Anzio 1944 by Steven Zaloga

Author:Steven Zaloga
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Anzio 1944: The beleaguered beachhead
ISBN: 9781472800169
Publisher: Osprey Publishing

A column from the British 1st Division move along the Via Anziate from Peter Beach on 22 January 1944. (NARA)

Paratroopers of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment with their distinctive baggy trousers carry a sniper casualty to a waiting ambulance on 24 January 1944. (NARA)

Mackensen renewed the attack on the night of 7–8 February with an aim to capture Carroceto and “The Factory.” After feints in several sectors, KG Pleiffer (GR 145, 65th Infantry Division) staged a preliminary assault from the eastern side and KG Gräser (PzGren. Regt 29) on the western side. The German tactics were to infiltrate detachments through the British defenses under the cover of fog and darkness and set up resistance pockets in the rear, enabling them to bring the defenses under fire from all directions once the main attack began. The GR 145 successfully employed these tactics in the fighting with 24th Guards Brigade but the confused night battle ended in bitter hand-to-hand fighting with only modest gains for the attackers. KG Gräser was less successful and German losses had been so heavy in the night fighting that the main attack scheduled for dawn of 8 February had to be postponed until the night of 8–9 February. Intense fighting continued around “The Factory” during the day and Gen Penney was obliged to commit his reserve, the 3rd Brigade in the afternoon, mainly to reinforce the badly exposed 2nd North Staffords along the Buonriposo ridge who by this stage of the fighting had suffered 50 percent casualties. The Germans captured 791 British prisoners, mainly from the 5th Grenadier Guards, 2nd North Staffords and the 1st Irish Guards, and the fighting quietened down in the afternoon as both sides attempted to reorganize.

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