Army Center of Military History "During the early morning hours of 22 January 1944, troops of the Fifth Army swarmed ashore on a fifteen-mile stretch of Italian beach near the prewar resort towns of Anzio and Nettuno. The landings were carried out so flawlessly and German resistance was so light that British and American units gained their first day's objectives by noon, moving three to four miles inland by nightfall. The ease of the landing and the swift advance were noted by one paratrooper of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne Division, who recalled that D-day at Anzio was sunny and warm, making it very hard to believe that a war was going on and that he was in the middle of it."
Battle of Anzio map. This could have been a master stroke by the allies, such as the Inchon Landings in Korea were, but there was no aggressive follow-up after the troops landed.
The Germans and their artillery in the hills could look down on everything the allies were doing.
Battle of Anzio map. This could have been a master stroke by the allies, such as the Inchon Landings in Korea were, but there was no aggressive follow-up after the troops landed.
The Germans and their artillery in the hills could look down on everything the allies were doing.
Bill Mauldin in his book "Up Front" drew this post battle commentary on the beachhead, which the Germans called "a prison camp where the prisoners feed themselves".
The western Italy theater at the time of the Anzio landings
The western Italy theater at the time of the Anzio landings
1 comment:
Warfare is a fascinating subject. Despite the dubious morality of using violence to achieve personal or political aims. It remains that conflict has been used to do just that throughout recorded history.
Your article is very well done, a good read.
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