The Landing at Anzio - a missed opportunity

Lo sbarco ad Anzio - un'occasione mancata

Nel gennaio del 1944, sei mesi dopo l’invasione della Sicilia, mentre l’VIII Armata britannica era bloccata al di sopra del fiume Sangro in Abruzzo, la V Armata americana era in procinto d’eseguire un secondo sbarco anfibio, a nord della Linea Gustav, per coincidere con un attacco su vasta scala a Cassino. Il piano militare prevedeva un attacco a tenaglia per chiudere la via di fuga del nemico.

Gli sbarchi ad Anzio e Nettuno (nome in codice, Operation SHINGLE) avvennero il 22 gennaio del 1944, pochi giorni dopo l’inizio del primo attacco a Cassino. La forza d’invasione, comandato dal Generale John P. Lucas, comandante del VI Corpo statunitense, comprendeva anche unità britanniche e canadesi. Velocemente, e senza intoppi, furono sbarcati migliaia di uomini e centinaia di mezzi.  Lucas, noto per essere molto preciso e metodico, non sfruttò il vantaggio della sorpresa per avanzare nell’entroterra, preferendo consolidare la sua posizione sulla spiaggia.

Il nemico non perse tempo: in pochi giorni forze tedesche accerchiarono la spiaggia, e mancò poco che non rimandassero in mare le truppe di sbarco. Mentre i Tedeschi bombardavano le forze alleate intrappolate a terra, le navi alleate nel porto facevano il possibile per rispondere, e restare a galla. In mezzo fra I due fuochi, si trovavano i soldati e la sfortunata popolazione civile.   

La colpa del fallito sfondamento cadde sulla testa di Lucas, che fu rimosso dal comando il 25 febbraio. Fu sostituito dal Generale Lucian K. Truscott, il quale avrebbe accompagnato il Generale Mark Clark nel suo ingresso trionfale a Roma alla testa della V Armata il 4 giugno 1944.  

La battaglia per Anzio andò avanti in modo intermittente per oltre tre mesi. Il prezzo pagato per lasciare le spiagge di Anzio fu raccapricciante: 7.000 morti e circa 36.000 fra feriti e dispersi, in totale quasi un terzo delle forze dell’intero VI Corpo americano. Le perdite nemiche furono paragonabili.

Già a febbraio, visto il reale pericolo di fallimento ad Anzio, divenne urgente una nuova offensiva a Cassino. La V Armata fu rinforzato con tre divisioni trasferite dal fronte adriatico, fra cui la 2^ Divisione neozelandese. Così a febbraio, e di nuovo a marzo, il nuovo Corpo neozelandese combatté la seconda e la terza battaglia di Cassino. Anche lì, però, le difese nemiche tennero, e Roma rimaneva irraggiungibile. 

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 Angelita, a child found and handed over to the Red Cross, and lost later in the battle,
 symbol of all  ‘lost’ children of the war.

Five days after the Americans launched the first attack on Cassino (on 17 January 1944 (while the 2^nd New Zealand Division was in reserve at Alife), the Americans, with British and Canadian support, landed at Anzio and Nettuno, on the Tyrrhenian coast, leapfrogging the Gustav Line. The two-pronged attack was meant to divide the enemy and cut off the possibility of retreat of the German Tenth Army. Both thrusts stalled miserably for over two months and hard-earned victory (on both fronts) came at an appallingly high price. The Battle for Anzio cost seven thousand dead and around thirty-six thousand wounded or ‘missing’ - together accounting for approximately a third of the VI Corps’ total strength. The dead repose close to the landing sites in three cemeteries – the Anzio Commonwealth War Cemetery, The Beach Head Cemetery, and the American War Cemetery. 

Commonwealth graves at Anzio

On 22 January 1944, the beaches at Anzio (the ancient Roman town of Antium) and the neighbouring town of Nettuno, less than 60 km from Rome, were the unwitting stage for a massive amphibious operation, code-named Operation Shingle. The invasion force, led by General John P. Lucas, commander of the US VI Corps, also included British and Canadian units. With remarkable speed and efficiency, thousands of men and hundreds of vehicles were landed without mishap. Known for being overly workmanlike and methodical, Lucas dallied too long securing the beachhead, instead of exploiting his advantage to press on inland.  While he dug in and fortified his position, the benefit of surprise was lost. The enemy quickly encircled the beach and very nearly succeeded in driving the landing forces back into the sea. While the Germans subjected the trapped Allied forces to heavy bombardment from the land, the Allied shipping in the harbour did its best to respond - and stay afloat. Literally between the two fires were the wretched landing forces, and the hapless civilian population.

The beach at Anzio today

The Battle for Anzio, which had started so auspiciously, became an epic battle and one of the most controversial of the Italian campaign.

Churchill was furious: “I hoped we were hurling a wildcat on the shore, but all we got was a stranded whale”. General Lucas was blamed for the failure of the breakthrough and removed from command on February 25. He was replaced by General Lucian K. Truscott, who would accompany General Mark Clark when he made his triumphal entry into Rome at the head of the Fifth Army on June 4. The Battle for Anzio dragged on through March and ended officially only when Rome fell.  

In mid-February, while the landing forces were still fighting to get off the Anzio beaches and the risk of failure was very real, the New Zealand Corps was formed to lead a second massive attack on Cassino. The situation was unchanged a month later, when the New Zealanders returned to the line to lead the third battle of Cassino. Neither offensive succeeded, and Rome remained tantalisingly out of reach. 

The entrance to the Museum of the Landings*, and waterside photographic displays 

* The  small, cramped Museo dello Sbarco at Anzio holds only a fraction of the collection. Most battle relics, including vehicles and large pieces of equipment, are stored in a vast museum of Piana delle Orme. some 40 km inland from Anzio.