Figure 1.-- The Americans landed at Anzio south of Rome (January 22) to outflank the Gustav Line, but moved slowly off the beaches. The Germans in contrast reacted swiftly and almost drove the Americans back in the sea. For more than a month, a battle rage around the American beachhead. This photograph was taken March 17, by which time the bachhead was finally secure, but still containd and constantly shelled by the Germans. The press caption here read, "Yank and barefoot boy: During a lull in activity in the Anzio beachhead area PFC Orville C. Blackman of Wnk Texas squats to chat with a barefoot Italian boy. The youngster holds his baby brother on his lap as he talks to the Fifth Army soldier."

After the Allied invasion of southern Italy, the Germans put at a fight at Salerno in an effort to keep Naples out of Allied hands. When that failed, theu withdrew north to their main defense--the Gustav Line. The Allies planned an amphibious end run to outflank the Gustav Line. the Gustaf Line was located south of the Pontine Marshes. Draining the Marshes was one of the great achievements of Mussolini's Fascist regime. The Marshes were used by the Germans as part of their defenses. They were part of the reason that an amphibious landing at Anzio and Nettuno were needed to outflank the German defenses. The American 5th Army (VI Corps) landed behind the Gustav line about 30 miles south of Rome (January 22, 1944). The landing surprised the Germans and the Americans pushed toward Rome. Many historians fault the American commander, Maj. Gen. John P. Lucas, for not acting decisively by attacking the Germans. Lucas decided to build up his force before moving inland. This left the Germans in control of the high-ground and gave Kesselring time to assemble reinforcements. [Atkinson] A minority opinion mainains that Lucas was wise in building up the beach deffensives. The Germans launched a whitering attack with artillery and Panzers. American and British units repulsed repeated German attacks. It looked for a time that the Germans might destroy the American beachead (February 17). The American defense supported by invaluable naval artillery support managed to hold off the Germans. The German counterattack was finally haulted (March 2). Anzio became for a time anoher Italian stalemate. The Anzio landings failed in its objective to envelop the Gustav Line, but it did force the Germans to commit their reserves and streached out the fronts that the Grmans had to defend with no added reinforcenets. Thus the Allies remained bottled up in the Anzio beachead for several months. This in the end weakened the Gustav Line allowing the Allies to finally break through.

The Gustav Line (October 1943-May 1944)

After the Allied invasion of southern Italy, the Germans put at a fight at Salerno in an effort to keep Naples out of Allied hands. When that failed, theu withdrew north to their main defense--the Gustav Line. After securing the vital port of Naples, the American Fifth Army and British Eighth Army drove north and forced a crossing of the Volturno River (October 1943). They then encountred Kesselring's primary defenses--the Gustav or Winter Line. Hitler was prepared to abandon much of Italy, but Kesserling convinced him to make a stand and the Field Marshal was proved right. Kesseling used the troops that had had escaped from Sicily. Without these units it is unlikely that he could have made a stand in Italy south of Rome. And if Hitler had not sent tens of thousands of reinforcemnents into Tunisia (November 1942), it is difficult to see how the Allies would have ever moved up the Italian Peninsula. The German defensive position was anchored on the mountains around Cassino and the Rapido and Gariglino Rivers. At the center of the German positions was Monte Casino, an ancient monestary. One historian calls the German preparations a tactical trap, "... a large scale concentration of German troops behind the two rivers, gun pits were being blasted out of solid rock, the banks were being cleared to create fields of fire, and antitank ditches, mines and barbed wire were being readied everywhere." [Parker] Kesselring managed to stop the Allied advance for months. Repeated attempts to break through the German lines were beaten back. Losses were staggering.

Pontine Marshes

The Allies planned an amphibious end run to outflank the Gustav Line. the Gustaf Line was located south of the Pontine Marshes. Draining the Marshes was one of the great achievements of Mussolini's Fascist regime. The Marshes were used by the Germans as part of their defenses. They were part of the reason that an amphibious landing at Anzio and Nettuno were needed to outflank the German defenses. As a result of the deteriorating conditions in Italy, malaria had returned to the Marshes. Quinine and other medicines were in short supply and there are reports thst the Germans were witholding supplies. The Germans saw the Italians as traitors and were intent on punishing them. In addition, there was a desire to reserve available supplies for their forces. Food was in increasingly short supply. Screens were an important defense again mosquitos and malaria. But screns were made of metal and could no longer be obtined or repaired. Even worse, Italian soldiers returning from the Balkans brought back resistant strains of the disease home. [Snowden, p. 186.] The Germans a part of building the Gusav Line stopped the pumps and opened the dikes. This refilling the marsh with brackish water. German malariologists, Erich Martini and Ernst Rodenwaldt, advised Field Marshal Kesselring's staff that the brackish water would encourage the return of the mlaria carrying mosquito (Anopheles labranchiae). It is aspecies which thrives in brackish and salty environments. The brackish water would also devestate agriculture, making it impossible for the local population to grow crops or even obtain fresh water. This had no military impact, but the local population was left exposed to malaria and without food. The German flooding of the Msrshes has been called an act of biological warfare. [Evans] Italian colleagues of the Germans in malariology oposed the action, but the Germans issued the order. Of course the mosquitos did not descriminate, so the Allied and German soldiers aw well as the populstion found themselves in a mosquito-infested bog. The homes built by the Fascist regime were used by the German soldiers and to hide tanks from air strikes. American journalist Ernie Pyle wrote, "On these little farms of the Pontine marshes Mussolini built hundreds of ... stone farmhouses ... Now and then I saw a farmer plowing while German shells landed right in his field. We tried to evacuate people ... But some of them simply refused to leave their homes. Sometimes the Germans would pick out one of the farmhouses, figuring we had a command post in it, I suppose, and blow it to smithereens. Then, and only then, did some Italian families move out ... on any side road we couldn't drive five minutes without seeing the skeleton of a cow or a horse." [Pyle]

Landings (January 1944)

The Allies unable to blast through the German Gustav Line defenses devised a plan to go around the Gustav Line. The plan was to land a poweful amphibious lforce Anzio, an Italian port south of Rome and north of the Gustav Line. The llies planned an assault in the Gistav Line itself to prevent the Germans from organizing an effective defense. The Allies hoped thatba two-pronged attack would confuse the Germans and delay an effective response. The plan was for the attacking force breaking through the Gustav Line to meet up with the Anzio landing force and then drive north to Rome. The capture of the Eternal City would have huge psycological impact as the first Axis capital to fall to the Allies. The American 5th Army (VI Corps) landed behind the Gustav line about 30 miles south of Rome (January 22, 1944). The landing at Anzio and Nettuno were not only relatively bloodless, but spectacular successes. The plan was during the first 24 hours to be 4 miles inland along a 15 mile front. As it worked out, they had achieved this goal by noon on the first day. The Americans put 36,000 men ahore with 3,200 vehicles. The Allied casualties were only 13 killed, 97 wounded and 44 missing. The US 36th Engineer Combat Regiment successfully laid 'roads' to make possible the foward movement of vehicles. Allied air power prevented any meaniful Luftwaffe intervention on the first day. The Americans were able to seize the port at Anzio intact. It was not a major port, but could have handled American LSTs (Landing Ship Tanks--large landing craft). The American landings surprised the Germans who had not defended the beaches and thge port in strength. Kesserling with his limited forces had to make tough decesiins abot how to deploy his men ans Anzio was left largely undefended. A major factor in Kesselring's decesion was OKW's assurance that amphibious landings were impossible during the winter because of the rough seas (January and February). Kesselring even moved men from the Anzio area to reinforce the Gustav Line defenses. A 9-mile stretch of beach at Anzio sas left defended by just one company. The Rangers, paratroopers and commandos landing at Anzio were shocked at the weak defenses. The Americans pushed toward Rome. Many historians fault the American commander, Maj. Gen. John P. Lucas, for not acting decisively by attacking the Germans. Lucas decided to build up his force before moving inland. A minority opinion mainains that Lucas was wise in building up the beach deffensives. While surprised, Kesselring reacted swiftly. The Allies moving out of the beachhead began meeting stronger The Germans began organising a defense (January 25). As German resistance mounted, Lucas decided to stop the the movement out of the beachhead and to hunker down and consolidate the beachhead defenses (January 29). The Allies were making good use of the Anzio port, an unexpected gift. As a result, a week after the landings began, the Allies had over 61,000 men afore (February 1). Even the Lufttwaffe began mouting at least harrasing attacks. They sank a destroyer and a well-marked hospital ship.

German Counterattack (February 1944)

The lights casualties during the landinfs developed into one of the bloodiest battles fought by the Western Allies. Lucas' indecession left the Germans in control of the high-ground and gave Kesselring time to assemble reinforcements. [Atkinson] Kesselring although worried about a possible amphibious landing, had accepted the OKW assurances. Anzio was a particular worry, just because it was the logical place for an asault to outflanl thecformidable Gustav Line. An attck further north was unlikely because it was beyond the range of tactical air cover. He had only limited reserves inder his command. The principal reserve forces were the 4th Parachute Division znd the heavily armed Hermann Goering Panzer Divisions to Anzio. Both were based in Rome nd thus were able to quickly move into the anzio fight. They were ordered to stop the Allied move out of Anzio. Hitler also reacted swiftly, ordered units in Yugoslavia and France to Anzio. Kesselring wanted to launch a counter attack (January 28). This had to be delayed because of the time needed to assemble the troops. Kesselring had some 70,000 men in the Anzio area (February 1). More were rapidly moving toward Anzio. The Germans launched a whitering attack with artillery and Panzers. American and British units repulsed repeated German attacks. It looked for a time that the Germans might destroy the American beachead (February 17). The American defense supported by invaluable naval artillery support managed to hold off the Germans. The German counterattack was finally haulted (March 2).

Impact

Anzio was an important part of the cracking of the German defensive line south of Rome—the Gutav Line. Now the initial impact of the invasion was limited. Opinions vary, but the general consensus is that the American commander (Gen. Lucas) was slow to exploit the tactical surprise, allowing the Germans to bring in reinforcements. Anzio became for a time another Italian stalemate. The Anzio landings failed in its objective of enveloping the Gustav Line. And the Allies remained bottled up in the Anzio beachead for several months. By lengthening the front, it weakened the German position. The strength of the Gutav Line was it’s very narrow front — the width of the Italian Peninsula. This made it impossible for the Allies to fully utilize their advantage in offensive power. By lengthening the front, it weakened the German defensive capability. Because of defeats in the East and the needed to strengthen the Atlantic Wall, the Germans had neither the men or material to adequately defend a longer front. Anzio was thus a major factor in cracking the Gustav Line and the Allied breakthrough that liberated Rome. It also forced the Germans to draw down forces in other areas, weakening their overall strategic position. Kesserling had, however, done what he has set out to do, hold the Allied Armies bogged down in Italy and give the principal German forces the ability to defeat the Allied Cross Channel invasion and then turn east on the Soviets. This of course did not happen, but not because the Allies threatened from the south. Kesserling did this with only limited forces, but at this stage of the War, Germany could hardly fford even this limited commitment. And the need to maintain an army in Italy did limit the Germany ability to strenhthen the Atlantic Wall.

Sources

Atkinson, Rick. The Day of Battle: The War in Socily and Italy, 1943-1944 (Henry Holt: 2007), 791p.

Evans, Richard J. The Third Reich at War, 1939–1945 (Penguin: Kindle Edition, 2009).

Parker, Matythew. Monte Cassino: The Hardest-Fought Battle of World War II (Doubleday: 2004), 414p.

Pyle, Ernie. Brave Men (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2001).

Snowden, Frank M. The conquest of malaria: Italy, 1900-1962 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006).

Created: 11:46 PM 8/12/2014
Last updated: 12:17 AM 6/18/2018