From Salerno To Rome: General Mark W. Clark And The Challenges Of Coalition Warfare by Major Glenn L. King

Author:Major Glenn L. King [King, Major Glenn L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Military, United States, Europe, General, Germany, Special Forces
ISBN: 9781786250575
Google: katvCwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Published: 2015-11-06T05:07:35+00:00

Fifth Army advances north

The Fifth Army marched into Naples on 1 October 1943. On this day, Eighth Army took the Foggia and the nearby airfields. Naples had suffered immense damage, inflicted by both the German and Allied forces. The Fifth Army did not pause after the capture of Naples, continuing to drive north towards its next objectives in the vicinity of Seesa Aurunca and Venafro, the high ground that dominated the Garigliano and Rapido Valleys to the north. This required firstly crossing the defended river line at Volturno.{102}

The terrain ahead of the Fifth Army restricted offensive maneuver. With narrow roads, steep hills and mountainous terrain, this ground favored the defender. Again, forces from the German Tenth Army, in particular the XIV Panzer Corps, would oppose Fifth Army’s advance. Their mission was to inflict maximum delay at the Volturna River, a line that provided excellent terrain for defense, with a river that was in places up to one hundred yards wide and six feet deep. Having achieved the necessary delay, they would then withdraw north.{103} The Fifth Army, with its left flank astride the Italian west coast and its right flank against the Matese Mountains, advanced north in coordination but independently of the Eighth Army to its east. On 3 October, it began to rain heavily, swelling the rivers and turning the approach routes into mud, slowing the advance. The X Corps advanced on the western flank, reaching the river on 5 and 6 October. To their right, the VI Corps reached the river on 6 October. Clark’s initial plan required X Corps to cross the river as soon as it had secured the home bank. Due to delays caused by weather and dogged enemy resistance, a new plan was formulated that required both X and VI Corps to cross in a coordinated assault on the night of the 12-13 October. McCreery treated the plan with pessimism, noting that his troops would be required to cross flat ground in front of German forces defending from strong mountain defences. He believed VI Corps should attack a day before and outflank the Germans defense, taking the focus away from the X Corps zone of assault. When visiting McCreery, Clark suggested they go for a walk out onto the fields away from the staff, in order that they speak frankly with each other. Clark reports that McCreery said:

“I want to make it plain as commander responsible for British troops, and with my experience against Rommel in Egypt, that this is the most difficult job I have faced. You know how I feel about a simultaneous attack. I was opposed to it. We accept your order of course, and we will go all out, but I have to say that I am embarrassed when an American gives British troops orders that we don’t like.”{104}

This is the first case so far where a British subordinate challenge’s Clark’s plan. McCreery refers to his experience in Egypt, a subtle attempt aimed at possibly highlighting Clark’s relative inexperience. The

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