“He’s a former Infantry cap ... Anzio again, but not where it happened. Lucas wrote in his diary on February 15:[47]. ThoughtCo. [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. But according to Keegan, Lucas's actions "achieved the worst of both worlds, exposing his forces to risk without imposing any on the enemy.". They were placed in high risk locations and fought in the battle that took the city of Anzio in Italy The Battle of Anziowas a battle of the Italian Campaignof World War IIthat took place from January 22, 1944 (beginning with the Alliedamphibious landing known as Operation Shingle) to June 5, 1944 (ending with the capture of Rome). It did not immediately work as planned. Anzio, located 30 miles south of Rome, was one of the deadliest battles of WWII. Seize and secure a beachhead in the vicinity of Anzio 2. Also, he could certainly argue that his interpretation of his orders from Clark was not an unreasonable one. Mussolini also founded the five cities destroyed by the battle. Kesselring ordered an attack on the beachhead for January 28, though it was postponed to February 1. [37], On February 16, the Germans launched a new offensive (Operation Fischfang) down the line of the Via Anziate, supported by Tiger tanks. Anzio was an important part of cracking open the Gustav Line, the German defensive line south of Rome. 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In the first days of operations, the command of the Italian resistance movement had a meeting with the Allied General Headquarters: it offered to guide the Allied Force through the Alban Hills territory, but the Allied Command refused the proposal. [59] The first day's fighting was intense: the 1st Armored Division lost 100 tanks and 3rd Infantry Division suffered 955 casualties. Although Fifth Army had not succeeded in driving up the Lin Valley, the battle for Cassino continued and the Germans had been forced to commit most of Tenth Army's reserves. However, a counterattack using VI Corps' reserves halted the German advance, and on February 20, Fischfang petered out with both sides exhausted. One of the problems with the plan was the availability of landing ships. The next day, Colonel General Eberhard von Mackensen was given command of the German defenses. ... [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. Also, he received control of three additional divisions in Italy and three from elsewhere in Europe from OKW (German High Command). [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. This, vain-glorious blunder, the worst of the entire war, lost us a stunning victory, lengthened the war by many months and earned Mark Clark the contempt of other American and British generals. The two German corps engaged on the Anzio front were originally destined for Normandy. Yet Anzio was to turn into one of the bloodiest battles fought in Western Europe by the Allies in World War Two. This port was seen as a critical point for getting troops and supplies into Italy. 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. 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. Then he wanted to attack Rome. Churchill and the British high command envisioned an outflanking movement ending with the capture of Rome. However, this being deemed problematic, President Roosevelt granted permission for the craft to remain until February 5. The last gasps of the German offensive were blocked on February 20. 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. Operation Shingle would require the use of landing ships necessary for these operations. Clark did not feel he had the numbers on the southern front to exploit any breakthrough. From this location the United States pushed north to capture Rome and force an end to the war against Axis forces in Italy. [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. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill sought to restart the Allied advance and proposed landing troops behind the German positions. Kennedy Hickman is a historian, museum director, and curator who specializes in military and naval history. The Allied advance up the ‘soft underbelly’ of Europe had not been as easy as many had predicted. Lieutenant General Mark Clark, commanding the US Fifth Army, later suggested landing a reinforced division at Anzio with the goal of diverting German attention from Cassino and opening the way for a breakthrough on that front. [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. [27] Von Mackensen had planned for the salient to be ground away rather than employing a rapid, focused thrust to cut it off. 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. These were the main German supply routes to Cassino and the western end of the Gustav Line. The Battle of Anzio or Operation Shingle would turn into a bloody stalemate lasting nearly four months. 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. 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. 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]. By February 10, the salient had been lost and a planned counterattack the next day failed when the Germans were tipped off by a radio intercept. Birth name Audie Leon Murphy Born (1925-06-20) 20 June 1925 [ALM 1] Kingston, Texas, U.S. Died 28 May 1971 (1971-05-28) (aged 45) Brush Mountain, near Catawba, Craig County, Virginia, U.S. [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. [41] In late March the 56th (London) Infantry Division had also been relieved, after sustaining very heavy losses (one of its battalions — 7th Ox and Bucks of 167th (London) Brigade — had been reduced from 1,000[52] to 60), by British 5th Infantry Division. Kesselring initially considered that a successful defence could not be made if the Allies launched a major attack on January 23 or January 24. [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. [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. Neither Clark nor Lucas had full confidence in either their superiors or the operational plan. 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. The trap was left open. Battle of Anzio in 1943, Paul Geers might never have become a medical doctor. With two divisions landed, and facing two or three times that many Germans, it would have been reasonable for Lucas to consider the beachhead insecure. The Germans suffered too, with the 362nd Infantry Division estimated to have lost 50% of its fighting strength. Nevertheless, few additional defenders arrived on January 23, although the arrival on the evening of January 22 of Lieutenant General Alfred Schlemm and his 1st Parachute Corps headquarters brought greater organisation and purpose to the German defensive preparations. Following the Allied invasion of Italy in September 1943, American and British forces drove up the peninsula until being halted at the Gustav (Winter) Line in front of Cassino. 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. 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. To be first in Rome was a poor compensation for this lost opportunity. What was the date of The Battle of Anzi…. In March the infantrymen of the "Barbarigo" Battalion (from Decima Flottiglia MAS) joined the frontline along the Canale Mussolini. 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. However, Lucas instead poured more men and material into his tiny bridgehead, and strengthened his defences. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/world-war-ii-battle-of-anzio-2361483. In several days of heavy fighting, they succeeded in pushing the British back. [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. 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. 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. By controlling Italy, … Clark proposed landing a reinforced division to divert German troops from Monte Cassino. 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. In an effort to break the stalemate, Churchill proposed Operation Shingle which called for landings behind the Gustav Line at Anzio (Map). 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. [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. Churchill defended the operation[72] and believed that sufficient forces were available. The fighting during the Anzio campaign saw Allied forces sustain around 7,000 killed and 36,000 wounded/missing. The American commanders in particular were determined that nothing should delay the Normandy invasion and the supporting landings in southern France. On May 5, Alexander selected Buffalo and issued Clark with orders to this effect. Mount Carmel Daily Republican Register . 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. On the Allies' far right, the 1st Special Service Force would protect the American assault's flank. Clark's final orders to Lucas did not reflect this urgency and gave him flexibility regarding the timing of the advance. Initially ignored by US Chief of Staff General George Marshall, planning moved forward after Churchill appealed to President Franklin Roosevelt. American forces led by Clark entered the city three days later (Map). [64], At the time, Truscott was shocked, writing later, ...I was dumbfounded. The Anzio beach was almost undefended, allowing VI Corps to storm ashore and take all its objectives by noon. 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. One of the men killed was Second Lieutenant Eric Waters, whose son Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, created a song (When the Tigers Broke Free) in memory of his father and describes his death. 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. After the landings, the German High Command dropped its plans to transfer five of Kesselring's best divisions to Northwestern Europe. As a result, the forces of the German Tenth Army fighting at Cassino were able to withdraw and rejoin the rest of Kesselring's forces north of Rome, regroup, and make a fighting withdrawal to his next major prepared defensive position on the Gothic Line. Striking near Cisterna, this effort was repulsed by the Allies with around 2,500 German casualties. 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. This plan was scrapped at the last minute as prior experience, and the likelihood of tipped-off Germans, said it was too risky. While Lucas should have been more aggressive, his force was too small to achieve the objectives it was assigned. 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". [18], Lucas' decision remains a controversial one. [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]. #MemDayPBS . The Allies broke out in May. In fact there is no military reason for Shingle. On the 26th the order was put into effect. Dispersed among German battalions, the German commanding officers later gave the Italians companies favourable reports. By the end of the first day, over 36,000 men and 3,200 vehicles were ashore with casualties of 13 killed, 97 wounded, and 44 missing. Apparently the two allies had different concepts: the Americans viewed such a landing as another distraction from Cassino, but if they could not break through at Cassino, the men at Anzio would be trapped. If they did not respond, the Shingle troops would be in place to directly threaten Rome. '[19] "However, Lucas did not have confidence in the strategic planning of the operation. "[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. [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. Winston Churchill was clearly displeased with this action. The Guards Brigade had suffered devastating casualties (nearly 2,000 of an initial strength of over 2,500) in just less than two months at Anzio. The town is of uncertain origin; according to legend, it was founded by Anteias, son of the Greek chieftain Odysseus, and the enchantress Circe. Like every other veteran of this hellish battle, it affected him for the remainder of his life. [62], On the evening of May 25, Truscott received new orders from Clark via his Operations Officer, Brigadier General Don Brand. 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