5/8/2023 0 Comments Patton by Carlo D'Este![]() The initial Allied force at Anzio was composed of 40,000 British and American troops under the command of the American VI Corps-not enough to capture Rome or to seize and defend the Alban Hills, some 18 miles inland, and simultaneously secure the beachhead. ![]() Although Shingle’s objectives were deliberately vague, its purpose was to threaten the capture of Rome-rather than taking it directly-thereby drawing off German forces from the main Allied front at Cassino, roughly 80 miles to the east, where the bulk of the Allied forces in Italy were stalled and unable to advance on the Italian capital. Operation Shingle began with great promise on January 22, 1944, when the Allies invaded the port cities of Anzio and Nettuno, some 35 miles south of Rome. And it involved weighing the potential loss of the tenuous Allied hold on the beachhead at Anzio against the near-certain sacrifice of an American battalion. ![]() It occurred at one of the most critical moments of World War II: the fourth day of a massive German counteroffensive on Italy’s western coast. Army’s 1st Armored Division, was faced with this situation. ![]() In the early hours of February 19, 1944, Major General Ernest N. There are times in combat when a commander must do the unthinkable. ![]()
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