On February 3, the German forces counterattacked the Campoleone salient. They numbered some 100,000 troops organised into two Army Corps, the 1st Parachute Corps under Schlemm and the LXXVI Panzer Corps under Lieutenant-General Traugot Herr.^[8] Once more the fighting was fierce and the Allied forces, totalling 76,400 (including the recently arrived British 56th Infantry Division), gave ground and by February 10 had been pushed out of the salient.

On February 16 the Germans launched a new offensive (Operation Fischfang) down the line of the Via Anziate. By February 18, after desperate fighting, the Allies' Final Beachhead Line (prepared defenses more or less on the line of the original beachhead) was under attack. However, a counterattack using VI Corps' reserves halted the German advance, and Fischfang petered out with both sides exhausted. During Fischfang the Germans had sustained 5,400 casualties, the Allies 3,500. Both had suffered 20,000 casualties each since the first landings.^[9]

Despite the exhausted state of the troops, Hitler insisted that 14th Army should continue to attack. Consequently a further assault was mounted on February 29, this time on LXXVI Panzer Corps' front around Cisterna. This push achieved little except to generate a further 2,500 casualties for the 14th Army.^[10]

[

Stalemate: planning for Operation Diadem

Further information: Operation Diadem order of battle

Both sides had realised that no decisive result could be achieved until the spring and reverted to a defensive posture involving aggressive patrolling and artillery duels whilst they worked to rebuild their fighting capabilities. In anticipation of events in the following spring, Kesselring ordered the preparation of a new defence line, the Caesar C line, behind the line of beachhead running from the mouth of the river Tiber just south of Rome through Albano, skirting south of the Alban Hills to Valmontone and across Italy to the Adriatic coast at Pescara, behind which 14th Army and, to their left, 10th Army might withdraw when the need arose.^[11] 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 General Harold Alexander, commander of Allied forces in Italy, was planning for May and which would include a major offensive on the Gustav Line, Operation Diadem (which was later to be called the fourth Battle of Cassino). The Objective of the plan was that a major offensive would fully engage Kesselring's armies and remove any prospect of the Germans withdrawing forces from Italy to use elsewhere. It was also intended to trap the bulk of the German Tenth Army between the Allied forces advancing through the Gustav Line and VI Corps thrusting inland from Anzio.

In the meantime the 2nd Italian SS "Vendetta" Battalion and 29th Italian SS Rifle Battalion in March were sent to fight against the Anglo-American invaders at the Anzio/Nettuno beachhead. Dispersed among German battalions, the German commanding officers later gave the Italians companies favourable reports. Because of the demonstration of courage and sense of duty displayed by the volunteers of the Italian SS, they are designated as units of the Waffen-SS with all the duties and rights that that entailed.^[12]

In March U.S. 34th Infantry Division and in early May U.S. 36th Infantry Division had arrived at Anzio whilst British 56th Infantry Division had been relieved by British 5th Infantry Division. By late May there were some 150,000 Allied troops in the bridgehead^[13] including 5 U.S. and 2 British divisions facing 5 German divisions. The German divisions were well dug into prepared defenses but were weak in officer and NCO numbers and by the time of the late May offensive lacked any reserves (which had all been sent south to the Gustav fighting).^[14]

Despite Alexander's overall plan for Diadem requiring VI Corps to strike inland and cut Route 6, Clark asked Truscott to prepare alternatives and be ready to switch from one to another at 48 hours' notice. 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. Operation Turtle on the other hand foresaw a main thrust to the left of the Alban Hills taking Campoleone, Albano and on to Rome. On May 5 Alexander selected Buffalo and issued Clark with orders to this effect.^[15]

However, Clark was determined that VI Corps should strike directly for Rome as evidenced in his later writing: "We not only wanted the honour 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.".^[16] 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.^[17] 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".^[18]

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's 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. On the Allies' far right the 1st Special Service Force would protect the U.S. assault's flank.^[19]

[

Breakout

At 05:45 on May 23, 1944, 1,500 Allied artillery pieces commenced bombardment. Forty minutes later the guns paused as attacks were made by close air support and then resumed as the infantry and armour moved forward.^[20] The first day's fighting was intense: 1st Armored Division lost 100 tanks and 3rd Infantry Division suffered 955 casualties, the highest single day figure for any U.S. division during World War II. The Germans suffered too, with 362nd Infantry Division estimated to have lost 50% of its fighting strength.^[21]

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 May 24 did nothing to persuade him otherwise. 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^[22], to Valmontone to hold open Route 6 for the Tenth Army, which was retreating up this road from Cassino.^[23]

In the afternoon of May 25 Cisterna finally fell to 3rd Division who had had to go house to house winkling out the German 362nd Infantry which had refused to withdraw and, as a consequence, had virtually ceased to exist by the end of the day. 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 (5 km) of Valmontone and were in contact with units of the Herman Göring Division which were just starting to arrive from Leghorn^[22]. 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.^[24]

On the evening of May 25 Truscott received new orders from Clark via his Operations Officer, Brigadier Don Brand. These were, in effect, to implement Operation Turtle and turn the main line of attack ninety degrees to the left. 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.^[25] Clark informed Alexander of these developments late in the morning of May 26 by which time the change of orders was a fait accompli.^[26]

At the time, Truscott was shocked, writing later "...I was dumbfounded. 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 insure the destruction of the retreating German Army. I would not comply with the order without first talking to General Clark in person. ...[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. On the 26th the order was put into effect.".^[27] He went on to write "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. To be first in Rome was a poor compensation for this lost opportunity".^[28]

On May 26, whilst VI Corps was initiating its difficult maneuver, Kesselring threw elements of 4 divisions into the Velletri gap to stall the advance on Route 6. For four days they slugged it out against 3rd Division until finally withdrawing on May 30, having kept Route 6 open and allowed 7 divisions from 10th Army to withdraw and head north of Rome.^[29]

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 Walker's 36th Division found a gap in the Caesar Line at the join between 1st Parachute Corps and LXXVI Panzer Corps. Climbing the steep slopes of Monte Artemisio they threatened Velletri from the rear and obliged the defenders to withdraw. This was a key turning point, and von Mackensen offered his resignation which Kesselring accepted.^[30]

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.

On June 2 the Caesar Line collapsed under the mounting pressure, and 14th Army commenced a fighting withdrawal through Rome. On the same day Hitler, fearing another Battle of Stalingrad, had ordered Kesslering that there should be "no defence of Rome".^[31] Over the next three days the rearguards were gradually overwhelmed, and Rome was entered in the early hours of June 5 with Clark holding an impromptu press conference on the steps of the Town Hall on the Capitoline Hill that morning. 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.^[32]

[

Aftermath

Although controversy continues regarding what may have happened had General Lucas been more aggressive from the start, most commentators agree that the initial Anzio plan was flawed, questioning whether the initial landing of just over two infantry divisions with no supporting armour had had the strength to achieve the objective of cutting Route 6 and then holding off the inevitable counterattacks which would come as Kesselring re-deployed his forces. What is clear is that because of Clark's change of plan, Operation Diadem (during which U.S. 5th and British 8th Armies sustained 44,000 casualties) failed in its objective of destroying the German 10th Army and condemned the Allies to a further year of brutal combat notably around the Gothic Line from August 1944 to May 1945.

Churchill however, defended the Anzio operation.^[33] In his view, sufficient forces were available. 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 U.S. 504th Parachute Regiment. He argued that even regardless of the tactical outcome of the operation, there was immediate strategic benefit with regard to the wider war. Following the landings, the German High Command dropped plans to transfer five of Kesselring's best divisions to North West Europe. This gave obvious benefit with regard to the upcoming Operation Overlord. Churchill also had to ensure the British dominated forces in Italy were contributing to the war at a time when the Russians were suffering tremendous losses on the Eastern Front.

[

Noted participants

• Denis Healey was the Military Landing Officer for the British assault brigade at Anzio.

• Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters' father Eric Fletcher Waters was killed during Operation Shingle at Anzio. Pink Floyd recorded a song specifically about Anzio and Waters' death, called "When the Tigers Broke Free."

• The current controller of BBC Radio 1 Andy Parfitt's father, John Raymond Parfitt was part of the British force landing at Anzio. He was shot in the head and badly wounded in early February.

• "Angelita" was the name of a little girl, a war orphan, whom Pte. Christopher S. Hayes of the Royal Scots Fusiliers claimed to have found and about this story he asked for information to the major of Anzio 20 years later. Reportedly, she became the platoon mascot but was killed just a few days later. The story has variations on which army adopted her and how she was killed^[34], leading someone to conclude that it could be only a legend; this is the opinion of historian Carlo D'Este who has labeled it a 'myth' of the battle. Regardless, the story has come to symbolize the plight of all the children in all the wars and has been the inspiration for one of the most moving and successfull Italian songs in the 60's^[35]. The town of Anzio erected a monument in Angelita's memory, unveiled in the International Year of the Child (1979).

• James Arness (born May 26, 1923 in Minneapolis, Minnesota as James Aurness) is an actor best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon on the T.V. series Gunsmoke for 20 years. Arness served in the United States Army during World War II, and was severely wounded at the Battle of Anzio, leading to a lifelong slight limp.

• Bill Mauldin noted cartoonist and author of the Willie and Joe series which appeared in the American Army newspaper Stars and Stripes was at Anzio, serving with the 45th Infantry Division.

• Audie L. Murphy Hollywood actor, Murphy became the most decorated United States combat soldier in United States military history. He received the Medal of Honor, the U.S. military's highest award for valor, along with 32 additional U.S. medals. Served with Company B, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division.

• James Chichester-Clark, Baron Moyola, a newly commissioner officer in the Irish Guards, who was later the fifth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and eighth leader of the Ulster Unionist Party.

[

See also

• Barbara Line
• Bernhardt Line
• Operation Chettyford
• Battle of Monte Cassino
• Gustav Line
• "When the Tigers Broke Free", a Pink Floyd song referring to the battle.
• USS Anzio - Two ships of the United States Navy named for the battle.
• Battle of Cisterna

[

References

• Blumenson, Martin [1960] (2000). "Chapter 13: General Lucas at Anzio", in Greenfield, Kent Roberts: Command Decisions], CMH Online bookshelves. Washington: US Army Center of Military History. CMH Pub 72-7. 
• Clark, LLoyd (2006). Anzio: The Friction of War. Italy and the Battle for Rome 1944. Headline Publishing Group, London. ISBN 978 0 7553 1420 1. 
• Lamson, Maj. Roy, Jr.; Conn, Dr. Stetson (1948). Anzio 22 January - 22 May 1944, CMH Online bookshelves: American Forces in Action Series, Washington: US Army Center of Military History. CMH Pub 100-10. 
• Laurie, Clayton D.. Anzio 1944, CMH Online bookshelves: WWII Campaigns, Washington: US Army Center of Military History. CMH Pub 72-19. 
• Majdalany, Fred (1957). Cassino: Portrait of a Battle. London: Longmans, Green & Co Ltd.. 
• Mathews, Sidney T. [1960] (2000). "Chapter 14: General Clark's Decision To Drive on Rome", in Greenfield, Kent Roberts: Command Decisions, CMH Online bookshelves. Washington: US Army Center of Military History. CMH Pub 72-7. 
• Muhm, Gerhard. German Tactics in the Italian Campaign (English). Retrieved on 2007-07-26.
• Muhm, Gerhard (1993). La Tattica tedesca nella Campagna d'Italia, in Linea Gotica avanposto dei Balcani, (Hrsg.), Edizioni Civitas (in Italian), Roma: Amedeo Montemaggi. 
  
• Gliederung und Kriegstagebuck 14. Armee (From January to May 1944) (War diary of 14th German Army Corps) (in German). 

[

External links

• U.S. report on German defence Area on the Anzio Front
• Anzio by Irwin J. Kappes
• William Woodruff, The Battle for Anzio
• U.S. Army Center of Military History - Anzio 1944

[

Notes

v • d • e World War II
Western Europe · Eastern Europe · Africa · Mediterranean · Asia and the Pacific · Atlantic
Major participants			Timeline		Aspects
To 1945 unless otherwise indicated. Principal co-belligerents in italics.			Prelude • Causes • in Asia • in Europe 1939 • Invasion of Poland • Phoney War • Winter War • Battle of the Atlantic5 1940 • Denmark and Norway • Battle of France • Battle of Britain • Libya and Egypt • British Somaliland • Baltic Occupation • Bessarabia and Bukovina • Invasion of Indochina • Invasion of Greece 1941 • East Africa Campaign • Invasion of Yugoslavia • Invasion of the USSR • Middle East campaign • Siege of Leningrad • Battle of Moscow • Attack on Pearl Harbor 1942 • Battle of Midway • Battle of Stalingrad • 2nd Battle of El Alamein • Operation Torch • Guadalcanal Campaign	1943 • End in Africa • Battle of Kursk • Solomon Islands • Invasion of Sicily • Invasion of Italy5 • Gilbert and Marshall Islands 1944 • Cassino and Anzio • Invasion of Normandy • Mariana and Palau Islands • Operation Bagration • Battle of the Dnieper • Warsaw Uprising • Iassy-Kishinev Operation • Liberation of Paris • Operation Market Garden • Operation Crossbow • Operation Pointblank • Battle of Leyte Gulf 1945 • Battle of Iwo Jima • Battle of Okinawa • Battle of Berlin • Germany surrenders • Hiroshima and Nagasaki • Japan surrenders • List of military engagements	• Attacks on North America • Blitzkrieg • Comparative military ranks • Cryptography • Home front • Military awards • Military equipment • Military production • Nazi plunder • Resistance • Technology • Total war Aftermath /consequences • Effects/Casualties • Expulsion of Germans • Operation Paperclip • Occupation of Germany • Morgenthau plan • Territorial changes • Occupation of Japan • Franco-Vietnamese War • Cold War • in contemporary culture Civilian impact / atrocities • Allied war crimes • German war crimes • Italian war crimes • Japanese war crimes • Soviet war crimes • The Holocaust • Bombing of civilians
Allies		Axis
at war from 1937  China entered 1939  Czechoslovakia  Poland  UK  India  France  Australia  New Zealand  South Africa  Canada entered 1940  Norway  Belgium  Netherlands  Greece	entered 1941  Yugoslavia  USSR  USA entered 1942  Mexico  Brazil entered 1943  Italy   entered 1944  Romania  Bulgaria  Finland • others	at war from 1937  Japan entered 1939  Germany  Slovakia entered 1940  Italy  to 1943 entered 1941  Bulgaria  to 1944 Croatia Finland  to 1944  Hungary  Iraq  to 1941  Romania  to 1944 entered 1942  Thailand entered 1943  RSI • others
• Allied Leaders • Axis Leaders • Commanders
Resistance movements Austria · Baltic1 · Czech lands · Denmark · Ethiopia France · Germany2 · Greece · Italy Jewish2 · Korea · Netherlands · Moldavia2 Norway · Poland · Thailand · Soviet Union Slovakia4 · Ukraine3 · Vietnam Yugoslavia · others
				Lists
				Category · Topics Conferences
1 Anti-Soviet. 2 Anti-Soviet and anti-Nazi. 3 Anti-Nazi, anti-Polish, and anti-Soviet. 4 Anti-Magyar, anti-Nazi, and anti-Soviet. 5 Lasted to May 1945.		World War II at Wiktionary  WWII textbooks at Wikibooks      WWII quotes at Wikiquote  WWII source texts at Wikisource       WWII media at Commons  WWII news stories at Wikinews

BCUZ.com FACTS Encyclopedia content is licensed under the GFDL as approved by Wikipedia.
For more information review our copyright contact and privacy policy. © 1996 - BCUZ.COM - We have all the FACTS you need about Small Business Financing, Behavior Disorder, Having Too Many Bills, Needing Cash Fast, Structured Settlements, Frequent Flier Programs, Top Steak Houses, The Mayan Indians, Norfolk and Suffolk England, Growing Longer Hair and a full reference English Encyclopedia and Spanish Encyclopedia.Privacy Policy