Mattesini, Francesco Operazione "Shingle"

Lo sbarco e la battaglia di Anzio. 22 gennaio - 4 giugno 1944

The landing in Anzio and Nettuno on 21 January 1944, carried out by the Anglo-Americans as Operation Shingle, was described by US historian Eliot Morison as Churchill's creation. When the situation on the German Gustav defensive line, which stretched from Ortona via Cassino to the mouth of the Garigliano, became critical for the Allies, the landing operation in Anzio, which aimed to bypass the German front from behind and advance on Rome, received a major boost from Churchill. A great politician but a poor and presumptuous strategist, Churchill urged the Allied command to carry out Operation Shingle, and this was done against the opinion of the Americans, who feared that it would be a very difficult undertaking. The armed forces were limited due to the lack of landing craft, which had left the Mediterranean after the military operation in Salerno (8 September 1943) to be deployed in other war zones against Japan. Operation Shingle, which involved the initial landing of two divisions withdrawn from the front at Cassino, one American and one British, both under the command of General Mark Clark, commander of the 5th US Army, was to proceed quickly, with the initial objective of the Alban Hills, and then advance towards Rome via the Appian Way. However, due to the German response, which had been completely underestimated by the British strategists of the 15th Army Group under General Harold Alexander, the fighting for the bridgeheads at Anzio and Nettuno lasted for more than four months, as the Americans had feared, forcing them to increase their forces to seven divisions. It was not until the end of May, with the breakthrough of the front at Cassino, that it was possible to advance from Anzio and reach Rome on 4 June, where General Clark triumphantly marched into the Italian capital.