![]() ![]() His replacement was Major General Lucian Truscott, who had previously commanded the U.S. For weeks a rain of shells fell on the beach, the marsh, the harbour, and on anything else observable from the hills, with little distinction between forward and rear positions.Īfter a month of heavy but inconclusive fighting, Lucas was relieved and sent home. The Germans also stopped the drainage pumps and flooded the reclaimed marsh with salt water, planning to entrap the Allies and destroy them by epidemic. His artillery units had a clear view of every Allied position. While Lucas consolidated, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, the German commander in the Italian theatre, moved every unit he could spare into a defensive ring around the beachhead. However, Lucas, who had little confidence in the operation as planned, failed to capitalize on the element of surprise and delayed his advance until he judged his position was sufficiently consolidated and he had sufficient strength. The initial landing achieved complete surprise with no opposition and a jeep patrol even made it as far as the outskirts of Rome. Fifth Army, understood that risk, but he did not pass on his appreciation of the situation to his subordinate Lucas, who preferred to take time to entrench against an expected counterattack. ![]() Any delay could result in the occupation of the mountains by the defenders and the consequent entrapment of the invaders. The success of an amphibious landing at that location, in a basin consisting substantially of reclaimed marshland and surrounded by mountains, depended on the element of surprise and the swiftness with which the invaders could build up strength and move inland relative to the reaction time and strength of the defenders. VI Corps with the intent to outflank German forces at the Winter Line and enable an attack on Rome. The operation was initially commanded by Major General John P. The operation was opposed by German forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno. The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign of World War II that took place from Janu(beginning with the Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle) to J(ending with the capture of Rome). ![]()
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