Chapter 189 Volume 5 Chapter 34 Rome｜May 11｜June 9

Allied reorganization Alexander launched a powerful offensive on May 11 General Juan captured Ausonia Polish troops captured Cassino Abbey The Allies advanced in all directions May 17 My telegram to Alexander and its return General Wilson The climax of the reports is imminent the capture of Cisterna by the Canadian Corps in the valley of the Liri. Alexander's report of May 24. Anzio's army under General Truscott advances to Mount Albon but fails to take Valmonto. My telegram to Alexander on 28th May German Fourth Army Struggles to Resist May 30th Alexander's telegram and my reply June 2nd American captures Valmontone June 5th Allies enter Rome War Cabinet Sending a congratulatory message to the whole army. I will inform Stalin of the victory of the Allied forces. The brilliant achievements of the Russian army. Hitler faces the fate of impending collapse on three battlefields.

Our troops stationed in Italy were reorganized in complete secrecy.All possible measures were taken to conceal the movement of our troops from the enemy and, at the same time, to confuse him.After the reorganization work was completed, the Fifth Army led by General Clark had more than seven divisions on the front from the coast to the Lili River, including four French divisions; The army group, with a force equivalent to about a dozen divisions, continued to garrison the front through Cassino and into the mountainous area.At the beachhead of Anzio six divisions were assembled, ready to strike at the most favorable moment;

At the same time, in the Adriatic region, only the equivalent of three divisions remained.In total, the Allies assembled more than twenty-eight divisions. There were twenty-three German divisions confronting our army, but our methods of deceiving the enemy, which included the threat of a landing at the Roman port of Civitavecchia, had so completely deceived Kesselring that The enemy forces were widely dispersed.In the area between Cassino and the coast, where our main forces were aimed, the enemy had only four divisions, while the reserves were scattered and separated.Our army suddenly launched an attack.The Germans, facing the British front, were now in rotation, and one of its army commanders was on leave.

On the morning of May 11, Alexander and I exchanged telegrams. Prime Minister to General Alexander May 11, 1944 I firmly believe that this is a decisive battle, and all our thoughts and hopes are pinned on you.This war was bound to be fought to the end, and its purpose was to destroy and destroy the enemy's armed forces south of Rome. General Alexander to Prime Minister May 11, 1944 All our planning and preparations are now complete and arrangements are in place.We have full confidence and will to achieve our goal of destroying the enemy forces south of Rome.We expect and are prepared for extremely violent and difficult fighting.I will report to you in the code between us when the attack begins.

At eleven o'clock that night, the powerful offensive began.The artillery of our two armies bombarded violently with 2,000 cannon, and at dawn the tactical air force gave full support.North of Cassino, Polish troops were struggling to surround the monastery on the ridge.We have failed to attack this place several times before, but this time the Polish army was stopped by the enemy and forced to retreat.The British XIII Corps, with the British 4th and 8th Indian Divisions at the fore, succeeded in establishing a few small bridgeheads across the Rapido, but they had to fight tenaciously to hold them.On the front line of the Fifth Army, the French army quickly advanced to Mount Feteau, but on the seaward flank, the American Second Army encountered stubborn resistance and was fighting for every inch of land.After thirty-six hours of fierce fighting, the enemy began to show signs of decline. The French army captured Monte Mayo. Ambrogio and Sant'Apollinare, thus clearing the entire western bank of the river.Thirteenth Corps crossed the Rapido River, penetrated deeper into the enemy's strong defenses, and began to make good progress on 14 May after joining up with the 78th Division, which had come to reinforce it.The French again advanced into the valley of the Ossonia, and captured Ausonia, and General Juin sent his regiment of Gorms[1] to advance westward from Ausonia through the mountains without paths.The U.S. II Corps succeeded in taking Santa Maria Infante, for which they fought a long battle.The two German divisions stationed on the flank of this place, having to withstand the attack of six divisions of the Fifth Army, suffered a devastating blow, so that the entire German right flank south of the Lili River was collapsing.

[1] The Gom Regiment is a Moroccan native army, led by French officers and sergeants, known for its proficiency in fighting in the mountains.The regiment has a strength of about 12,000 men. The enemy forces north of the Leary, despite the collapse of their sea flanks, still fought desperately against what remained of Gustav's line.But gradually they couldn't hold on.On the 15th, the Thirteenth Army advanced to the Cassino-Pignatoro Highway, and General Lees also drove up the Canadian Army, preparing to expand his victory. On the second day, the 78th Division broke through the enemy's defenses in a sortie to the northwest and advanced to Route 6; on the 17th, the Polish army attacked north of the monastery.This time they succeeded, occupying the ridge northwest of the monastery, which commanded the road and controlled it.

On the morning of May 18th, the British 4th Division finally cleared the enemy troops in the city of Cassino. At this time, the Polish army also successfully raised the red and white national flag on the ruins of the monastery.In their first major battle in Italy, they played very well.Later, they won many honors in the long march to the Po River under the enterprising General Anders, who narrowly escaped from a Russian prison.Thirteenth Corps advanced again along the entire front to the outskirts of Aquino, while the Canadians advanced to their south.On the other side of the Liri, the French had reached Esperia and were advancing rapidly on Pico.The American troops had taken Formia, and they had achieved great success.Kesselring had sent reinforcements as much as he could muster, but they arrived sporadically and had to fight hastily to hold off the growing Allied advance.The Eighth Army still had to break through the Adolf Hitler Line, which stretched from Ponte Corvo to Aquino and then to Piedimonte, but it was already clear that the Germans would soon be forced to backed off.

All considerations of our commanders were therefore centered on the following two points: the time and direction of the breakthrough of the Anzio line; and the possibility of the final German hold on the area south of Rome, based on the Alpen Hills and Valmontone along the road. . Prime Minister to General Alexander May 17, 1944 My heartfelt congratulations on advancing across the board and achieving good results. Some people here think that it is better not to play Anzio at first.But the Chief of the Reich General Staff and I agree with you that at this stage it is best to keep up the pressure on the enemy in order to maintain his threat.Please tell me what you think.

In your call this morning, you spoke of the temporary halt of Zhunfen's advance in order to bring up the artillery.Will this take a few days, or more time?I think chasing the enemy is very important.A defeated army is often unable to stand on a trench dug for them in the rear, unless another army of considerable strength has already held this line of defense. Since the start of this battle, I don't know how your casualties have been.Please do not apply for any additional troops, so as not to hinder the regular plan.I think your losses on the entire front are about 7,000 to 8,000 casualties.Please let me know what you think, whether this number is high or low.

Best wishes to you and your soldiers. Alexander replied the next day as follows: General Alexander to Prime Minister May 18, 1944 Thank you very much for your congratulations, which are very dear to our entire military. 2. I carefully weighed the pros and cons of launching the Anzio campaign, and of many factors, two factors most influenced me.First, the enemy's reserves in the area are very strong. It has the 90th and 26th Divisions, which I will first attract elsewhere.As you know, the 90th Division has been drawn into the main area of ​​operations, and part of the 26th Division has been withdrawn.Second, the Germans expected Anzio to be our main attack target, and in order to surprise us, I had taken actions that the enemy had not expected.I have ordered the 36th Division of the U.S. Army to enter the bridgehead position starting tonight.I'm trying to get them in in batches without the enemy seeing it.When the time came, the American troops would rush out and cut off the enemy's communication lines to Rome.If successful, this action may well prove decisive.

3. Our attempt is not only to maintain the current pressure on the main battlefields, but to intensify the pressure.I have ordered Eighth Army to use maximum force to break through the Adolf Hitler line in the Lili Valley before the Germans have had time to gain a foothold.I also ordered the Polish Army to advance immediately on Piedimonte in order to circumvent this line from the north.At the same time I gave orders that the French Army, after reaching Picot, should turn north and enter the rear of the enemy, which faced the Eighth Army.If these mobilizations go well, it will greatly facilitate the destruction of the right wing of the German Tenth Army.If our army is blocked in front of the Adolf Hitler line and cannot go around from the north or south, it will be necessary to carry out a general large-scale attack to break through this line.In this case, the heavy artillery had to be brought to the front, which required several days.However, you can rest assured that there will be no unnecessary delays.The Germans wanted to restore their balance extremely quickly, but I was determined not to let that happen. 4. Regarding the number of casualties, the last information I obtained is as follows: the Eighth Army, 6,000; the Fifth Army, 7,000; the total, 13,000. 5. The capture of Cassino is of great significance to me personally and to the two armies I command.In addition to being beneficial to the work of the Foreign Office, it appears to have significant publicity value. General Wilson, who had gone to the front from Algiers, also reported to me: general wilson to prime minister May 18, 1944 The fighting continued smoothly.Today, I inspected the Polish Legion.They were proud of their hard-fought achievements on Mount Cassino, where the fighting was fierce indeed. 2. Both the Eighth Army and the U.S. Army have sufficient strength to continue to pursue the victory.However, according to the current casualty rate, it is difficult to say whether Zhu An's army will have enough troops after more than eight days of hard fighting.I discussed this matter with de Gaulle at Juan's headquarters today.He had agreed to send an armored regiment and an infantry regiment from North Africa immediately, and to send more reinforcements as soon as the troops had been trained in American weapons. Although the German defenders rushed to the battle, their soldiers were very tenacious, and the fortifications themselves were very strong. Therefore, the Eighth Army launched several tentative attacks on Adolf Hitler's defense line in the Lili Valley, but none of them achieved results.A segmented raid must be carried out, but such a raid cannot be launched until after May 23.But at this time, after a fierce battle, the French army had occupied Picot, and the American Second Army had also entered Fondi.Germany, of course, felt apprehensive about her southern flank. Prime Minister to General Alexander May 23, 1944 Your battle seems to be coming to a head, and everyone here is watching your progress.As the enemy's left flank shifted back, news of the French and American advances certainly filled the headlines in the newspapers.Your cable giving due praise to the Polish Legion also puts them in good stead. Questions were raised at the Cabinet meeting yesterday as to whether the role played by British troops had been given due attention.The British had been attacking that part of the line which was the most tenacious and most difficult to gain ground.We do not ask for any untrue news to be reported, but people who read the newspapers these days will doubt whether our military has made a significant contribution.Of course I understand the facts, but the public will be confused, so when you think our military's progress is worth mentioning, can you mention them a little bit more in the communiqué? As a result, the Canadian Army undertook the main attack in the Lili Valley.By noon on the 24th, the corps had completed a general breakthrough, while its armored divisions advanced on Ceprano.The next day, the Germans retreated across the board and were pursued fiercely across the entire front of the Eighth Army. General Alexander had decided that the assault from the Anzio beachhead should coincide with the Eighth Army's attack.General Truscott of the United States sent two divisions of his Army Group (still called Sixth Army) to attack Cisterna at this time.After two days of fierce fighting, Cisterna was captured on the 25th, and on the same day, the beachhead troops also made contact with the vanguard of the U.S. Second Army, which was taking Tela. Chena moved forward afterwards.After a long struggle, all our troops are at last united, and we are beginning to reap the fruits of our hard work at Anzio last winter. General Alexander to Prime Minister May 24, 1944 I would like to inform you of some noteworthy and pleasant facts.My daily reports to the Chief of the Reich General Staff will then be delivered in accordance with the regular procedure. The Gustav Line, which had been marched by the enemy all winter and protected by the Rapido River, was breached by two of our armies during this initial raid, and on the first day after the battle began Within a week, the enemy was driven from the line.Cassino, an almost impregnable fortress, was outflanked during a brilliant pincer movement by our army, and at last isolated and cut off from the field. As for the much-vaunted Adolf Hitler's defense line, although it was covered with barbed wire, mines, and reinforced concrete bunkers, it was destroyed in the area where the Eighth Army advanced. Thanks to the beachhead, our army was able to deploy a strong force on the German rear flank, which is now operating in order to complete another, larger pincer offensive.The deepest penetration into enemy positions so far has been thirty-eight miles in a straight line. In the area of ​​Anzio the Americans had advanced four thousand yards through the enemy's well-prepared fixed fortifications and surrounded Cisterna. Our side has captured more than 10,000 prisoners and killed a large number of enemy troops. The statistics on this aspect have not yet been completed.Due to the expansion of the battlefield and the acceleration of the advance, it is not yet possible to check the captured materials, but there will be at least one hundred cannons of various types, as well as a large number of weapons and other equipment.Many mechanized transports have been blown up and damaged by our Air Force, which claims to have destroyed at least a hundred vehicles today. Of the German divisions that engaged our army, the 71st and 94th Infantry Divisions had been routed and were no longer combat units.The 1st Parachute Division, the 90th Armored Guards Division, and the 15th Armored Guards Division had lost most of their effective fighting strength.The 26th Armored Division, 29th Armored Guards Division, 715th and 362nd Infantry Divisions were also heavily damaged.The 576th Regiment, the 305th and 131st Regiments, and the 44th Division were virtually wiped out as well.All the enemy's reserves, including a division said to have been stationed northwest of Rome, are also engaged, and there are strong indications that Hermann Göring's division, the reserve of the German High Command, is moving south in an attempt to To check the offensive of our army, but this situation should not be announced publicly, because the participation of this division in combat has not been confirmed so far. Cooperation between our two armies and between the Allied Air Forces was excellent. Troops from Britain, the United States, France, Canada, New Zealand, India, and Poland have all been involved in the fighting.The British army has played a distinguished role in every hard battle, especially in crossing the Rapido and surrounding Cassino from the south.I will give them their due credit in the communiqué.The British and American Air Forces have joined together to provide close and long-range support to our two armies.Allied naval forces coordinated in bombarding the enemy and transporting troops and supplies by sea.In every sense of the word, this was, and continues to be, an allied battle. Finally, we have liberated five hundred square miles of Italian land from the clutches of the German invaders in less than two weeks. General Truscott quickly exploited the gap he had opened at Chisterna.On General Clark's orders he sent three divisions, including an armored division, to Velletri and Mount Albon; There the most important route of escape for the enemy forces further south was cut off.This arrangement was not in accordance with Alexander's instructions, which had Valmontone as its main object. Prime Minister to General Alexander May 28, 1944 We are all very happy to receive your good news.Cutting off the enemy's retreat is more important than any other action at this moment.I am convinced that you have considered carefully that further armored forces should be mobilized along the Via d'Apping [1] to support the northernmost vanguard of the Valmontone-Frozzinone road.Pursuing the enemy is much more important than occupying Rome. In any case, the final result of pursuing the enemy must be the occupation of Rome.Pursuit is the only key issue. [1] The Appian Way is a three hundred and fifty-mile-long road south of Rome.translator Prime Minister to General Alexander May 28, 1944 In addition to what was stated in the previous telegram (i.e. the telegram listed above), I have examined the figures for our tank strength obtained from various sources.The figures provided to me by the Chief of the Imperial General Staff indicate that you have at least 2,500 combat tanks at your disposal.Doubtless we can use half of them, indeed we can use them all, in order to make a sickle-shaped roundabout movement, and cut off the enemy's escape route. In two or three days, I will publish an open letter to you and your armies, and I will support you no matter what happens, but I feel that I cannot help telling you out of comradeship: this campaign The honor achieved, great though it was, will henceforth be measured not by the occupation of Rome or the joining of bridgeheads, but by the number of German divisions cut off from retreat.I am sure you have all these questions in your mind, and perhaps have acted on this principle.Still, I feel compelled to tell you: the key is to go after the enemy. However, Hermann Göring's division and others, although delayed by the destructive attacks of our Air Force, reached Valmontone first.A separate American division sent by General Clark was stopped halfway, but the enemy's escape route remained open.This is unfortunate. The enemy forces to the south were in complete retreat, and the Allied air forces did their utmost to hinder their movements and disperse the massed enemy forces.On the other hand, the tenacious rearguard of the enemy constantly stopped our pursuit, and the enemy did not break into retreat when he retreated.The American II Corps advances towards Priveno, the French advance towards the Ceccano, while the Canadian Corps and the British XIII Corps advance along the river valley to Frozinone, while the Tenth Corps advances along the road to Aveza promise.Three American divisions from the gap in the Anzio front advanced on Velletri and Mount Albon, and were later reinforced by a fourth division, the 36th.But they met with fierce resistance and for three days made no progress.They were ready for a renewed attack on Valmontone, where Kesselring had brought in reinforcements all the combat-effective troops he could muster, but a brilliant attack by the American 36th Division The attack must have caused Kesselring to panic.The 36th Division had fought hard on the southwestern corner of Mount Alpen.On the night of May 30th, they discovered that the German army had left a commanding height and did not send troops to defend it.As a result, the infantry of the 36th Division advanced in dense columns and occupied various strongholds.Within twenty-four hours, the entire 36th Division had established a solid position, and the last German line of defense south of Rome was finally broken. General Alexander to Prime Minister May 30, 1944 Thank you for calling. Our combat tank force is about two thousand. As you can see from my battle orders, my purpose is to destroy the German army in the field. Combat troops were not allowed to enter the city except by using the roads through Rome.Besides, I am considering whether it would be better to mention in my military communiqué only the conquest of Rome, and not to speak of some of the settlements which our troops take every day in their marches.I would be very grateful if you could give some pointers on this. You must have heard that new enemy divisions are approaching here.I hope that we will not stop the reinforcements prematurely, as in the past, so as not to prevent our army from taking advantage of the current favorable situation to obtain the full fruits of victory. Prime Minister to General Alexander May 31, 1944 I fully agree with your operational intent and am confident that you will carry it out. The conquest of Rome was a major world event and should not be taken lightly.I want British and American troops to enter the city at the same time.I hate to compare it to other towns that were captured on the same day.You are right, however, that since we wiped out the German Army on this field, we have captured Rome, as well as other towns. How fortunate we are to stand our ground before our friends, the Chiefs of Staff of the United States, and to reject their opinion that you should not be allowed to play your full part in this campaign!I certainly support your priority in obtaining all the manpower and material resources needed to achieve this magnificent victory.I am convinced that the Chiefs of Staff of the United States Armed Forces will at this time feel that it is inappropriate to withdraw forces from this field for other amphibious campaigns that will occupy the priority of our thoughts in the near future, or in any way. Ways to weaken the strength of this battlefield. I wish you all the best. The victory of the American 36th Division did not bring immediate results.The enemy was still fighting desperately at Monte Alben and at Valmontone, but the bulk of their forces had now turned northwards, retreating towards Avezzano and Arsoli, but the enemy was in these two places. However, it was pursued by aircraft from the British Tenth and Thirteenth Armies and the Tactical Air Force.It is a pity that the mountainous terrain prevents us from using the great power of our armored forces, which would otherwise be greatly exerted. On June 2, the U.S. Second Army captured Valmontone and moved west.That night, German resistance broke down.The next day, the U.S. Sixth Army, which had reached Alpen Hills, and the British 1st and 5th Divisions on its left flank approached Rome.The advance of the U.S. Second Army was slightly ahead of them.They found that most of the bridges had not been damaged. At 7:15 pm on June 4, the vanguard of the 88th Division of the Second Army entered the Piazza Venezia in the center of the Roman capital. On June 9th I sent a congratulatory message from the War Cabinet to all concerned, as well as my own personal message to Alexander: In addition to these words of congratulations, I venture to express my own congratulations.We have always agreed with each other that the main objective is to destroy the armed forces of the enemy.It seems certain that the positions now occupied by the troops under your command, and their superiority in air and armor, give us a very favorable opportunity: by further prompt action you will give Kaiser Lin's disintegrated army struck harder, and the enemy's retreat to the north would probably cost him dearly. We are pleased to ask you to congratulate on our behalf the officers and men of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, India, France, Poland and Italy for their outstanding service across the front. We share your hope that future successes will continue as we resolutely pursue defeated enemies and cut off their retreat. I kept Stalin fully informed of the progress of the above operations, and on June 5, while other things were going on simultaneously, I informed him of the good news of our victory. Prime Minister to Premier Stalin June 5, 1944 You will be delighted to learn that the Allied forces have entered Rome.We have always believed that it is more important to cut off as many enemy divisions as possible. General Alexander was now ordering a strong panzer force north to attack Terni, which would essentially complete the cutting off of escape routes for all the divisions Hitler sent to fight south of Rome.While the amphibious landings at Anzio and Nettuno did not directly yield the results I had hoped for when planning, it was the right strategic move, and it paid off in the end.First, these two landings drew ten enemy divisions from: one from France, one from Hungary, four from Yugoslavia and Istria, one from Denmark , three divisions from northern Italy.Secondly, these actions brought about a defensive battle in which, although we lost about 25,000 men, the German army was repulsed and most of its divisions were destroyed , lost about 30,000 people.Finally, the landing at Anzio made possible such an operation as had been planned, but on a much larger scale.General Alexander was now concentrating all his efforts on trapping the enemy divisions south of Rome.Several divisions have retreated into the mountains, leaving behind a great deal of arms, but we hope to capture a good number of prisoners and supplies.When these battles are over, we will decide how best to use our troops in Italy to support the main military adventure.The armies of Poland, Britain, Free France, and the United States all routed or crushed German forces against them in frontal attacks.In addition, there are various important alternative opportunities that must be considered quickly. 2. I spent two days at Eisenhower's headquarters, inspecting the troops on board (bound for Normandy), and have just returned.Difficulties are great in obtaining the proper climatic conditions, especially since we must consider how best to use air, navy, and land forces in conjunction with tide, sea, and cloud conditions.With great regret, General Eisenhower was forced to postpone the meeting for one night.But the weather forecast has changed very favorably, so tonight we set out to act.We employ five thousand ships and have eleven thousand fully equipped aircraft. Warm congratulatory messages came from all directions.Even Russian bears were affectionate to me. Marshal Stalin to Prime Minister June 5, 1944 I congratulate the Anglo-American allied forces on the great victory over Rome.In the Soviet Union, the news was welcomed with great satisfaction. Stalin had reason to be happy, because everything he encountered went well. The scale of the Russian fighting far surpassed the campaigns I have previously described, and it undoubtedly formed the basis upon which the Anglo-American armies were about to reach the climax of the war.The Russians did not allow their enemy any respite from the severe defeat suffered in the early winter of 1943.In mid-January they launched an attack on a 120-mile front from Lake Ilmen to Leningrad and broke through the enemy lines in front of Leningrad.Further south, by the end of February, the Germans had been driven back to the shores of Lake Chud.Leningrad was finally completely relieved.Moreover, Russian troops have been stationed on the borders of the Baltic states. The Russian offensive west of Kiev was successful, forcing the Germans to retreat to Poland's old frontiers.Throughout the southern front, fighting was raging, and the German defenses had been deeply breached in many places.At Kersen, a large pocket was left in which the Germans were trapped, almost entirely without escape. Throughout March the Russians pursued the enemy along the entire front and in the air.From Gomel to the Black Sea, the German invaders retreated until they were forced to retreat across the Transnistria into Romania and Poland.Then, they got a brief respite from spring melting.In the Crimea, however, fighting could still be fought.On April 11, after three days of fighting, the Russians broke through the Isthmus of Perekop, joined forces with other troops that had crossed the strait at Kerch, and proceeded to destroy the German Seventeenth Army and at the same time recapture Sevastopol . By the end of May, Hitler's army was in a desperate situation.When the Russian army resumed its overwhelming offensive, his two hundred divisions on the Eastern Front would have no hope of parrying.Everywhere he faced impending disaster.Now is the time for him to decide: how to rearrange his army, where to retreat, and where to hold.But, instead, he ordered all his troops to hold their ground and fight to the end.The German army is not allowed to retreat anywhere.In this way, the fate of the German army's complete collapse on all three battlefields was doomed.