Fatal Decision: Anzio and the Battle for Rome

611 Pages·2008·2.76 MB·English

FATAL
DECISION
ANZIO AND THE
BATTLE FOR ROME
CARLO D’ESTE
Anzio was a prime example of the horror of war. It was a place
where thousands died and death had no regard for nationality
or status. Some who died disappeared forever in the mud and
swamps. And, of many of those who survived, it can be said
that Anzio took their souls.
The dead of both sides are now honored in the war cemeteries.
This book is dedicated to the survivors.
May Anzio never happen again.
Yet always with victory there is an accompanying sense of
disappointment. Rome had been so long delayed…it had been
a long journey, and everyone was very weary. And too many
had died.
—CHRISTOPHER BUCKLEY, ROAD TO
ROME

Contents
Epigraph iii
Maps vii
Prologue 1
Part I: The Road to Rome 9
1 Alamein to Messina: The Origins of the “Soft Underbelly” 11
2 The Path to Stalemate 30
3 The American Eagle and the Gentleman-General 48
4 The Decision to Launch Shingle 67
5 “Smiling Albert” 86
6 Mr. Churchill Takes Charge 93
7 Final Preparations 104
Part II: The Anzio Beachhead 117
8 The Invasion 119
9 Missed Opportunities 137
10 Calamity at Cisterna and Campoleone 159
11 The Battle for the Thumb 182
Part III: “Lancing the Abscess” 203
12 The German Onslaught 205
13 “Deafening, Mad, Screaming Senseless Hatred” 223
14 A House Divided 252
15 The Changing of the Guard 264
Part IV: Stalemate 281
16 The Ordeal of the Caves 283
17 Impasse 291
18 “Will I Be All Right, Sir?” 299
19 Plans and Controversies 326
Part V: Breakout 345
20 The Great Allied Offensive 347
21 The Battle for Valmontone Gap 366
22 All Roads Lead to Rome 382
Epilogue 399
Postscript 410
Appendixes 426
Notes 462
Sources and Selected Bibliography 553
Acknowledgments 562
Index 566
About the Author
Other Books by Carlo D'Este
Cover
Copyright
About the Publisher
Maps
1. Mediterranean Theater of Operations viii
2. Allied Military Operations in 1943 23
3. Liri Valley 73
4. Anzio 125
5. The Anzio Beachhead 128
6. Expansion of the Anzio Beachhead 139
7. Allied Attacks on Campoleone Station 180
8. First German Attacks 191
9. German Capture of Carroceto and the Factory 214
10. German Counteroffensive, First Day 231
11. German Counteroffensive, Second Day 238
12. Battle for the Flyover 247
13. The Caves 289
14. Diadem 351
15. Breakout at Anzio 357
Mediterranean Theater of Operations