"Anzio and Artillery" Topic

Anzio and Artillery
"An American Ordnance unit that could boast a battle history dating back to Tobruk blamed its presence at Anzio on its proclivity for always being in the worst place at the worst time. At Anzio and Nettuno, two neighboring resort towns on the coast south of Rome, the Allies were pinned down by the Germans for four months on a small beachhead about seven miles deep and fifteen miles wide. Every inch of it was under German artillery fire. Nobody was safe. Depot men, repairmen, truck drivers, clerks, all were as likely to be hit as a man in the front lines. The very sidewalks of Anzio had shell holes in them. Military police were occasionally killed while directing traffic. In the first two months Ordnance lost 14 men killed and 78 wounded. The total battle casualties for the whole period at Anzio, 22 January-24 May 1944, were about 5,000 killed in action and nearly 16,000 wounded."

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Thank-you! I'll be reading the whole document

Bill Mauldin in his book "Up Front" notes that Anzio was unique in that it had no rear area.

An astonishing blunder by te commanding general. Given all that was known about the disaster of Gallipoli in WW1 it is astonishing that the Allies sat on the beach without aggressively pushing into the countryside. He had supporting navl gunfire and air superiority. He had a large amount of kit ashore. Strange how command can paralyse a man's brain.

An astonishing blunder by te commanding general.

Probably not. Lucas was put into a crappy position – he was "supposed" to make a run at Rome, but he didn't have enough troops to do that with any chance of success. Given the speed and extent of the German reaction to the landings, it's probably a good thing he didn't or the whole force would have gone in the bag.

Clark rode up to Anzio with Lucas on the day of the landings. His last instruction to Lucas was "don't stick your neck out like I did at Salerno." Not exactly the kind of orders to inspire a man to act boldly.

I met a vet in Kalispell Montana many years ago. He was still angry about the death of his good friend at Anzio. They were manning a radar truck he said.
I have a two questions: Why weren't the Germans better interdicted? In Normandy great pains were made to bomb R.R.s and roads. Partisans cut phone lines and blew bridges.
What was the status of our Air Power? I know the Germans had some Air assets. Were they too many for us to fight in the skies and still maintain strafing operations?

Lucasvknew the position and accepted it with the command. Agreed that he was meant to take advantage of a breakthrough by Clark at Cassinowhich did not happen. However, I visited Anzio a couple of years back. With wargamer's 20/20 hindsight I think there is a good case that he should have gone further to the first hills so as not o have an overlooked beachhead and should have designed his force to seize and hold even with a 'what if the Cassino breakthrough does not happen' scenario in mind.
I just don't buy it that generals can absolve themselves by saying that they were dealt a hand and had to play it except where they take over an existing situation.
I suppose that sticking close to the coast meant that the landing force could get the maximum support from naval gunnery.
The troops at Anzio did hold off a major German offensive, Tigers and all and that is to their onsiderable credit.

Just another example of a lost opportunity. Robert

warhawkwind. If you check out the COMBAT CHRONOLOGY US ARMY AIR FORCES MEDITERRANEAN – 1944, PART 1 you will see what the Allided Air Forces were doing during that period.
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Robert

Air Support of the
Allied Landings
in Sicily, Salerno,
and Anzio

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