7.+The+Italian+Campaign+and+the+battle,+“Bloody+Anzio”

The Italian Campaign and the battle, “Bloody Anzio” by: Ryan Cook

Profile Name: Ron Burgandy Date of Birth: January 17th, 1913 Event taking place at this time: WWII: The Italian Campaign Background/Interests: He liked to play sports and hang out with his friends.

It all started when we (the Americans) captured Sicily. Afterwards everything went downhill for the Italians. Around 167,000 Axis casualties, mostly Italians, and around 31,000 Allied loses (including 11,923 Americans), our Allies had been brought to the doorstep of the Italian Mainland (Phillips 2). We had great success that made Benito Mussolini (Italy’s leader) crumble. Many in Mussolini’s own party, including his foreign minister and son-in-law Galeazzo Ciano and his general Pietro Badoglio, had already denounced him and been sacked by February of 1943 (2). Mussolini later resigned, and King Victor Emmanuel III appointed Badoglio to be head of the new government. I was ecstatic when I heard the news that Italy was out of the war, it was one less enemy to deal with. I later heard that Pietro Badoglio was making secretive contact with the supreme Allie Commander, Dwight Eisenhower. Nobody knew what to do. Everyone asked the same question, “Could we trust them?” What we, the Americans, now wanted to do was fight up through Italy, take it, and then invade Europe by its backdoor. This would force the Germans to withdraw troops from the Russian front to defend Italy. We had planned wrong. The Germans resisted the invasions of Italy fiercely and effectively. Throughout 1943 the United States had many battles that took a toll on both the U.S. and Germany.

By January 1944, the United States Fifth Army and British Eighth Army had advanced to the Rapido River but got no farther. A fresh Allied landing took place on January 22, when an Anglo-American force of 50,000 hit the beaches at Anzio and encountered no resistance. Major General John P. Lucas decided to take his time to consolidate his forces before commencing his inland advance. This delay allowed German General Albert von Kesselring to reinforce some troops at Anzio, during February 16-29, mount a fierce counterattack, which forced the United States to retreat. Anzio quickly escalated into a bloody stalemate that brought to mind the unproductive slaughter of WWI trench warfare. Works Cited: Danzer, Gerald A. et al. The Americans: Reconstruction to the 21st Century. Illinois: McDougel Little Inc, 2003 Phillips, Charles, and Alan Axelrod. “World War II on the Italian Front.” Encyclopedia of Wars. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. American History Online. Hunterdon Central Regional High School. 23 Oct. 2008.