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The Story of Operation Shingle
Anzio landing when Allied forces tried to break the German defense line: From smooth D-Day to a prolonged war
On January 22, 1944, the U.S. Fifth Army, Sixth Corps, and British First Infantry Division landed on the beachhead at Anzio mainly with a target to further move forward towards Rome. The Allies were planning to pull the Germans out of Italy and their plan was assigned code name, Operation Shingle.
Operation Shingle was part of a series of operations being undertaken by the Allies against the Germans in Italy.
In May 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill both came up with a plan in the Trident Conference, in Washington, to open a new front against the Axis to force them to draw their forces on many fronts before the start of the Normandy expedition in France.
The main objective behind all these maneuvers was to tarnish the German military machine. Sicily was the starting point of execution of the decision made during the Trident Conference. After successful operations in Sicily (Operation Husky) and Salerno (Operation Avalanche), the next destination was Anzio, a coastal town of Italy 35 miles from Rome.
Plannings and main tasks of Operation Shingle
“The relative ease of victory on Sicily convinced the British that the Allies should now assume higher risks and invade Italy’s mainland and thereby drive it out of the war. The first step, the British argued, should be the capture of Naples, then Rome.” — Milan Vego
British General Sir Harold Alexander was the man behind the planning of the attack on Anzio. He thought that an amphibious operation was required to weaken the position of the Germans and take control of Rome. The key points of the operation were:
- To thrash the German’s main line of defense, the Gustav Line;
- To control the main roads leading to Rome.
