line consisting of three divisions: The 4th Parachute Division to the west, the 3rd Panzer Grenadier Division to the center in front of Alban Hills, the Hermann Göring Panzer Division to the east. Source for information on Anzio, Battle of (1944): The Oxford Companion to American Military History dictionary. 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. Thirteen Allied troops were killed, and 97 wounded; about 200 Germans had been taken as POWs. The infamous battle of Anzio lasted from January 22, 1944 to May 29, 1944. Dispersed among German battalions, the German commanding officers later gave the Italians companies favourable reports. All Rights Reserved. But according to Keegan, Lucas's actions "achieved the worst of both worlds, exposing his forces to risk without imposing any on the enemy.". Of the four scenarios prepared by Truscott, Operation Buffalo called for an attack through Cisterna, into the gap in the hills and to cut Route 6 at Valmontone. Source for information on Anzio, Battle of (1944): The Oxford Companion to American Military History dictionary. At the end of 1943, the terrain of central Italy had proved ideally suited to defense. Churchill defended the operation[72] and believed that sufficient forces were available. 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. Anzio, located 30 miles south of Rome, was one of the deadliest battles of WWII. Fight for Rome. I would not comply with the order without first talking to General Clark in person. The Battle of Anzio was an Allied invasion that led to the capture of Rome and the fall of Fascist Italy in World War II. "[11] and "[The operation] has a strong odour of Gallipoli and apparently the same amateur was still on the coach's bench. 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. Overall these mountains are referenced by the name Monti Laziali, the mountains of Lazio, the ancient Latium. The Italian government quickly surrendered on 8 September 1943. Winston Churchill was clearly displeased with this action. In fact there is no military reason for Shingle. The Battle of Anzio, Italy, which lasted from January 22 to June 5, 1944, was a battle that although the Allies won, it came at great loss of life. The Battle of Monte Cassino ... Total Allied casualties spanning the period of the four Cassino battles and the Anzio campaign with the subsequent capture of Rome on 5 June 1944, were over 105,000. Any delay could result in the occupation of the mountains by the defenders and the consequent entrapment of the invaders. A veteran and skilled combat commander, Truscott had played a key role in rescuing Allied fortunes at Anzio earlier in the year. [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. He had ignored the orders of Field Marshall Alexander in a decision as militarily stupid as it was insubordinate. It began on January 22, 1944, with an amphibious landing to break German's Gustav Line in Italy. Copyright © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. A succession of attacks resulted in heavy casualties on both sides, though no budge in the stalemate for four months. After Italy agreed to peace with the Allies in Sept. 1943 the German army defended Italy as a buffer zone against an Allied invasion of Germany. The purpose was to flank the heavy fortifications known as the "Gustav Line" that German General Albert Kesselring had built across Italy south of Rome. The Wiki page fully explains Anzio. In the skillfully defended terrain of southern Italy, the Allies in November 1943 during World War II were advancing so slowly that they decided to go around the German defenses by sea, hoping to speed progress to Rome. [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. Kesselring quickly contained the Allied threat and massed German troops. They overran the 167th Brigade, of the recently arrived 56th (London) Division, and virtually destroyed X Company of the 8th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, which was reduced from around 125 down to a single officer and 10 other ranks and Y Company was down to one officer and 10 men. Thid was defensive line across Italy. ... [However] he was not on the beachhead and could not be reached even by radio... such was the order that turned the main effort of the beachhead forces from the Valmontone Gap and prevented destruction of the German Tenth Army. [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]. c. What is a convoy? The Anzio and Nettuno beaches are on marshland. [71], Furthermore, Field Marshal Sir Harold Alexander, in his Official Dispatch, stated, "The actual course of events was probably the most advantageous in the end."[71]. Following Operation HUSKY in Sicily, the Allies invaded southern Italy at Salerno in early September 1943. In the skillfully defended terrain of southern Italy, the Allies in November 1943 during World War II were advancing so slowly that they decided to go around the German defenses by sea, hoping to speed progress to Rome. 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. All the tanks used on both sides were post war US models in different paint schemes - possibly M-47's as used in the film Battle of the Bulge made 4 years earlier. Overall Significance Casualties Battle of the Atlantic Battle of Stalingrad Operation Torch Battle of Anzio Battle of the Bulge D-Day- Operation Overlord Battle of Berlin VE Day -Victory in Europe Day . 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. One of the problems with the plan was the availability of landing ships. Nevertheless he might have 'staked out claims well inland. Before the United States entered World War II many conflicts erupted throughout Europe such as the advancement of German troops into various countries (Nash 501-502). "[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. Edited by Robert Cowley and Geoffrey Parker. For weeks a rain of shells fell on the beach, the marsh, the harbour, and on anything else observable from the hills, with little distinction between forward and rear positions. The operation was opposed by German forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno. #MemDayPBS . Lucas was relieved of command even though he had been given a mission he had no practical possibility of carrying out. Allied forces at Anzio Beachhead - 22nd Jan 1944. It took place from January 22, 1944 up to June 5, 1944. 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. On April 1, 1945—Easter Sunday—the Navy’s Fifth Fleet and more than 180,000 U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops descended on the Pacific island of Okinawa ...read more, The Battle of Kursk occurred in July 1943 around the Soviet city of Kursk in western Russia, as Germany launched Operation Citadel, Hitler’s response to his devastating defeat by the Soviet Red Army at the Battle of Stalingrad. Mediterranean Theatre commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower, leaving to take command of Operation Overlord, left the decision up to Churchill with a warning about German unpredictability.[9]. The VI Corps could also have cut Highway 6 and then put much more pressure on the 10th Army than it actually did.[73]. However, by the end of January 22, the lack of aggressive action convinced him that a defence could be made. [67], On the new axis of attack little progress was made until 1st Armored were in position on May 29, when the front advanced to the main Caesar C Line defences. 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. Operation Shingle, one of the most ill-conceived operations of the war, took place thirty-five miles southwest of Rome on January 22, 1944, when a corps-sized Anglo-American expeditionary force commanded by U.S. major general John P. Lucas landed at Anzio and Nettuno. The Germans suffered too, with the 362nd Infantry Division estimated to have lost 50% of its fighting strength. [6] General Harold Alexander, commander of the Allied Armies in Italy, had already considered such a plan since October using five divisions. Intended as a daring outflanking move that would open up the way to the capture of Rome, the Anzio landings degenerated into World War II deadlock: the Allies unable to drive forward from their bridgehead and the Germans without the means to push the invaders back into the sea. To be first in Rome was a poor compensation for this lost opportunity. Initially Shingle was to release these assets by January 15. Anzio. [13] Along with most of the Fifth Army staff they felt that Shingle was properly a two corps or even a full army task. During this battle, many US Ranger groups were ordered to support an attack by the 3rd Infantry Division on Cisterna. Churchill also had to ensure the British-dominated forces in Italy were contributing to the war at a time when the Soviet Red Army were suffering tremendous losses on the Eastern Front. They are negative and lacking in the necessary drive and enthusiasm to get things done. The Allies and Germans fought the battle. While Lucas consolidated, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, the German commander in the Italian theatre, moved every unit he could spare into a defensive ring around the beachhead. Kesselring, however, was convinced that the Allies' intentions were to gain Route 6 and ordered the Hermann Göring Panzer Division, resting 150 miles (240 km) away at Livorno,[c] to Valmontone to hold open Route 6 for the Tenth Army, which was retreating up this road from Cassino. 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. The Allied ground commander in chief, General Sir Harold Alexander, concluded that he could not take Rome unless the Allies initiated an amphibious end run and weakened the Cassino front by drawing off German troops manning the Gustav Line. From there, the Germans staged a fighting withdrawal and settled into a strong defensive position at the Gustav Line, a formidable and sophist… 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. The Germans were well dug into prepared defenses, but were weak in numbers of officers and NCOs and, by the time of the late May offensive, lacked any reserves (which had all been sent south to the Gustav fighting). Anzio Beach was a stretch of sand 15 miles long and 7 miles deep. However, the 5th Army did not have the troops nor the means to transport them. '[19] "However, Lucas did not have confidence in the strategic planning of the operation. USS ANZIO (CG 68) is the second US naval ship to be named in honor of the men and women who served at Anzio. Although controversy continues regarding what might have happened if Lucas had been more aggressive from the start, most commentators agree that the initial plan for Anzio was flawed. [69] Over the next day, the rearguards were gradually overwhelmed, and Rome was entered in the early hours of June 4 with Clark holding an impromptu press conference on the steps of the Town Hall on the Capitoline Hill that morning. Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, commander of the U.S. Fifth Army, understood that risk, but he did not pass on his appreciation of the situation to his subordinate,[citation needed] Lucas, who preferred to take time to entrench against an expected counterattack. But the Allied victory did far more than just lay the groundwork to free Italy. [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. As the plan developed, the Agro Pontino, an area of reclaimed marshland near Anzio and Nettuno, was chosen as the landing area. On the British side the 24th Guards Brigade of British 1st Infantry Division was replaced in the first week of March by 18th Infantry Brigade (from British 1st Armoured Division in North Africa). 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). Then he wanted to attack Rome. Allied forces at Anzio Beachhead - 22nd Jan 1944. It did not immediately work as planned. The Allies invade Italy and the Russians start pushing Westward, 1943. All rights reserved. The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign of World War II that took place from January 22, 1944, with the Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle to June 5, 1944 with the capture of Rome. In March the infantrymen of the "Barbarigo" Battalion (from Decima Flottiglia MAS) joined the frontline along the Canale Mussolini. The Anzio beachhead is at the northwestern end of a tract of reclaimed marshland, formerly the Pontine Marshes, now the Pontine Fields (Agro Pontino). The Battle of Anzio. That obviously benefited the upcoming Operation Overlord. [33] Once more the fighting was fierce and they managed to infiltrate between the 5th Battalion, Grenadier Guards (24th Guards Brigade) and the 2nd Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment (2nd Brigade) and nearly surrounded them; it was during this period that Major William Sidney, a company commander in the 5th Grenadier Guards, was awarded the Victoria Cross. During Fischfang the Germans had sustained some 5,400 casualties, the Allies 3,500. On the same day Hitler, fearing another Stalingrad, had ordered Kesslering that there should be "no defence of Rome". 18 Dec 1943 : The plan to land several divisions at Anzio, Italy was briefly canceled. Do you know who won each of these battles? The attack was commanded by American Major General John P. Lucas. 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]. See more ideas about Anzio, Wwii, Medal of honor recipients. Volume 5 of Churchill's The Second World War is riddled with implied criticism of Lucas, blaming the failure on his caution. The final plan called for Lucas to lead the US VI Corps in a landing in the Anzio area, followed by an advance into the Alban Hills, to cut German communications and "threaten the rear of the German XIV Panzer Corps"[citation needed] (under Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin). 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). From 1939 to 1945, the majority of the world's countries battled it out. The operation failed to break through, but it partly succeeded in its primary objective. Also, he could certainly argue that his interpretation of his orders from Clark was not an unreasonable one. Anzio was an important part of cracking open the Gustav Line, the German defensive line south of Rome. All the plans relied on his divisions each having previously organised a motorized rapid reaction unit (Kampfgruppe) which could move speedily to meet the threat and buy time for the rest of the defenses to get in place. This push achieved little except to generate a further 2,500 casualties for the 14th Army. It was also intended to trap the bulk of the German 10th Army between the Allied forces advancing through the Gustav Line and VI Corps thrusting inland from Anzio. Intended as a daring outflanking move that would open up the way to the capture of Rome, the Anzio landings degenerated into World War II deadlock: the Allies unable to drive forward from their bridgehead and the Germans without the means to push the invaders back into the sea. They appeared to have become depressed by events. Operation Shingle would require the use of landing ships necessary for these operations. Foreword to CMH Edition. 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. The landing … After a months-long stalemate, Allied forces finally achieved their objective and drove Axis forces north. However, Lucas instead poured more men and material into his tiny bridgehead, and strengthened his defences. Most importantly, although the attack towards Valmontone and Route 6 would continue, 1st Armored were to withdraw to prepare to exploit the planned breakthrough along the new line of attack leaving 3rd Division to continue towards Valmontone with 1st Special Service Force in support. 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. These canals divided the land into personal tracts with new stone houses for colonists from north Italy. The New Zealanders and their allies who fought at Cassino also softened up the defence for the next attack later that year in May, but New Zealand and her allies lost much as well. The operation was opposed by German forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno. George Patton, 31 May 1944. It really affected the US Rangers. Momentum lost, they were quickly surrounded by German forces and so began the brutal 136 day Battle of Anzio. You win the war by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country!" The operation was opposed by German forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno.[a][4]. Climbing the steep slopes of Monte Artemisio they threatened Velletri from the rear and obliged the defenders to withdraw. Kesselring initially considered that a successful defence could not be made if the Allies launched a major attack on January 23 or January 24. However, it was later reselected. Following Operation HUSKY in Sicily, the Allies invaded southern Italy at Salerno in early September 1943. Anzio, located 30 miles south of Rome, was one of the deadliest battles of WWII. The land of central Italyhelped the defence. The 1944 Battle of Anzio stemmed from the Allied attempt to draw German troops off the Gustav Line during Operation Shingle. 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