 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(April 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Battle of Cisterna | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theBattle of Anzio in theItalian campaign of theMediterranean theatre of World War II | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States |  Germany | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Mark Wayne Clark John P. Lucas William Orlando Darby | Eberhard von Mackensen Traugott Herr | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| 3rd Infantry Division 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment 6615th Ranger Force[1] | Fallschirmjäger-Lehr-Batallion1st Paratroop Panzer Division 71st Infantry Division 26th Panzer Division[1][2] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 311 killed 450 POWs 761 Casualties[3][4][5] | 400 Casualties[3] | ||||||
 | |||||||
TheBattle of Cisterna took place duringWorld War II, on 30 January–2 February 1944, nearCisterna,Italy, as part of theBattle of Anzio, part of theItalian Campaign. The battle was a clearGerman victory which also had repercussions on the employment ofU.S. Army Rangers that went beyond the immediate tactical and strategic results of thebattle.
During this battle, the1st,3rd, and4th U.S. Army Rangerbattalions, the 83rdChemical Mortar Battalion, and the509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, which had been brigaded as the6615th Ranger Force (Provisional) commanded byColonelWilliam O. Darby, were assigned to support the renewal of an attack byMajor GeneralLucian Truscott's3rd Infantry Division, which had previously failed to take Cisterna from 25 to 27 January. The 3rd Division's attack was part of a large offensive by Major GeneralJohn Lucas'sU.S. VI Corps to break out of the Anzio beachhead before German reinforcements could arrive and concentrate for a counterattack.
On 22 January 1944, the Allies launchedOperation Shingle, theamphibious landing by theU.S. andBritishdivisions ofU.S. VI Corps in the area ofAnzio andNettuno. This was designed to unhinge the formidableGermanGustav Line defenses some 60 mi (97 km) to the southeast which had been under attack from the south by the other threecorps (one British, one French and one U.S.) ofMark Clark'sUnited States Fifth Army since 16 January in the firstBattle of Monte Cassino. Following the landings, which had been virtually unopposed,John P. Lucas—the VI Corps commander—had chosen a cautious strategy of consolidating thebeachhead and building up his force strength, which also allowed time for the Germans to reinforce their defensive positions. By 29 January, there were 69,000 men in the beachhead, but the Germans had also had time to react and move 71,500 troops to face them.[6]
On 31 January, Lucas launched a two-pronged attack. The main attack, byBritish 1st Infantry Division, was to advance northeast up the Via Anziate toward Campoleone and theAlban Hills. In a secondary simultaneous attack, aRanger force was to infiltrate Cisterna and clear the Conca-Cisterna Road during the night preparatory to an attack in the morning by15th Infantry Regiment on the town and supporting attacks by504th Parachute Infantry Regiment on their right and7th Infantry Regiment on their left. 7th Infantry was to cut Route 7, the main supply line to theGerman Tenth Army on the Gustav Line, atCassino.
However, the plan had been based on the misinterpretation of reconnaissance intelligence, which had concluded that the main line of German resistance was behind Cisterna. In fact, the Wehrmacht had designated Cisterna as an assembly area for its reserve divisions and had begun moving units into the area. Although a Polish conscript in the German Army had deserted to the U.S. lines immediately before the attack, warning of the buildup, the message was not relayed promptly and the attack proceeded as planned.The Rangers, who expected to encounter a line of thinly held outposts advanced unknowingly towards a large enemy force.[7]
Contrary to their designated function as an elite raiding force, the Rangers had been involved in much of the front line fighting around the Anzio beachhead. Ranger casualties meant many replacements were recruits who lacked the experience and quality of training of the original members. The growing presence of green troops in an otherwise skilled force degraded its ability to conduct successful infiltration and night operations.
The1st and3rd Ranger Battalions—preceding the main attack by the4th Ranger Battalion and the 3rd Battalion,15th Infantry Regiment—attempted a night infiltration behind German lines into the town of Cisterna. Their objective was to seize the town in a surprise attack and hold it until the main attack came through.[8]
The two battalions—totaling 767 men and supported by a platoon of 43 men of the 3rd Reconnaissance Troop—moved out at 01:30 and moved in the darkness along a drainage ditch (Mussolini Canal) in column formation. Although they were able to bypass numerous German positions, at first light they were still short of their objective and needed to cross open ground for the final section of the approach. At this point the Rangers were attacked by strong German forces of the715th Infantry Division andHermann Göring Panzer Division, including at least seventeen GermanPanzer IVtanks. According to the Army history of the operation, the infiltration movement had apparently been discovered and an ambush prepared.
The 1st Battalion commander—Major Dobson—personally knocked out one tank by shooting the commander with his pistol, climbing atop the tank, and dropping a white phosphorus grenade down the hatch.[9] Two other tanks were captured by Rangers, but then knocked out by other Rangers who did not know they had been captured. Despite fierce fighting, there was little chance of success once the Rangers were attacked on the open ground. German units put Ranger prisoners in front of their tanks and commanded other Rangers to surrender.[10] Over 700 POWs were captured.
The main assault also jumped off in an attempt to rescue the trapped battalions. Led by the 4th Ranger Battalion, it encountered serious opposition and failed to break through. However, the overall attack—which also included an attack by the7th Infantry Regiment and504th Parachute Infantry Regiments—did push the Allied lines forward 3 mi (4.8 km) on a 7 mi (11 km) wide front on 31 January and 1 February, although failing to achieve the desired breakthrough and Cisterna was to remain in German hands until May 1944. However, German counterattacks on 1–2 February—conducted by the Hermann Göring Panzer and71st Infantry Divisions—failed to recapture any of the ground from the Allies and suffered severe casualties.
Later intelligence revealed that the American efforts had hindered the planned German counterattack on the Allied forces at Anzio.[11]
Gen Lucas' employment of the lightly armed Rangers to spearhead the attack was heavily criticized. The shattered Ranger forces within Italy were subsequently disbanded, and as many as four-hundred surviving Rangers served as replacements in the US/CanadianFirst Special Service Force, an elite raiding force in need of qualified replacements.
William O. Darby had commanded the American Ranger Force during the battle. When the179th Infantry Regiment of the45th Infantry Division was nearly overrun on 18 February during the major German attempt to take out the beachhead, Darby was sent to take command and hold the ground. Darby later was assistant division commander of the10th Mountain Division. He was killed in action on 30 April 1945, and was the only U.S. officer honored with a posthumous promotion to General during World War II.[citation needed]
A fictionalized account of the battle was depicted in the motion pictureAnzio (1968) and at the end of the filmDarby's Rangers (1958).
p. 326