30th January 1944: Expanding the beachhead
Shortly after midnight on 30 January 1944, with blackened faces and muffled equipment, the men of the 1st Ranger Battalion began crossing the Mussolini Canal and entered the Pantano Ditch just outside of Anzio, Italy. They were closely followed by the 3rd Ranger Battalion. The mission of this special operations force was to infiltrate enemy lines, seize the key village of Cisterna, and link up with the attacking troops of the Third Infantry Division the following day. Instead, less than twenty-four hours later, more than 740 of the 767 Rangers would be dead or prisoners of war.
Following the initial landings, the Ranger Force once again came under the
control of General Truscott and his 3rd Division. The twenty-fourth through the twenty-eighth of January saw the Allies slowly advance against increasing German resistance in a series of limited attacks and reconnaissance-in-force operations. The Rangers were used in the line alongside the 3rd Division’s own infantry regiments.20 By 28 January the 3rd 28 Division was within three miles of Cisterna, and the British 1st Division occupied Aprilia, an equal distance from Campoleone.21 “By 29 January, VI Corps had expanded its beachhead . . . but was still two to four miles short of its intermediate objectives.”22 General Lucas, under urging by General Clark, at last felt confident enough to launch a general attack.
The VI Corps plan called for attacks on two axes. The main effort would be an attack by the British 1st Division and the 1st Armored Division along the Albano Road,
the most direct route inland. A supporting effort attack would be made by the 3rd Infantry Division reinforced by the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The 6615th Ranger Force would spearhead the attack to capture Cisterna and cut the German LOC along Highway 7.23 The attack was initially planned to take place on 29 January, but was delayed until the thirtieth to allow the 1st British and the 1st Armored Divisions to complete coordination for their attack.
The German forces were also planning offensive operations during this time. “As VI Corps prepared to launch its offensive toward Cisterna and Campoleone on 30 January, the German forces were being regrouped for a major counteroffensive. Thirty infantry battalions, supported by armor and artillery, were being organized into combat group for this offensive, and six more infantry battalions were to be held in reserve.”25 These combat groups were positioned on the MLR, in front of Cisterna and Campoleone, directly in the path of the planned Allied attacks.
The infiltration began just after midnight, followed by the main attack commencing at 0200. The attack began well, with all units crossing the line of departure at their assigned times. However, the operation’s momentum bogged down by 0400 when the main attacking elements of the 7th and 15th Infantry Regiments were all engaged in 7 heavy fighting along the Germans’ main line of resistance. Dug-in enemy positions and minefields halted the 4th Rangers’ attack along the Conca-Cisterna road. The attacking units continued to try to penetrate the ring of enemy defenses, while the 1st and 3rd Ranger Battalions cautiously tried to weave a path through the numerous German troop concentrations.
Dawn found the lead elements of the infiltration force still 800 meters short of Cisterna’s southern outskirts. The flat, open terrain afforded no concealment in the light of day and the Germans quickly detected and engaged the infiltration force. German paratroop and panzer units quickly surrounded the two battalions and proceeded to pound the exposed force with direct and indirect fires. The 4th Ranger Battalion battered itself against the German line in an attempt to reach their besieged comrades. Their efforts proved fruitless, despite the use of tank destroyers and even General Truscott’s release of division reserve assets. The end came by early afternoon, when the last of the surrounded Rangers were overwhelmed or ran out of ammunition. Only six men of the 767-man infiltration force made it back to friendly lines.
The 3rd Infantry Division’s attack had failed. After two days of savage fighting, the American forces had culminated and were still two miles from their objectives. The subsequent German counterattack very nearly drove the invasion force back into the sea, and Cisterna would remain in German hands until the end of May 1944, a period of four months. The surviving elements of the 4th Ranger Battalion never returned to full strength, and the three battalions of the 6615th Ranger Force eventually disbanded. The older Rangers returned stateside with training assignments while the newer Rangers.
The destruction of the Ranger Force at Cisterna was a significant loss to the Fifth
Army and resulted in loss of a Ranger unit capability in the Mediterranean theatre for the remainder of the war. Unfortunately, the battle has been overshadowed by the overall desperate situation of the Anzio beachhead and the failed 3rd Infantry Division attack.
On the night of January 29, 1944 we set off for Cisterna di Littoria, a small town about five miles inland. The plan was for the first and third battalions to engage the Germans in the town at dawn and the fourth battalion was to cover the road that led to the town. Then a larger group of infantry was to move in to hold the town. We penetrated the enemy lines undetected and set upon the German forces in the area. The attack was led by the first battalion and the third battalion was moving up to join them. We came under heavy fire from tanks, artillery, and small arms equipment.
Our Company Commander was mortally wounded. Someone sent two persons on outpost to observe the situation. I never saw them again and two others were sent back to see if they could contact companies, E and F. They too did not reappear. It seemed like only minutes later I saw about five Germans approaching from the rear. I realized that that I was absolutely alone. There were no other rangers within view and the Germans were getting closer. I tried to prepare my "Thompson Submachine gun” for a fight even though I knew that it was useless at anything beyond fifty feet. The "tommy gun" would not fire so I threw it down and started running away from the Germans.
I was running in the irrigation ditch and stumbled over something and fell flat on my face in the mud. I could hear the Germans bullets hitting the mud very near my head but, fortunately, they were not very accurate so I jumped up and continued running away. When I reached the road that was about 100 yards away, I ran under the bridge and found a carbine lying on the other side. In order to see if it was useable, I fired it into the ground and the end of the barrel split into about four pieces, indication that it had probably been full of mud. I looked to my right and immediately saw where all the other members of D company were. They were crouching in a ditch along the side of the road. I joined them there and within minutes a German tank approached on the road. In front of the tank was a large number of rangers walking toward us. We could not shoot at the Germans because they were using our rangers for protection. I, of course, could not have shot at them anyway since I had no weapon. We were greatly outnumbered and many were killed and wounded before we were forced to surrender to the enemy.
My Story by Carl Lenz
I had the honor to give Carl a tour of San Pietro Infine a few years ago and then he then sent me his personal account. THANK YOU CARL FOR SHARING YOUR STORY!
….We arrived at Anzio on January 22, 1944 and established a beach-head there. Due to a shortage of assault crafts the first and fourth battalions landed in the first wave and the third battalion along with part of the 83rd Chemical Warfare group waited for the assault crafts to return for our landing. By this time it was nearly daylight and the Germans began a rather severe shelling of the oncoming troops. I remember feeling thankful for the high front of the assault boats that offered protection from small-arms fire as we drew near the beach. That high front end was hinged and lowered to the beach so we could walk ashore without having to wade through the surf. As near as I could see, our group suffered no injuries or deaths during the landing and attaining higher ground. We spent a very hectic day on the road that ran parallel to the beach due to a German tank that sat about a quarter mile away and kept us pinned to the ground for several hours by firing their infamous 88mm cannon periodically.
The German "88" made a high pitched almost scream sound that was very disturbing to the person being fired upon. The sound in itself was scary enough to make one want to flee the area. I'm not sure what he was trying to hit but none of the shells landed in our midst. He was though, firing directly toward our group and I could hear one or two guys somewhere behind me crying out about how fearful it was and as if they were afraid of being killed. I was definitely afraid of being hit by one of the shells but just lay there hoping and praying that it wouldn't happen. Eventually the tank withdrew. I don’t remember why or if I ever knew why but we were relieved to be able to get out of the prone position and move around.
On the night of January 29, 1944 we set off for Cisterna di Littoria, a small town about five miles inland. The plan was for the first and third battalions to engage the Germans in the town at dawn and the fourth battalion was to cover the road that led to the town. Then a larger group of infantry was to move in to hold the town. We penetrated the enemy lines undetected and set upon the German forces in the area. The attack was led by the first battalion and the third battalion was moving up to join them. We came under heavy fire from tanks, artillery, and small arms equipment.
Our Company Commander was mortally wounded. Someone sent two persons on outpost to observe the situation. I never saw them again and two others were sent back to see if they could contact companies, E and F. They too did not reappear. It seemed like only minutes later I saw about five Germans approaching from the rear. I realized that that I was absolutely alone. There were no other rangers within view and the Germans were getting closer. I tried to prepare my "Thompson Submachine gun” for a fight even though I knew that it was useless at anything beyond fifty feet. The "tommy gun" would not fire so I threw it down and started running away from the Germans. I was running in the irrigation ditch and stumbled over something and fell flat on my face in the mud. I could hear the Germans bullets hitting the mud very near my head but, fortunately, they were not very accurate so I jumped up and continued running away. When I reached the road that was about 100 yards away, I ran under the bridge and found a carbine lying on the other side. In order to see if it was useable, I fired it into the ground and the end of the barrel split into about four pieces, indication that it had probably been full of mud. I looked to my right and immediately saw where all the other members of D company were. They were crouching in a ditch along the side of the road. I joined them there and within minutes a German tank approached on the road. In front of the tank was a large number of rangers walking toward us. We could not shoot at the Germans because they were using our rangers for protection.
I, of course, could not have shot at them anyway since I had no weapon. We were greatly outnumbered and many were killed and wounded before we were forced to surrender to the enemy.
Carl told me that the next day with other prisoners was taken by truck to Rome and then to the final destination in a farm in Poland, near Gdansk, where he was kept until the liberation in 1945.
