How the Allies failed the operation to defeat the German Army Group C in Italy
American soldiers near an abandoned Wehrmacht assault gun "Sturmpanzer IV". Rome. June 1944
General situation
Attempts by Anglo-American troops in January–March 1944 to break through the German army’s defenses, take Rome, and develop an offensive in northern Italy failed, despite their superiority in manpower. artillery, aviation and Navy (How the American 5th Army's attempt to take Rome on the move failed).
The Allies were only able to capture a relatively small bridgehead in the rear of the Wehrmacht, enter Cassino in the main direction and cross the Garigliano River in the lower reaches. At the same time, the allies spent a lot of time, effort and money. The German command as a whole carried out its plan to delay time, pin down and exhaust enemy forces.
At the same time, the amphibious landing at Anzio, landed deep behind enemy lines, despite the mistakes of the allied command, played a positive role. He diverted significant forces of the German group in Italy. Hitler demanded that troops be dropped into the sea. The German command first sent 5 and then 9 divisions to this task. This allowed the American 5th Army to advance in fairly calm conditions, without serious German counterattacks.
But the Allies were still unable to break through the enemy front and connect with the landing corps in order to develop an attack on Rome. This was due to errors in command and planning. In particular, the British 8th Army remained largely inactive, allowing the Germans to hold off the onslaught of the American 5th Army. The Allies were unable to organize full-fledged interaction between the main forces and the landing forces, use the huge advantage in aviation and navy.
Preparing a new offensive
By the beginning of May 1944, the German command had 19 divisions at the front against the Anglo-Americans: in the 10th Army of von Vietinghoff, on the Gustav Line, there were 9 divisions, in the 14th Army of Mackensen, which blocked the Allied bridgehead in the Anzio-Nettuno area, 8 divisions. Two more mobile divisions (then three) were in the reserve of Army Group C. To fight partisans, protect communications and rear facilities, the Germans were forced to maintain 4 divisions and a brigade in Central and Northern Italy.
As a result of the enemy's creation of a bridgehead in the Anzio area, the position of the German Army Group C noticeably worsened. We had to take into account the possibility of a simultaneous enemy offensive in two directions - from the bridgehead and on the front of the 10th Army. The German command was able to allocate three mobile formations to the reserve; there was also an elite force in the rear tank division "Hermann Goering", which was going to be transferred to France. But these divisions were not enough to fend off a possible enemy breakthrough. Also, the allocation of reserves weakened the already stretched battle formations of the divisions on the front line. A division's reserve usually did not exceed a battalion.
The command of both German armies understood that a new blow would be impossible to contain. This was evidenced by the balance of forces, the weakness of reserves and the lack of reinforcements. However, Hitler and the commander of Army Group C, Field Marshal Kesselring, demanded to hold the front.
German machine gunners move to position their MG-42 machine gun in the Italian mountains. May 1944
Luftwaffe soldiers captured by the Polish 2nd Corps in the Monte Cassino area. May 1944(
Taking into account the preparations for the operation to land troops in France, the Allies decided to organize a new offensive in Italy in order to pin down as many German forces as possible and, if possible, pull some of the German troops from Europe to the Italian front. They decided to carry out a new operation in May.
Preparing a new offensive, the Allies in April - May 1944 increased the strength of the 15th Army Group under the command of General Alexander to 25 divisions - 7 American, 5 British, 3 Indian, 2 each Canadian, Polish and Moroccan, one each French, Algerian , New Zealand and South African.
The Allies took into account their mistakes. General Alexandre put an end to the dispersal of forces by concentrating a powerful strike force on the southern wing of the front. After regrouping, the British 8th Army O. Lisa took over part of the American 5th Army strip (including Cassino) and concentrated most of its forces (Polish 2nd, British 15th and Canadian 1st Corps) on the left flank to at the first stage of the offensive, take Cassino and enter the valley of the Liro River northwest of this city. On the right flank of the 8th Army only the 5th English Corps remained.
German crew of an Italian-made GebK 65(i) 246-mm mountain gun at a position in Italy.
The immediate task of the 5th American Army of Mark W. Clark was to cross the river. Garigliano, develop an offensive along the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea to connect with the landing party (6th American Corps). At the second stage of the offensive, the 15th Army Group was supposed to capture Rome.
The Allies fielded 40 divisions (eight from the 6th Army and 15 from the 8th) and more than 7 thousand guns in a 5-kilometer area between the Apennine Mountains and the Tyrrhenian Sea against 2 German divisions. The 6th Corps in the bridgehead consisted of six divisions. The Allies had up to 2 thousand tanks. Complete air superiority: the 12th tactical and 15th strategic American air armies, the British Air Force - up to 4 thousand aircraft in total. Fleet - 130 warships of the main classes, a large number of landing, transport and other ships.
During the preparatory period, allied aviation destroyed enemy communications and rear areas to a depth of Rimini-Pisa. For several weeks, the Allied Air Forces systematically destroyed highways and railroads.
Four American soldiers at a radio in the Liri Valley outside Rome.
A column of American Willys ambulance jeeps on the march. May 1944
Defense breakthrough
The Allied offensive began on May 11, 1944. A powerful 40-minute artillery barrage knocked out all wire communications and disrupted supplies even at night. The French, with superior forces, attacked the Petrella massif, where one German division held the defense. Soon the allies penetrated the enemy's defenses. The German division defending to the south began to be pressed by the Americans. Two German divisions were defeated and thrown back to the Fondi area, where they were reinforced with reserves at a previously prepared position.
The German command, pursuing a decisive defense, by May 18 threw two of the three reserve divisions into battle. Thanks to this, it was possible to organize a temporary defense line from Terracina to the confluence of the Liri and Sacco rivers. After the threat of a British breakthrough in the Liri River valley appeared, the Germans brought the third reserve division into battle.
As a result, the Allied advance progressed slowly. In the first week, the Allies advanced 8–12 km, broke through the Gustav Line, and only on May 18 took Cassino, which the Germans had left in danger of being captured. The American army stubbornly fought its way forward, outflanking the German 10th Army and targeting the rear of the 14th Army, which held the defense around the bridgehead. All German reserves were used.
German self-propelled gun StuG III and tank Pz. Kpfw. IV on the road in Italy. June 1944
The command of the German 14th Army, which had placed one division in reserve and two divisions to help the 10th Army, looked at the enemy advance with growing alarm. The 14th Army was left with 5 weakened divisions, which had to hold back the onslaught of twice the enemy's forces (not counting tanks, artillery and aviation).
On May 23, 1944, after a powerful artillery barrage and with air support, the American landing corps began an offensive, striking in the direction of Velletri - Valmontone. Four Allied divisions penetrated the enemy defenses in the Cisterna di Latina area. German formations already lost up to half of their personnel and most of their anti-tank weapons on the first day.
Overcoming the resistance of the 14th German Army, which ensured the withdrawal of the 10th Army from the Gustav Line to the north, the 6th Corps on the morning of May 25 linked up with units of the 5th American Army in the Terracina area.
The French corps advances to the northwest, to the Liri and Sacco rivers, the 8th British Army advances in large forces in the Liri Valley. The Germans began to retreat, holding back the enemy with rearguards. On May 25, the Allies almost completed the breakthrough on the 14th Army front between Velletri and Cisterna di Latina. Conditions had arisen for blocking and destroying divisions of the German 10th Army, which had been thrown back into the Liri River valley. However, the cauldron did not work out, since the 5th American Army was directly advancing on Rome to take it as quickly as possible. And the 8th British Army frontally squeezed the enemy out of the river valley. Leary.
Meanwhile, the Germans brought up the advanced units of the Hermann Goering division. This allowed the 14th Army, launching counterattacks, to hold back the enemy until May 30, preventing the enemy from breaking through at Valmontone.
Burning American M4 Sherman tank, shot down near Rome
An American M10 self-propelled gun fires at a German machine gun point during the battle for Rome. June 1944
Americans in Rome
Only by concentrating up to four divisions on the night of May 30-31 were the Allies able to break through to Valmontone, which fell on June 1. Having secured the flank from the north, the Americans turned their main forces towards Rome. The remnants of the German 14th Army were thrown back to the northwest.
The German command decides to break away from the enemy, leave Rome without a fight and withdraw troops beyond the Tiber. On the night of June 3-4, 1944, the general withdrawal of German troops to the north across the Tiber River began. East of Rome, the German rearguards held back the enemy for another half a day, making it easier for the main forces to cross the Tiber. The German command deliberately avoided the fight for Rome, without even destroying the bridges across the Tiber. On June 4–5, Allied forces enter Rome.
The commander of the US 5th Army, Lieutenant General Mark Clark (left), looks at the column entering Rome. June 4, 1944
After breaking through the defenses at Valmontone, the German 10th Army found itself in a dangerous position. The command of Army Group C, hoping that the 14th Army would contain the enemy and this would allow the front to be restored, did not give the 10th Army permission to withdraw. While the 14th Army retreated across the Tiber, the 10th Army remained pushed far forward into the Sabine Mountains region, its main forces concentrated at the confluence of the Liri and Sacco rivers. Defending initially with a front to the east, the 10th Army pulled back its right flank, turning its front to the south and southwest. In the event of an even deeper coverage of the 10th Army, a cauldron was threatened.
To escape from the area between the Liri and Sakko rivers, only two narrow mountain roads could be used, which ran along the western slopes of the mountains. The main road to Rome was already intercepted by the enemy. The command of the 10th Army sent mobile units north to cover the army's flank, first at Tivoli, then at the Tiber River northeast of Rome and to restore contact with the eastern flank of the 14th Army.
The army's withdrawal took place in very difficult conditions: under the influence of enemy aircraft, so they moved at night; walked along narrow, bad mountain roads where traffic jams formed; repair and restoration crews had to work day and night to keep things moving; The rearguards fought, saving the rest of the troops. When Rome was abandoned on June 4, the rearguards were still fighting in the Sabine Mountains and in the area of the upper Liri River. But the center and left flank of the army emerged from the threat of encirclement.
The Americans had superior forces and every opportunity to finish off the retreating, bloodless enemy. However, they did not do this. The Allies not only did not turn east to destroy the formations of the German 10th Army sandwiched in the mountains, but also did not pursue the defeated divisions of the 14th Army, which suffered heavy losses.
True, General Alexander gave the order to the troops to organize pursuit, but lower commanders were in no hurry to do this. The commanders acted cautiously: first, on June 5, the 5th Army captured a bridgehead on the right bank of the river. Tiber in the area of Rome, the next day the offensive began. The British on the left flank did the same. Of the 12 available divisions, 5 were left in reserve, one was allocated to guard Rome.
The rearguards of the German 14th Army retreated to the area of Lake Bracciano. There was no direct connection between the 14th and 10th armies, but the allies did not use this favorable moment to develop the offensive. The command of the 10th Army urgently sent units to Rieti and Terni to block the roads leading there. The Germans had time, since the Allies moved only along roads.
The Germans tried to quickly restore the combat effectiveness of the 14th Army: there were three divisions on the way, allocated from the strategic reserve of the headquarters. The 10th Army transferred three mobile formations to the 14th. Several days passed before these divisions reached their destination along mountain roads, but the 14th Army held out, since the Allies were in no hurry. On June 14, the 14th Army already had 7 divisions, albeit of varying combat effectiveness. Communication between the 14th and 10th armies was also restored. The commander of the 14th Army, General Mackensen, was replaced by General of the Tank Forces Lemelsen.
An American soldier near a broken German self-propelled gun "Marder II" in Rome. June 5, 1944
Americans inspect the German self-propelled gun "Elephant" of the 1st company of the 653rd heavy tank destroyer battalion, shot down by American fighter-bombers on June 5, 1944 north of Rome on the Aurelius Road
Results
Thus, the allied forces in Italy, having one and a half superiority over the enemy in ground forces, a large superiority in artillery and tanks, and a huge superiority in aviation and the navy, managed to break through the enemy’s defenses, cover 120 km and enter Rome not in January 1944, as planned, but only at the beginning of June. The task of reaching the Rimini-Pisa line before the Allied landing in France was not completed.
The main reason for the Allies' slowness is indecision, caution and command errors. The landing in Anzio did not fulfill its main task - to intercept the supply routes and communications of the 10th German Army. The 8th British Army practically did not support the offensive of the 5th American Army. Lack of operational cooperation between the 6th American Corps (landing), the 5th American and 8th British armies. Plus the skill of the Wehrmacht, who knew how to restrain the enemy with fewer forces.
Already during the May offensive, the command of the 15th Army Group missed the opportunity to encircle the main forces of the German 10th Army. It was not possible to defeat and encircle 10–11 German divisions. The Germans moved to new positions in an organized and relatively calm manner. Allied forces mostly simply followed the retreating enemy without attempting to pin down or encircle them.
Civilians pose on an abandoned Wehrmacht Sturmpanzer IV Brummbar assault gun in Rome. Vehicle of the 216th assault tank battalion. In the frame is a military policeman of the 88th US Infantry Division.
Churchill believed that the Allies managed to pin down 23 German divisions before the start of the Normandy operation, which helped open a second front (Why did Great Britain and the USA delay the opening of a second front?). In fact, the 19 German divisions (4 divisions served in the rear) pinned down many more Allied forces and assets, especially the navy and air force, which could be used to invade France.
Consequently, it was the Wehrmacht that completed the task set by the German headquarters at the end of 1943. Tie down as many Anglo-American forces in Italy as possible. Only 10 days after the capture of Rome, the allied command brought two corps (American and French) into reserve, which they planned to land in southern France.
American soldiers outside a building in Piazza Venezia in Rome. The building housed the command of American troops in Rome. In the background is part of the monument to King Victor Emmanuel II. June 1944
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