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Title: War against Germany and Italy: Mediterranean and adjacent areas; pictorial record
Author: Bacon, Mary Schell Hoke, Hatlem, John, Hunter, Kenneth E., Phillips, W. B. (Wesley Briggs)
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "War against Germany and Italy: Mediterranean and adjacent areas; pictorial record" ***
ITALY: MEDITERRANEAN AND ADJACENT AREAS; PICTORIAL RECORD ***
_UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II_
Pictorial Record
THE WAR AGAINST
GERMANY AND ITALY:
MEDITERRANEAN AND
ADJACENT AREAS
[Illustration: MILITARY INSTRVCTION]
CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY
UNITED STATES ARMY
WASHINGTON, D.C., 1988
First Printed 1951--C M H Pub 12-2
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing
Office
Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: (202) 512-1800 Fax: (202) 512-2250
Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-0001
UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II
Kent Roberts Greenfield, General Editor
Advisory Committee
James P. Baxter
President, Williams College
Henry S. Commager
Columbia University
Douglas S. Freeman
Richmond News Leader
Pendleton Herring
Social Science Research Council
John D. Hicks
University of California
William T. Hutchinson
University of Chicago
S. L. A. Marshall
Detroit News
E. Dwight Salmon
Amherst College
Col. Thomas D. Stamps
United States Military Academy
Charles S. Sydnor
Duke University
Charles H. Taylor
Harvard University
Office of the Chief of Military History
Maj. Gen. Orlando Ward, Chief
Chief Historian Kent Roberts Greenfield
Chief, World War II Group Col. Allison R. Hartman
Editor-in-Chief Hugh Corbett
Chief, Pictorial Unit Lt. Col. John C. Hatlem, USAF
Assistant, Pictorial Unit Capt. Kenneth E. Hunter
Assistant, Pictorial Unit Miss Margaret E. Tackley
... to Those Who Served
Foreword
During World War II the photographers of the United States Army, Air
Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard created on film a pictorial
record of immeasurable value. Thousands of their pictures are preserved
in the photographic libraries of the armed services, little seen by the
public.
In the volumes of UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II now being prepared
by the Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the
Army, it is possible to include only a limited number of pictures. A
subseries of pictorial volumes, of which this is one, has been planned
to supplement the other volumes of the series. The photographs have
been selected to show important terrain features, types of equipment
and weapons, living and weather conditions, military operations, and
various matters of human interest. These volumes will preserve and make
accessible for future reference some of the best pictures of World
War II. An appreciation not only of the terrain on which actions were
fought, but of its influence on the capabilities and limitations of
weapons, in the hands of both our troops and the enemy’s, can be gained
through a careful study of the pictures herein presented. Appreciation
of these factors is essential to a clear understanding of military
history.
This volume, compiled by Lt. Col. John C. Hatlem, USAF, and Capt.
Kenneth E. Hunter, with the assistance of Miss Margaret E. Tackley, and
edited by W. Brooks Phillips and Miss Mary Ann Bacon, deals with the
Mediterranean Theater of Operations and the Middle East. It is divided
into five sections: (1) North Africa and the Middle East; (2) Sicily,
Corsica, and Sardinia; (3) Italy: 9 September 1943–4 June 1944; (4)
Southern France; and (5) Italy: 5 June 1944-2 May 1945. Each section
is arranged in chronological order. The written text has been kept to
a minimum. Each section is preceded by a brief introduction recounting
the major events set down in detail in the individual narrative volumes
of UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II. The appendices give information
as to the abbreviations used and the sources of the photographs.
Washington, D. C. ORLANDO WARD
1 November 1951 Maj. Gen., USA
Chief of Military History
Contents
Section Page
I. NORTH AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST 1
II. SICILY, CORSICA, AND SARDINIA 105
III. ITALY: 9 SEPTEMBER 1943–4 JUNE 1944 171
IV. SOUTHERN FRANCE 303
V. ITALY: 5 JUNE 1944-2 MAY 1945 349
APPENDIX A: LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 455
APPENDIX B: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 457
INDEX 459
NORTH AFRICA
AND
THE MIDDLE EAST
[Illustration: TUNISIA]
SECTION I
North Africa and the Middle East[1]
North Africa
The occupation of French North Africa by Allied troops was determined
in July 1942 when the American and British Governments agreed to
launch a Mediterranean operation in the fall of 1942. The invasion,
designated as TORCH, was to coincide with a British advance westward
from Egypt. Before American soldiers did any actual fighting in North
Africa, however, and before the United States was at war, civilian and
military observers had been informally attached in May 1941 to the U.
S. military attaché in Cairo. This group was the beginning of a force
whose primary function was to service and maintain lend-lease equipment
from the United States, instruct the British in its use, and report on
how it stood up under battle conditions. The U. S. Air Force also was
performing missions in Egypt several months before the Allied landings
in North Africa. All these activities contributed to the British
victory at El Alamein in October 1942.
Allied troops sailed for North Africa from ports in both the United
States and the United Kingdom. The U. S. Navy and the Royal Navy shared
in supplying transports and naval escort and were able to prevent any
serious losses through enemy submarine action. Vital air support was
at first provided from aircraft carriers of both Navies and later by
land-based planes of the Allied air forces utilizing recently captured
airfields.
The Allies hoped to avoid French resistance to the landings by
arranging for the assistance of patriotic Frenchmen ashore and by
the participation in the operation of Gen. Henri Giraud, a French
military leader and former Army commander of great prestige who had
escaped from France. These plans were only partly successful. The
landings on the early morning of 8 November at beaches near Algiers,
Oran, Casablanca, Port-Lyautey, Fedala, and Safi met resistance at all
objectives. The opposition at Algiers and Safi collapsed quickly. Oran
could be occupied only after considerable fighting. French forces,
especially naval elements, in the neighborhood of Casablanca resisted
strongly, but yielded on 11 November, a few minutes before the final
assault on the city itself was to start. After a brief period of
neutrality, most of the French forces in northwest Africa joined in the
war against the Axis.
The Axis reacted to the Allied invasion by rushing troops to Tunisia
by air and sea, and captured the local airfields and ports without
opposition. British, American, and French troops drove eastward and at
the end of November and in early December launched their attack against
the Axis bridgehead. The Allied advance, however, was stopped short of
Tunis. Air superiority for the moment lay with the Axis. Lack of means
to overcome the increased resistance, in addition to weather conditions
which interfered with transport and flying, forced the postponement
until 1943 of a renewed advance over the difficult terrain of northern
Tunisia.
Meanwhile, the British Eighth Army was pressing German and Italian
forces back from Egypt through Libya and reached the southern border
of Tunisia in January 1943. Plans could then be perfected for a
co-ordinated attack against the remaining Axis forces in North Africa
by the British Eighth Army in the south and the Allied troops in the
north consisting of the British First Army, the American II Corps,
the French XIX Corps, and Allied air forces. Attack by Axis forces
at points of their own selection repeatedly interfered with Allied
preparations. In February the enemy broke through Faïd Pass and in a
series of attacks advanced beyond Kasserine almost to the Algerian
border. These attacks were stopped on 21–22 February when the enemy
started his withdrawal, destroying bridges and mining the passes behind
him.
But the Allied forces were closing in. After attacking and turning the
Mareth position, the British Eighth Army defeated the enemy there and
pursued him along the coast as far as Enfidaville, less than fifty
miles from Tunis. Accelerated Allied air and naval attacks choked
off the enemy’s supply and weakened his resistance. At the same time
the American II Corps was shifted northwest to a new sector on the
left of the British First Army. Then after severe infantry fighting
the American II Corps made an armored thrust to Mateur, and after a
pause it pushed tank forces east to the sea, separating Bizerte from
Tunis. Farther south the British First Army drove directly toward
Tunis. On 7 May both Bizerte and Tunis were occupied and by 13 May
Axis capitulation was complete. The Allies had achieved their initial
objective of opening the Mediterranean route to the Middle East and
seizing bases in North Africa. At the same time they had inflicted a
major defeat on the Axis Powers.
Allied strength in French North Africa had been brought to a total of
about a million men. Much of this strength was not intended for the
Tunisia Campaign but for later operations against Sicily and southern
Italy. Elaborate training establishments were developed by the American
Fifth and Seventh Armies and vast supply depots established with a view
to future operations from the African base.
Persian Gulf Command
In June 1942 an American theater of operations called U. S. Army
Forces in the Middle East was established with headquarters at Cairo.
Under this command were merged various groups and military missions
that had been active in this area since the spring of 1941. American
responsibilities for moving supplies to the Soviet Union led ultimately
to a separation of the Persian Gulf activities of USAFIME and their
establishment under an organization that was known from December 1943
to October 1945 as the Persian Gulf Command, with headquarters at
Tehran, Iran.
From 1941 to 1945 the main business of the U. S. Army in the Middle
East was to facilitate the supply of lend-lease goods to British
and Soviet forces. This task involved the construction of docks,
warehouses, shops, and highways as well as the operation of ports, a
railroad, and a motor transport service in Iran. At the same time the
Army constructed numerous airfields and bases, stretching across Egypt,
the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Eritrea, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria,
Iraq, and Iran.
[Illustration: EGYPT
THE PYRAMIDS NEAR CAIRO, EGYPT. For more than six months before
the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States had recognized the
military importance of the Middle East. Lend-lease equipment was
poured into Egypt to aid the British in the western desert. The
type of transport plane shown above performed constant service
in the Middle East area. It was known familiarly as “the work
horse of the war.” (C-47 transport, Dakota.)]
[Illustration: EGYPT
BRITISH SOLDIERS receiving instructions on an American-made
engine at the U. S. Ordnance Repair Depot at Heliopolis near
Cairo.]
[Illustration: EGYPT
TANKS AT THE HELIOPOLIS U. S. ORDNANCE REPAIR DEPOT. On Black
Saturday, 13 June 1942, in a battle near Tobruk in Libya,
British armor suffered severe tank losses inflicted by German
88-mm. antitank guns. This defeat caused a withdrawal to the El
Alamein Line in Egypt. (General Grant M3.)]
[Illustration: EGYPT
ITALIAN ANTIAIRCRAFT GUN captured by the British in the western
desert of Egypt. Before the United States entered the war,
American technicians worked closely with the British in the
Middle East to obtain information on German and Italian weapons,
equipment, and methods of warfare. (Italian Ansaldo antiaircraft
gun, 75-mm.)]
[Illustration: EGYPT
INOCULATING EGYPTIAN WORKER WITH TYPHUS VACCINE. In June of 1942
a separate command was formed in Cairo, called the U. S. Army
Forces in the Middle East (USAFIME). Natives working with U. S.
personnel were usually under Army medical supervision. Those
handling food were subject to physical inspection and received
medical treatment and whatever immunization inoculations were
indicated for the locality. The use of preventive medicine
stopped the outbreak of epidemics.]
[Illustration: EGYPT
B-25’S OVER THE WESTERN DESERT IN EGYPT. The U. S. Air Forces
was active in the Middle East several months before the Allied
landings in North Africa. The first mission of these bombers was
against the enemy-occupied port of Matruh on the coast of Egypt
in July 1942. (Medium bombers, North American B-25 Mitchell.)]
[Illustration: EGYPT
SELF-PROPELLED HOWITZER nicknamed the Priest. The crisis which
developed when the British were forced to retreat to the El
Alamein Line threatened the Suez Canal as well as the Allied air
routes to Russia and India. Reinforcements and equipment were
rushed to Egypt from the United Kingdom and the United States.
The United States sent about 90 of the guns shown above, more
than 300 General Sherman M4’s, and a large number of trucks. By
October 1942, the situation had improved. The British Eighth
Army attacked at El Alamein and drove the enemy out of Egypt,
through Libya, and into Tunisia. (105-mm. howitzer, M7 howitzer
motor carriage.)]
[Illustration: ROMANIA
LIBERATORS BOMBING PLOESTI OIL FIELD installations in Romania.
The first U. S. air mission flown against any strategic target
in Europe was on the Ploesti oil fields, a twelve-bomber raid
by B-24’s from Egypt on 12 June 1942. The next raid on this
target, 1 August 1943, was a low-level attack by 177 Liberators
from Bengasi in Libya with the loss of 54 bombers. Refinery
production was interrupted by these raids from Africa, but was
not stopped until the spring of 1944 when continuous large-scale
attacks were carried out from bases in Italy. (Heavy bomber
Consolidated B-24 Liberator.)]
[Illustration: EN ROUTE TO NORTH AFRICA
CONVOY BOUND FOR NORTH AFRICA. Troops in the first landings
approached their destinations in several large convoys, escorted
by aircraft carriers and other warships. The convoy to Morocco
originated in several ports of the United States on 23 October
1942, and when near the African coast separated into three major
parts. The convoy steaming to the vicinity of Oran and Algiers
left the United Kingdom on 26 October. Before passing through
the Straits of Gibraltar it separated into two parts. Inside the
Mediterranean the two sections overtook slower cargo convoys and
continued on a course toward Malta until sundown of 7 November.
That night each section wheeled southward and separated further
to reach several landing points near Oran and Algiers. Other
convoys had already left both the United States and the United
Kingdom before the attacks began.]
[Illustration: EN ROUTE TO NORTH AFRICA
NAVY FIGHTER AIRCRAFT on flight deck of a carrier approaching
the coast of North Africa. In the background is a destroyer
escort. Two to four destroyers operated with each carrier,
providing antisubmarine protection, picking up personnel from
wrecked aircraft, and augmenting the antiaircraft screen around
their charge. (Grumman F4F Wildcat, single seater, carrier
fighters.)]
[Illustration: EN ROUTE TO NORTH AFRICA
OIL TANKER refueling aircraft carrier en route to North Africa.]
[Illustration: EN ROUTE TO NORTH AFRICA
GUNNERY PRACTICE ABOARD A TRANSPORT. Submarines were a danger
and gun crews were constantly on the alert. (Left, U. S. Navy
3-inch gun; right .50-caliber water-cooled Browning machine
gun.)]
[Illustration: EN ROUTE TO NORTH AFRICA
TROOPS ON TRANSPORT HEADED FOR FRENCH MOROCCO. Note rubber life
belts on most of the men. These could be inflated instantly by
means of gas cartridges in belts. In practice it was found that
a fully inflated belt was not capable of supporting a soldier
loaded down with his equipment. Men who found themselves in the
water could not readily get rid of their packs and ammunition
belts and several drownings occurred during the landings.]
[Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO
CASABLANCA, THE MAIN OBJECTIVE on the Atlantic coast of Morocco.
The landings were made at Fedala, farther north, in order to
attack Casablanca overland partly because of its very strong
defenses and partly because of the necessity of capturing the
port in usable condition. Casablanca was a naval base. The U.
S. Navy had the mission of preventing French warships from
interfering with the landings. American ships came under the
fire of large coastal guns on El Hank Point (in the foreground,
top picture) and engaged in running battles off Casablanca.
Moored in the harbor was the battleship Jean Bart which also
fired heavy shells to drive the American ships from their
protective stations. After three days, when Casablanca was about
to be attacked by ground, air, and sea bombardment and occupied
by tanks and infantry, the city surrendered. The harbor was put
to almost immediate use.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO
PORT-LYAUTEY AIRPORT on the Oued Sebou north of Casablanca. The
Kasba, an old walled fort, is on high ground between the lagoon
at upper left and the mouth of the river. Early on 8 November
1942, one landing was made on the north and two south of the
river mouth. Those between the lagoon and the river were opposed
by coastal defense guns and artillery from the Kasba. Hostile
aircraft strafed all beaches and fighting lasted more than two
days. Early on the 10th a naval party cut the cable across the
river mouth and a U. S. destroyer steamed up the river under
fire from the Kasba. Raiders and infantry occupied the airport
at 0800 and Army fighter planes from a carrier landed by noon
shortly after the Kasba surrendered.]
[Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO
TWO OF THE ATLANTIC PORTS SELECTED FOR INVASION. The main
landings on the Atlantic coast took place in the vicinity of
Fedala (top). In the early afternoon on the day of invasion,
Fedala surrendered and the port was put to immediate use.
Two destroyer-transports entered the port of Safi (bottom),
130 miles south of Casablanca, at 0435 on 8 November. Their
troops secured the harbor and key points inland while the first
landings at the beaches were in progress. Shore batteries firing
on the destroyers were silenced within a few minutes. By late
afternoon the opposition in and around Safi came to an end.
The reason for invading Safi was to obtain port facilities for
unloading medium tanks.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO
CURTISS SEAGULL SCOUT PLANE returning from observing and
directing naval gunfire on Casablanca. Soon after the action
started the radar on the large naval units was put out of
commission by the concussion of the high-caliber guns. Spotting
planes took over the task of directing fire and did an excellent
job in spite of the difficulties caused by smoke over the
port area. Battleships and cruisers had their own observation
planes, launched by catapults and picked up by cranes. These
planes assisted the infantry during the heavy fighting around
Port-Lyautey by dropping antisubmarine depth charges on tanks
and columns of vehicles. (Scout Observation-Curtiss SOC.)]
[Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO
NAVY DIVE BOMBER ON DECK OF A CARRIER. In the distance are two
Army cubs, artillery observation planes. Three of these were
brought across on a carrier for Army use and launched from the
carrier to land on the race track at Fedala. Army-Navy teamwork
was excellent during the invasion. Navy planes, on Army request,
broke up enemy formations, bombed and strafed road blocks and
strong points, often within an hour after the call had gone out
from the forces ashore. Also on Army call, naval guns shelled
points along the coast and some distance inland. (Grumman F4F
Wildcat.)]
[Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO
THE JEAN BART, THE LATEST BATTLESHIP OF THE FRENCH NAVY.
Although it was not finished at the time of the invasion and
only one turret of four 15-inch guns had been installed, it
opened fire on U. S. naval units at 0703 on D Day. The fire
was returned and her battery was silenced within 15 minutes;
five hits were made with 16-inch guns and the turret mechanism
of the Jean Bart was jammed. Her guns were again operative at
the end of D Day but did not fire until the 10th after which
a 10-plane formation of dive bombers scored three hits, with
1,000-pounders. Her guns were still able to fire. Plans to bomb
and shell the ship on the 11th were abandoned because of the
armistice.]
[Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO
AERIAL VIEW OF INFANTRY LANDING FROM ASSAULT BOATS north of
Casablanca. Note heavy surf. Many of the landing craft were
damaged on the beaches for lack of facilities to remove craft
from the surf line and to repair or salvage them when stranded.
At Fedala, for instance, more than half of the boats were
unusable after the first landings. This slowed the follow-up
unloading and was a contributory cause of the torpedoing of the
transports waiting offshore to be discharged.]
[Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO
INFANTRY LANDING ON THE BEACH NEAR FEDALA. The landing itself
was unopposed, but fighting developed just off the beach. (Left,
landing craft, vehicle, LCV.)]
[Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO
DIRECTING LANDING-CRAFT TRAFFIC OFF FEDALA by means of semaphore
flags. The port was captured and put into operation on D Day,
but because of its limited capacity, freighters had to stand
offshore awaiting their turns to discharge cargo. In the
meantime unloading of ships went on with remaining assault
craft. On the evening of 11 November a transport was torpedoed
and sunk by submarine; a destroyer and tanker were damaged. The
next day three additional transports were torpedoed and sunk.
(Landing craft in picture: top center, LCV; middle left, landing
craft, mechanized, LCM(3); middle right and bottom, landing
craft, personnel (Ramp), LCP(R).)]
[Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO
UNLOADING EQUIPMENT IN FEDALA HARBOR. Waterproofed jeep coming
off LCV. Note LCM in upper left. (Craft, upper left: LCM (3);
upper right: LCV.)]
[Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO
LIGHT TANK IN CASABLANCA shortly after the surrender on 11
November. Only light tanks were brought ashore in assault craft;
the medium tanks were unloaded in the port of Safi until D plus
2 and headed north toward Casablanca.]
[Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO
RADAR SETS NEAR CASABLANCA. This type of set was part of the
equipment of the invading forces. By the end of December 1942,
fifteen of these units were in operation as part of the air
warning system of Casablanca. The searchlight automatically
followed planes tracked by the radar. The city was almost at the
maximum range of enemy bombers and was the target for few raids.
(Radar set SCR 268.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: GIBRALTAR
WARSHIP PASSING THE ROCK OF GIBRALTAR. This fortress was
temporarily the Allied command post for TORCH. It was
the only area on the European mainland under Allied control.
Land-based aircraft did not take part in the beach assault
phase, but aircraft were staged at the Gibraltar airport for
take-off for Africa as soon as airfields there were captured. A
U. S. fighter group equipped with British Spitfires landed near
Oran about noon on D Day and aided in the fighting there; other
planes flew to Algiers.]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
THE BEACH OF LES ANDALOUSES, west of Oran (top). The landings
here were unopposed. Eastern part of Oran harbor (bottom). Early
on 8 November two British ships (ex-U. S. Coast Guard cutters),
carrying about 400 U. S. soldiers, entered the port between the
moles shown in the distance. The ships came under point-blank
fire from French naval vessels in the harbor and from shore
batteries. They returned the fire but were sunk with great loss
of life. When resistance in Oran ceased at noon on 10 November
the port was cluttered with ships either sunk by British naval
gunfire or sabotaged. Port installations had received only minor
damage and were quickly put to use.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
SUPPLIES ON THE BEACH OF LES ANDALOUSES ON D DAY. Most of the
Allied supply problems, both on the Atlantic side and in the
Mediterranean, were caused by destruction of landing craft.
About 95 percent were used during initial landings leaving
few reserves for the build-up. The large seaworthy LST’s
(landing ship, tank), which were to play a decisive role in all
subsequent landings, were introduced by the British in the Oran
area to carry light American tanks for beach landings.]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
UNLOADING SUPPLIES and laying prefabricated track on the beach
in the Golfe d’Arzeu east of Oran (top). Guarding French
and French colonial prisoners captured in the same vicinity
(bottom). The plan for the capture of Oran and near-by airfields
consisted of the frontal attack on the port itself and landings
on both sides of the city at Mersatbou Zedjar and Les Andalouses
west of Oran, and in the Golfe d’Arzeu east of Oran. Of the
beach landings, those at Arzeu were much the largest and
were made with little resistance. By afternoon of D Day all
opposition in the neighborhood had ceased. (Top picture: 3 LCM
(3)’s on beach; at center, offshore, is an LCM (1).)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
CAPTURED TRAIN AT SAINT-LEU ON THE GOLFE D’ARZEU. The railroad
from Casablanca to Tunis figured prominently in the planning of
the African invasion. If the forces on the Mediterranean coast
were to be cut off by sea, supplies could be carried by railroad
from Casablanca. During the fighting in Tunisia and the build-up
in Africa for the invasion of Europe, this railroad played an
important part. After its capture it was repaired and improved.
Locomotives and rolling stock were obtained from the United
States to speed delivery of supplies.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
TROOPS LOADING INTO ASSAULT CRAFT from transport prior to
landing near Algiers. With minor exceptions, the landing craft
were manned by Royal Navy personnel. Landings took place on
beaches on both sides of the city as well as in the port itself.
Although beach landings were not heavily opposed, one of the
two British destroyer-transports making a frontal attack on the
port had three boilers damaged by fire from shore but discharged
her load of U. S. troops on a dock at 0520, D Day. Some troops
were surrounded and taken to a French military prison, others
regained the ship before she was eventually driven off. The
hostilities here ceased the same day and the soldiers were set
free by the French. (On davits, center of photograph: LCP(R).)]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
ALGIERS, THE MOST IMPORTANT OBJECT of the North African
invasion. The ultimate goals for the operation were Bizerte and
Tunis, but because of the land-based enemy aircraft in Sardinia,
Sicily, and southern Italy, it was decided to land no troops
farther east than Algiers until airports had been captured.
British-American elements at Algiers re-embarked for a movement
eastward to Bougie where they landed on 11 November. Bône was
captured the following day by British paratroopers dropped from
C-47’s and by seaborn forces from Bougie. From there the advance
toward Tunis started. Allied columns reached Djedeida, twelve
miles from Tunis, on 29 November 1942, but rapid enemy build-up
forced the Allies to abandon it on 13 December.]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
ANTIAIRCRAFT DEFENSE OVER ALGIERS AT NIGHT. The city suffered
practically no damage during the invasion. On the first evening
of its surrender it was bombed by enemy planes. This attack was
followed by many others, mostly aimed at the concentration of
shipping in the harbor. Damage was surprisingly small. Algiers
became Allied Force Headquarters (AFHQ).]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
FRENCH PRISONERS OF WAR CAPTURED DURING THE INVASION. The
prisoners were released shortly after the end of hostilities,
11 November, and from then on fought on the side of the Allies.
On 15 November orders were issued for the movement of French
troops, then at Algiers and Constantine, to protect the southern
flank of the American and British units advancing into Tunisia
along the northern coast. The French were reinforced by U.
S. troops, including tank destroyer units, and one of their
assigned missions was the protection of advanced airfields in
the Tébessa-Gafsa area.]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
AVIATION ENGINEERS AT YOUKS-LES-BAINS lining up for mess. This
Algerian airfield near Tébessa and the Tunisian border was
occupied by U. S. paratroopers on 15 November 1942. It became
operational for P-38 fighter planes (Lockheed Lightnings)
shortly afterward. During the first few weeks there were no
provisions for landing after dark and on 21 November six P-38’s
crashed while trying to land in the evening. It was not an
improved field and there was no effective air-raid system. The
first warning of enemy aircraft was frequently the strafing
or bombing itself. When the rains started, operations were
drastically reduced by mud.]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
U. S. TANKERS HEATING THEIR C RATIONS, Spam and beans, over an
improvised stove at Souk el Arba, Tunisia. The Souk el Arba
area was taken by British paratroopers on 16 November. When
the attempt to advance to Tunis was officially abandoned on 24
December, both sides started a race to build up strength for
the battle to come. The U. S. troops were at first committed
piecemeal in different sectors of the line as they arrived from
Algeria. Much of the Allied armor was obsolete and none of it
was on a par with the best German equipment. (General Grant tank
M3.)]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
GERMAN TIGER TANK. This heavy tank was encountered early in the
campaign. The German High Command was particularly concerned
with the performance of the Tiger in the defense of Tunis. Its
high-velocity 88-mm. gun, equipped with a muzzle-brake, could
knock out Allied tanks before the latter could get within
effective range; and within range, Allied tank guns could not
penetrate its frontal armor. The Tiger sacrificed mobility for
armor and fire power. To avoid weak bridges, it was equipped
with telescopic air intake, exhaust extensions, and over-all
sealing that enabled it to cross rivers fifteen feet deep,
completely submerged on the bottom. The gun has a traverse of
360 degrees. Top picture is rear view of tank; bottom is front
view. (Tiger, Pz., Kpfw., gun 8.8-cm., Kw. K. 36.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
GERMAN STUKA DIVE BOMBERS. These aircraft co-operated closely
with ground forces, bombing and strafing ahead of their own
advancing columns in addition to roaming behind the lines
disrupting traffic and creating confusion. The bombers could
operate successfully only where they had air superiority. In the
later stages of the Tunisia Campaign, as the Allies gained air
superiority, their effectiveness dwindled. The Germans turned a
number of these planes over to the Italians. Note Italian and
British markings in lower photograph. This Stuka was captured by
the British. (Dive bomber, German Stuka JU-87.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
GERMAN FIGHTER PLANES. The primary mission of these planes was
to intercept and destroy bombers but they were also used for
strafing and fighter-bombing. The enemy used these types until
the end of the war. (Top, German Focke-Wulf 190; bottom, German
Messerschmitt 109.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
CAMOUFLAGING MEDIUM BOMBER at Youks-les-Bains airfield.
Camouflaging for hiding purposes in olive groves or on rough
terrain was relatively successful; however, camouflaging an
aircraft on a flat, featureless landing field for hiding
purposes was not practical. Camouflaging was often practiced
to the extent of deceiving the enemy about the type or
serviceability of planes. Note that the bomber above is minus
both of its engines. (Martin B-26 Marauder.)]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
REMOVING FILM FROM FIGHTER PLANE after a reconnaissance flight.
This long-range plane was adapted for photographic work by
removing the armament and installing camera equipment instead.
(P-38.)]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
LIGHT BOMBER, DOUGLAS A-20. This was a fast, versatile, and
heavily armed plane used for both bombing and strafing in
Tunisia, The American version was usually called the Havoc and
the British version, the Boston.]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
HEAVY BOMBER, FLYING FORTRESS. This and the B-24 were the two
heavy U. S. four-engined bombers used in the Mediterranean area.
(Boeing B-17.)]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
FAÏD PASS. This opening in the eastern mountain chain was
taken from a weak French garrison and held against U. S. and
French counterattacks, 30 January-2 February 1943. Just before
daylight, 14 February, very strong German forces came through
Faïd Pass and others came from south of the pass to drive
the Americans from positions to the west. The enemy cut off
and isolated three groups, on Djebel Ksaira and Garet Hadid
southwest of the pass, and Djebel Lessouda northwest of it. On
15 February, an American armored counterattack to relieve the
troops was made in strength far inferior to that required. Most
of the troops were captured trying to escape. On 17 February,
the American base at Sbeitla and the airfields at Thelepte were
evacuated, as all troops were pulled back into the western
mountain chain. The enemy then decided to continue his attack
toward the northwest.]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
THE GENERAL GRANT TANK. These medium tanks were of the riveted
hull type, later models having cast or welded armor, and were
equipped with either a short-barreled (top) or long-barreled
(bottom) 75-mm. gun. Principal armament was the 75-mm. cannon,
in a right-hand sponson, capable of being swung in an arc
of about 30 degrees. The entire tank would often have to be
turned to bring the gun to bear. In a hull-down position only
the secondary gun, the 37-mm. cannon in the turret, could be
fired. The silhouette of the M3 was much higher than that of
corresponding German tanks.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
CAPTURED GERMAN ARMOR. The Mark IV medium tank (top) was
equipped with a 75-mm. cannon of higher velocity and range
than any of the Allied tank guns then in use. It was generally
superior to Allied tanks and was probably the best tank the
enemy had until the Panther made its appearance in Italy, 1944.
The Mark IV was used until the end of the war. The eight-wheeled
armored car with a 75-mm. howitzer (bottom) was equipped with
quite thin armor which was so well angled that machine gun
bullets and small fragments were not effective against it. It
could be steered from both ends and had a speed of slightly more
than thirty miles an hour. (German medium tank Mark IV (Pz.
Kpfw. IV); German armored vehicle, 7.5-cm. howitzer.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
KASSERINE PASS AREA. The enemy broke out of the pass on 20
February 1943. On the 21st he headed toward Tébessa and Thala.
The attack on Tébessa was halted; the main attack toward Thala
made some progress. A British armored force, with heavy losses
in tanks and men, delayed the enemy until U. S. artillery
got into position. On the 22d the enemy pounded the defenses
of Tébessa and Thala unsuccessfully. Allied planes attacked
the enemy near Thala, and in the evening the Germans started
to withdraw. The Kasserine push was the high point of enemy
fortunes in Tunisia.]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
LOADING A TOWED HOWITZER. This gun was designed to give close
support to the infantry. The picture was made during the
February fight in Kasserine Pass (105-mm. howitzer M2.)]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
GENERAL SHERMAN TANK TOWING DISABLED HALF-TRACK at Sidi bou
Zid (top). This tank gradually replaced the M3 (General Grant)
in Tunisia. Its principal weapon was the 75-mm. cannon. Its
turret could traverse an arc of 360 degrees in contrast to the
sponson-mounted gun on the General Grant with a traverse of
about 30 degrees. Reconnaissance party at Kasserine Pass on the
Kasserine-Thala road (bottom). The enemy came up this road on
his attack through the pass and stopped just before reaching
Thala after indications of increasing Allied strength. (Medium
tank M4.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
GERMAN ARMOR. The Mark III medium tank (top), the standard
German tank in Tunisia, had a high-velocity 50-mm. cannon which
could penetrate the frontal armor of U. S. light tanks at a
thousand yards and the frontal and side armor of the General
Grant at five hundred and one thousand yards respectively. The
75-mm. antitank and assault gun (bottom), mounted on the same
chassis as the Mark III tank, was encountered early in the
Tunisian campaign. Its high-velocity gun was more than a match
for any of the Allied tanks. Its low silhouette, characteristic
of most German armor, made it difficult to detect and hard to
hit. The prototypes of both these vehicles existed in Germany in
1936 and were used until the end of the war.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
ITALIAN MEDIUM TANKS LEFT BEHIND AT KASSERINE PASS. This model
was the backbone of the Italian armor in Tunisia. By Allied
standards it was inferior in practically every respect, but it
was the best the Italians had. (Italian medium tank M13/40 with
47-mm. cannon.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
U. S. LIGHT TANK, captured by the Germans. The main weapon of
this tank was the 37-mm. gun. Its armor was light and riveted
together as was the armor on the first models of the medium
tanks. A glancing shell could rip off the outside heads of the
rivets and send the rivets ricocheting through the interior of
the tank with the velocity of bullets. Note German markings on
this vehicle. (U. S. light tank M3.)]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
U. S. TANK DESTROYERS. The combination truck and 37-mm. antitank
gun (top) could not stand up against any type of armor the enemy
had. The tank destroyer (bottom) was introduced in Tunisia
after the Kasserine fight. The chassis was that of the General
Sherman tank, the gun having a higher velocity than that of
comparable Allied tank guns. The first time it saw action was in
the vicinity of Maknassy during the middle of March 1943. The
village of Maknassy was occupied by U. S. forces on 22 March
1943.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
U. S. HALF-TRACK USED AS A MOBILE ANTIAIRCRAFT UNIT (top). AA
units like this cut down the effectiveness of the Stuka dive
bombers. Half-tracks proved practical for many purposes not
originally intended. First designed as a cavalry scout car, it
became, with modifications, a gun carriage mounting anything
from a 37-mm. cannon to a 105-mm. howitzer, a personnel carrier,
an ambulance, or just a truck. The standard half-track had armor
protecting the crew. Long Tom or 155-mm. rifle towed by standard
caterpillar (bottom). This was the heaviest piece of Allied
artillery used during the Tunisia Campaign. (Top: multiple-gun
motor carriage with 37-mm. cannon and .50-caliber water-cooled
Browning machine gun.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
U. S. ARMOR NEAR EL GUETTAR IN CENTRAL TUNISIA. In foreground is
a radio-equipped half-track personnel carrier, in background a
75-mm. gun motor carriage M3. The latter, lightly armored, was
an antitank vehicle with great mobility. The enemy developed
a healthy respect for the hit-and-run tactics of U. S. forces
using this weapon. The vehicle would wait until enemy armor came
within range, get off as many shells as possible, and withdraw.
U. S. forces pushed eastward from the Gafsa area to draw enemy
units from the Mareth Line then under attack by the British. On
23 March 1943 severe fighting broke out southeast of El Guettar
and a German armored division was repulsed by U. S. forces with
heavy tank losses to the enemy.]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
LOADING A HOWITZER. This was the 1918 Schneider model equipped
with highspeed carriage. The action shown above took place
during the enemy counterattack starting on 23 March 1943 east of
El Guettar. Although the enemy attack was stopped, U. S. advance
toward the coast halted for several days. During this action
Allied fighters and light bombers accounted for much damage done
to enemy armor and other vehicles along the Gafsa-Gabès road
east of El Guettar. (155-mm. howitzer.)]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
INFANTRY NEAR EL GUETTAR. After the enemy attack in this area on
23 March, the front became almost stabilized until the British
Eighth Army broke through Oued el Akarit defenses along the
coast north of Gabès on the night of 6–7 April. The junction
between the forces fighting in Tunisia and the British Eighth
Army from the Middle East took place on the Gafsa-Gabès road on
7 April when a U. S. armored reconnaissance unit made contact
with elements of the British army. The British Eighth Army had
started its drive westward from El Alamein in Egypt on the
night of 23–24 October 1942 and when the junction was made had
traveled about 1,500 miles.]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
THE FAMOUS GERMAN EIGHTY-EIGHT. The original weapon, an Austrian
88-mm. cannon, was used in World War I. Restrictions imposed
by the Allies after that war limited German experimentation on
conventional offensive artillery but not on defensive artillery
such as antiaircraft types (in photograph). With different
sets of aiming fire instruments this antiaircraft gun could be
used as an antitank gun or a conventional piece of artillery.
It was tested as an antiaircraft gun under battle conditions
during the Spanish Civil War in 1936. Encountered throughout the
war in increasing numbers, it was probably the most effective
all-around piece of artillery the Germans had. (Left: 8.8-cm.
Flak 36; right: 8.8-cm. Flak 18.)]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
GERMAN ANTITANK GUNS. These guns, effective against Allied
armor, fired armor-piercing shells loaded with high-explosive
fillers designed to burst inside the armor and to set the
tank on fire. Antitank gun (top) could penetrate the armor of
any Allied tank, front, side, or rear. Both U. S. and British
armor-piercing shells were solid and did not fire the tanks;
thus the Germans were able to salvage damaged armored equipment
to a greater extent than were the Allies. It was not until well
into the Italian campaign that armor-piercing shells equipped
with fuzes and high-explosive fillers became available to Allied
forces. (Top: German antitank gun, 7.5-cm. Pak. 40; bottom:
German antitank gun, 5-cm. Pak. 38.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
GERMAN SIX-BARRELED ROCKET LAUNCHER. This weapon fired
high-explosive, incendiary or smoke rockets and was light enough
to be moved with ease. The screaming sound of the rockets had
an adverse psychological effect on troops at the receiving end
and the rockets were nicknamed “screaming meemies.” Artillery
sound-ranging equipment could not locate the rocket launchers
because firing did not cause a report. The enemy used this type
of weapon until the end of the war. (15-cm. Nebelwerfer, 41.)]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
SHERMAN TANK WITH “SCORPION” ATTACHMENT, detonating mines during
a test. The Scorpion was a revolving drum with chains attached
(insert); when in motion it acted as a flail and could clear
a path through a mine field for infantry and other tanks to
follow. It was developed by the British and used extensively by
them in desert warfare.]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
THE S-MINE. This German antipersonnel mine was used profusely
and very effectively in Tunisia. It was nicknamed the Bouncing
Betty because when stepped on it would bounce a few feet in the
air before a secondary fuze set off the main explosive charge
scattering some three hundred steel balls in all directions.
The suspected presence of these mines naturally retarded troop
movements during an advance. When retreating, the enemy would
frequently use this mine to booby-trap buildings, dugouts or
equipment left behind.]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
DJEBEL TAHENT IN NORTHERN TUNISIA, known as Hill 609. The
British Eighth Army advancing northward along the coast replaced
the U. S. II Corps in the Gafsa-Gabès area in April 1943.
The corps then moved northward about 150 miles and went into
position from Béja to Cap Serrat. French forces along this
coast came under U. S. II Corps, which advanced in two groups,
a northern wing astride the Sedjenane road and a southern wing
along the Béja road, both converging on Mateur. The hill shown
above was a natural fortress blocking the approach to the plains
of Mateur. On 28 April 1943 artillery pounded enemy positions
and on the next day the infantry attack started. After a
three-day infantry fight, supported by tanks, the hill fell on 1
May.]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
JEFNA AREA, LOOKING EAST TO THE PLAINS OF MATEUR. The Jefna
position, on the Sedjenane-Mateur road, was one of the strongest
German defenses in northern Tunisia and included two heavily
fortified hills commanding the road to Mateur: Djebel Azag
(Green Hill) on the north and Djebel el Ajred (Bald Hill) on the
south. On 13 April 1943, U. S. forces relieved the British and
took positions on both sides of the road and the mountains along
the valley. The fight for the two hills lasted until 3 May when
the Jefna positions were outflanked by U. S. and French forces
advancing toward Bizerte and the Mateur plain north of Jefna.]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
INFANTRY AND ARMOR ADVANCING ON MATEUR. After the fall of Hill
609 the enemy pulled back leaving the road to Mateur open. This
small village in the middle of a plain was the center of enemy
road communications in the U. S. zone of attack. Its occupation
on 3 May opened the way for the advance on Bizerte, the main
objective of the U. S.-French drive. (Bottom: General Sherman
M4A1.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
GERMAN SIEBEL FERRIES. These diesel-powered, ponton-raft ferries
were used to transport supplies from Italy and Sicily. They
usually traveled in convoys and were often heavily armed with
88-mm. antiaircraft guns when moving toward Tunisia as well as
with the lighter protection which they retained for the return
trip. Of shallow draft, they could unload directly onto the
beach, a factor which became especially important after the
Allies had gained control of the air and subjected the Tunisian
ports to severe bombing.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
GERMAN TRANSPORT PLANES, JU-52, under fire from Allied aircraft.
Toward the end of the Tunisia Campaign, the Germans received
reinforcements by air from southern Italy and Sicily, using
several hundred transports in daylight flights. The Allies
gradually built up a force of planes within striking distance of
the Sicilian straits and on 5 April the planned attack on the
aerial ferry service started. By the 22d the enemy had lost so
many planes that daylight operations were discontinued; however,
some key personnel and a limited amount of emergency supplies
were flown in by night. (Upper left: medium bomber B-25.)]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
LA GOULETTE WITH TUNIS IN DISTANCE. These two cities fell to the
British on 7 May. The port of Tunis had been heavily damaged
by Allied bombers, but damage in the city itself was small.
La Goulette, at the entrance to the channel leading to Tunis,
housed oil storage and general ship repair facilities which were
put to immediate use by the Allies.]
[Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO
TRANSPORT TAKING OFF from a field in French Morocco for the
Middle East. After the conquest of most of North Africa a string
of airports became available. While the fighting in Tunisia
was still going on, regular flights between the west coast of
Africa, the Middle East, and India were being established.
(Douglas C-54.)]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
BIZERTE, THE MAIN OBJECTIVE of the French and U. S. forces of II
Corps, fell on 7 May. Bizerte’s harbor and the important naval
repair facilities at near-by Ferryville were to play important
parts in future operations in the Mediterranean. The enemy had
blocked the channel to the inner harbor by sinking ships at
the entrance and had destroyed most of the port facilities not
already wrecked by Allied bombings. The port, however, became
operational a few days after capture; ships and supplies were
assembled here for the invasion of Sicily. Insert shows some of
the ships a few days before that invasion.]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
ENEMY PRISONERS NEAR MATEUR. Allied troops took 252,415
prisoners, together with large quantities of equipment and
supplies, when the enemy surrendered in Tunisia on 13 May 1943.
Because of Allied air and naval superiority the enemy was unable
to evacuate his troops. Of those captured, the Germans were
among the finest and best trained troops the enemy had and he
could ill afford to lose them.]
[Illustration: EN ROUTE TO NORTH AFRICA
TROOP QUARTERS IN THE HOLD OF A TRANSPORT. After the fall of
French Morocco and Algeria and while the fighting in Tunisia
continued, men and supplies poured into the Mediterranean for
use in Tunisia and in the assaults on Sicily and Italy. Bunks
were placed in tiers everywhere possible in the transports. The
convoy traveled blacked out, with port holes closed. Because
of the overcrowded conditions, seasickness was practically
universal during the first few days out of port. The men spent
as much time as possible on deck.]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
ARMY POST OFFICE AT ORAN. Mail from home was probably the most
important of all morale factors and usually had first priority
in spite of the fact that it occupied valuable shipping space
needed for materials of war. Cargo space was saved with the
V-Mail system by which letters were written on a special form,
photographed on 16-mm. film at certain centers in the country
of origin, then printed overseas. To encourage its use, V-Mail
was sent by the fastest means available. Letters from men in the
services, other than those by regular air mail, were sent free
of charge.]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
INFANTRY MEN IN TRAINING NEAR ORAN. Training centers for all
arms were opened in French Morocco and Algeria soon after the
end of hostilities there in November 1942.]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
PARACHUTE TROOPS CHECKING EQUIPMENT before boarding planes for
practice jump. These troops were essentially infantrymen and
were armed with infantry weapons. Their boots, higher than the
infantry shoes, were constructed to give ankles a maximum amount
of protection when landing.]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
PARATROOPERS DURING TRAINING JUMP. Light artillery, food, and
light vehicles were dropped separately with different colored
parachutes, or came in by glider.]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
DOUGLAS C-47 TRANSPORT TOWING GLIDER. The gliders carried
both men and equipment and could be landed in almost any flat
pasture. The C-47 aircraft--the work horse of the war--was
similar to the commercial DC-3, a standard type passenger
carrier in the United States for some years prior to the
war. The C-47, unarmed, was used during the war for carrying
personnel and cargo of all sorts, towing gliders, dropping
parachute troops, and parachuting supplies to isolated units and
equipment to partisans behind enemy lines. The British called it
the Dakota.]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
AIRBORNE TROOPS loading a 75-mm. pack howitzer into a cargo
glider during training. Although this form of air transport was
not used during the hostilities in northwest Africa, it was
employed in subsequent operations based in North Africa.]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
TESTING A WATERPROOFED SHERMAN TANK on an African beach. These
tanks were intended to go, during an assault, onto the beach
with the infantry whenever possible. The main body of tanks
would follow on LST’s as soon as the beachhead had been secured.
The follow-up tanks, landed from the ship via ponton piers
directly to shore, were not normally waterproofed. (Sherman tank
M4A1.)]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
LEND-LEASE EQUIPMENT FOR THE FRENCH ARMY. Lockheed fighter plane
(top) and Sherman tank (bottom). In January 1943, it was agreed
that the United States would equip the French divisions formed
from units then in North Africa, but comparatively little modern
equipment became available for them in Tunisia until the summer
of 1943. (P-38; Sherman tank M4.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
FRENCH TROOPS RECEIVING INSTRUCTIONS ON U. S. EQUIPMENT, in this
case on the 105-mm. high-explosive shell. During the summer of
1943 shipments of arms and equipment for the French arrived
in North African ports in increasing volume. Training was
accelerated and by the end of the year two fully equipped French
divisions were fighting side by side with the Americans and
British in Italy. As more equipment became available, additional
French divisions were sent to the front.]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
QUARTERMASTER DUMP AT ORAN. Foodstuffs, stored in the open
sometimes for months, suffered very little in spite of the hot
African sun.]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
FREIGHTER BURNING IN THE HARBOR OF ALGIERS. The cause of the
fire was not determined. While air raids on Algiers caused
little damage to shipping and military installations, serious
accidents and fires, some of which aroused suspicion of
sabotage, were not infrequent.]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
WAACS WITH FULL FIELD EQUIPMENT arriving at a North African
port. The bill establishing the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps
(WAAC) became effective on 14 May 1942 and on 1 July 1943 a
bill changing the status of the corps from an auxiliary serving
with the Army to a component of the Army, Women’s Army Corps
(WAC), became law. Most WAC duties in North Africa were of an
administrative nature in offices of the various headquarters.
Members of the Corps also worked in communications or other
activities that could be handled as efficiently by women as by
men.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
AIR FORCE MEN AT BREAKFAST IN THE DESERT. The mornings were
often cold even in the summer and the men wore their heavy
leather jackets.]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
REPAIRING MOTOR OF A HEAVY BOMBER, the Boeing Flying Fortress.
The sand and dust of the desert were hard on engines of all
kinds. On the nose of the plane, swastikas indicate number
of enemy aircraft shot down and bombs show number of bombing
missions flown. (B-17.)]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
CREW OF A HEAVY BOMBER before taking off on a mission. During
the first few months after the landings, the Allied air forces
were handicapped in their operations from North African bases
through lack of suitable airfields. The lack of all-weather
facilities such as hard-surfaced runways, taxiways, and
hard-stands was particularly serious in the rainy winter season
of 1942–43. In the area from the Atlantic coast of Morocco
to the Tunisian border, there were only four air bases with
any kind of hard-surfaced runways: Port-Lyautey, north of
Casablanca; Tafaraoui, near Oran; Maison Blanche at Algiers; and
the Bone airfield on the coast near the Tunisian border. (B-24.)]
[Illustration: ALGERIA
DIGGING OUT A MIRED FLYING FORTRESS from the mud of a North
African bomber base.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ITALY
BOMBING THE RAILROAD YARDS IN ROME on 19 July 1943. Note bombs
bursting in railroad area at top of picture. More than 500 heavy
and medium bombers from bases in North Africa took part in the
first bombing of Rome. The heavy bombers concentrated on the
yards in the city and suburbs while the medium bombers attacked
airfields on the outskirts. Every precaution was taken to bomb
only targets of military significance. The crews had been
especially selected and carefully briefed and trained for this
mission, with the result that few bombs fell outside the target
area.]
[Illustration: IRAN
THE PORT OF KHORRAMSHAHR, one of two Iranian ports operated by
the United States, the other being Bandar Shahpur. These ports
served for entry of lend-lease supplies en route to the USSR.
By the fall of 1942, ports, highways, and railroads in Iran
were sufficiently ready to handle increased traffic over the
route through the Persian Gulf. The U. S. Army also operated the
lighterage port of the Cheybassi in Iraq.]
[Illustration: IRAN
THE PORT OF BANDAR SHAHPUR on the Persian Gulf. The voyage from
New York around South Africa to the Persian Gulf ports averaged
70 days. When the Mediterranean route became available in 1943,
the time was shortened to 42 days. This port, built on swampy
land where the river Jarrahi empties into the gulf, has a
semitropical climate. Both here and at Khorramshahr much of the
work was done at night, and even then the temperature was around
a hundred degrees Fahrenheit from March until October. The area
is subject to torrential rains in winter. Docking space at both
ports was often insufficient to accommodate all ships waiting to
be unloaded, which necessitated the use of lighters.]
[Illustration: IRAN
TRUCK CONVOYS WITH SUPPLIES FOR RUSSIA. From the ports on the
Persian Gulf, shipments went to Kazvin and Tehran by road
and rail. From these points movements were regulated by the
Russians. During the entire period of active operations, from
August 1942 to May 1945, more than 5,000,000 long tons of
lend-lease cargo were moved through the Persian Corridor to
Russia. The greatest monthly movement of freight through the
corridor took place in July 1944, when approximately 282,000
long tons were delivered. The bulk of this total was moved by
rail, the rest by truck and air.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: IRAN
THE MAIN RAILROAD STATION AT TEHRAN (top) and freight train
loaded with tanks bound for Tehran (bottom). U. S. troops
from early 1943 operated the southern sector of the Iranian
State Railway and the two Iranian ports. They constructed
additional roads, docks, and other installations, and continued
operation of aircraft and motor vehicle assembly plants. Diesel
locomotives and rolling stock were brought in from the United
States in large numbers.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: IRAN
DELOUSING NATIVE WORKERS with DDT powder at Camp Atterbury,
Tehran. At the peak as many as 40,000 native workers were
employed by the U. S. Army, the majority as unskilled labor.
American responsibility for moving supplies to the USSR led to
the separation of the Persian Gulf activities of the U. S. Army
Forces in the Middle East and the establishment of a separate
organization called the Persian Gulf Command.]
[Illustration: IRAN
QUALEH MORGEH AIRPORT AT TEHRAN. This was jointly occupied by
U. S. and Russian air forces. Top picture shows a Douglas C-47
transport and a B-24 bomber. Bottom picture shows a detachment
of Russian soldiers marching past U. S. transport planes.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: IRAN
RUSSIAN PILOTS arriving at Abadan Airport, Iran. This airport,
on an island in the Shatt al Arab near the head of the Persian
Gulf, was the main assembly field for U. S. planes going to the
Soviet Union through the Persian Corridor.]
SICILY, CORSICA, AND SARDINIA
[Illustration: SICILY]
SECTION II
Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia
The decision to assault Sicily was made by the Chiefs of Staff at
Casablanca in January 1943. After the conclusion of the Tunisia
Campaign, plans were completed and preparations for the attack were
accelerated (Operation HUSKY). The island of Pantelleria,
located between North Africa and Sicily, occupied mainly by Italian
troops, was bombarded by Air Forces and Navy units and fell on 11 June.
Troops for the invasion were embarked from the United States, United
Kingdom, Algeria, Tunisia, and the Middle East.
On the night before D Day, a high wind of near gale proportions was
encountered as the convoys approached their rendezvous. Shortly after H
Hour, 10 July, airborne landings, although scattered by the high wind,
were to some extent successful in their effect on our beach assault.
Three hours after the landing, beachheads were established from Licata
to Scoglitti by the Americans and from Capo Passero to Syracuse by the
British.
Despite the problem of supply during the first two days, by 12 July the
Allied armies had seized the port of Syracuse and ten other Sicilian
towns in addition to several airfields. By the 23d, American tanks and
infantry, driving across the western end of the island, took the key
port of Palermo. The enemy, in the east, lodged in rugged mountain
terrain, offered stiff resistance.
On 25 July King Victor Emmanuel III had announced the resignation of
Premier Benito Mussolini and his cabinet, thereby exposing the weakness
of fascist Italy. Italian resistance had crumbled and in August the
German army started to withdraw to the mainland across the Strait of
Messina.
The British Eighth Army succeeded in taking Catania on the east coast
early in August, and Messina was entered by both American and British
units on the 16th. All organized resistance ceased on 17 August after
thirty-nine days of fighting.
Allied Force Headquarters’ plan for the occupation of Corsica and
Sardinia was confirmed at the Quebec conference held in August 1943.
After the withdrawal of the German forces from Sardinia, the island
fell into Allied hands without a struggle. The French army, given
the mission of taking Corsica, met only slight resistance from the
retreating German troops in October 1943.
Air bases established on both islands provided air coverage for future
operations in northern Italy and southern France.
[Illustration: TUNISIA
INFANTRY MEN WITH FULL EQUIPMENT boarding ship for the invasion
of Sicily. Extra clothing and personal effects were carried in
the unmanageable barracks bag. The only satisfactory way to
carry this bag was over the shoulder, an impossible feat for a
man with a pack on his back. Later the bag was redesigned; a
shoulder strap and a handle on the side were added. It was then
called a duffel bag.]
[Illustration: TUNISIA
MEN MARCHING ABOARD LANDING CRAFT IN BIZERTE HARBOR. This port
was one of the embarkation points for the invasion of Sicily, an
island strategically important because its geographic location
between Africa and Italy almost divides the Mediterranean Sea in
two. In order to travel from one end of the Mediterranean to the
other it was necessary to pass through the ninety-mile strait
between Sicily and Tunisia. With Sicily in enemy hands, control
of this strait was divided and enemy aircraft and submarines
interfered with Allied shipping to the Middle East. (Landing
craft, infantry, large, LCI (L).)]
[Illustration: SICILY
FLYING FORTRESS BOMBING ENEMY INSTALLATIONS in Sicily. For weeks
prior to the invasion of the island, airfields, rail lines, and
ports had been under aerial bombardment by Allied planes. Note
black antiaircraft bursts.]
[Illustration: SICILY
RESULT OF AERIAL BOMBARDMENT ON NAPOLA RAILROAD YARD, near
Trapani in western Sicily. By the time of invasion the railroad
net on the island was crippled and remained so throughout the
campaign.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: SICILY
PARATROOPERS HEADED FOR SICILY. On 9 July 1943 U. S.
paratroopers boarded their transports at Kairouan, Tunisia. They
were scheduled to land at 2330 on that day, but a forty-mile
wind blew the planes from their course, and parachutists
were strewn over a large part of southeastern Sicily, but
nevertheless aided in retarding the German counterattack against
the beachheads. (Douglas C-47.)]
[Illustration: SICILY
GELA BEACH, SICILY. The invasion of the island took place on 10
July 1943. Gela was the center of the American invasion area
which extended from Licata on the west to Scoglitti on the east.
The British Army landed in the region between Capo Passero and
Syracuse on the east coast of the island. Beach landings in both
areas were preceded by airborne assaults. By sunrise, three
hours after the first landings, the beaches were under control.]
[Illustration: SICILY
LICATA BEACHES, LOOKING WESTWARD ALONG THE COAST. The highway in
the foreground is the main coastal road. This was the western
portion of the U. S. assault area and Licata, located at the
foot of the hill in the distance, was occupied by 1130 on D Day.]
[Illustration: SICILY
SCOGLITTI, in the eastern section of the U. S. invasion area.
Troops landed here against little opposition and occupied the
important town of Vittoria, a few miles inland, on D Day.]
[Illustration: SICILY
AN AMERICAN CRUISER SHELLING DEFENSES in the Gela beach area
during the early morning of D Day. The naval bombardment,
which started at 0345, silenced the few coastal batteries that
protected the beaches. Large-scale enemy resistance on the
beaches did not materialize during the landings.]
[Illustration: SICILY
ALLIED SHIPS UNDER AERIAL BOMBARDMENT. At daybreak on D Day
enemy air forces launched a series of bombing and strafing
attacks on the ships offshore and on the troops along the
beaches.]
[Illustration: SICILY
U. S. AMMUNITION SHIP EXPLODING as result of a direct hit by an
enemy bomb during the late afternoon of 11 July 1943. The ship
burned throughout the night, furnishing a brilliant beacon for
enemy aircraft. The Allies made several attempts to sink the
ship, but the water was too shallow.]
[Illustration: SICILY
LOWERING LANDING CRAFT OFF GELA BEACH. Troops boarded the
craft after it was afloat. (Foreground, landing craft,
vehicle-personnel, LCVP; background, LCM.)]
[Illustration: SICILY
INFANTRY LANDING ON GELA BEACH (top). Unloading equipment and
supplies from LCVP’s (bottom); in the background are two LST’s.
The sea ran so high during the morning of the landings that many
craft were washed up on the beach and could not be refloated in
time for turn-around to mother ships. (LCVP in top picture.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: SICILY
A BATTERY OF ANTIAIRCRAFT GUNS being unloaded from an L S T,
the largest type landing craft used during the operation. The
prototype of the landing ship, tank, was built by the British
and used in the invasion of North Africa. The LST shown is a
seagoing ship. Its payload was from 1,600 to 1,900 tons of which
400 tons were deck-loaded. The ship could carry on each side
sectional ponton ramps for inaccessible landings (in use above).
The first three vehicles are 6-ton 6 x 6 prime mover trucks.
(90-mm. guns.)]
[Illustration: SICILY
LANDING CRAFT ON BEACH. Top picture from left to right: LCI,
LCM, and LCVP; on beach is a ¼-ton 4 x 4 truck, jeep. Bottom
picture: in middle distance is LST, with bow doors open, ramp
down, and unloading onto a sectional ponton ramp; in the
foreground are two LCT’s. (The LCI (L) (1-350) was an infantry
carrier with side ramps which could be lowered for unloading
directly on the beach. It carried a crew of 3 officers and 21
men.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: SICILY
A LOADED DUKW COMING ASHORE ON THE BEACH (top). Prisoners loaded
in a DUKW waiting to be evacuated (bottom). This amphibian
truck, the DUKW, was one of the planned surprises of the
operation. Until ports were captured and prepared for use, this
means of moving all types of fighting equipment from ship to
shore helped to solve a very pressing problem. (The term DUKW
is the manufacturer’s (GMC) code serial number which has no
meaning. The resemblance to the word duck and the purpose for
which this vehicle was used quickly brought about the common
name “duck.”)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: SICILY
AN LST DECK-LOADED WITH MEN AND EQUIPMENT off Gela awaiting
signal to approach the beach, while a U. S. cruiser fires on an
enemy strong point.]
[Illustration: SICILY
TROOPS ON THE BEACH. During the landing (top) and while
troops were moving inland (bottom), the beaches were strafed
sporadically. At one time, during the German tank-supported
counterattack on D plus 1 in the Gela area, it looked as if the
U. S. forces might be pushed back into the sea. (Top picture,
left to right, center of beach, LCV, LCVP; offshore, LCVP.
Bottom, a truck towing a 105-mm. howitzer is pulled through the
sand by a diesel tractor with angledozer.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: SICILY
WOUNDED ARRIVING ON BOARD A TRANSPORT. During the first days
of the invasion the seriously wounded were brought back to
transports equipped with surgical and medical facilities. These
ships would then deliver the wounded to base hospitals in
Africa.]
[Illustration: SICILY
FLYING AMBULANCE. As soon as airfields had been captured many of
the U. S. wounded were evacuated by planes to hospitals in North
Africa. The Douglas C-47 transport was generally used for this
purpose. Medical personnel accompanied wounded.]
[Illustration: SICILY
FIRING A HOWITZER INTO ENEMY POSITIONS on the road to Palermo.
After securing the beaches the U. S. forces drove to the west
and north and began the advance on Messina along the north coast
road. Palermo, one of the most important ports in Sicily, fell
to U. S. forces on 22 July 1943. (75-mm. howitzer motor carriage
T30 with a .50-caliber antiaircraft gun mounted in rear.)]
[Illustration: SICILY
HALF-TRACK DETOURING THROUGH A SIDE STREET. When the enemy
retreated through the Sicilian villages he would often blow up
buildings on both sides of the main street, thus blocking the
passage for vehicles. If he had time he would also mine and
booby-trap the road and ruins. (The 75-mm. gun motor carriage
M3 was the first standardized American self-propelled antitank
weapon used in World War II.)]
[Illustration: SICILY
TROINA. View from the northwest with Mt. Etna in the background.
The town is located on top and around the base of the hill in
the center of horizon line (top). View from Troina toward the
northwest showing Highway 120 winding over the hills to Cerami
(upper left corner) (bottom). Troina lies at the junction of
Highway 120 and the road to Adrano and Paterno. The U. S.
Seventh Army took Troina on 6 August after some of the fiercest
fighting of the campaign.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: SICILY
ENEMY ARTILLERY. At top is the famous German 88-mm. gun. The
pillbox in the background was sited to fire both toward the
sea and along the road. The coast of the island was ringed
with pillboxes, some of which had not been completed at the
time of the invasion. The self-propelled gun (bottom) of
Italian manufacture is a 90-mm. cannon. It was used in North
Africa as well as in Sicily. (Top, German 8.8-cm. Flak 18 with
single-piece barrel; bottom, 90/53 Ansaldo self-propelled (SP)
gun on redesigned M 13/40 Ansaldo chassis.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: SICILY
HALF-TRACK MOVING THROUGH A SICILIAN TOWN. The gun is a 75-mm.
howitzer M1A 1 used generally as an infantry support weapon.
(75-mm. howitzer motor carriage T30.)]
[Illustration: SICILY
SELF-PROPELLED HOWITZER. This is the M7 howitzer motor carriage
mounting a 105-mm. howitzer which was used for high angle as
well as direct fire. The .50-caliber machine gun is mounted in a
raised pulpit-like structure which gave the vehicle the nickname
Priest. (Mounted on M3 tank chassis.)]
[Illustration: SICILY
THE LONG TOM. This was the largest U. S. piece of artillery in Sicily.
A 7½-ton 6 x 6 prime mover truck towing a gun into position (top).
Firing from a camouflaged position in an orchard (bottom). (155-mm. gun
with standard carriage.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: SICILY
OBSERVING FIRE ON SICILIAN TOWN. The officer at right is in
telephone communication with the artillery command post. The
man in the center is using a battery commander’s telescope
(BC scope). U. S. field glasses and artillery sights of all
kinds were greatly improved by the end of the Tunisian fight.
Fine sand managed to work its way into the moving parts of
optical equipment, obscuring the image and interfering with the
mechanical operation. Moisture condensed on the inside of the
lens elements and, combined with dust, cut down the optical
effectiveness. Corrections were made by sealing the instruments
wherever possible and by placing a moisture-absorbing chemical
between the elements.]
[Illustration: SICILY
SHERMAN TANKS ENTERING PALERMO on the day the city surrendered,
22 July 1943.]
[Illustration: SICILY
THE CITY OF PALERMO. The port had been damaged by Allied bombing
raids, and the Germans before withdrawing had demolished some
of the installations. After the arrival of U. S. troops the
port was quickly made serviceable and was used as a supply base
for troops advancing from here eastward along the coast toward
Messina. It was later used as one of the embarkation ports for
the invasion of Italy.]
[Illustration: SICILY
SIGNAL CORPS MEN REPAIRING COMMUNICATIONS LINES. Maintaining
communications and other public utilities behind the lines
were problems that fell within the scope of Allied Military
Government. In Sicily the U. S. Army was called upon to furnish
personnel and supplies, though native labor and materials were
used whenever possible.]
[Illustration: SICILY
SICILIAN CHILDREN RECEIVING CANDY FROM A SOLDIER. U. S. soldiers
were universally popular with children of all classes. The
individual soldier gave a good portion of his ration of sweets
and chewing gum to native children.]
[Illustration: SICILY
SCENE FROM THE NORTHERN COAST OF SICILY, looking toward the
west. At left is the San Fratello Ridge; at right is the
village of Acquedolci. The fight for the San Fratello Ridge was
unusually severe. Highway 113, the main axis of advance along
the north coast from Palermo to Messina, follows the shore here.
The enemy would blow the bridges, mine the approaches, and hold
the top of each mountain ridge as long as possible, and then
retreat behind the next ridge.]
[Illustration: SICILY
SAN FRATELLO RIDGE. Top: the ridge is in the upper left of the
picture, Torrente Furiano in the right foreground; bottom: view
of the ridge on Highway 113 from the northwest. San Fratello
Ridge was taken on 8 August after bitter enemy resistance.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: SICILY
CORONIA VALLEY, typical of the valleys separating the mountain
ridges along the northern coast. The valleys provided little
concealment from the enemy in position on top of the ridges. The
bridge spans were usually long and easily demolished. Note that
both highway and railroad bridges are blown in this picture.]
[Illustration: SICILY
PROBING FOR MINES AT A BRIDGE-CROSSING SITE. The mine detector
reacts to metal; whether the metal was a mine or a shell
fragment had to be determined by probing and digging, usually
with a bayonet. (Mine detector SCR 625.)]
[Illustration: SICILY
BRIDGE BUILDING. In the valleys this task presented no
particular problem once the enemy had been chased off the
mountain ridge overlooking the bridge site. However, near
Messina, where the road in some places is hewn out of the cliffs
overhanging the sea, the problem was more difficult. The air
compressor (Le Roi) mounted on a 2½-ton truck (in picture above)
was used for operating power-driven saws, hammers, and drills.]
[Illustration: SICILY
BROLO BEACH ON THE NORTH COAST OF SICILY. This is one of the
several localities where U. S. forces made amphibious landings
behind the enemy lines. Highway 113 runs along the hills, the
railroad near the beach. The village of Brolo is at upper part
of picture. The landing was supported by aircraft and naval
gunfire.]
[Illustration: SICILY
ENGINEERS REPAIRING A BREAK IN HIGHWAY 113, on the north coast,
caused by German demolition. The locality is Capo Calavâ where
the road practically overhangs the sea.]
[Illustration: SICILY
MEDIC TREATING A BLISTER on an infantryman’s foot. Medical aid
men were present at the scene of every action. They were unarmed
and were identified by an arm band with a red cross, or a red
cross painted on the helmet, or both.]
[Illustration: SICILY
MEDICAL AID MAN GIVING BLOOD PLASMA TO A WOUNDED MAN. Plasma
was dried human blood that could be kept almost indefinitely
under ordinary conditions. It was prepared for use by adding
the required amount of triple-distilled water or a saline
solution containing the same amount of salt as whole human
blood. It was not as effective as whole blood, which retained
its effectiveness for a maximum of only twenty-one days when
properly stored and refrigerated. This made whole blood
difficult to keep and use under field conditions.]
[Illustration: SICILY
DIGGING A FOXHOLE IN AN OLIVE GROVE using a helmet as a shovel.
These holes provided excellent protection against shell and bomb
fragments. The steel helmet was used for a variety of purposes
besides protecting the head. It made a fine wash basin, was used
as a basket to carry post exchange items (paper bags were not
available), and practically everyone used it as a seat while
living in the field. In some cases it was used as a cooking
utensil in violation of regulations, as excessive heat took the
temper out of the steel, making it useless for the purpose for
which it was originally intended. (The soldier in picture is
wearing the fiber liner while he digs with the steel helmet M1.)]
[Illustration: SICILY
A GOUMIER OF FRENCH MOROCCO. The goumiers, generally called
goums by American soldiers, formed part of the French colonial
troops. Serving with the Americans in Tunisia, Sicily, Italy,
and southern France, they were greatly respected for their
fighting ability. (The term “goum” literally means “company,”
and a goumier is a member of an infantry company. Not all native
infantrymen, however, were known as goumiers, the term applying
only to soldiers of certain Moroccan tribes.)]
[Illustration: SICILY
GOUMIERS ADVANCING ACROSS THE HILLS IN SICILY. Their specialty
was mountain fighting, and they used horses and mules to carry
supplies.]
[Illustration: SICILY
SOLDIERS STERILIZING MESS KITS AFTER EATING. When possible this
was done before and after every meal. Such procedure was of the
greatest importance in Sicily where sanitation as we know it was
little practiced among the population as a whole. In spite of
every precaution, dysentery of one kind or another was common
among Allied forces.]
[Illustration: SICILY
INFANTRYMAN TURNED MULE SKINNER.]
[Illustration: SICILY
PACK MULE. The interior and northern coast of Sicily were
mountainous and had few roads fit for vehicles. Mules often had
to be used to bring supplies to troops in forward areas.]
[Illustration: SICILY
FIELD BAKERY. The men in the picture above are using a British
oven which was built into a trailer. Field ovens of U. S.
troops were separate units and not built in trailer form. In
some instances U. S. troops obtained the British type oven when
previously stationed in the British Isles. Others obtained them
in America. Every attempt was made to vary the rations of the
troops, and fresh bread was baked when possible.]
[Illustration: SICILY
FLYING FORTRESS DURING BOMBING OF MESSINA. In the first two
weeks of August the enemy started to withdraw to Italy across
the narrow Strait of Messina under heavy bombing attacks. By
concentrating antiaircraft guns in and around Messina as a means
of combating these attacks, the Germans managed to ferry across
thousands of their first-line armored and airborne troops, but
much of their heavy equipment was left behind. U. S. patrols
entered the city from the west on 16 August 1943 while British
units entered from the south on the same day. The campaign had
lasted thirty-nine days.]
[Illustration: SICILY
UNLOADING EQUIPMENT IN PALERMO. Even before the fighting
in Sicily had ended, the build-up for the invasion of
Italy started. The crane (left center) unloading pipe is a
truck-mounted crane M2. Designed to handle 240-mm. howitzer
materiel and 8-inch gun materiel in the field, it was a
six-wheeled type with power supplied to all wheels and capable
of accompanying convoy vehicles at a maximum speed of about
thirty miles per hour. It was also used to facilitate unloading
as above. The crew consisted of a chassis operator and a crane
operator.]
[Illustration: SICILY
SMOKE SCREEN OVER PALERMO HARBOR AREA. This port, within easy
reach of enemy bombers based in Italy, was subjected to air
raids during the build-up period before the invasion of the
mainland. The smoke screen obscured the port area and kept the
bombardiers from aiming at any specific target.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: SICILY
LST’S IN PALERMO HARBOR. The very low altitude barrage balloons
(above) protected the ships from dive-bombing attacks. They were
flown at different altitudes from day to day.]
[Illustration: SICILY
AMMUNITION DUMP NEAR PALERMO during the build-up for the
invasion of Italy.]
[Illustration: SICILY
GLIDER TRAINING FIELD IN SICILY. (Douglas C-47 transport with
CG-4 gliders.)]
[Illustration: SICILY
MESSINA WITH THE ITALIAN MAINLAND ACROSS THE STRAIT. On 3
September 1943 British and Canadians of the British Eighth Army
crossed this channel into Italy.]
[Illustration: SARDINIA
THE SINKING OF THE ITALIAN HEAVY CRUISER TRIESTE in Maddalena
harbor, Sardinia. The cruiser was sunk by twenty-four B-17’s
coming from bases in Africa, 10 April 1943. (Top picture:
cruiser within its protective antitorpedo net; center: salvo of
bombs landing on and near ship; bottom: this photograph was made
within the next few days and shows oil rising from the sunken
cruiser.)]
[Illustration: SARDINIA
SEAPLANE BASE. The planes are captured Italian seaplanes at
Cagliari on Sardinia. Sardinia was not invaded by U. S. forces,
but the Germans evacuated the island in September 1943. Shortly
thereafter the Allies started basing aircraft there, chiefly
medium bombers. The bases were within range of all central
Italy. (Top plane is an Italian Cant. Z-506-B Airone (Heron)
three-engined bomber torpedo reconnaissance seaplane. The planes
have British RAF markings added after capture.)]
[Illustration: CORSICA
AIR CORPS PERSONNEL SETTING UP CAMP on the French island of
Corsica. On 14 September 1943, French commandos landed to help
patriots who were fighting the Germans. On 4 October the island
was in Allied hands, and soon thereafter the airfields were
being used as bases for fighters and medium bombers.]
[Illustration: CORSICA
BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON REPAIR TENT in Corsica, riddled by bomb
fragments. U. S. medium bombers based here ranged over all
northern Italy and southern France. Fields in Corsica were
within range of enemy planes based in the Po Valley, and were
bombed and strafed periodically.]
[Illustration: CORSICA
MALARIA CONTROL IN CORSICA. Throughout the Mediterranean
campaign, the malaria problem was ever present. Vigorous
measures were taken to eliminate the disease-carrying mosquito.
Douglas A-20 Havoc light-bomber (top) spreading Paris green dust
over swampland near an Allied military installation; (bottom)
refilling hopper of plane with dust.]
[Illustration]
ITALY
(9 September 1943–4 June 1944)
[Illustration: ITALY]
SECTION III
Italy
(9 September 1943–4 June 1944)
The Allied victory in Sicily helped to bring about the surrender of
Italy. The terms of the Italian surrender were signed on 3 September
1943 and announced on the night of the 8th. Allied troops received the
news on shipboard while under way to invade Italy. Fighting did not
cease with the surrender. Instead, the Germans took over the country
with troops on the spot and sent reinforcements. The defeat of the
Germans in Italy would strengthen Allied control over the Mediterranean
shipping lanes and would provide air bases closer to targets in Germany
and enemy-occupied territory. The Allied troops in Italy would also
engage enemy troops which might otherwise have been employed against
the Russians.
On 3 September, elements of the British Eighth Army crossed into Italy
and advanced up the Italian toe in pursuit of the retreating Germans.
On 9 September the main assault was launched when an Anglo-American
force, part of the U. S. Fifth Army, landed on the beaches near
Salerno, south of Naples. Since the enemy had expected landings in the
vicinity of Naples and had disposed his forces accordingly, the Allies
encountered prompt and sustained resistance. By 15 September, however,
the Germans started to withdraw up the Italian Peninsula, pursued on
the west by the Fifth Army and on the east by the Eighth Army. The port
of Naples fell on 1 October and the Foggia airfields about the same
time.
After crossing the Volturno River against stiff resistance, the
Allies advanced to the Winter Line seventy-five miles south of Rome.
In bitterly cold weather the troops slogged through mud and snow to
breach the series of heavy defenses and advanced to the Gustav Line.
In midJanuary the main Fifth Army launched a new offensive across the
Rapido and Garigliano Rivers to pierce the Gustav Line and advance up
the Liri Valley toward Rome. Bridgeheads were secured across the rivers
and footholds were obtained in Cassino and surrounding hills, but no
break-through of the main German positions was effected. A few days
after the initial attack against the Gustav Line, an Anglo-American
amphibious force landed at Anzio and struck inland with the purpose
of compelling the Germans on the southern front to withdraw. But the
Allied beachhead force was contained by the enemy’s unexpectedly rapid
build-up and was hard pressed to stave off several fierce German
counterattacks.
After the Anzio front became stabilized and the effort to take Cassino
was abandoned, the AAI (Allied Armies in Italy) regrouped and launched
a new offensive on 11 May 1944. Fifth Army, led by French troops and
assisted by American troops, broke through the main German positions
in the Arunci Mountains west of the Garigliano River while the Eighth
Army advanced up the Liri Valley. A few days later the beachhead force
effected a junction with the troops from the southern front, and
advanced almost to Valmontone on Highway 6 before the axis of attack
was shifted to the northwest. After several unsuccessful attacks
toward Lanuvio and along the Albano road, the Fifth Army discovered an
unguarded point near Velletri, enveloped the German positions based on
the Alban Hills, and pushed on rapidly toward Rome, which fell on 4
June 1944 with the Germans in full retreat. Meanwhile preparations were
being rushed for an invasion of southern France by Allied troops, most
of them drawn from forces in Italy.
[Illustration: ITALY
RAILROAD YARDS IN NAPLES burning after bombardment by Allied
bombers from Africa. Before the invasion of Italy the bombing
of enemy rail communications leading into southern Italy had
high priority. Naples and Foggia were the most important rail
centers south of Rome and both were heavily bombed prior to the
landings.]
[Illustration: ITALY
GOLFO DI SALERNO. The plain of Salerno in Italy, ringed
and dominated by mountains, provided observation posts and
commanding positions for the enemy. Here, on 9 September 1943,
landed elements of the U. S. Fifth Army, an Anglo-American
force. The British 10 Corps of this army landed on the
beaches shown in the center of the picture, the U. S. VI
Corps on beaches at Paestum in distance. One division of the
British Eighth Army landed at Taranto in the heel of Italy
simultaneously with the main landings in the Golfo di Salerno.
Just six days before these landings two divisions of the British
Eighth Army had invaded Italy from Sicily. These two armies were
to advance northward: the U. S. army along the west and the
British army along the east side of the peninsula.]
[Illustration: ITALY
MAIORI BEACH, located a few miles west of the town of Salerno.
Three Ranger battalions landed here unopposed on the morning of
the invasion. Their mission to advance across the mountains and
into the Nocera plain to prevent reinforcements located around
Naples from reaching the invasion area was accomplished.]
[Illustration: ITALY
PAESTUM BEACH ON THE GOLFO DI SALERNO. At lower right is Paestum
tower, the most prominent landmark on the beach. This beach was
the scene of the first invasion of U. S. troops on the mainland
of Europe. The landing took place before daylight on 9 September
and the troops reached Monte Soprano before nightfall. The
area did not contain many fixed defenses, but the enemy had a
considerable number of tanks and mobile guns.]
[Illustration: ITALY
[Illustration: ITALY
DUKW’S HEADING FOR SALERNO BEACHES. The one in the foreground is
carrying gasoline in five-gallon cans. The maintenance of Allied
forces for the first few days depended largely on craft such as
these “ducks.”]
[Illustration: ITALY
INVASION SCENES AT PAESTUM BEACH. Infantry debarking from
assault craft (top) and naval personnel evacuating wounded
soldiers to a transport for medical care (bottom). The landing
craft shown are all LCVP’s.]
[Illustration: ITALY
DUKW LANDING AT PAESTUM BEACH. These amphibian trucks brought
light artillery and antitank guns ashore after the first assault
waves had landed and, later in the day, brought men and supplies
ashore.]
[Illustration: ITALY
SOLDIERS HUGGING THE BEACH during air strafing and bombing
attack on D Day. Five enemy air raids, each by a formation of
eight fighter-bombers, were made against U. S. troops along
the beach. Several smaller formations were sent against ships
offshore. Casualties and damage caused were relatively slight on
D Day.]
[Illustration: ITALY
WRECKED SPITFIRE shot down by Allied antiaircraft fire over
Paestum beach. As several U. S. fighter squadrons were equipped
with British Spitfires, the planes bore U. S. markings.
Providing air cover from the Salerno area was a difficult
problem because Allied fighters were based in Sicily. The
longest-range fighter, the P-38, could stay over the beaches for
only one hour, the A-36 (modified North American P-51 Mustang)
thirty minutes, and the Spitfire about twenty minutes. (In
background: LST unloading equipment over sectional ponton ramp.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
REINFORCEMENTS COMING ASHORE at Paestum beach on D Day. Top:
bulldozer coming ashore--in background is a U. S. type LST,
two-davit design; bottom: infantry, armor, and medical aid
men--in background is British type tank landing ship (LST
(1)). This ship was one of three belonging to the Boxer class.
These were the first ships built specifically for tank landing
purposes after the successful experimentation with the converted
Maracaibo class oil tankers. They could land medium tanks over a
low ramp carried within the ship and extended through low gates
toward the beach. Load: thirteen 40-ton tanks or the equivalent.
(A DUKW also is shown in the top picture; the tanks in the
bottom picture are Sherman M4A1.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
HEAVY EQUIPMENT ROLLING ASHORE ON D DAY. Waterproofed medium
tanks (Shermans) rolling toward shore across sectional ponton
ramp from LST (top), and LST discharging fully loaded trucks
(bottom).]
[Illustration: ITALY
FREIGHTER BURNING AFTER BOMBING ATTACK. The night of 10–11 and
the day of 11 September saw the greatest enemy air activity.
During that time about 120 hostile aircraft raided the beaches
and the transport area.]
[Illustration: ITALY
SALERNO, which fell to the British forces of the Fifth Army on
D Day. Until the port of Naples, which fell on 1 October, was
cleared, all reinforcements and supplies for the army came in
over the beaches or through the port of Salerno. On 19 September
the entire Salerno plain was securely in Allied hands. The
German counterattacks which had started on 12 September had been
checked by the 15th. On the 17th the Germans started to withdraw
from the area.]
[Illustration: ITALY
ENGINEERS REPAIRING A BRIDGE NEAR ACERNO. While part of the
invading forces advanced westward toward Naples, part proceeded
toward Benevento to the north. The enemy retreated slowly toward
the river Volturno, the next natural line of defense, leaving
rear guards to delay the advance, mine the roads, and blow the
bridges.]
[Illustration: ITALY
INFANTRY ADVANCING ACROSS BYPASS TO BRIDGE near Avellino on the
way to the Volturno River. Blown bridges caused much delay;
infantry, after crossing, generally ran into opposition that
required the use of tanks, which had to wait until the engineers
could rebuild the bridges.]
[Illustration: ITALY
U. S. TROOPS IN NAPLES. The city fell to the British 10 Corps,
assisted by elements of some U. S. units, on 1 October 1943.
When Naples fell, the Allies were in possession of three of
Italy’s best ports, Naples, Bari, and Taranto, as well as two of
the most important airport centers, the Naples area on the west
and the Foggia area on the east of the peninsula. The latter
had fallen to the Eighth Army on 27 September and soon became
the base for the biggest concentration of Allied bombers in the
entire Mediterranean theater.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ITALY
U. S. NURSES DEBARK FROM LCI in the Bay of Naples. Port
facilities in the city had been heavily bombed by the Allies for
months before the invasion and the damage had been increased
by the Germans as they retreated. Much of the cargo coming
into the harbor had to be discharged over beaches in the bay.
However, twelve days after the capture of the city the unloading
facilities were beginning to function and that day 3,500 tons
were discharged.]
[Illustration: ITALY
AIRFIELDS NEAR NAPLES. Capodichino (top) and Pomigliano (bottom)
after they had been put to use by the Allies. Both fields had
been severely damaged by Allied bombers before the invasion.]
[Illustration: ITALY
BARI AIRPORT, on the Adriatic just north of the heel of Italy,
was captured by the British on 22–23 September 1943. The enemy
had used this airport as a transport base and for staging
fighters on the way to Africa. The near-by town of Ban became
headquarters for the heavy Allied bombardment units based at
several airfields on the Foggia plain. Both the town of Ban and
the Bari airport were subject to attack by enemy aircraft.]
[Illustration: ITALY
FLYING FORTRESSES taxiing out to runway to take off on a
mission. This picture was taken early in the Italian campaign,
before this airfield in the Foggia area had been improved. Soon
after the Foggia airfields had been captured, Allied bombardment
groups started to move from the African bases.]
[Illustration: ITALY
LIBERATOR BOMBER taxiing along flooded runway on one of the
airfields in the Foggia area. When the fall rains started in
October 1943 most of these fields became muddy and some were
flooded. The flying of missions was continued while construction
was in progress, runways being lengthed and raised, and fields
drained. By the end of 1943 most of the fields had been put into
good shape and by that time two heavy bombardment groups, two
medium groups, and two fighter groups were operating out of ten
airfields in the Foggia area.]
[Illustration: ITALY
AIRMAN BAILING OUT HIS TENT after a rainstorm in southern Italy.
This was late fall 1943. As time went on conditions improved. By
the end of the year there were 35,000 U. S. combat airmen with
their supporting forces in Italy.]
[Illustration: ITALY
CASERTA, NEAR NAPLES. This area fell to the Fifth Army on 5
October 1943. The palace shown at end of tree-lined road became
headquarters of the Fifth Army soon after the building was
captured. Later it also became headquarters of the 15th Army
Group (Fifth and Eighth Armies) and still later Allied Force
Headquarters, the last named having control over the entire
Mediterranean Theater of Operations. The German surrender in
Italy was signed in the palace.]
[Illustration: ITALY
VOLTURNO RIVER ABOVE CAPUA. This was the first natural line of
defense north of the Naples area. The Fifth Army had reached the
southern bank of this river by 6 October. In the period between
the landings on 9 September and the arrival at the Volturno,
the Fifth Army had suffered 12,219 casualties of all kinds;
4,947 were U. S.; 7,272 were British. On 13 October the first
successful crossing of this river took place above and below the
hairpin loop. The river here is from 150 to 200 feet wide, its
depth from 3 to 5 feet. U. S. troops crossed in assault boats
or on rafts; some used life preservers, and some forded the icy
stream with the use of guide ropes.]
[Illustration: ITALY
SOLDIERS ENTERING CAIAZZO after crossing the Volturno River. The
two men in foreground are carrying the Springfield rifle with
telescopic sights; those in rear, the Garand. (The Springfield
rifle M1 903A 4, .30-caliber, bolt-action, manually operated,
became the standard U. S. Army rifle in 1903. Garand rifle M1,
.30-caliber, self-loading, semiautomatic, is at present the
standard U. S. Army rifle.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
THE GARIGLIANO RIVER AREA on the Golfo di Gaeta. The area shown
was the western anchor of the enemy Gustav Line as well as his
Winter Line. By 15 November 1943 the Fifth Army was halted in
front of the Winter Line, which consisted of well-prepared
positions across the waist of Italy from the mouth of the
Garigliano River on the west, through the mountains in the
center, to the mouth of the Sangro on the east coast. The more
formidable Gustav Line was located farther north except along
the lower Garigliano where the two defense lines generally
coincided. Little fighting took place in the area shown until
the British 10 Corps crossed the river on 17 January 1944 to
support the main Fifth Army effort to drive up the Liri Valley.
Garigliano River is located at right in top picture and at lower
left in bottom picture.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ITALY
THE CAMINO HILL MASS. Top picture is taken looking toward the
northwest from road fork of Highways 6 and 85. Bottom picture
shows the hill mass with the Rapido River Valley in distance.
The Winter Line continued along the south and east slopes of
these mountains. The Camino Hill area fell to British and
American troops on 9 December 1943, after several days of severe
fighting.]
[Illustration: ITALY
THE MIGNANO GAP. Looking west through the gap toward Monte
Cairo, the snow-covered mountain in distance. Cassino is located
at the foot of this mountain (top). Looking north from the gap;
the village of Mignano, Highway 6, and the railroad are in lower
left hand corner (bottom). San Pietro Infine, the village on the
slope of Monte Sammucro, was the scene of one of the costliest
battles of the Winter Line campaign. Mignano Gap was one of the
few breaks in the mountains of the Winter Line and the main
effort to breach that line was made at this gap.]
[Illustration: ITALY
VOLTURNO RIVER VALLEY NORTH OF VENAFRO. River is in foreground.
The valley had been cleared of enemy troops by the middle of
November 1943. While German rear guards carried out delaying
actions, the main enemy forces strengthened the Winter Line
defenses in these mountains, which separate the Volturno River
from the Rapido River. Hard fighting took place for control of
the road leading from Pozzilli through the mountains to San Elia
in the Rapido Valley. Initial attempts made by U. S. forces to
cross the mountains failed because of the exhaustion of the
troops, the difficulty of supply, the unfavorable weather, and
the determined resistance of the enemy. The U. S. units were
replaced by fresh French mountain troops, who in January 1944
fought their way across the mountains.]
[Illustration: ITALY
THE MONNA CASALE MOUNTAIN RANGE. These are the highest mountains
in the ridge separating the Volturno and Rapido Valleys. Two
roads across these mountains connect the two valleys: the Colli
al Volturn-Atina road on the north side of the range, the
Pozzilli-San Elia road on the south side. Both were relatively
poor. Hill mass at lower left is Monte Pantano. The battle for
this hill started on the night of 28–29 November and lasted
until 4 December. On that day the U. S. forces withdrew with the
enemy still in possession of most of the area. French troops
seized the rest of Monte Pantano on 17 December.]
[Illustration: ITALY
COLLI AL VOLTURNO. This typical Italian mountain village is
located at the headwaters of the Volturno and was on the right
flank of the U. S. Fifth Army. The mountains between this area
and the left flank of the British Eighth Army fighting along
the east coast of Italy were so rugged that no fighting took
place there. Both Allied armies merely maintained small patrols
to keep in contact. The lower road on the left runs through the
mountains separating the Volturno and Rapido River Valleys and
leads to Atina north of Cassino.]
[Illustration: ITALY
PACK TRAIN IN THE MOUNTAINS. These pack trains consisted mainly
of mules, but horses and donkeys were also used. Without the use
of pack trains the campaign would have been much more difficult.
To supply the basic needs of an infantry regiment in the line
two hundred and fifty animals per day were required.]
[Illustration: ITALY
PACK TRAIN IN THE VENAFRO AREA. Top: first donkey is loaded with
an 81-mm. mortar, the second carries the ammunition; bottom:
strapping a light .30-caliber machine gun on a donkey. The pack
animals obtained by the Allies in the Mediterranean area were
of varying sizes, generally smaller than the ordinary American
mule, and standard U. S. pack equipment had to be modified in
the field. Most of the equipment, however, was purchased in
Italy.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ITALY
FIRING A HOWITZER ON THE VENAFRO FRONT, with camouflage net
pulled back for firing. While the infantry crouched in foxholes
on the rocky slopes of the mountains, the artillery in the muddy
flats behind them gave heavy supporting fire on enemy positions.
To clear the masks presented by the high mountains ahead,
barrels had to be elevated. (105-mm. howitzer.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
BRITISH SOLDIERS SEARCHING A HOUSE IN COLLE, a village on Monte
Camino. Soldier in foreground is covering his partner while the
latter kicks open the door. The stone houses, typical of those
in the mountain areas, with walls sometimes four feet thick,
made fine strong points. They could be reduced by artillery,
but in the Camino fighting, a joint British-American operation,
there was no close-support artillery.]
[Illustration: ITALY
PREPARING AIR DROP OF FOOD AND SUPPLIES. Packing food parcels
into belly tanks of a P-40 (top), and attaching tank to the bomb
rack of A-36 fighter-bomber (bottom). The tank is released like
a bomb. During the fighting on Monte Camino in December several
air drops were attempted, but poor visibility, poor recovery
grounds, and proximity to enemy positions combined to defeat the
attempts on that occasion.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ITALY
FLYING FORTRESS RETURNING FROM A MISSION. Note part of the
pierced steel plank runway in the foreground. The moving of the
heavy bombers from their bases in Africa to the Foggia area in
Italy was a tremendous undertaking because of the equipment
necessary to establish new runways, pumping plants, pipelines,
repair shops, and warehouses. The move took place during the
late fall and winter of 1943 and required about 300,000 tons of
shipping. This was at a critical time of the ground fighting and
there was not enough shipping to take care of both the air and
the ground fighters. So heavy were the shipping requirements
that the build-up of Allied ground forces was considerably
delayed.]
[Illustration: ITALY
OBSERVING SMOKE SHELLS FALLING on enemy-occupied Monte Lungo
during the second fight for the village of San Pietro Infine on
15 December 1943. The smoke was to prevent enemy observation on
the village, which at this time was under infantry attack. The
first attacks on San Pietro Infine, 8–9 December, were repulsed
by the enemy, as were the attacks of 15–17 December. By this
time, however, the Allies had launched an attack and taken
Monte Lungo, thus outflanking the Germans in the San Pietro
Infine area. This caused the Germans to evacuate the village and
withdraw to the next position a few hundred yards back.]
[Illustration: ITALY
HOSPITAL TRAINS taking men wounded in the 1943–44 winter
campaign to base hospitals in the Naples area. Until the
fighting had advanced beyond Rome, the main Allied hospital area
in Italy was in and around Naples. The trains above have German
and Italian cars and U. S. locomotives. (Ambulances: truck,
¾-ton 4 x 4, crew of 2 with 4 litter patients or 7 sitting
patients.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ITALY
CHRISTMAS TURKEY ON THE HOOD OF A JEEP, Christmas 1943. Every
effort was made to give the troops the traditional holiday
dinners, complete with trimmings.]
[Illustration: ITALY
VEHICLES CAUGHT IN FLOODWATERS OF THE VOLTURNO. The fall rains
of 1943 started early and flooded the rivers and streams between
Naples, the main supply base, and the fighting area of the
Winter Line. Just behind the lines, mud, traffic, and enemy
shelling combined to keep roads and bridges in a condition that
required constant work.]
[Illustration: ITALY
FRONT-LINE SOLDIERS BEING BRIEFED on arrival in rest camp in
Naples. Because of lack of food and housing in Italy it was
found impossible to give a man a pass and let him seek his
own recreation. Military rest camps were set up in several
localities, where the men could sleep late in clean beds, have
good food, and some entertainment.]
[Illustration: ITALY
THE TOWN OF ACQUAFONDATA UNDER ENEMY SHELLFIRE. This village was
located on the road between Pozzilli in the Volturno Valley and
San Elia, north of Cassino. The road was on the right flank of
the Fifth Army throughout the Winter Line fighting. Most of the
fighting along this road was done by French mountain troops of
the Fifth Army.]
[Illustration: ITALY
FIRING A MORTAR DURING A TRAINING PROBLEM near Venafro in the
Volturno River Valley. Mortars played an important part during
the drive through the Winter Line mountains and an intensive
training schedule was maintained prior to and during the
drive. (60-mm. mortar M 2, mount M 2, standard, developed by
the French, but manufactured in the United States under rights
obtained from the French.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
ADJUSTING ELEVATION AND DEFLECTION of 4.2-inch chemical
mortar. This mortar had a rifled barrel and was designed for
high-angle fire. Because of its accuracy (insured by rifled
barrel), mobility, rate of fire, and ease of concealment, it was
particularly suited for close support of attacking units.]
[Illustration: ITALY
RADAR IN OPERATION NEAR SAN PIETRO INFINE. The operating parts
were mounted on a semitrailer towed by a tractor or truck. A
van-body truck carried a complete stock of spare parts. (Radar
SCR 547.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
CAMOUFLAGED MOBILE ANTIAIRCRAFT UNIT near San Pietro Infine.
Enemy air attacks were not very numerous during the Winter
Line fight; the Germans had few aircraft to spare and the
weather tended to restrict the use of enemy as well as Allied
aircraft. (Multiple-gun motor carriage M 15 composed mainly of a
half-track personnel carrier with a 37-mm. gun, two .50-caliber
machine guns, and M 6 sighting system.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
HOWITZER IN THE MIGNANO AREA. This model was the largest U. S.
artillery piece in Italy. It and the 8-inch howitzer were rushed
from the States to help reduce the strong enemy fortifications
of the Gustav Line; the most heavily fortified part of this line
was in the Cassino area. (240-mm. howitzer.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
CAPTURED GERMAN ARTILLERY. The standard medium gun of the German
Army. It was a World War I model which was used on all German
fronts and was part of the corps artillery. The caliber was
10-cm.]
[Illustration: ITALY
CHANGING TRACKS ON A SHERMAN TANK at Presenzano. This village is
located near Highway 6 a few miles behind the lines in Mignano
Gap. Tanks had not played a big role during the Winter Line
fight because of the mountainous terrain and the muddy lowlands.
Tank units were kept ready for use once the infantry had cleared
the way through Mignano Gap to Cassino and the entrance to the
Liri Valley, the so-called Gateway to Rome.]
[Illustration: ITALY
LOADING A CURTISS P-40 Kittybomber for a bombing mission. This
was one of the first U. S. fighter types to get into combat, The
many variations and modifications of this early fighter of World
War II had many names. Those Army planes transported by naval
aircraft carrier to the coast of Africa during the invasion
there were called Tomahawks, those sold by the United States to
the British were called Kittyhawks. Later in the war, as faster
fighters arrived to protect bomber formations, the P-40 became a
fighter-bomber and was called the Kittybomber. The P-40 groups
in Italy were being re-equipped with Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
fighters early in 1944.]
[Illustration: ITALY
LOADING A MITCHELL MEDIUM BOMBER, North American B-25, with
1,000-pound bombs. Tail fins were attached to the bombs after
they were in position in the bomb bay.]
[Illustration: ITALY
INFANTRY PATROL ENTERING CERVARO on 12 January 1944. The man at
left is carrying a tommy gun and covering the two men in front
as they hunt for snipers. A few minutes after this picture was
made two men of this patrol were killed by Germans hidden in the
ruins. Cervaro is on the western slopes of the Rapido Valley.
By this time the Fifth Army had fought its way through the
Winter Line mountains. Fighting in this area had lasted from 15
November 1943 to 15 January 1944.]
[Illustration: ITALY
SMOKE POTS USED TO SCREEN INFANTRY crossing the Rapido River
near Cassino. The first attempt to cross was made south of
Highway 6 by a U. S. division on 20 January 1944. It was a
failure. Crossings attempted in the next two days by this
division also failed. By afternoon of 22 January all assault
boats had been destroyed, efforts to bridge the stream had been
unsuccessful, the troops who had managed to cross were isolated,
and supply or evacuation had become impossible. On 23 January
the attack in the sector was ordered halted. Casualties were
1,681: 143 killed, 663 wounded, and 875 reported missing. On 24
January another U. S. division managed to cross the Rapido north
of Highway 6.]
[Illustration: ITALY
LITTER BEARERS TAKE SHELTER ALONG ROAD near the Rapido River
during the first crossing attempt. Casualties among medics
were high during the Rapido River crossings. Visibility was
generally poor because of mist or artificial smoke and enemy
automatic weapons had been zeroed in on likely crossing sites
and the surrounding areas. The only means of protection for the
litter bearers was the red cross markings on their helmets and
sleeves, but at night and during periods of poor visibility in
the daytime these identifications were not easily seen.]
[Illustration: ITALY
FIRING A MORTAR during the successful Rapido River crossing on
24 January. The attack was made north of Highway 6 and directed
toward the mountains north of Cassino. The outskirts of the
town were entered for the first time on the morning of 26
January. Tanks were not able to help during the first few days
as the ground was too soggy and the engineers were unable to
construct bridges. The entire area was under observation from
Montecassino and the adjacent hills. Four tanks finally managed
to cross during the morning of the 27th, but by noon they were
all out of action. Two days later thirty tanks were across, the
infantry had taken the village of Cairo high in the hills north
of Cassino, and the Allies had made the first dent in the Gustav
Line in the Cassino area. (81-mm. mortar.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
ARMORED CAR FIRING ITS CANNON IN THE CASSINO AREA. (Armored car
M8; principal weapon, 37-mm. gun. The one above is also equipped
with a .50-caliber M2 Browning machine gun in AA mount.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
ITALIAN SOLDIERS preparing to fire one of their railway guns
against targets in the Gustav Line. On 7 December 1943, Italian
units first entered the fight on the side of the Allies under
command of Fifth Army. The Italians took over a narrow section
in Mignano Gap with 5,486 combat troops. In addition to the
combat personnel the Italians also provided various service
companies and pack units which proved valuable in solving the
difficult supply problem in the mountains.]
[Illustration: ITALY
BURNING AMMUNITION DUMP in the Mignano Gap area near Highway 6.
The dump was located about seven miles behind Cassino front. The
fire was accidental and not due to enemy action. Dumps in this
area were not camouflaged because they were too large and Allied
air forces had most of the enemy air grounded. Huge quantities
of ammunition were needed to reduce the defenses of the Gustav
Line. Dispersion was difficult because of the muddy ground.
Vehicles became mired as soon as they left the road.]
[Illustration: ITALY
LOADING LST’S IN NAPLES FOR THE INVASION OF ANZIO. Everything
was combat-loaded for quick removal, as plans required the
convoy to be unloaded in twenty-four hours. The slow advance
of the Allies late in 1943 led to the revival of plans for an
amphibious operation south of Rome. Early in January 1944 the
Allies broke through the Winter Line and unless some movement
could be devised to breach the more formidable Gustav Line they
faced another difficult mountain campaign. Enough landing craft
for Anzio were finally assembled, though resources were limited
by requirements for the coming Normandy invasion. (Note LST in
center, with take-off runway for cub observation planes. Planes
could not land on these runways. Two ships were thus equipped
with six planes each which landed on the beachhead shortly after
dawn on D Day, 22 January 1944.)]
[Illustration: ITALY]
[Illustration: ITALY
THE ANZIO BEACH AREA. Top: looking westward, Astura tower lower
right; bottom: looking eastward. The beach shown in these
pictures was the U. S. zone of the landing area. The British
landing beach, about six miles northwest of Anzio, proved too
shallow for unloading supplies. It was closed soon after the
British forces had landed there, and supplies were handled
mostly through the port of Anzio. The Anglo-American assault
force consisted of almost 50,000 men and 5,200 vehicles.]
[Illustration: ITALY
MORNING OF D DAY. Top: men coming ashore from LCI’s. Enemy air
raids started at 0850 and consisted of three separate attacks by
an estimated 18–28 fighter-bombers. One LGI was hit and is shown
burning. Bottom: LST backing away from portable ponton causeway
after having unloaded. Bulldozer is holding causeway in place.
In background is an LGI with a deckload of soldiers waiting to
go ashore.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ITALY
MEN AND EQUIPMENT COMING ASHORE on Anzio beaches on D Day
morning. The first assault craft hit the beaches at 0200,
22 January 1944. There was practically no opposition to the
landings as the enemy had been caught by surprise. Men with
full equipment wading ashore from LCI (top); in foreground are
two DUKW’s near beach, at right is LST unloading equipment over
portable causeway pontons (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ITALY
ARTILLERY OBSERVATION PLANE taking off from LST carrier to land
at Anzio beachhead shortly after dawn on D Day. The first use
of an LST carrier for this purpose was during the invasion of
Sicily. Two planes were launched and directed naval fire to the
vicinity of Licata, Sicily. Cub planes were to play an important
part at Anzio. The area of the beachhead and surroundings is
generally flat and featureless and in such terrain observation
was at a premium and it was vital to secure or deny that
observation.]
[Illustration: ITALY
B-26 BOMBING ROADS IN THE LIRI VALLEY behind the Gustav Line on
22 January 1944 in order to hamper the enemy in sending troops
to the Anzio area. The hill at lower left is Montecassino.
The mountains immediately above the plane were the scene of
bitter fighting during the winter of 1943–44. While the Anzio
landing was still in preparation the Allied air forces had been
bombing airfields and communication centers, and the army had
started its drive (on 17 January 1944) to penetrate the Gustav
Line. By the 22d, the date of the Anzio invasion, the attempt
to penetrate the Gustav Line had bogged down in front of the
Cassino defenses.]
[Illustration: ITALY
DOUGLAS HAVOC BOMBING RAILROAD BRIDGE and enemy installations at
Cisterna di Littoria. This town became one of the enemy strong
points surrounding the beachhead. It was shelled and bombed for
months, and when it finally fell, on 25 May 1944, it was nothing
but a mass of rubble.]
[Illustration: ITALY
THE PORT OF ANZIO, which was taken intact with very little
opposition on the morning of D Day, 22 January 1944. The
enemy had placed demolition charges to destroy the port and
its facilities, but the assault was so sudden and unexpected
that there was no opportunity to set off the charges. By
early afternoon the port was ready to receive four LST’s
and three LCT’s simultaneously. By midnight on D Day 36,034
men, 3,069 vehicles, and large quantities of supply had been
brought ashore, either through the port or over the beaches.
The unloading area of the port (upper right) was not suitable
for Liberty ships or other freighters; these continued to be
unloaded offshore, mostly by DUKW’s.]
[Illustration: ITALY
FREIGHTER UNLOADING CARGO INTO DUKW’S. Supplies for Anzio were
carried by two methods: in truck-loaded LST’s from Naples and in
bulk-loaded Liberty ships or other freighters from Africa. After
its capture, the port of Anzio sustained regular shelling by
enemy artillery. The LST’s docked at the port and the freighters
unloaded into smaller craft or DUKW’s offshore.]
[Illustration: ITALY
MEN WORKING ON A BARRAGE BALLOON. A number of balloons were
used at the beachhead, chiefly in and around the port area.
Floated at the end of a steel cable, their purpose was to
prevent low-level strafing and dive-bombing attacks and to force
the bombers high enough to give the antiaircraft gunners time
to get on the target. Up to forty balloons were flown at one
time over the port. These were filled with highly inflammable
hydrogen gas, which was manufactured in the field. Helium gas
was sometimes used but was harder to obtain.]
[Illustration: ITALY
CAMOUFLAGED MULTIPLE-GUN MOTOR CARRIAGE M16 mounting four
.50-caliber machine guns in Maxson turret. Allied antiaircraft
artillery faced its first major test in Italy with the
establishment of the beachhead. The enemy air force now started
on a large-scale, continuous offensive. The offshore shipping,
port, and beach congestion in the Anzio area offered easy
targets. Allied fighter aircraft were based about one hundred
miles to the south and they found it difficult to counter the
enemy’s quick sneak raids and night attacks. Antiaircraft
artillery units were mainly responsible for combatting these
attacks and keeping the flow of supplies constant. By May 1944,
1,051 pieces of antiaircraft artillery were on the beachhead,
including sixty-four 90-mm. guns.]
[Illustration: ITALY
SOLDIER SHARING HIS C RATION WITH NATIVE BOY. A few days after
the landing most of the civilian population, about 22,000, were
evacuated by sea to Naples, leaving only about 750 able-bodied
civilians. Later, as the need for workers increased, an office
was set up in Naples to recruit Italian civilians for work at
the beachhead. (Soldier is wearing a combat jacket, initially
issued with trousers to members of armored units.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
CAMPOLEONE STATION near the Albano highway leading from Anzio
to the Colli Laziali, the mountain mass overlooking the plains
of the beachhead. By 31 January 1944 the Allies had advanced to
Campoleone station, the front line being the railroad bed in
foreground above, but the available forces could not hold the
area. The enemy was bringing reserves toward the Gustav Line
where the Allied drive had stalled. These enemy reserve troops
were rerouted to contain the Anzio beachhead and, if possible,
force the Allies back to the sea. The picture above, looking
toward the sea, gives an idea of the flat, featureless terrain
in the area. The group of buildings in the distance at right is
the “Factory,” scene of hard fighting.]
[Illustration: ITALY
CISTERNA DI LITTORIA. A thrust toward Cisterna di Littoria
was made by the Allies on 25–27 January 1944, but was stopped
about three miles southwest of the town. Another attempt made
on 30 January-1 February met even less success. In the distance
are the Colli Laziali overlooking the beachhead. Below the
mountains is the town of Velletri. Highway 7 through Cisterna
di Littoria leads past the mountains to Rome. Attempts to
extend the beachhead failed: the first attempt along the Albano
road was stopped at Campoleone; the second, the effort to cut
Highway 7 at Cisterna di Littoria, was stopped within sight
of the village. By this time the enemy outnumbered the Allies
and the latter consolidated their positions and waited for the
counterattacks.]
[Illustration: ITALY
CAMOUFLAGED FOXHOLES AND ARTILLERY POSITIONS along the Mussolini
Canal. On 2 February 1944, after the unsuccessful attempt to
extend the beachhead, the Anzio force received orders to dig in
and prepare for defense. By this date casualties totaled 6,487.
Allied troops were on the defensive in Italy for the first time
since the invasion at Salerno.]
[Illustration: ITALY
LAYING AN ANTITANK MINE. The man at left is arming the mine by
pulling the safety fork. This type of mine contained 6 pounds of
cast TNT and had a total weight of 10⅔ pounds. The pressure of a
man stepping on the mine would not detonate it, but any vehicle
hitting it would set it off. Mines were generally laid at night
or on foggy days behind a smoke screen. The task of laying mine
fields at night in the open, almost featureless terrain resulted
at first in many improperly marked fields causing accidents.
The practice was finally adopted of first marking a field, then
recording it, and only then laying the mines. (Antitank mine
M1A1.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
LONG TOM FIRING AT GERMAN POSITIONS. On 3 February 1944 the
enemy started a series of counterattacks to wipe out the
beachhead. There were three main attacks: 3–12 February, 16–20
February, and 28 February–4 March. The stalemate began on the
latter date and lasted until the offensive to break out of the
beachhead got under way on 23 May 1944. Enemy prisoners taken
during the February fighting always commented on the heavy
artillery fire, which caused numerous casualties, shattered
nerves, and demoralized many enemy units.]
[Illustration: ITALY
SIGNAL CORPS MEN working in the main frame room of headquarters
switchboard installation. The beach area at Anzio-Nettuno was on
a slightly higher level than the rest of the beachhead area and
was honeycombed with tunnels and caves so far underground that
they were bombproof. Wherever possible the installations along
the shore were put underground.]
[Illustration: ITALY
RADAR SET IN OPERATION. By 24 February 1944 the first sets of
this type were in position on the Anzio beachhead. They were
brought in to cope with enemy jamming techniques and “window”
(small strips of metallic paper dropped from attacking planes)
which had reduced the effectiveness of earlier types of radar.
During the night of 24 February a flight of twelve bombers
approached in close formation, using the “window” method of
jamming. Forty-eight 90-mm. guns directed by radar of the
improved type caught them at extreme range over enemy territory
and brought down five with the first salvo. The remainder of the
formation jettisoned their bombs and fled. (Radar SCR 584.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
FIRING ANTIAIRCRAFT GUN at ground targets. The enemy
counterattack down the Albano road on 16–20 February 1944 was
the most severe and dangerous of the three main attacks the
Germans made on the Allies at Anzio beachhead. On the 17th
it looked as if the enemy might succeed in driving down the
Albano road from the Campoleone area to Anzio and thus split
the beachhead forces. To aid the hard-pressed infantry, all
the artillery in the area was brought to bear on the enemy.
In addition to 432 guns representing corps and divisional
artillery and three companies of tanks, four batteries of 90-mm.
antiaircraft guns were employed against ground targets. Two
cruisers assisted with fire on the flank of the beachhead.]
[Illustration: ITALY
GERMAN PRISONERS TAKEN NEAR THE ALBANO ROAD on 19 February 1944.
The German attack started in the morning hours of 16 February
and relied on smoke to conceal the advancing troops. By 18
February the enemy infantry, strongly supported by tanks, had
pushed the defenders back about three miles. The next day the
Allies counterattacked and halted the advance. Never again was
the enemy to come so close to rolling up the final beachhead
line.]
[Illustration: ITALY
TANK DESTROYER DUG IN BEHIND HAY STACK. These weapons were used
well forward, sometimes dug in, but more often placed behind
a house or other means of concealment. Tanks were also used
well forward, particularly after the front became somewhat
stabilized at the beginning of March. The distribution was about
one company of tanks to one regiment in the line. This practice
violated the principle of employing tanks in mass, but their
usefulness in support of the infantry outweighed the loss of
mobility and dispersion of strength.]
[Illustration: ITALY
THE GERMAN PANTHER TANK. This heavy tank was probably the
most successful armored vehicle the Germans developed, having
relatively high speed and maneuverability, combined with heavy
armor and a rapid-fire, high-velocity gun. It first appeared on
the Russian front in the summer of 1943, and soon thereafter
on the Italian front. No U. S. tank comparable to it appeared.
The frontal armor could not be penetrated by Sherman tank
guns at ordinary fighting range. In constructing this vehicle
the Germans were influenced by the Russian tank, the T34. The
corrugated surface (top picture) is a plastic coating to prevent
magnetic mines from sticking to the metal. (Pz. Kpfw. Panther,
7.5-cm. Kw. K. 42 (L/70) gun. After Action Reports indicate that
there were a total of 165 enemy tanks surrounding the beachhead
as of 28 February 1944. Of these 32 were Tigers and 53 Panthers,
the rest being mostly Mark IV.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ITALY
ANZIO ANNIE, 280-mm. railway gun (top). The beachhead faced a
heavy concentration of German artillery. During enemy attacks
in February this was employed mostly in direct support of the
infantry. Standard German divisional medium howitzer (bottom).
The caliber was 150-mm. (15-cm. s. F. H. 18.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ITALY
LANDING CRAFT BRINGS WOUNDED TO HOSPITAL SHIP in Anzio bay. On
the night of 24 January 1944 a fully illuminated and marked
British hospital ship was bombed and sunk while taking wounded
on board. All evacuation from the beachhead was by sea. Air
transportation could not be used, since the dust raised by
planes landing or taking off brought on enemy shelling. Hospital
ships were used whenever possible, but as these could not dock
in the shallow port, LCT’s were used to transfer patients from
shore to ships. When storms and high seas interrupted this
procedure the wounded were loaded on board LST’s at the Anzio
docks for the 30-hour trip to Naples. For the period 22 January
to 22 May, 33,063 patients were evacuated by sea.]
[Illustration: ITALY
NURSE GIVING INTRAVENOUS INJECTION OF PLASMA to a wounded
soldier. In the period 22 January to 22 May 1944, 18,074
American soldiers suffering from disease, 4,245 from injuries,
and 10,809 battle casualties--33,128 in all--were given medical
care and attention in evacuation hospitals at the beachhead. If
recovery required fourteen days or less, the casualty remained
in the evacuation hospital; if the recovery period was estimated
to take more than two weeks, the patient was evacuated to one
of several base hospitals in the Naples area as soon as he was
strong enough to be moved.]
[Illustration: ITALY
NURSE DIGGING FOXHOLE. The confined area of the beachhead and
the lack of distinction between the front lines and rear areas
were nowhere more noticeable than in the locality of the U.
S. evacuation hospitals. For more than sixteen weeks medical
personnel healed and comforted the sick and wounded in an area
within range of enemy artillery. Soldiers called the hospital
zone “Hell’s Half Acre” and admitted their preference for the
protection of a front-line foxhole to a cot in a hospital tent.
Of the medical personnel at the beachhead, 82 were killed in
action, 387 were wounded, 19 were captured, and 60 were reported
missing in action.]
[Illustration: ITALY
WRECKAGE OF EVACUATION HOSPITAL ON THE BEACHHEAD. Most of the
hospitals were located in the vicinity of Nettuno, and all were
within easy range of enemy artillery. It was impossible, within
the confined area of the beachhead, to locate hospitals in an
area out of reach of enemy artillery.]
[Illustration: ITALY
MECHANICAL SMOKE GENERATOR IN ACTION. Generators of this type
were used at ports to prevent accurate bombing and in the field
to conceal movements of troops. Large quantities of oil, about
two 53-gallon drums per hour, were consumed. The generator was
capable of converting hydrocarbon oils of low volatility into a
fog of relatively great persistence. The special oil, usually
referred to as fog oil and used for the generation of large area
screens, was a petroleum by-product. The fog would frequently
extend five miles or more downwind. (Smoke generator M1.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
SMOKE SCREEN SHIELDING ALLIED POSITIONS. Smoke was used to a
great extent on the beachhead because the flat terrain which
the Allies occupied was under constant observation from the
enemy-held Colli Laziali. The harbor area was screened by smoke
starting one-half hour before sunset, the time the enemy bombers
usually appeared, and on every air raid alarm.]
[Illustration: ITALY
BATHING FACILITIES at the beachhead were limited but those
available were used to the fullest extent.]
[Illustration: ITALY
PRIMITIVE SHOWER BATH. Some of the more hardy souls took their
showers directly from the well in winter.]
[Illustration: ITALY
FIRING A PACK HOWITZER. From the establishment of the beachhead
the Allied artillery surpassed that of the enemy. Even with
limitations imposed on some types of ammunition, the artillery
was firing about 25,000 rounds per day. At the same time the
enemy fire falling in the port and the rest of the beachhead
was estimated to be not more than 1,500 rounds. The amount of
Allied artillery increased month by month. At the end of March
a battalion of 8-inch howitzers was brought in with the primary
mission of demolishing houses used by the enemy as observation
posts and strong points. In April a battery of 240-mm. howitzers
was added to the beachhead forces. (75-mm. pack howitzer.)
[Illustration: ITALY
USED SHELL CASES BOUND FOR THE UNITED STATES as scrap are loaded
into a freighter from an LCT.]
[Illustration: ITALY
SOLDIER FIRING A SUBMACHINE GUN at a haystack suspected of
concealing enemy soldiers. After the last German attempt to
reduce the beachhead had died out during the first days of March
1944 there began a period of stalemate on the Anzio plain. This
did not mean the end of fighting; it meant the end of pitched
battles by large numbers of men and armor. Artillery duels still
continued and enemy aircraft bombed and strafed positions as
before. There were frequent clashes and fire fights between
infantry patrols. To provide protection against enemy infantry
attacks, stress was laid on the development of self-sustaining,
mutually supporting points of resistance, usually centered on
Italian farmhouses. (.45-caliber Thompson submachine gun.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
SOLDIER TESTING “STICKY GRENADE” on an armored vehicle. This
was a British weapon used against tanks. It had a hollow-type
charge, and was held to the metal by magnets. Unlike the real
sticky grenade which could be thrown and which stuck to the
target by means of a glue substance, this antitank grenade had
to be hand-placed. During the stalemate period the front-line
troops were equipped with this type of grenade in addition to
bazookas. The charge was a delayed action type and the grenade
was set off by pulling the string attached to it.]
[Illustration: ITALY
BEACHHEAD RATION DUMP. The failure of the main part of the
army in the south to break through the Gustav Line and join
the troops at Anzio necessitated maintaining the beachhead
by sea for a longer period than planned. Shipping schedules
were revised to take care of the gradually growing forces and
to build up a reserve of food, fuel, ammunition, and other
supplies. Food could be kept in a large dump, but fuel and
ammunition presented problems. The beachhead area was so small
that fuel and ammunition dumps, no matter where placed, were
within enemy artillery range. These dumps were kept small and
dispersed in order to keep losses to a minimum. Between 22
January and 10 March 1944 a little more than 1,000 tons of
ammunition were destroyed, mostly by enemy bombing. Losses never
became critical.]
[Illustration: ITALY
SOLDIERS BUTCHERING A COW. Cattle and sheep would frequently
wander into mine fields and be wounded or killed. The carcasses
presented a welcome change from regular rations. During the
stalemate some soldiers had their own chicken pens, others
bought fresh eggs from the few remaining farmers. Foraging
patrols for homeless livestock and poultry were as carefully
planned as patrols against the enemy.]
[Illustration: ITALY
LISTENING TO A CONCERT BY A SOLDIER ORCHESTRA. This is in a
recreation area established by one of the divisions on the
beachhead in March 1944. Only a limited audience could attend
because of the ever-present danger of enemy artillery fire.
During the critical period of enemy counterattacks in February
all troops were needed for defense, but as soon as the front had
become stabilized 750 men every four days were sent by LST to
the rest center at Caserta.]
[Illustration: ITALY
OPEN AIR BARBERSHOP AT THE BEACHHEAD located in one of the
few wooded sectors of the area. Barber service, because of
its uplifting effect on morale, was made available whenever
possible.]
[Illustration: ITALY
MALARIA CONTROL. Soldier pouring diesel oil in water-filled bomb
crater to kill mosquito larvae. The Pontine Marshes near the
beachhead had for centuries been notorious for the prevalence
of malaria. In April 1944 large-scale draining projects were
started, and patrols were sent out to dust or pour oil on
canals, ditches, and pools. This activity was even carried
right into no man’s land at night. The program, combined with
preventive measures taken by the individual soldier, such as
the use of head nets, mosquito bars, insect repellents, and
atabrine, kept malaria from becoming a medical problem. The
division stationed in the worst area did not develop a single
new case of the disease.]
[Illustration: ITALY
INFLATING RUBBER DUMMY TANK (top). Placing dummy tank in
camouflaged position which had been vacated by a tank moving
toward the front for the coming offensive (bottom). The dummy
tank was designed by the British and manufactured in the United
States.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ITALY
WATCHING THE BATTLE FROM OBSERVATION POINT. The offensive from
the beachhead started at 0545, 23 May 1944, when the artillery
began firing. Allied medium and fighter bombers strafed and
bombed enemy positions. At 0630 the infantry and tanks moved
out. The artillery preparations, the most intensive thus far at
the beachhead, had searched out command posts, assembly areas,
and dumps with the result that enemy communications and supply
lines were severely damaged. The Germans recovered and put up
a strong fight, but they could not make up for the initial
disorganization.]
[Illustration: ITALY
WALKING WOUNDED ON THEIR WAY FROM THE FRONT to a hospital. Tags
tell the nature of the wound and what has been done for it in
the field or at the first aid station. On the first day of the
fight to break out of the beachhead, the Allies suffered the
heaviest casualties of the Anzio Campaign. American combat
casualties for the whole army on that day were 334 killed,
1,513 wounded, and 81 missing, a total of 1,928 and the high
point in the entire Italian campaign. The U. S. and British
combat casualties at the beachhead between 22 January and 22
May numbered about 30,000, including at least 4,400 killed
and 18,000 wounded. The enemy captured about 6,800 prisoners.
The noncombat casualties during this period amounted to about
37,000.]
[Illustration: ITALY
RECOVERING ARMOR. Tank recovery vehicle pulling disabled tank
destroyer M10 out of mine field near Cisterna di Littoria (top).
Many Allied tanks were disabled by running into their own mine
fields. Front of tank destroyer is still smoking from effect of
mine blast. In the left background is a disabled Sherman tank.
To the right are a ruined German Mark IV tank and a personnel
carrier. During the first day’s attack the Allies lost heavily
in tanks and tank destroyers. Those that ran on mines were
generally repairable, those lost as a result of enemy fire were
often wrecked beyond repair. Tank recovery vehicle M31 (same as
at top) towing German 75-mm. assault gun (bottom).]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ITALY
INFANTRY SOLDIER IN GISTERNA DI LITTORIA. This town on Highway
7 had been one of the German strong points facing the beachhead
forces. It fell to tanks and infantry on 25 May. The main
Allied drive had been launched in the direction of Cisterna di
Littoria with the object of continuing straight north to capture
Valmontone on Highway 6 and cut off the enemy forces retreating
toward Rome from the shattered Gustav Line defenses.]
[Illustration: ITALY
THE VILLAGE OF CAMPOLEONE with Campoleone station in upper
left. The station area was reached on 31 January, when the
first attempt to break out of the beachhead was made, but was
soon lost to enemy counterattacks. It was not retaken by the
Allies until 29 May 1944 during the drive on Rome. Starting
on that day a tank-infantry attack fought a two-day action to
penetrate the German defenses here, but without success. The
area was heavily defended by infantry weapons supported by enemy
tanks, self-propelled guns, artillery, and flak guns. On 31 May
the U. S. armored division making the attack was withdrawn for
maintenance purposes. Losses in both tanks and personnel had
been severe. The break-through, when it came, was made across
the eastern side of the Colli Laziali.]
[Illustration: ITALY
MONTECASSINO ABBEY. Liri Valley, the so-called Gateway to Rome,
is on the left. On 15 February the abbey was bombed and shelled
for the first time. Before that Allied soldiers had orders not
to fire even a rifle shot at the structure. Enemy ammunition
dumps were located close to the building, and gun emplacements
in the vicinity were numerous. It had become a legitimate
military objective. The bombing and shelling destroyed the abbey
as a work of art, but its usefulness to the enemy was scarcely
impaired. The rubble caused by the destruction of the upper
parts of the building only served to strengthen the remaining
lower parts.]
[Illustration: ITALY
THE BOMBING OF CASSINO on 15 March. Although it had been
repeatedly bombed before, the town was heavily bombed and
shelled that day in preparation for the attack by the New
Zealand Corps, at this time part of the Fifth Army. About 1,200
tons of bombs were dropped and 195,969 rounds were fired by
artillery ranging in size from 3-inch guns to 240-mm. howitzers.
The enemy’s defenses were not destroyed. Protected by cellars,
steel and concrete pillboxes, caves, and tunnels, the German
troops suffered comparatively few casualties. The bombing and
shelling neither overcame the enemy’s resistance nor noticeably
reduced his morale. When the infantry moved in for the attack
they were met by heavy mortar fire; when the Allied tanks
appeared they could not advance because of bomb craters and
debris. The attack was repulsed.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ITALY
CASSINO AREA, looking along Highway 6. “Castle Hill,” in left
foreground topped by tower, was in Allied hands for weeks
before the town of Cassino fell. Below cliff are ruins of
the town. The picture, made from the vicinity of the abbey,
gives some indication of the enemy’s observation over Allied
positions. The main drive through the Winter Line defenses
started above San Pietro Infine. U. S. forces began the advance
on 15 November 1943 and had fought their way to the outskirts
of Cassino by 26 January 1944, a distance of eight miles in
seventy days. The town fell on 18 May to the Eighth Army after
several unsuccessful attacks. The drive on the southern front,
to penetrate the Gustav Line, started on 11 May 1944, while that
out of the Anzio beachhead started on 23 May.]
[Illustration: ITALY
HOWITZER. These pieces fired their first mission in Italy in
Mignano Gap, 30 January 1944. They were used with good effect
during the Gustav Line fight in and around Cassino. Vehicle
towing weapon is converted General Grant tank M3 (top). Howitzer
in position near San Vittore del Lazio, five miles southeast of
Cassino (bottom). (240-mm. howitzer.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ITALY
THE ERUPTION OF VESUVIUS in March 1944 damaged a number of
aircraft on fields in the vicinity. Fuselages and wings were
pierced by fragments of rock hurled from the volcano. In
foreground is a P-40 fighter-bomber.]
[Illustration: ITALY
BAILEY BRIDGE over bypass on Highway 7 near Sessa Aurunca. This
is the coastal road between Rome and Naples; the inland road,
through the Mignano Gap, past Cassino and up the Liri Valley
to Rome, is Highway 6. The Bailey bridge was invented by the
British, from whom the U. S. forces obtained it.]
[Illustration: ITALY
THE RUINS OF SANTA MARIA, INFANTE. This village between the
Aurunci Mountains and the Golfo di Gaeta fell to U. S. forces on
14 May, three days after the attack that was to carry the Allies
to Rome started. The village had been demolished by air and
artillery bombardment. (57-mm. antitank gun.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
GOLFO Dl GAETA. The high mountain at the right is Monte
Petrella, which is 4,600 feet high; the one in the center is
Monte Ruazzo, which is 4,000 feet high. The drive through the
Gustav Line, started by the left flank of the Fifth Army, had
reached Monte Petrella by 15 May and had advanced to the Itri
Valley on the left of the picture. U. S. forces in general
advanced along the slopes facing the sea.
The French mountain troops advanced across the mountains farther
to the north, then turned right into the Liri Valley on the
other side and threatened to cut off the German forces around
Cassino and in the lower part of Liri Valley. This action by the
French made the German position untenable and the enemy started
a general withdrawal from the Gustav Line.]
[Illustration: ITALY
GOUMIERS OF THE FRENCH FORCES leading a pack train into the
Aurunci Mountains during the drive that started 11 May. Tank
is U. S. M5 light tank manned by French crew, and armed with a
75-mm. howitzer.]
[Illustration: ITALY
U. S. TANKS IN CORENO AUSONIO on 14 May. The same tanks, manned
by Americans, were attached to the French mountain troops making
a drive from the Castelforte area on the right flank of the
Fifth Army, through the Aurunci Mountains and into the Liri
Valley. (Left, light tank M5; right, medium tank M4.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
SWEEPING THE TERRACINA BEACH FOR MINES. Terracina is located
on Highway 7. During the drive the road became so overcrowded
that some supplies had to be shipped by sea. Since the small
harbor was cluttered with wreckage of ships, the beach had to be
cleared for landing and unloading. (Mine detector SCR 625.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
GERMAN PORTABLE PILLBOXES. Some of these were found in the
Gustav Line around Cassino and others were later found in
the Hitler Line in the Liri Valley. These steel pillboxes,
camouflaged and usually connected by communication trenches to
well constructed bunkers, were impregnable to all but direct
hits from artillery fire. (German mobile steel pillbox, being
removed by tank recovery vehicle M31.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ITALY
VALMONTONE ON HIGHWAY 6, twenty-five miles southeast of Rome.
This was the main escape route of the enemy forces trying to
retreat toward Rome from the Cassino-Liri Valley area. The enemy
kept the road open until 1 June. U. S. forces found the village
unoccupied on the morning of 2 June when a battle patrol entered
the town.]
[Illustration: ITALY
A TANK-INFANTRY TEAM entering Rome on 4 June. The burning
vehicle is a German Tiger tank. The enemy had been evacuating
the city for several days, but had left a strong rear guard
equipped with tanks and artillery to hold the Allies in and
below the city as long as possible. Since the streets of Rome
were not suitable for conventional infantry attacks, small
tank-infantry teams entered the city from several directions and
by early morning of 5 June were in possession of the bridges
across the Tiber.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ITALY
INFANTRYMEN OF ONE OF THE TANK-INFANTRY TEAMS to enter Rome on 4
June. Soldier on left has a Browning automatic rifle. The one on
right holds a bazooka (rocket launcher M1).]
[Illustration: ITALY
INFANTRY AWAITING SIGNAL TO ENTER ROME on 4 June. At this time
the city was being cleared by small tank-infantry teams.]
[Illustration: ITALY
FIFTH ARMY ENTERING ROME on 5 June only to continue through the
city in pursuit of the enemy retreating along the roads north
of Rome. During this retreat the Germans were under constant
bombing and strafing attacks by Allied air forces. The roads of
retreat were littered with vehicles of all kinds. (3-inch gun
motor carriage M10.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
GERMAN GRIZZLY BEAR on a street in Rome. This is a close-support
weapon and mounts a short-barreled howitzer in a high, armored
superstructure (15-cm Stu. H. 43 on Pz. Kpfw. IV chassis.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
INFANTRY IN PURSUIT OF THE ENEMY north of Rome. Note dead horse
on left. Much of the German equipment was horse-drawn, limiting
the speed of withdrawal. During the pursuit of the enemy from
Rome to the Arno River whole divisions both American and French
were gradually withdrawn from the Fifth Army to train for the
coming invasion of southern France. Army strength dropped from
248,989 on 1 June to 153,323 on 1 August 1944. Three U. S.
divisions, veterans of the Italian campaign, were sent to the
Naples area for invasion training. (57-mm. antitank gun.)]
SOUTHERN FRANCE
[Illustration: SOUTHERN FRANCE]
SECTION IV
Southern France
The offensive operation in southern France, originally scheduled to
be executed simultaneously with the Normandy landings, was conceived
with the aim of pushing northward from the southern coast, creating
a diversion of enemy troops from the northern assault, and generally
weakening the German Army in France. This operation was given the code
name ANVIL.
A serious shortage of landing craft delayed the invasion until 15
August 1944. Meanwhile preparations for such a landing served as a
threat and held a large number of German forces on the southern coast.
Craft, used first for the Normandy landings, were then rushed to the
Mediterranean for use in mounting ANVIL.
During June and July three divisions which formed the bulk of the U. S.
VI Corps were withdrawn from the battle in Italy and sent to port areas
for training and for participation in Operation ANVIL. At the
same time all the French troops with U. S. Fifth Army were withdrawn
to prepare for the invasion. The Allied strategic air forces began the
process of neutralizing vital enemy communications and installations in
southern France. As D Day approached, a large naval force was amassed
in the Mediterranean, and the ground forces, American and French
troops, were embarked from Italy, North Africa, and Corsica.
An airborne task force of American and British units, with the
mission of preventing the enemy from reinforcing the coastal defense,
successfully jumped astride the Argens River behind the German
lines before H Hour. Landings took place on 15 August 1944 in the
Cannes-Toulon sector against scattered and disorganized resistance
from the enemy. The assault forces, assisted by members of the French
Resistance forces, pressed their attack rapidly, defeated the enemy
along the coast line, and pushed inland. The troops were met with
enthusiasm by the French population.
Toulon and Marseille were captured by units of the French forces. By
the end of August the combined American and French forces had broken
German resistance in southern France, destroyed and put to flight
the enemy, and advanced to Lyons. On 11 September 1944 they made
junction with the Normandy forces west of Dijon, thereby sealing all of
southwestern France.
[Illustration: ITALY
SMOKE RISING FROM WATERFRONT INSTALLATIONS as Liberators bomb
Genoa, Italy, prior to the invasion of southern France. This
was part of a plan to keep the enemy guessing as to where the
assault would come. At the time of the Normandy landings most
of the Allied troops intended for the simultaneous invasion of
southern France were fighting in Italy.]
[Illustration: ITALY
DOCKS AND U-BOAT PENS during an air attack at Toulon, a major
French naval base. Allied air attacks destroyed U-boats awaiting
repairs in their pens and crippled production facilities. By the
end of July 1944 the Mediterranean Sea was almost cleared of
German naval power.]
[Illustration: ITALY
BOMBING OF RHÔNE RIVER BRIDGES at Tarascon by Allied planes.
Pre-D-Day bombardment wrecked all but one bridge across the
Rhône, which helped to hamper large-scale movement of enemy
troops. The Allied forces were to advance through the Rhône
River Valley which passes between two mountain masses, the
Massif Central and the Alps, and forms a great natural corridor
connecting the Mediterranean coast with the Paris basin.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
B-24 0VER THE GOLFE DE LA NAPOULE. Smoke rising in distance,
near village of Théoule-sur-Mer, is caused by bombing of
railroad, highway, and bridges. At right is Cannes. The air
offensive in support of the invasion actually began as early as
28 April 1944 when heavy bombers attacked Toulon. Between that
time and August, the Mediterranean Allied air force dropped
more than 12,500 tons of bombs on southern France. Beginning
on 10 August the offensive was continued by attacking coastal
batteries and radar stations, harassing coastal defense troops,
and isolating the target area by destroying bridges across the
Rhône.]
[Illustration: ITALY
WATERPROOFED PRIEST undergoing test in preparation for the
invasion. The invasion training center at Salerno, Italy,
established a school of one week’s instruction in waterproofing
vehicles for the coming assault. The 105-mm. howitzer motor
carriage M7 was the principal artillery weapon of the U. S.
armored division.]
[Illustration: ITALY
VEHICLES ASSEMBLED AT THE PORT OF NAPLES for the invasion of
southern France. The troop list of those landing during the
first four days included over 155,000 personnel and 20,000
vehicles of all types, including personnel and cargo carriers as
well as armored vehicles.]
[Illustration: ITALY
LOADED LST’S IN NAPLES HARBOR in August 1944 before the
invasion. By this time the Germans had been pushed north of
Florence, their air force had been greatly reduced, and their
airfields in the Po Valley were under constant air attacks by
medium and heavy bombers.]
[Illustration: ITALY
MEN ON A BEACH NEAR NAPLES waiting for water transportation to
take them to near-by landing craft and transports in the Bay of
Naples. This was the final loading before the invasion. Although
the Germans were aware of the concentration of troops and
shipping and knew that the invasion was in preparation, no enemy
bombings interfered with the loading operations. The Allied air
forces had rendered most of their airfields within range of
Naples inoperative for all practical purposes.]
[Illustration: ITALY
MEN RECEIVING CARTRIDGES OF CARBON DIOXIDE for their life
preservers, prior to boarding ships for the invasion. Rations
for the first days were also issued, each man receiving one K
ration, one D ration, one small bottle of Halazone tablets to
purify water, one bottle of salt tablets, and two packages of
cigarettes.]
[Illustration: ITALY
FULLY EQUIPPED INFANTRY SOLDIER, armed with both a carbine and
a rocket launcher, boarding a transport. (2.36-inch rocket
launcher M1A1, known as the bazooka.)]
[Illustration: EN ROUTE TO SOUTHERN FRANCE
LST’S APPROACHING THE COAST OF FRANCE. Ships carrying men and
equipment for the invasion sailed from ports in Africa, Italy,
and Corsica, the most important loading port being Naples. In
all, 853 vessels from the Allied navies formed the task force
with an additional 1,267 small landing craft, deck-loaded.
Several hours prior to the main assault amphibious landings were
made on both flanks of the invasion area and airborne landings
were made in the rear in order to isolate the beachhead from the
enemy. French commandos landed at Cap Nègre and French marines
landed near Cannes.]
[Illustration: EN ROUTE TO SOUTHERN FRANCE
ON BOARD AN AMERICAN CRUISER men pass ammunition to gunners
firing on the beaches of southern France. Naval ships commenced
long-range bombardment of prearranged targets at 0530 on D Day.
Until 0800 this fire was almost continuous, lifting only when
Allied bombers were over the targets. In all, naval guns fired
over 15,900 projectiles into the beach area prior to the assault
landings.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
DROPPING SUPPLIES TO PARATROOPERS on D Day, 15 August 1944. An
Anglo-American airborne task force landed at various hours on D
Day beginning at 0430 near le Muy and le Luc to establish road
blocks, to prevent enemy movement toward the beaches, and to
help reduce the defenses in the Frejus area. No air opposition
was encountered and the paratroopers landed and came in contact
with the enemy immediately, but resistance was light, primarily
small arms fire. Preparations were made by the paratroopers for
the landing of the glider-borne elements.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
DUST RISING FROM FIELDS AS GLIDERS LAND. The tow planes and
gliders took off from airfields in the Rome area. No gliders
were lost from enemy action, but many were wrecked in landing,
causing some casualties. The first glider serial landed about
0930 on 15 August 1944, and by late afternoon the whole force
had landed. By nightfall four small villages had been occupied
and 103 prisoners taken. A protective screen was established
over the road net connecting the invasion coast with the
interior.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
WOUNDED AND INJURED AIRBORNE TROOPS in an aid station at la
Motte. The enemy opposition to the Anglo-American air drops
and glider landings was relatively slight but this method of
warfare, in itself dangerous, resulted in unavoidable accidents
such as broken arms and legs and, in some cases, more serious
injuries.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
ROCKET SHIP CONVERTED FROM AN LCT. Ahead of the first wave of
assault troops in landing craft were rocket ships mounting tiers
of rocket launchers. As these drew within range of the beach
defenses they discharged their rockets. The first troops landed
immediately afterward. Rocket ships were equipped with launchers
for up to 1,000 rockets.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
SOLDIERS DESCENDING A LADDER into waiting assault craft.
Climbing down along the high vertical side of a transport into
a heaving and swaying assault craft while loaded down with
ammunition, equipment, and rations was in itself a difficult
task. The ladder shown here, constructed of chains separated by
wooden pieces, was a great improvement over the old rope nets.
The latter tended to bunch and stretch, making the descent
extremely difficult and slow.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRY MAN AND MEDICS in the LCVP nearing a beach. Advancing
at full speed, the assault craft approached the beaches in the
immediate wake of the rocket ships. Other landing craft can
be seen on the beach. At right is an LST. Overhead are three
barrage balloons.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
PART OF THE BEACH ON BAIE DE CAVALAIRE. On the left of the
invasion coast in the U. S. sector, one division was to assault
the beach area from Cap Cavalaire to the Cap de Saint-Tropez,
including the town of Saint-Tropez. One battalion landing on the
beach shown above advanced along the coastal road and cleared
the town of Cavalaire-sur-Mer (portion of town is at left in
photo), and by 1330 on D Day reached a road block, in the
vicinity of Cap Negre, held by the French.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
BEACH ON THE ANSE DE PAMPELONE. All beach defenses were reduced
in forty minutes after landings were made. The engineers started
clearing the beaches of mines and laying beach pontons since the
gradient was too shallow for ships to come up to the beach. One
battalion attacked inland and seized the high ground north of
the town of Rainatuelle (upper left). Two battalions moved north
and northeast and seized the hills (upper right). Saint-Tropez
is just behind these hills.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
THE CAP SARDINEAU BEACHES. Another of the three assault
divisions landed here in the center of the corps invasion area
at H Hour (0800) on D Day. The three small beaches (shown above)
lay along a curving bay between Cap Sardineau and Pointe de
l’Arpillon. The divisional area extended inland 15 to 20 miles
to le Luc and le Muy where the airborne troops had previously
landed. After clearing the beaches, the division’s mission was
to contact the paratroopers to the north and the divisions on
each flank.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
POINTE D’ANTHÉOR BEACH. On the extreme right of the invasion
coast, this beach at an inlet near Pointe d’Anthéor was small
and not well suited for a major landing. The landings took place
on the beaches on both sides of the inlet which ends where
the highway runs beside the railroad bridge. Here the Germans
directed their fire upon the assault boats and made several
direct hits, causing casualties. The assault troops placed a
road block across the coastal highway and occupied the ground
northwest of Rade-d’Agay.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
CAP DRAMMONT BEACH. The third division of the three in the U.
S. assault area had the mission of securing the right of the
invasion beaches. The divisional area extended from Pointe de
Saint-Aygulf along the coast line to Théoulesur Mer on the Golfe
de la Napoule. The first assault was over this beach west of Cap
Drammont and was considered large enough only for the initial
operations. The beach consisted of narrow strips of rocky shale
between the water and steep embankments.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
DUPLEX-DRIVE TANK. Amphibian tanks were launched from LCT’s
about 2,000 yards offshore to support infantry on the
Saint-Tropez peninsula assault. By means of the duplex drive
a regular medium tank was converted into an amphibian. When
the canvas screen was raised and held in place by mechanical
means the tank floated. The DD tank was vulnerable to mines and
underwater obstacles. Offshore at right an amphibian 2½-ton
truck is bringing a 105-mm. howitzer to the beach.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRYMEN LANDING ON BEACH FROM AN LCI. In the center of the
U. S. assault area troops landed under almost ideal amphibious
conditions, four battalions abreast with little hindrance by
mines and underwater obstacles and with light enemy resistance.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
A SMOKE SCREEN is laid to cover landing operations on the left
flank of the American assault area. While engineers, using a
mine detector (SCR 625), clear the beach of enemy mines, a DUKW
with a 105-mm. howitzer approaches the shore.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
EXPLODING MINE. On D Day morning no fire on ships or craft from
coast defense guns was reported, and on the beaches resistance
consisted mostly of small arms and mortar fire. Underwater
obstacles and land and marine mines were insufficient to delay
the landings materially. The first waves of assault troops
located and removed many of these obstacles. Note wire matting
in lower left used to form a roadbed over loose sand.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
ENEMY TRENCHES ON BEACH and two American casualties. A
waterproofed 2½-ton 6 x 6 truck offshore. Shortly after U. S.
troops landed the enemy came out of shelters and opened fire
with small arms and mortars. However, amphibian tanks, tank
destroyers, and howitzers which had landed from DUKW’s were
in position to meet this fire, and the infantry continued to
advance inland against scattered and light opposition. The first
enemy prisoners seemed dazed and well shaken by the preliminary
naval and aerial bombardment.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
AID MEN ADMINISTER PLASMA TO A FRENCH WOMAN wounded during the
invasion, using the rear of a DD tank for shelter. Men and women
of the French Forces of the Interior assisted the advancing
troops and made the countryside untenable for the isolated
enemy detachments. By midnight, the corps reported that 2,041
prisoners had been taken.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
LITTER BEARERS EVACUATING WOUNDED MAN. A medical battalion
attached to the beach group set up collecting, clearing, and aid
stations. The wounded were evacuated from the beach by Army and
Navy medical personnel to hospital ships by LCVP’s. The casualty
rates were low and the inland advance of troops rapid.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
ENEMY PILLBOX. On the morning of 16 August 1944 troops moved
through Saint-Raphaël clearing most of the resistance. There
was considerable improvisation on the part of the enemy, such
as the mounting of tank turrets on concrete to form pillboxes.
(Schmeiser machine gun and 20-mm. cannon mounted in pillbox.)]
[Illustration: FRANCE
THE FIRST FRENCH PARTISANS (French Forces of the Interior) to
meet the invading U. S. troops at the beach in the Saint-Tropez
area. The partisans had been given a list of priority targets
to be attacked on and after D Day. They were to intensify
their activities in the rear of the enemy forces, with special
emphasis on the destruction of bridges, cutting and blocking
highways and railroads, and seizing or controlling telephone and
telegraph centers.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
FRENCH TROOPS TAKE OVER A GERMAN GUN IN TOULON. At 2000
on D plus 1 a French army, consisting of seven divisions,
began landing on the beaches in the Saint-Tropez area, with
the initial mission of capturing the port cities of Toulon
and Marseille. The divisions assigned the taking of Toulon
began the encirclement of the city on 20 August. Because of
formidable enemy defenses, the combined efforts of the French
army, the tactical air command, and the Allied naval task
force were required before complete occupation of the city was
accomplished. The German garrison surrendered to the French army
on 28 August 1944. (German gun, 7.5-cm. Pak. 40.)]
[Illustration: FRANCE
THE FRENCH BATTLESHIP STRASBOURG. This ship was scuttled and
then damaged by Allied bombing on D plus 3, 18 August 1944,
in Toulon harbor. The enemy made maximum use of artillery for
coastal defense purposes. Batteries included railway guns, heavy
coast artillery, German field pieces, old French and Italian
equipment, and even naval guns transferred from French warships
scuttled in Toulon harbor.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
DAMAGED DOCKS AT MARSEILLE, the second largest city in
France, the most important port on the Mediterranean, and one
of the three cities in southern France with facilities for
handling 10,000-ton Liberty ships. (The others are Toulon and
Nice.) Marseille capitulated to the French army on 28 August
1944, particular emphasis being placed on preserving port
installations which the Germans had hoped to render useless by
large-scale demolitions.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRY AND TANKS ADVANCE ALONG A COASTAL HIGHWAY. Failure
of the defending forces to hold the invaders in the immediate
coastal area was due to several facts: the enemy had disposed
his divisions too far west; additional troops were committed
in a piecemeal fashion; coastal units in general were weak,
and lacked air support, armor, and heavy artillery. It is
also estimated that about half the enemy troops were Russian,
Czech, Turkish, Polish, and other non-Germanic people who were
not inclined to put up a determined stand. The German corps
headquarters, near Draguignan, became isolated from its command.
The French Forces of the Interior constantly harassed the
defending troops from the rear.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
INFANTRYMEN PATROL NORTH OF MONTELIMAR (top). An American tank
passes wrecked German equipment north of Montelimar (bottom).
American troops advanced on Montelimar from the south and
northeast in an attempt to cut off and destroy the German army
in that area. After eight days of hard fighting the town was
taken, but a large portion of the enemy troops had succeeded in
escaping north from the triangle formed by the Rhone, Drome, and
Roubion Rivers, along Highway 86 west of the Rhone River and
Highway 7 east of the river.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
GERMAN EQUIPMENT BURNING IN THE MONTELIMAR AREA as U. S.
artillery shells enemy convoys attempting to withdraw to the
north (top). Wreckage of enemy vehicles after being hit by
artillery fire (bottom). By the end of August the Germans had
succeeded in withdrawing the greater part of their personnel
north of the Drome River, but left behind were destroyed
vehicles, guns, and heavy equipment, which reflected the eight
days of heavy fighting. American destruction of enemy equipment
included between 2,000 and 3,000 vehicles, over 80 artillery
pieces, and 5 large-caliber railway guns.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: FRANCE
A LITTLE FRENCH GIRL giving a soldier a bottle of wine as a
gesture of welcome as U. S. troops march through the streets of
a liberated French town.]
[Illustration: FRANCE
SOLDIERS OF THE SOUTHERN INVADING ARMY meeting soldiers from
the northern invading army. At 1500, 11 September, elements
of a French armored division of the southern forces made
junction with a French armored division near Sombernon, 150
miles southeast of Paris. The two invasion forces thus joined
to form a continuous Allied front from the North Sea to the
Mediterranean.]
ITALY
(5 June 1944–2 May 1945)
SECTION V
Italy
(5 June 1944–2 May 1945)
The Allies did not halt after taking Rome, but their northward progress
was soon slowed by skillful delaying tactics of the retreating enemy
and by the fact that all the French and some of the American divisions
were being withdrawn from the U. S. Fifth Army for the operation in
southern France. The Germans speeded construction of the Gothic Line
in the north Apennines, and early in August 1944 the Allies paused for
reorganization on a line running approximately from ten miles north
of Ancona on the east through Pisa to the west coast. The Fifth Army
held the territory south of the Arno River from the sea to a few miles
east of Florence; the British Eighth Army was north of Ancona on the
Adriatic.
During August preparations were made by the Allied armies in northern
Italy to penetrate the heavily fortified Gothic Line. This defensive
system of the enemy extended in general from southeast of La Spezia
through the mountains to Rimini. After regrouping and building up
supplies, the Allied armies started their offensive on 26 August. They
succeeded in breaching the Gothic Line in the center and along the
coast, but fierce enemy resistance, bad weather, and a shortage of
ammunition and replacements halted the offensive south of the Po River
plain by the late fall of 1944. The winter of 1944–45 was spent in the
mountains overlooking the Po Valley.
The spring drive by the Allied armies started on 9 April 1945. Bologna
fell on 20 April, and armor and infantry overran the plain and divided
the German forces. On 2 May 1945 the enemy in Italy surrendered
unconditionally.
[Illustration: ITALY
SOLDIER LOADING WING GUNS OF A FIGHTER with .50-caliber
ammunition. In Italy these tough and maneuverable fighters
were used for a variety of purposes, particularly after other
fighter planes with a higher speed and longer range were
available for escorting and protecting bombers. The P-47’s
became fighter-bombers, and were also equipped to use rockets.
(4.5-inch 3-tube AC rocket launcher M15 of a P-47.)]
[Illustration: CORSICA
FRENCH COMMANDOS AND SENEGALESE TROOPS on an LCI in a Corsican
harbor prior to the attack on the island of Elba. The troops
were taken to Elba on 17 June 1944 in U. S. landing craft and in
two days the island had been secured.]
[Illustration: CORSICA
GOUMIERS BOARDING AN LST in Corsica for the attack on Elba.
The attack, though not carried out by Fifth Army troops, was
co-ordinated by Allied Force Headquarters with the advance on
the Italian mainland and was launched when the forces driving
up the mainland were nearly opposite the island. The attacking
force consisted of French, goumiers, and Senegalese.]
[Illustration: ITALY
BRAZILIAN SOLDIERS ARRIVING IN NAPLES, July 1944, to serve
with the Fifth Army during the 1944–45 winter campaign in the
northern Apennines.]
[Illustration: ITALY
GASOLINE DISTRIBUTION POINT. Oil tankers brought gasoline into
major ports. From there it was transported to storage tanks at
distribution points by pipeline, trucks, or tankers where it was
transferred to five-gallon cans for pickup.]
[Illustration: ITALY
A TIGER TANK, such as was encountered in Tunisia and Sicily, but
with a non-magnetic plastic coating. It is believed that most of
the tanks thus coated were originally destined for the Russian
front where the Germans were greatly troubled by delayed-action
magnetic mines which were stuck onto the armor of their tanks by
Russian infantry.]
[Illustration: ITALY
GERMAN ARMOR. Medium tank is the Mark IV (top). Of the four tank
types with which the Germans started the war, only this survived
in service until the end. Originally it had a short-barreled
75-mm. gun which changed its role from a close-support vehicle
to a fighting tank. Assault gun (bottom). The Germans used
this in great numbers, and it was often called a tank, but was
actually an assault gun and tank destroyer on the chassis of a
Mark III tank. (Top: Pz. Kpfw. IV tank with 7.5-cm. Kw. K. 40
(L/43) gun; bottom: Stu. G. III with 7.5-cm. Stu. K. 40 gun.)]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ITALY
GERMAN AMPHIBIAN JEEP, a version of the light Army car,
Volkswagen. Both versions were inferior in every respect to the
U. S. jeep except in the comfort of the seating accommodations.
(Schwimmwagen, le.P.K w.K.2s.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
ENGINEERS SETTING OFF ENEMY MINES in a street in Leghorn on
19 July 1944, the day the city fell. The soldier at left is
guarding engineers against snipers. The Germans had destroyed
all the port facilities, mined the buildings in the harbor
area, and made the latter unusable by blocking the entrance
with sunken ships. The drive from Rome to the Arno River was
a pursuit action in which the Germans, by skillful delaying
tactics, slowed the Allied advance so that completion of
the Gothic Line defenses in the northern Apennines could be
expedited. The mouth of the Arno River was reached by 23 July
1944.]
[Illustration: ITALY
TROOPS IN PISA. The southern outskirts of this town on the Arno
River were entered on 23 July 1944. The enemy had destroyed all
bridges across the river and when the infantry entered the town
they were met by heavy fire from across the river. The southern
half of the city was found heavily mined and booby-trapped.
During the approach to the Arno River plans were being completed
for introduction of antiaircraft units into the lines as
infantry since enemy air activity had decreased to the extent
that many AA units could be more profitably used as infantry.]
[Illustration: ITALY
FIRING HOWITZERS across the Arno River in August. The men of
this unit were part of an American all-Negro regimental combat
team, the first to appear in Italy. They entered the line south
of the Arno on 23 August. A few weeks later an entire Negro
infantry division was at the front. (105-mm. howitzer.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
MEMBERS OF AN ARMORED FIELD ARTILLERY UNIT firing a 105-mm.
howitzer during training south of the Arno River. The howitzer
is mounted on a Priest. The Fifth Army reached the Arno at
Pontedera on 18 July and the first week in August found the
forces grouped along the southern bank on a thirty-five-mile
front reaching from the sea on the west to Florence. The month
of August was used for resupplying, resting, and training the
units. (105-mm. howitzer; M7 gun motor carriage.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
NEGRO TROOPS CROSSING THE ARNO near Pontedera on 1 September,
during the drive toward the Gothic Line. The attack on this line
was started by the Eighth Army along the east coast on the night
of 25–26 August. On 1 September the line had been breached in
that sector but by the 6th the advance had been stopped a few
miles below Rimini on the Adriatic coast. This advance by the
British caused the German High Command to shift three divisions
opposing the Americans to the British sector. The forces
directly opposite the Arno drew back into the Gothic Line, a
distance of about twenty miles.]
[Illustration: ITALY
SHERMAN TANK FORDING THE ARNO in the Cascina area on 1
September. Little opposition was met until the Gothic Line
was reached. The Germans had started to withdraw into this
line during the last days of August. Before the withdrawal,
it was estimated that the area between the Arno River and the
Gothic Line contained about 350 enemy tanks, half of which were
Panthers and Tigers. (Sherman tank M 4A 1.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
TOP OF IL GIOGO PASS IN THE GOTHIC LINE, looking toward the
north. The Fifth Army broke through this pass in the Gothic Line
defenses outflanking the heavier prepared fortifications at Futa
Pass on Highway 65. The scarcity of roads through the mountains
made it possible for the Germans to concentrate their defensive
works at a few key points such as the Futa and Il Giogo Passes.
Highway 6524 branches off Highway 65 thirteen miles north of
Florence, winds through Il Giogo Pass, and ends at Highway 9 in
Imola (Po Valley).]
[Illustration: ITALY
INFANTRY ADVANCING OVER THE HILLS in the area of Il Giogo Pass
on 18 September, the day the pass was taken. The fight for the
area started on the morning of 12 September. The mountains on
each side of Il Giogo Pass are too steep to require antitank
defenses other than road blocks, but other defenses such as
underground fortresses were numerous and well prepared. Barbed
wire and antipersonnel mine fields guarded approaches. Many of
the hills were covered with pine woods which made it difficult
to locate enemy defenses by the use of aerial photographs. Some
information was obtained from partisans who had worked on the
Gothic Line.]
[Illustration: ITALY
PACK MULE TRAIN approaching the Gothic Line in the area of Il
Giogo Pass. For the difficult task of supplying their troops
through the mountains the Allied forces had 9 Italian Army mule
pack companies, each containing 260 mules. (2½-ton U. S. truck
overturned.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
HIGHWAY 65 AT FUTA PASS. This pass, at an altitude of 2,962
feet, is one of the lowest through the northern Apennines.
Highway 65, the most direct route to Bologna and the Po Valley,
became the main supply route and a principal axis of advance in
the Fifth Army area, although the breach in the Gothic Line was
not made here. Futa Pass fell on 22 September.]
[Illustration: ITALY
INFANTRY PACK TEAMS bringing supplies to units fighting in the
Gothic Line near Futa Pass. Mule pack teams were available but
some of the paths were too steep even for pack animals.]
[Illustration: ITALY
ANTITANK DITCH AT FUTA PASS. This ditch, about three miles long,
crossed the road south of the pass. The ditch was covered with
a network of infantry positions and bunkers for antitank guns.
The area in front of the ditch was mined. Two of the bunkers in
this area were topped by Panther tank turrets with long-barreled
75-mm. tank guns.]
[Illustration: ITALY
A PANTHER TURRET CASEMATE in the Gothic Line near Futa Pass. The
turret could not be penetrated by the guns of any of our tanks,
but was vulnerable to artillery fire.]
[Illustration: ITALY
REPAIRING PONTON TREADWAY BRIDGE over the Arno at Pontedera.
The supply situation of Fifth Army troops at the Gothic Line
was made difficult by fall rains which raised the Arno River to
flood level and washed out most of the bridges between Florence
and Pontedera.]
[Illustration: ITALY
MACHINE GUNNERS FIRING AT GERMANS in the Monticelli area near Il
Giogo Pass. Note flash hider attached to front of machine gun.
The Americans occupied Firenzuola on 21 September. (.30-caliber
Browning machine gun M1917A1, a development of the M1917 which
proved its worth in World War I.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
AMERICAN ENGINEERS CONSTRUCTING A BYPASS in the Firenzuola
area during the pursuit of the Germans. The combat engineers,
prepared to bulldoze a bypass or to install temporary bridges,
followed closely behind the leading elements of the infantry and
armor. (Jeep; crawler type diesel tractor with angledozer.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
BAILEY BRIDGE in the Firenzuola area. This is the same site as
the scene of the bulldozer constructing a bypass, the picture
being taken two days later. The Bailey bridge was particularly
suitable for operations in the mountains of Italy where sudden
rains would swell the rivers and wash out ponton bridges.]
[Illustration: ITALY
AMERICAN ARTILLERYMEN firing captured German 150-mm. gun near
Lucca. Note small amount of smoke. German ammunition was charged
with smokeless, flash-less powder which in both night and day
fighting helped the enemy tremendously in concealing his fire
positions. All U. S. guns, from the rifle to the large howitzer,
left telltale puffs of smoke during daytime or showed relatively
large and brilliant muzzle flashes at night.]
[Illustration: ITALY
A GROUP OF ARMORED VEHICLES at a salvage yard of a heavy
maintenance company in Italy. (1, 2, and 3, light tanks M5; 4,
medium tank M4; 5, gun motor carriage M10; 6, medium tank M4. A
tractor and tank recovery trailer are partially visible, upper
right.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
SOLDIERS IN THE APENNINES receiving an issue of woolen
underwear, September 1944. Some of the peaks in the northern
Apennines rise to well over 5,000 feet and the weather is
unpleasantly cold in winter. Fall rains, often turning to sleet,
start in September and the higher peaks are usually snow-covered
by late October. Highway 65, the main axis of advance, runs
mostly on top of the mountain ridges. Here the cold is
particularly severe. There is nothing to break the winter winds
and part of the road is so high that it is often cloud-covered.]
[Illustration: ITALY
LOADING MULES WITH AMMUNITION for 155-mm. howitzers in the
Castel del Rio area on Highway 6524, between Firenzuola and the
town of Imola in the Po Valley. After breaching the Gothic Line
at Il Giogo Pass an attempt to reach the Po Valley at Imola
was made along the route above. Because of the exposed salient
and stiff enemy resistance, the axis of attack was changed to
Highway 65. On 1 October, the day the picture was made, bloody
fighting for possession of the controlling height of Monte
Battaglia, east of Castel del Rio, was in progress.]
[Illustration: ITALY
A TANK BATTALION PREPARING TO ATTACK along Highway 65 toward
the village of Monghidoro. The attack started on the morning of
1 October and by evening of the 2d the village was securely in
Allied hands. The Sherman tanks pictured here are all armed with
76-mm. guns.]
[Illustration: ITALY
TRUCK TOWING HOWITZER along Highway 65 during the beginning of
the 1 October drive. Smoke is from M2 smoke generators. (6-ton
truck; 155-mm. howitzer.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
TERRAIN OF THE WINTER STALEMATE in the northern Apennines,
looking toward the southeast. The high mountain peak in distance
is Monte Vigese. This mountain was taken by the South Africans
of the Fifth Army on 6 October 1944 after a three-day fight.
The territory in the foreground was in enemy hands until the
beginning of March 1945 when it was taken by American and
Brazilian troops in a limited offensive to obtain better jumping
off places for the main attack toward the Po Valley.]
[Illustration: ITALY
NEGRO TROOPS ADVANCING ON HIGHWAY 12 along the Torrente
Lima. Jeeps with trailers were used and in danger areas the
windshields were folded forward and covered with canvas to
prevent light reflection. The sort of road demolition shown was
common during the fighting in the northern Apennines. Valley
roads were subject to natural landslides, and large-scale
destruction was easy to accomplish.]
[Illustration: ITALY
ROAD IN THE APENNINES during the October drive. After the first
week, weather was a contributing factor to the slow pace of the
offensive. Rainy and foggy days worked almost entirely to the
benefit of the enemy. Artillery observation planes were grounded
and few of the planned air missions could be flown. Finally,
with each mile that the troops advanced over the rain-soaked
trails and dirt roads, the problem of keeping supplies moving
forward increased. Engineers kept working night and day pouring
gravel and crushed rock on the roads. They managed to keep
highways open for all types of vehicles and side roads passable
for the four-wheel-drive jeep and the powerful 2½-ton truck.
(Jeep; 2½-ton truck.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
THE WEASEL, officially cargo carrier M29, came into its own
during the campaign in the northern Apennines. It operated
satisfactorily off the roads under mud or snow conditions and
helped to provide lateral communications. Most roads in the
Fifth Army sector of the Apennines ran more or less parallel
in a northerly direction; the area of the winter fighting
was almost completely devoid of east-west roads. The Weasel,
originally designed for use over snow and ice, had low ground
pressure and proved suitable for operation across fields or poor
trails. It had a crew of two and a pay load of approximately
1,000 pounds.]
[Illustration: ITALY
JEEPS ALONG THE SUPPLY ROADS in the northern Apennines. This
vehicle was capable of operating over unimproved roads and
trails and could be shifted into four-wheel drive for steep
grades and muddy or sandy terrain. It could climb a 60 percent
grade and attain a speed of 65 miles per hour over level
highways. The jeep could also ford a stream 18 inches deep while
fully loaded and a deeper stream when especially equipped with
exhaust and air-intake extensions. The jeep, truck, and pack
mule were always important in the advances made.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ITALY
APPROACH TO LIVERGNANO ON HIGHWAY 65, looking from the south
along the highway. The village is the small cluster of ruined
houses below cliff on left. The Germans occupied the houses
as well as the tops and sides of the two hills. The latter
were honeycombed with caves which the enemy had enlarged and
strengthened. The fighting lasted from 9 to 14 October. On the
14th the enemy was still in possession of most of the village
and the two hills but retreated because he had been outflanked
from the west.]
[Illustration: ITALY
THE RUINS OF LIVERGNANO. The main highway through the village
runs to Florence (upper right), and to Bologna (center left).
Livergnano, taken in a five-day fight, became known as “Liver
and Onions.” During the final attack of this fall offensive
toward Bologna, which started on 16 October and bogged down in
mud toward the end of the month, the enemy concentrated his
artillery fire on this village in an attempt to demolish the
houses along the road and thus block the highway, the supply
road for the area. The enemy managed to knock down some of the
houses but did not succeed in stopping traffic. Bulldozers
filled the craters in the road and pushed aside the rubble.]
[Illustration: ITALY
MONTE BELLA FORMICHE, taken after a three-day fight starting on
10 October. This mountain, located east of Highway 65, is 2,092
feet high, the highest of the terrain features in the chain
of enemy defenses stretching east and west across Highway 65
through the village of Livergnano.]
[Illustration: ITALY
LIGHTNING FIGHTERS. This twin-engined fighter was the first
successful long-range bomber escort developed by the United
States. Most Allied fighter planes in Italy gradually came to
be used as fighter-bombers as the need for protecting bomber
formations from hostile aircraft diminished. In August 1943
the Germans had only about six hundred combat aircraft, mostly
fighters, in Italy. About a third of these were of limited use.
Demands for fighters on the Russian front and the need for
protecting production centers in Germany from Allied bombings
caused some withdrawal of enemy fighters based in Italy. (P-38.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
THUNDERBOLT FIGHTER-BOMBERS over the northern Apennines. Note
belly tank to increase range, and bombs under wings. Beginning
in October 1944, extensive use of the 110-gallon fuel tank
incendiary bombs containing a jelly-like mixture called napalm
was made for the first time on the Italian front. The bombs
proved particularly effective against enemy bivouacs and troop
installations in wooded areas where the highly inflammable
fuel, scattered over a wide area, could start numerous fires.
Fighter-bombers co-operated closely with the ground forces.
(P-47.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
MUSTANG FIGHTERS. This plane, the P-51, was originally made
for the British and was used by the Royal Air Force as early
as November 1941. The Army Air Forces started to use it in
July 1942. The A-36 version of the P-51 was a fighter-bomber,
and except for diving brakes and differences in armament, the
two ships were alike. With the addition of wing tanks the P-51
became a long-range fighter used to escort bombers.]
[Illustration: ITALY
LIBERATOR BOMBERS from Italian bases bombing the Munich area
in southern Germany. Smoke-making generators in operation to
blanket vital areas. Note black bursts of antiaircraft fare.
Heavy bombers from Foggia could easily strike at the passes
in the Alps and attack enemy installations and factories in
southern Germany and Austria as these targets were closer to
Allied bases in Italy than they were to those in England.]
[Illustration: ITALY
LIBERATOR BEING SHOT DOWN by flak over the Po Valley in northern
Italy. As the war in the Mediterranean progressed the size
and effectiveness of the enemy air forces decreased, while
the antiaircraft defenses increased and became more and more
concentrated around the remaining enemy targets. As various
enemy targets were damaged beyond usefulness, antiaircraft
units defending them were sent to strengthen defenses around
industrial plants still in production.]
[Illustration: ITALY
FLAK-DAMAGED FUSELAGE OF A FLYING FORTRESS. This plane received
a direct antiaircraft shell hit while on a mission over Hungary
but managed to fly back to Italy where it collapsed on landing.
In spite of damage to the bomber none of the crew was hurt.]
[Illustration: ITALY
COREGLIA ANTELMINELLI in the mountains west of the Serchio
River. This region was being held by an American Negro infantry
division. On the morning of 26 December 1944 a mixed enemy force
of Germans and Italians started an attack in this vicinity and
pushed the division back several miles. An Indian brigade was
rushed up to halt the advance of the enemy. Since it was feared
that the enemy might break through and threaten the Allied
supply base at Leghorn, reinforcements were rushed to the area
to protect the vital base. On the night of the 27th the Indians
made contact with the enemy who started to retreat. By 31
December almost all the lost territory had been regained and the
line was again stabilized.]
[Illustration: ITALY
A SOUTH AFRICAN ARMORED UNIT in the Reno River valley firing at
German positions across the river, November 1944. Combat action
in the Fifth Army sector during November and the first half of
December was largely confined to patrol activities and artillery
duels. The South African armored division had been transferred
from the Eighth Army to the Fifth Army in late August 1944.]
[Illustration: ITALY
TANK MAINTENANCE POST in abandoned Italian farmhouse. During the
long winter stalemate time was utilized to make major repairs
on armored vehicles. Minor repairs, such as thrown tracks, were
made at forward maintenance posts such as the above which was
located only about 400 yards behind the front lines. (1, medium
tank M4A1; 2 and 3, 76-mm. gun motor carriage M18; 4, medium
tank M4A1; 5, medium tank M4, with 76-mm. gun (note different
gun mount); 6, tank recovery vehicle M31.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
MOBILE FIELD ARTILLERY MAINTENANCE UNIT near the front. These
units were used a great deal during the winter. Artillery off
the main roads could be moved only with difficulty after the
rains started and repairs that were normally made in shops
behind the front had to be done in the field. The first two
vehicles shown above are tank recovery vehicles M32, and are
modifications of the M4 designed primarily for recovery of tanks
from battlefields. The fixed turret replaces the customary tank
turret. Third vehicle is weapons carrier, ¾-ton 4 x 4 truck.]
[Illustration: ITALY
BRITISH ANTIAIRCRAFT GUNNERS protecting U. S. engineers
constructing a Bailey bridge on Highway 64 crossing the Reno
River. This was in preparation for an attack on Monte Belvedere
west of the highway. The 3,600-foot mountain was taken on 24
November 1944 by elements of a U. S. Negro infantry regiment
and members of British and U. S. antiaircraft units serving as
infantry. The enemy counterattacked for five days and the Allies
had to give up the position. During the fall and winter of 1944
most U. S. and British antiaircraft units were being trained
for infantry duty as rapidly as training and the issuance of
appropriate weapons would permit. (The gun shown is the 40-mm.
automatic antiaircraft type, originally made in Sweden and used
by the Allies and the enemy. The gun could be towed at 50 miles
per hour and transferred from traveling to firing position in 25
seconds.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
PATROL ACTIVITY, December 1944. During the relatively quiet
period of the first half of December, both sides sent patrols
to probe the front lines and bring back prisoners. When the
cold weather set in, winter clothing was issued, including the
reversible, hooded coat known as the parka shown above. One
side was the conventional olive drab, the other side white for
camouflage in snow. New type shoepacs, combination wool sweaters
and cotton field jackets, and sleeping bags left the troops
better prepared for inclement weather than they were during the
previous winter, but there would be no possibility of keeping
dry at the front during an attack when the rain lasted for days
on end.]
[Illustration: ITALY
INSPECTING FRONT-LINE TROOPS FOR TRENCH FOOT. The second winter
of fighting in Italy found the Allies better equipped to handle
the trench foot problem which in November 1943 accounted for
20 percent of the casualties at its peak incidence. Units were
gradually being equipped with shoepacs, an important item
in the prevention of trench foot. The shoepac consisted of
a moccasin-shaped foot of rubber, and a laced, waterproofed
leather top, which extended well up the calf of the leg. It was
worn with felt inner soles or woolen ski socks.]
[Illustration: ITALY
PIPELINE PUMPING STATION AT LEGHORN. Construction of this line
started soon after the capture of the port. By 23 November 1944
the pipeline had reached Highway 65 just a few miles behind the
front, eliminating the trucking of gasoline over this already
overcrowded road.]
[Illustration: ITALY
DOUBLE PIPELINE which carried gasoline from the port of
Leghorn to the army front in the Apennines. “Pipeline walking”
to inspect for leakage was done by jeep whenever possible.
Because of hilly terrain several booster pumping stations were
necessary. (4-inch double pipeline.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
FILLING CANS WITH GASOLINE at the Raticosa Pass on Highway 65,
terminal of the pipeline from Leghorn. These cans were picked
up by truck and distributed to individual units. As the front
moved, the pipeline was extended to keep up with the troops.
(Five-gallon gasoline cans.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
MEMBERS OF A SOUTH AFRICAN UNIT firing a Long Tom. This unit was
stationed along Highway 64. During the winter of 1944–45 the
U. S. Fifth Army roster included Brazilians, South Africans,
British, and Italians as well as U. S. white and Negro troops,
while the British Eighth Army along the east side of the
peninsula contained New Zealanders, Canadians, Poles, Indians,
Italians, and Jewish troops from Palestine in addition to United
Kingdom units.]
[Illustration: ITALY
TRUCK WITH ROTARY SNOWPLOW clearing Highway 64 near Collina.
The first snow fell in the mountains on 11 November. Snow,
rain, sleet, and ice-coated curves on the roads leading to the
front made the supply situation a difficult one. The constant
work by snowplows and the hand labor of thousands of soldiers
and Italian civilians kept the main roads open throughout the
winter.]
[Illustration: ITALY
AMBULANCE EVACUATING WOUNDED from the front lines near Highway
65, between Loiano and Livergnano. The flow of wounded from
the battlefield was carefully controlled. Evacuation hospitals
were kept as free of patients as possible, thereby affording
immediate facilities for the most urgent cases. It was found
desirable in daylight hours to direct the main stream of
casualties to hospitals located farther in the rear, while
during the night most of the patients were brought to the
forward hospital units in order to reduce the delay caused
by blackout ambulance driving over icy roads. (¾-ton 4 x 4
ambulance.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
TRUCK ON HIGHWAY 65 near Loiano receives near miss, January
1945. This highway had been the main axis of advance during the
October offensive in the U. S. sector and was the only good road
in this area. During the winter stalemate and build-up for the
spring offensive, a period of about five months, this road was
under observed enemy artillery fire directed from Monte Adone, a
commanding position between Highways 64 and 65.]
[Illustration: ITALY
MEN RESTING IN THEIR QUARTERS in an old barn after a day in
foxholes at the front. During cold weather, winterization of
living quarters was carried out on a large scale, although men
in the extreme forward positions usually had to improvise with a
raincoat and a blanket in a foxhole.]
[Illustration: ITALY
TROOPS IN A DEFENSE POSITION near Highway 65. This area was
thinly populated and houses were few and far between. Those
still standing drew fire, and troops in support or reserve
positions would dig in on the reverse slope of hills and make
their foxholes as comfortable as possible. Roofs and walls were
constructed from empty shell cases, food containers, and the
like and reinforced with sand bags. Keeping warm was a problem:
the area is almost bare of trees; most of the heating of the
foxholes was done by gasoline stoves, sometimes issued, often
improvised.]
[Illustration: ITALY
SOLDIERS AT THE ROMAN FORUM during a rest and recreation period
away from the front. The rest-center idea, which had proved
highly successful during the winter fighting of 1943–44, was
carried out on a much larger scale in Rome and in the cities
of the Arno Valley in the fall and winter of 1944–45. Hundreds
of thousands of troops were rotated through the rest and leave
centers set up under military supervision to provide a place
of relaxation where men could forget the rigors and dangers
of the front line, sleep in beds, take baths, visit places of
historic interest, and generally indulge in the pleasures and
entertainment of civilization, if only for a brief period.]
[Illustration: ITALY
FIRING ROCKET PROJECTILES from a tank mount. Experiments were
carried out in January 1945 in the Arno Valley. Of the several
different mounts tested, one had 54 tubes placed on top of a
medium tank turret, another had 18 tubes mounted on the same
carriage as a towed 37-mm. gun. Because of the great variation
in deflection and range the weapon was not practical against
a point target and the smoke and flame given off when fired
tended to disclose its position. It proved effective for a heavy
concentration over a wide area for a short period. The short
range of the rocket, slightly less than 4,000 yards, was a
limiting factor. (Each cluster of 3 magnesium tubes is a rocket
launcher, aircraft M15, mounted on M17 (T40) modified rocket
launcher frame. 4.5-inch rockets were used.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
AN INFANTRY COMPANY moves into the line under a smoke screen to
relieve another company. During the five-month static period
starting at the beginning of November 1944, rotation of units
for rest and recreation was a regular procedure.]
[Illustration: ITALY
JEEP PASSING A TRAFFIC CONTROL POINT in the northern Apennines.
Rigid supervision of transportation over the crowded mountain
roads was necessary if proper supply was to be made, tactical
movements carried out, and vehicles conserved. To accomplish
this, traffic control points were set up. Road movement
approval was required for all convoys of ten or more vehicles.
The traffic posts also served as a check on unnecessary or
unauthorized use of military vehicles. Military police operated
“chain points” where vehicles going into the mountains were
stopped and beyond which the use of chains was mandatory.]
[Illustration: ITALY
RESTACKING HOWITZER AMMUNITION. German air activity by this time
was so slight that dumps a few miles behind the front were not
camouflaged. (Ammunition for 155-mm. howitzer.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
SIGNAL CORPS MEN checking wires outside the telephone exchange
in a cave at Livergnano.]
[Illustration: ITALY
MAN CARRYING HOWITZER AMMUNITION to a battery high in the hills.
These men were members of a division especially trained for
mountain fighting. On 18 February 1945 this division, together
with the Brazilian division under Fifth Army command, started an
assault on German positions in the Monte Belvedere area west of
Highway 64. The Monte Belvedere area dominated about ten miles
of this highway. After severe fighting that lasted until 5 March
1945, the mountain mass was in Allied hands. (Ammunition for
75-mm. howitzer.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
REINFORCEMENTS MOVE UP toward the fighting in the Monte
Belvedere area. The men are equipped with M1 rifles and
carbines, special shoes, and rucksack type pack.]
[Illustration: ITALY
EVACUATING WOUNDED FROM MONTE BELVEDERE. As vehicles could not
negotiate the mountain trails, stretcher bearers had to carry
the wounded. Casualties from mines were numerous as the enemy
had been in position on this dominating hill for several months
and had mined and booby-trapped every likely avenue of approach
as well as many of the farmhouses on the mountain slopes.]
[Illustration: ITALY
RED CROSS GIRL writing letter for wounded soldier. In addition
to performing duties such as this, the American Red Cross
operated clubs and motion picture theaters for the soldiers. The
clubs served coffee, doughnuts, and ice cream, and sponsored
musical programs, vaudeville shows, and dances. All was free of
charge. The estimated attendance at the Red Cross clubs in the
Arno Valley during February 1945 was 896,000.]
[Illustration: ITALY
SOLDIERS DURING A LULL IN THE FIGHTING on Monte Grande which was
taken on 20 October 1944 after a tough two-day fight. The city
of Bologna was only about nine miles away and could be plainly
seen from the summit. Because of its commanding position,
the Germans made several local attacks during the winter to
recapture the mountain but were repulsed each time.]
[Illustration: ITALY
INFANTRY COLUMN passing a supply-transfer point in the Monte
Grande area east of Highway 65, February 1945. Supplies were
transferred from trucks to the tracked Weasels at this point.
Higher in the mountains the mule pack train took over from the
tracked vehicles.]
[Illustration: ITALY
Members of an American Engineer Company working on a trail in
the vicinity of Monte Grande. An Indian pack mule convoy is
returning after taking supplies to the front line.]
[Illustration: ITALY
BRIDGING EQUIPMENT. “Ark” with end sections of treadway in
raised position (top). Medium tank M4, crossing canal on Ark
(bottom). With a total span of 54 feet, the treadway would
span a canal about 45 feet wide. After November 1944, when
the offensive in the mountains bogged down, most of the armor
with the Fifth Army was gradually withdrawn to the Arno Valley
where training for the spring offensive took place. New methods
and techniques were developed and tried. The Ark above was
constructed by an ordnance company for use in crossing canals in
the Po Valley.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: ITALY
SIGNAL CORPS LINEMEN stringing communication wire in preparation
for the coming spring offensive. During the winter stalemate
many new lines were strung and hookups were made to the Italian
state underground cable system. Circuits linked all units of the
Fifth Army and an eight-mile line containing eight open-wire
circuits was started in February 1945 from Filigare on Highway
65 near Monghidoro to the village of Lagaro Highway 6620.]
[Illustration: ITALY
SOLDIERS IN LIVERGNANO watch the shelling of the village by the
enemy, March 1945. Livergnano was taken on 14 October 1944 after
a five-day fight along Highway 65 in an attempt to break through
into the Po Valley. The advance was halted a few miles beyond
this village. (Garand M1, .30-caliber rifle.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
INFANTRY ACTION during the attack toward Monte della Spe. The
soldier in the foreground is covering the house with his rifle
while the other members of his squad approach it. A few minutes
after this picture was made the house and the knoll behind it
were taken, netting 57 German prisoners. Monte della Spe, west
of Highway 64, was taken on 5 March 1945.]
[Illustration: ITALY
MONTE DELLA SPE AREA, looking toward the east. Highway 64
parallels the Reno River (in distance). The village of Vergato
is shown on the west bank of the river. Monte della Spe is the
rounded hill in foreground. It was taken on 5 March 1945 during
an attack to secure a suitable jumping off place for the spring
offensive. Vergato, which was an enemy strong point, and most
of the surrounding territory remained in enemy hands after the
capture of Monte della Spe. The main offensive, the attack
toward the Po Valley, started from here on 14 April 1945 and by
the 20th Allied troops had broken into the valley.]
[Illustration: ITALY
EASTER SERVICE 1 APRIL 1945.]
[Illustration: ITALY
RETURNING PATROL. As the spring offensive became imminent,
patrol activities increased.]
[Illustration: ITALY
SOLDIERS MOVING UP into the line a few days before the start of
the attack toward the Po Valley.]
[Illustration: ITALY
SELF-PROPELLED GUNS of a South African armored unit firing
a mission a few days before the attack to break into the Po
Valley. These vehicles are American Sherman tanks modified by
the British as self-propelled guns. Prior to the jump-off, the
units along the Fifth Army front had been engaged in a series of
deceptive artillery fires.]
[Illustration: ITALY
NEGRO SOLDIERS FIRING HOWITZERS in support of the Nisei who were
making an attack northward along the mountain ridges toward the
towns of Massa and Carrara. The attack started on 5 April 1945.
The Nisei were American soldiers of Japanese ancestry. (75-mm.
howitzers.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
BODIES OF AMERICAN INFANTRYMEN killed during the opening of the
spring offensive. Note stretcher bearer in background looking
for casualties. The infantry was making an attack across the
mountains toward Massa and Carrara on the west coast.]
[Illustration: ITALY
TANK DESTROYER speeding along Highway 1 through the town of
Querceta during the spring offensive. The main effort of the
army was along Highways 64 and 65.]
[Illustration: ITALY
BRINGING IN THE FIRST PRISONERS taken at the start of the main
drive to reach the Po Valley. On 14 April at 0945 the offensive
was started by U. S. mountain troops in the hills west of
Vergato on Highway 64.]
[Illustration: ITALY
PIANORO ON HIGHWAY 65, looking south toward the hills occupied
by the Allies for almost six months. Pianoro, at lower left, was
one of the keys of the German defense systems barring entrance
to Bologna and the Po Valley. The fight for Pianoro started on
16 April. Entering what was left of the town on the evening of
the 18th, the infantry found it booby-trapped.]
[Illustration: ITALY
SOUTH AFRICAN ARMOR waiting along Highway 64 for a U. S.
infantry division to pass on its way to the Po Valley, 20
April. On this date the troops in the U. S. zone broke through
the mountains into the Po Valley just west of Bologna. The two
highways in this area, 64 and 65, became congested with troops
and vehicles in pursuit of the fleeing enemy. (Sherman medium
tanks.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
U. S. ARMY MOTION-PICTURE CAMERAMAN photographing the first
tank of the South African armored force to cross the Reno River
southwest of Bologna, 20 April. The practice of infantrymen
riding on tanks while advancing was included in training for
armored units in the United States early in 1944. (Sherman M4A3
tank with British 17-pounder; camera: PH-330 (Sig C), Eyemo,
Bell, and Howell, 35-mm., three lenses mounted in turret.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
WEARY U. S. TROOPS IN BOLOGNA on the morning of 21 April. The
city, entered from the south by U. S. forces and from the east
by Poles of the Eighth Army, fell that day. Pressing forward the
troops pursued the fleeing Germans.]
[Illustration: ITALY
ITALIAN PARTISANS WATCHING FOR SNIPERS. During the winter of
1944–45 Allied officers, arms, and ammunition were dropped
behind the enemy lines to assist partisans in the Po Valley.
Although partisans, armed with equipment obtained from Italian
arsenals or seized from the Germans, first appeared north of
Rome, it was not until the Allies reached Bologna that they met
the efficiently organized groups from the Po Valley. As troops
entered the city, where the Germans were numerous, the partisans
struck, seizing government agencies and public utilities.]
[Illustration: ITALY
THE PANARO RIVER BRIDGES near Bomporto. After the breakout into
the Po Valley, the next objective was the Po River. The area
south of this river is broken by small streams and numerous
canals. Most of the bridges had been destroyed by the Allied air
forces during the winter. Later air reconnaissance found these
undamaged bridges at Bomporto. A task force, sent to secure
them, passed through the fleeing and disorganized enemy. So
sudden was its appearance that, by 1600 on 21 April, it captured
the bridges before the Germans could detonate previously laid
demolition charges.]
[Illustration: ITALY
TREADWAY BRIDGE ACROSS THE PO RIVER at San Benedetto. Opened on
the afternoon of 25 April, it was the first bridge across the
river. The infantry had started to cross in this area on the
morning of the 23d in assault boats under heavy machine gun,
mortar, and rifle fire as well as fire from enemy antiaircraft
guns lowered to fire airbursts on a flat trajectory. Casualties
were high, but by 1745 a bridgehead of 2,000 square yards had
been established on the north bank of the Po. The bridge above
is 915 feet long. (Floating treadway bridge M2, class 18.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
ACTION DURING THE PO RIVER CROSSING at Ostiglia, 24 April. A
57-mm. antitank gun firing in support of an infantry assault
across the railroad bridge to the north bank of the river. (The
British 6-pounder was the forerunner of the 57-mm. gun. It was
adapted for U. S. use and also manufactured for other United
Nations under the lend-lease agreement as the 57-mm. antitank
gun.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
INFANTRY CROSSING PO RIVER UNDER FIRE, Ostiglia railroad bridge,
24 April. The crossing in this zone was opposed by enemy machine
guns and 20-mm automatic weapons. The patrol above worked its
way to the other side and knocked out enemy guns and crews. The
railroad bridge was partially demolished and unfit for vehicles.]
[Illustration: ITALY
“ALLIGATORS” ABOUT TO CROSS PO RIVER near Ostiglia. Developed by
the U. S. Navy, the first shipment of these amphibian tracked
vehicles arrived in December 1944 and training was begun.
Great secrecy surrounded them and they were kept thoroughly
camouflaged before the dash to the Po. They were armored and
each had socket mounts at four locations for either .30-or
.50-caliber machine guns. A stern ramp could be lowered to take
on a vehicle. Maximum capacity was 8,000 pounds and a crew of
three. (LVT(4).)]
[Illustration: ITALY
FERRYING EQUIPMENT ACROSS THE PO in support of the infantry
assault, Ostiglia, 25 April. The large vehicle is a 76-mm.
gun motor carriage M18, designed for tank destroyer use. It
was a full track-laying type, using a torsion bar independent
suspension, and was front-sprocket driven. The vehicle was
lightly armored, had a low silhouette, and was highly mobile.]
[Illustration: ITALY
PONTON BRIDGE under construction across the Po River near
Ostiglia. This bridge was opened on 25 April. (M2 treadway
bridge.)]
[Illustration: ITALY
INFANTRY ACTION AT VICENZA, in the foothills of the Alps. The
advance of the Allies across the plain was too fast for the
Germans to halt, reorganize, and make a determined stand behind
either the Po or the other rivers in the Po plain. Speedy
thrusts by infantry-armor columns split the enemy forces and
severed communications. After the crossing of the Po, the action
on both sides developed into a race to the Alps, the enemy
hoping to escape into Germany, the Allies determined to prevent
them. Many isolated pockets of resistance developed behind the
advancing columns and special task forces were organized on 23
April to deal with them.]
[Illustration: ITALY
TANK DESTROYER on the shore of Lake Garda blocking one of the
escape routes to Brenner Pass. Heavy fighting took place in the
demolished tunnels on the road along the east shore of this
lake, but on 30 April the area was under Allied control.]
[Illustration: ITALY
GERMAN PRISONERS and their equipment captured on the Po plain.
For the first time in the Italian campaign, the enemy was
retreating over terrain suitable for swift pursuit. Since the
Germans lacked vehicles and gasoline, they had to rely to a
great extent on horse-drawn transportation. They retreated
across an open valley having a fine network of roads for
mechanized forces and were forced to cross wide rivers by
ferries and ponton bridges under constant attack by Allied air
forces. The retreat became a rout.]
[Illustration: ITALY
PRISONERS WERE CAPTURED by the tens of thousands in the Po
Valley and marched to the rear, often unguarded, or guarded only
by one or two men. On 2 May 1945, the Germans signed the terms
of the unconditional surrender of their forces in Italy. One
week later the war in Europe was concluded with complete victory
for the Allies. The Italian campaign had been a bitter one,
lasting 607 days (3 September 1943 to 2 May 1945). Casualties of
the Fifth Army, including all nationalities serving with that
army, totaled 188,546. United States losses were 19,475 killed,
80,530 wounded, and 9,637 missing.]
[Illustration]
Appendix A
List of Abbreviations
AA Antiaircraft
AC Air Corps
AT Antitank
cm. Centimeter
DD Duplex drive
DDT Dichloro-Dithenyl-Trichloroethane
Flak Fliegerabwehrkanone (antiaircraft artillery gun)
JU. Junkers (designation of airplane built by company
of that name)
K. Kanone (gun)
Kw. Kraftwagen (motor vehicle)
Kw.K. Kampfwagenkanone (tank gun)
LCI Landing craft, infantry
LCI (L) Landing craft, infantry (large)
LCM Landing craft, mechanized
LCP Landing craft, personnel
LCP (R) Landing craft, personnel (ramp)
LCT Landing craft, tank
LCV Landing craft, vehicle
LCVP Landing craft, vehicle-personnel
le.P.Kw.K.2s Leichter Personen Kraftwagen, K.2, Schwimmend
(light personnel vehicle, K.2, amphibian)
LST Landing ship, tank
LVT Landing vehicle, tracked
mm. Millimeter
Pak. Panzerabwehrkanone (antitank gun)
Pz. Kpfw. Panzerkampfwagen (tank)
SCR Signal Corps Radio
S.F.H. Schwere Feld Haubitze (medium field howitzer)
Sig C Signal Corps
SOC Scout Observation Curtis
SP Self-propelled
Stu. G. Sturmgeschuetz (self-propelled assault gun)
Stu. H. Sturmhaubitze (self-propelled assault howitzer)
Stu. K. Sturmkanone (self-propelled assault gun)
TD Tank destroyer
TNT Trinitrotoluene; trinitrotoluol (high explosive)
WAC Women’s Army Corps
USAFIME U. S. Army Forces in the Middle East
USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Appendix B
Acknowledgments
The photographs in this volume came from the Department of Defense. All
are from the U. S. Army files except the following:
U. S. Navy: pp. 13, 14, 15, 19, 20b, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 30, 77,
107, 116, 122b, 125b, 139, 190, 258, 316, 339, 354.
U. S. Air Forces: pp. 10, 12, 18, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 64, 71,
73, 80, 90, 91, 92, 94, 97a, 101, 109, 111, 157, 162, 164, 165,
166, 167, 168, 173, 182, 185, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 224, 225,
239, 240, 257, 285, 305, 306, 307, 308, 317, 318, 323, 324–25,
326, 327, 328–29, 351, 390, 391, 392, 393, 394, 395.
U. S. Coast Guard: pp. 117, 118, 126, 181, 183a, 315, 333, 334,
336.
Index
Acquafondata, Italy, 216
Acquedolci, Sicily, 140–41
Air attacks. See also Bombardment, aerial.
Allied, 12, 71, 94, 157, 164, 173, 239, 240, 282, 305, 306, 307,
393
German, 37, 118, 181, 185
Airbases. See Airfields.
Aircraft, Allied
bombers, heavy, 12, 47, 91, 92, 93, 100, 109, 157, 193, 195, 210,
393
bombers, light, 46, 168, 240
bombers, medium, 10, 44, 71, 225, 239
cub planes, 22, 238
damaged, 110, 182
fighter-bomber, 209
fighters, P-38, 45, 85, 390
fighters, P-40, 224, 285
fighters, P-47, 351, 391
fighters, P-51, 392
gliders, 82, 83, 162, 318
naval, 14, 21, 22
transport planes, 5, 73, 82, 100, 111, 162, 317
Aircraft carriers, 14, 15, 22
converted LST, 238
Aircraft, German
dive bomber, 42
fighter planes, 43
transports, 71
Aircraft, Italian
seaplanes, 165
Airfields
Bari, Italy, 192
Cagliari, Sardinia, 165
Capodichino, Italy, 191
Comiso, Sicily, 162
Foggia, Italy, 210
Foggia area, Italy, 194
Italy, 193
Pomigliano, Italy, 191
Port-Lyautey, North Africa, 19
Qualeh Morgeh, Tehran, 100
Youks-Les-Bains, Algeria, 39
Airports. See Airfields.
Algiers, Algeria, 36, 37, 88
Ammunition
Allied, 86, 351
loading of, 379
salvage of, 267
Ammunition dumps
on fire, 232
Italy, 416
Sicily, 161
Ammunition ship on fire, 118
Amphibian craft
“Alligators,” 447
Amphibian tanks, duplex-drive, 330, 335
Amphibian trucks, DUKW, 123, 178, 180, 237, 242
Amphibious landings. See Landing operations.
Antiaircraft guns
37-mm., 58
90-mm., 253
British, 400
German, 371
German, 88-mm., 62, 131
Italian, 75-mm., 8
Self-propelled, 244
Antiaircraft tracer fire, 37
Antiaircraft unit, mobile, 220
Antitank ditch, 370
Antitank grenade, 269
Antitank guns
37-mm., 57
57-mm., 287, 445
German, 357
German, 50-mm., 63
German, 75-mm., 63
German, 88-mm., 62, 131
German, self-propelled, 54
Antisubmarine net, 164
“Anzio Annie,” 257. See also Railway guns.
Anzio, Italy, 235, 241
Armored vehicles. See Vehicles.
Army nurse, 190
Army post office, Algeria, 78
Arno River, Italy, 363, 364, 372
Artillery
fire, directing, 135
German, 50, 62, 222, 299
guns, 155-mm., 58, 134, 250, 406
howitzers, 75-mm., 128, 132, 434
howitzers, 105-mm., 11, 52, 133, 207, 361, 362
howitzer, 155-mm., 60
howitzers, 240-mm., 221, 284
Italian, gun, 90-mm., 131
mortars. See Mortars.
observation planes, 22, 238
pack howitzers, 75-mm., 83, 266
positions, camouflaged, 248
Assault guns, German, 54, 278, 357
Bailey bridges, 286, 375
construction of, 400
“Bald Hill,” Tunisia, 68
Barbershop, Anzio, Italy, 273
Bari airbase, Italy, 192
Barracks bag, 107
Barrage balloons, 160, 243, 320, 322
Bathing facilities, Italy, 264, 265
Battleship, French, damaged, 23, 340
Bay of Cavalaire, southern France, 323
Bay of Pampelonne, southern France, 324–25
Bazookas, 296, 314.
See also Rocket launchers.
Beaches. See Invasion beaches.
Bivouac area, Corsica, 166
Bizerte, Tunisia, 74–75
Blood plasma. See Plasma.
Bologna, Italy, 441
Bomb damage
Italy, 226, 282, 287
railroad, 110
repair shop, 167
Bombardment, aerial, 94, 109, 117, 282, 306, 307
See also Air attacks.
Bombers
heavy, B-17, 47, 91, 93, 109, 157, 193, 194, 210
heavy, B-17, damaged, 395
heavy, B-24, 12, 92, 100, 194, 305, 308, 393
heavy, B-24, damaged, 394
light, A-20, 46, 168, 240
medium, B-25, 10, 71, 225
medium, B-26, 44, 239
Bombs, loading of, 224, 225
Bomporto, Italy, 443
“Bouncing Betty,” 66.
See also Mines.
Brazilian troops, 354
Bridges
construction of, 145, 187, 286, 375
destroyed, 187, 286, 307, 374
Highway 7, Italy, 199
Panaro River, Italy, 443
ponton, treadway, 372, 449
railroad, damaged, 446
treadway, 425, 444
Bridging equipment, 425
British troops, 208, 400
Brolo beach, Sicily, 146
Bulldozers, 183, 236, 374.
See also Tractor, diesel.
Cagliari field, Sardinia, 165
Caiazzo, Italy, 198
Cameraman, motion picture, 440
Camino Hill mass, Italy, 200
Camouflage
aircraft, 44, 285
antiaircraft gun, 244
foxhole, 248
howitzers, 207, 221, 266, 284
“Long Tom,” 250
radar, 219
tank destroyer, 255
vehicle, 263
Campoleone, Italy, 280
Campoleone station, Italy, 246
Cannes area, France, 308
Cape Drammont beach, southern France, 328–29
Cape Sardineau beach, southern France, 326
Capodichino air base, Italy, 191
Carbines. See Small arms.
Cargo gliders. See Gliders.
Cargo ships. See Transport planes.
Caronia Valley, Sicily, 143
Casablanca, French Morocco, 18, 28
Caserta, Italy, 196
Cassino, Italy, 282
Casualties, 277, 319, 334, 435
evacuation of, 126, 127, 179, 212, 258, 336, 408, 420
treatment of, 259
Cavalaire beach, southern France, 323
Cerami, Sicily, 129
Cervaro, Italy, 226
Cheylus area, Tunisia, 56
Christmas dinner, Italy, 213
Cisterna di Littoria, Italy, 240, 247, 279
Civilians
French, 345
Italian, 245
Sicilian, 139, 149
Clothing, winter, 378, 401
Colli al Volturno, Italy, 204
Comiso air base, Sicily, 162
Communications
repair of, 138
telephone lines, 138, 417, 426
telephone switchboard, 251
Construction
bridges, 145, 187, 286, 375
detour, 374
road, 147
Convoy
en route to North Africa, 13, 17
en route to southern France, 315
motor, 97, 374
Coreglia Antelminelli, Italy, 396
Crane, truck-mounted, 158
Crew
heavy bomber, 92
machine gun, 373
mortar, 229
tank, 40
Cruiser, 21, 116, 124, 316
Italian, 164
Cub planes, 22, 238
Delousing of native labor, 99
Destroyer escort, 14
Detour, 188, 375
Distribution points, gasoline, 355, 405
Djebel Azag, Tunisia, 68
Djebel el Ajred, Tunisia, 68
Djebel Ksaira, Tunisia, 48
Djebel Tahent, Tunisia, 67
Docks
Bandar Shahpur, Iran, 96
Khorramshahr, Iran, 95
“Duck.” See Amphibian trucks.
Dugout, German, 334
DUKW. See Amphibian trucks.
Dump
ammunition, 161, 232, 416
gasoline, 355, 405
Easter service, Italy, 430
Enclosure, prisoner of war, 76
Equipment, German
damaged, 343, 344
on fire, 344
Evacuation of wounded, 126, 127, 212, 336, 420
Evacuation hospital, Italy, 421
Faïd Pass, Tunisia, 48
Fedala harbor, French Morocco, 20
Ferry, Siebel, German, 70
Field bakery, 156
Field hospital. See Hospitals.
Fighter-bomber, A-36, 209
Fighter planes
P-38, 45, 85, 390
P-40, 224, 285
P-47, 351, 391
P-51, 392
First aid, 148, 149, 335
Flooded areas, Italy, 194, 195, 214
Foggia air base, Italy, 210
Formia, Italy, 199
Foxholes, 61, 150, 260, 411, 428
camouflaged, 248
Freighters, 242
Allied, on fire, 88, 185
French colonial troops, goumier, 151, 152, 290, 352, 353
French commandos, Corsica, 352
French train, captured, 34
French troops, 86, 339
Furiano Stream, Sicily, 142
Futa Pass, Italy, 368
Gaeta, Italy, 199
Garet Hadid, Tunisia, 48
Garigliano River, Italy, 199
Gasoline cans, 405
Gela, Sicily, 112–13
Generators, smoke, 262, 263
Genoa, Italy, 305
Gibraltar, 30
Gliders, 82, 83, 162, 318
“Green Hill,” Tunisia, 68
Grenade, antitank, 269
“Grizzly Bear,” 299. See also Artillery, German.
Gulf of Gaeta, Italy, 288–89
Gulf of Salerno, Italy, 174
Gun motor carriages, 57, 59, 129, 298, 362, 398
Gunnery practice, aboard transport, 16
Guns. See also Artillery, Antiaircraft guns, and Assault guns.
37-mm., 230
antitank, 287
German, 339
German, 88-mm., 41, 131
German, 150-mm., 376
naval, 3-inch, 16
railway, German, 257
railway, Italian, 231
Half-tracks, 53, 58, 59, 129, 132
Harbors
Algiers, Algeria, 36
Anzio, Italy, 241
Bizerte, Tunisia, 108
Casablanca, French Morocco, 18
Fedala, French Morocco, 20
Genoa, Italy, 305
Maddalena, Sardinia, 164
Marseille, France, 341
Naples, Italy, 173
Oran, Algeria, 31
Palermo, Sicily, 137, 159
Safi, French Morocco, 20
Hatab River, Tunisia, 51
Headquarters, underground, 251
Heliopolis Ordnance Repair Depot, Egypt, 6, 7
Highway bridge, demolished, 143
Highways. See also Roads.
Albano, Italy, 246
6, Italy, 201, 283, 294
7, Italy, 199, 247, 286
12, Italy, 383
64, Italy, 399, 407, 439
65, Italy, 368, 387, 388, 408, 438
85, Italy, 202
113, Sicily, 140–41, 142, 147
120, Sicily, 130
6524, Italy, 365
“Hill 609,” Tunisia, 67
Hospital, evacuation, Italy, 421
Hospital ship, 258
Hospital train, 212
Hospitals
field, 259
field, damaged, 261
Howitzer motor carriages, 11, 128, 132, 133, 309
Howitzers. See Artillery.
Il Giogo Pass, Italy, 365
Immunization of native, Egypt, 9
Infantry
column, 69, 79, 189, 342, 366, 414, 419, 423, 432
patrol, 343
Infantrymen, 61, 154, 188, 198, 215, 268, 296, 297, 300, 313, 314,
322, 331, 345, 346, 360, 369, 376, 402, 418, 427, 428, 431,
441, 447, 450
debarking, 35, 321
embarking, 107
Invasion beaches
Algeria, North Africa, 31
Anzio, Italy, 235, 236
Brolo, Sicily, 146
Cape Drammont, southern France, 328–29
Cape Sardineau, southern France, 326
Cavalaire, southern France, 323
French Morocco, North Africa, 24, 25
Gela, Sicily, 112–13, 120, 125
Les Andalouses, Algeria, 32
Licata, Sicily, 114
Paestum, Italy, 176–77, 181
Point Anthéor, southern France, 327
Ramatuelle, southern France, 324–25
Scoglitti, Sicily, 115
Invasions, preparations for
Anzio, 233
Elba, 352, 353
southern France, 311, 312, 313, 314
Invasion fleet, for Sicily, 74–75
Jefna area, Tunisia, 68
Kasserine Pass area, Tunisia, 51, 53
Ladder, chain, 321
La Goulette, Tunisia, 72
Lake Carda, Italy, 451
Landing craft
LCI, 108, 122, 190, 236, 237, 331
LCI on fire, 236
LCM, 26, 27, 33, 119, 122
LCP, 26, 35
LCT, 122, 258, 267
LCV, 25, 26, 27, 125
LCVP, 119, 120, 122, 125, 179, 322
LST, 120, 121, 122, 124, 160, 182, 183, 184, 233, 238, 311, 315,
353
LVT, 447
Landing operations
Algeria, North Africa, 33, 35
Anzio, Italy, 236, 237
French Morocco, North Africa, 24, 25, 26, 27
Salerno area, Italy, 179, 180, 183, 184
Sicily, 119, 120, 122, 125
southern France, 322, 331, 332, 333, 334
Leghorn, Italy, 359
Les Andalouses beach, Algeria, 31
Liberty ships, 95
Licata, Sicily, 114
Lifebelts, rubber, 17
Lima River, Italy, 383
Linemen, Signal Corps, 426
Liri Valley area, Italy, 199, 203
Litter bearers, 179, 336, 420.
See also Casualties.
taking cover, 228
Livergnano, Italy, 387, 417, 427
Livergnano area, Italy, 388
Living conditions, Italy, 195, 410, 422
“Long Tom,” 58, 134, 250, 406.
See also Artillery.
Machine guns. See also Small arms.
.30-caliber, 206, 373
.50-caliber, 16, 58, 230, 244
German, 337
Maddalena, Sardinia, 164
Maiori beach, Italy, 175
Malaria control operations, 168, 274
Maps
Anzio area, Italy, 234
Italy, 170
Sicily, 104
southern France area, 302
Tunisia, xii
Marseille, France, 341
Medical aid men, 148, 149, 322, 335, 336, 402, 420, 435
Medical aid station, southern France, 319
Medical inspection, Italy, 402
Mehdia, French Morocco, 19
Mess, 40, 90, 213, 245
Mess kits, sterilization of, 153
Mess line, 39, 153
Messina, Sicily, 157, 163
Mignano, Italy, 201
Mignano Gap area, Italy, 232
Military police, 415
Mines
antipersonnel, German, 66
antitank, 249
detector, SCR, 625, 144, 292, 332
sweeping, 65, 292, 333, 359
Minturno, Italy, 199
Monna Casale, Italy, 202, 203
Monte Cairo, Italy, 201, 203
Monte Camino, Italy, 200, 201, 283
Monte Cannavinelle, Italy, 201
Monte Corno, Italy, 201
Monte della Spe area, Italy, 429
Monte delle Formiche, Italy, 389
Monte Lungo, Italy, 200, 201
Monte Pantano, Italy, 203
Monte Petrella, Italy, 288–89
Monte Porchia, Italy, 200
Monte Ruazzo, Italy, 288–89
Monte Sammucro, Italy, 201, 283
Monte Soprano, Italy, 176–77
Monte Trocchio, Italy, 200, 283
Monte Vigese, Italy, 382
Montecassino, Italy, 200, 203, 239, 281
Mortars
4.2-inch, 218
60-mm., 217
81-mm., 206, 229
crew, 229
Mt. Etna, Sicily, 130
Mt. Vesuvius, eruption of, 285
Mountains. See also Terrain.
Colli Laziali, Italy, 247
northern Apennines, Italy, 382, 391
Tunisia, 48, 68
Mud
Italy, 384, 385, 386, 424
Tunisia, 93
Mussolini Canal, Italy, 248
Naples, Italy, 173, 189, 354
Native laborers, Tehran, Iran, 99
Naval aircraft, 14, 21, 22
Naval fire support, Sicily, 116, 124
Negro troops, 361, 363, 383, 434
Night firing, 433
Nurse, Army, 259
digging foxhole, 260
Observation posts
Italy, 211, 276
Sicily, 135
Obstacle, antitank, 370
Oil tanker, refueling aircraft carrier, 15
Oran, Algeria, 87
Oran harbor, Algeria, 31
Ordnance Repair Depot, Egypt, 7
Pack mules, 154, 155, 379, 384, 424
Pack trains, Italy, 205, 206, 290, 367
Paestum beach, Italy, 176–77
Palace, Caserta, Italy, 196
Palermo, Sicily, 136, 137, 159
Panaro River, Italy, 443
Parachute troops, 80, 81, 111
Partisans
Free French, 338
Italian, 442
Patroling, 401, 431
Pianoro, Italy, 438
Pierced steel planks, 210, 225
Pillboxes, German, 131, 337
cast iron, 293
portable, 293
Pipelines, Italy, 403, 404
Pisa, Italy, 360
Plasma, 149
Ploesti oil refineries, on fire, 12
Po River, Italy, 444, 445, 447, 448, 449
Point Anthéor, southern France, 327
Pomigliano air base, Italy, 191
Ponton causeways, portable, 236, 237
Ponton treadway bridges, 449
Ports. See also Harbors.
Bandar Shahpur, Iran, 96
Khorramshahr, Iran, 95
Lyautey, North Africa, 19
Pozzilli, Italy, 202
Prato, Italy, 432
“Priest,” 11, 133, 309, 362.
See also Vehicles armored.
Prisoners of war
French, 33, 38
German, 76, 254, 437, 452, 453
Italian, 123
Pumping station, pipeline, Italy, 403
Pyramids, Egypt, 5
Quarters
aboard transport ship, 77
Italy, 410
Querceta, Italy, 436
Radar
SCR 268, 29
SCR 547, 219
SCR 584, 252
Railroads
Iran, 95, 96, 98
Italy, 199
North Africa, 34
Sicily, 110
Railroad bridges
demolished, Sicily, 143
Italy, 446
Railroad station, Iran, 98
Railroad yards
on fire, 173
Italy, 94
Sicily, 137
Railway guns
German, 280-mm., 257
Italian, 231
Ramatuelle, southern France, 324–25
Ramatuelle beach, southern France, 324–25
Ramp, ponton, sectional, 121, 182, 184
Rapido River area, Italy, 227
Ration depot, Anzio, Italy, 270
Recreation
concert, 272
sight-seeing, 412
Red Cross worker, Italy, 421
Refueling of aircraft carrier, 15
Reno River, Italy, 429, 440
Repair of aircraft, 91
Repair depot, Italy, 223
Repair shop, electrical, 167
Rhone River, France, 307
Rifles. See also Small arms.
.30-caliber Garand M1, 427
.30-caliber M1903A 4, 198
Browning automatic, 296
River crossings, Italy, 363, 440, 446, 448
Rivers
France, 307
French Morocco, 19
Italy, 197, 199, 202, 214, 363, 364, 372, 383, 429, 440, 444,
445, 447, 448, 449
Tunisia, 51
Roads. See also Highways.
Iran, 97
Italy, 204, 228, 384, 386, 415, 423, 432, 439
Sicily, 114, 128
Tunisia, 48, 69
Rocket gun, German, 150-mm., 64
Rocket launchers, 314, 351, 413
Rocket ship, converted LCT, 320
Rome, Italy, 94, 295, 298, 299, 412
outskirts of, 297
Russian pilots, 101
Russian troops, Iran, 100
Safi harbor, French Morocco, 20
Salerno, Italy, 187
Salvage depot, Italy, 377
Salvage of shell cases, 267
San Fratello ridge, Sicily, 140–41, 142
San Pietro Infine, Italy, 201, 283
Santa Maria Infante, Italy, 287
Scoglitti, Sicily, 115
Scout observation plane, 21
Seaplane base, Sardinia, 165
Searchlight for radar, 29
Sebou River, French Morocco, 19
Semaphore flags, 26
Shell, German, explosion of, 409
Shell fire, German, 216
Small arms, 198, 206, 268, 296, 419, 427
Smoke pots, 227
Smoke screens, 159, 211, 263, 332, 381
Snowplow, 407
Staging area, Italy, 310
Submachine gun, .45-caliber, 268
Submarine base, Toulon, France, 306
Supply depot, 87
Supply operations
aerial drop, 209, 317
Italy, 242, 369, 418, 423
Tank destroyers, 57, 59, 255, 397, 436, 451
damaged, 278
German, 357
Tank recovery vehicles, 278, 293, 399.
See also Tanks.
Tanks
damaged, 7, 377
German, heavy, 41, 256, 356
German, medium, 50, 54, 357
Italian, medium, 55
light, 28, 56, 290, 291, 434
maintenance of, 223
medium, 40, 49, 53, 69, 85, 136, 184, 275, 291, 364, 380, 398,
425, 439, 440
medium with “Scorpion” attachment, 65
medium, waterproofed, 84, 330, 335
on fire, 295
rubber, dummy, 275
turret, German, 337
Tarascon, France, 307
Telephone lines. See Communications.
Terracina beach, Italy, 292
Terrain
Camino Hill mass area, Italy, 200
Campoleone area, Italy, 280
Cassino area, Italy, 283
Futa Pass area, Italy, 368
Garigliano area, Italy, 199
Gothic Line area, Italy, 365, 366, 367
Gulf of Gaeta, Italy, 288–89
Gulf of Salerno, Italy, 174, 175
Middle East, 97
Mignano Gap area, Italy, 201
Monna Casale area, Italy, 203
Monte Belvedere area, Italy, 419
Monte della Spe area, Italy, 429
Monte del le Formiche area, Italy, 389
Montecassino area, Italy, 281
North Africa, 48, 51, 67, 68, 69, 79
northern Apennines, Italy, 382, 391
Paestum area, Italy, 176–77
Pianoro area, Italy, 438
Salerno area, Italy, 186
Serchio Valley area, Italy, 396
Sicily, 130, 140–41, 142, 143, 146, 152
southern France, 318, 323, 324–25, 328–29
Volturno Valley area, Italy, 202
Toulon, France, 306, 339
Tractors, diesel, 236, 374
with angledozer, 125
Traffic control point, Italy, 415
Trains
freight, Iran, 98
French, captured, 34
hospital, 212
Training
Italy, 217, 309
North Africa, 79, 80, 81, 84
of British, 6
of French, 86
Transport planes
C-47, 5, 82, 100, 111, 162, 317
C-54, 73
Transport ships, 16
en route to French Morocco, 17
Troina, Sicily, 130
Tufo, Italy, 199
Tunis, Tunisia, 72
Unloading operations, 33, 85, 121, 158, 242
Lend-lease, 85, 95
Valmontone, Italy, 294
Vehicles, 310, 384
ambulances, 212, 408
amphibian. See Amphibian trucks.
armored, 230, 362, 433.
See also Howitzer motor carriages and Gun motor carriages.
armored, waterproofed, 309
bogged down, 214
bulldozer, 183. See also Tractors, diesel.
cargo carriers, 385, 423
caterpillar, 58
German, 50, 358
half-tracks. See Half-tracks.
jeep, waterproofed, 27
jeeps, 53, 213, 383, 386, 415
snowplow, 407
tank destroyers. See Tank destroyers,
tank recovery, 278, 293, 399.
See also Tanks,
tanks. See Tanks,
tractors. See Tractors, diesel.
trucks, 97, 121, 184, 381, 386, 409
truck, waterproofed, 334
truck, wrecked, 367
Velletri, Italy, 247
Venafro, Italy, 201
Vicenza, Italy, 450
Volturno River, Italy, 197, 202, 214
“Weasel,” 385, 423.
See also Vehicles, cargo carriers.
Women
Army nurses, 190, 259, 260
Red Cross worker, 421
Wac’s, North Africa, 89
Wounded. See Casualties.
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1988 0-194-423: QL 3
PIN: 039020-000
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See George F. Howe, Operations in Northwest Africa, 1941–1943,
in the series U. S. ARMY IN WORLD WAR II; and T. H. Vail Motter, The
Persian Corridor and Aid to Russia, Washington, 1951, in the same
series.
Transcriber’s Note:
Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling errors have been corrected
silently.
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