_UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II_

                           Pictorial Record

                            THE WAR AGAINST
                          GERMANY AND ITALY:
                           MEDITERRANEAN AND
                            ADJACENT AREAS

  [Illustration: MILITARY INSTRVCTION]

                      CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY
                          UNITED STATES ARMY
                        WASHINGTON, D.C., 1988




                  First Printed 1951--C M H Pub 12-2

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                  UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II

                Kent Roberts Greenfield, General Editor


                          Advisory Committee

                            James P. Baxter
                      President, Williams College

                           Henry S. Commager
                          Columbia University

                          Douglas S. Freeman
                         Richmond News Leader

                           Pendleton Herring
                    Social Science Research Council

                             John D. Hicks
                       University of California

                         William T. Hutchinson
                         University of Chicago

                           S. L. A. Marshall
                             Detroit News

                           E. Dwight Salmon
                            Amherst College

                         Col. Thomas D. Stamps
                    United States Military Academy

                           Charles S. Sydnor
                            Duke University

                           Charles H. Taylor
                          Harvard University


                Office of the Chief of Military History

                     Maj. Gen. Orlando Ward, Chief

    Chief Historian                Kent Roberts Greenfield
    Chief, World War II Group      Col. Allison R. Hartman
    Editor-in-Chief                Hugh Corbett
    Chief, Pictorial Unit          Lt. Col. John C. Hatlem, USAF
    Assistant, Pictorial Unit      Capt. Kenneth E. Hunter
    Assistant, Pictorial Unit      Miss Margaret E. Tackley




                        ... to Those Who Served




                               Foreword


During World War II the photographers of the United States Army, Air
Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard created on film a pictorial
record of immeasurable value. Thousands of their pictures are preserved
in the photographic libraries of the armed services, little seen by the
public.

In the volumes of UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II now being prepared
by the Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the
Army, it is possible to include only a limited number of pictures. A
subseries of pictorial volumes, of which this is one, has been planned
to supplement the other volumes of the series. The photographs have
been selected to show important terrain features, types of equipment
and weapons, living and weather conditions, military operations, and
various matters of human interest. These volumes will preserve and make
accessible for future reference some of the best pictures of World
War II. An appreciation not only of the terrain on which actions were
fought, but of its influence on the capabilities and limitations of
weapons, in the hands of both our troops and the enemy’s, can be gained
through a careful study of the pictures herein presented. Appreciation
of these factors is essential to a clear understanding of military
history.

This volume, compiled by Lt. Col. John C. Hatlem, USAF, and Capt.
Kenneth E. Hunter, with the assistance of Miss Margaret E. Tackley, and
edited by W. Brooks Phillips and Miss Mary Ann Bacon, deals with the
Mediterranean Theater of Operations and the Middle East. It is divided
into five sections: (1) North Africa and the Middle East; (2) Sicily,
Corsica, and Sardinia; (3) Italy: 9 September 1943–4 June 1944; (4)
Southern France; and (5) Italy: 5 June 1944-2 May 1945. Each section
is arranged in chronological order. The written text has been kept to
a minimum. Each section is preceded by a brief introduction recounting
the major events set down in detail in the individual narrative volumes
of UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II. The appendices give information
as to the abbreviations used and the sources of the photographs.

    Washington, D. C.                         ORLANDO WARD
    1 November 1951                           Maj. Gen., USA
                                              Chief of Military History




                               Contents


    Section                                              Page

      I. NORTH AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST                   1

     II. SICILY, CORSICA, AND SARDINIA                    105

    III. ITALY: 9 SEPTEMBER 1943–4 JUNE 1944              171

     IV. SOUTHERN FRANCE                                  303

      V. ITALY: 5 JUNE 1944-2 MAY 1945                    349

    APPENDIX A: LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS                     455

    APPENDIX B: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS                           457

    INDEX                                                 459




                             NORTH AFRICA
                                  AND
                            THE MIDDLE EAST

  [Illustration: TUNISIA]




                               SECTION I

                  North Africa and the Middle East[1]


                             North Africa

The occupation of French North Africa by Allied troops was determined
in July 1942 when the American and British Governments agreed to
launch a Mediterranean operation in the fall of 1942. The invasion,
designated as TORCH, was to coincide with a British advance westward
from Egypt. Before American soldiers did any actual fighting in North
Africa, however, and before the United States was at war, civilian and
military observers had been informally attached in May 1941 to the U.
S. military attaché in Cairo. This group was the beginning of a force
whose primary function was to service and maintain lend-lease equipment
from the United States, instruct the British in its use, and report on
how it stood up under battle conditions. The U. S. Air Force also was
performing missions in Egypt several months before the Allied landings
in North Africa. All these activities contributed to the British
victory at El Alamein in October 1942.

Allied troops sailed for North Africa from ports in both the United
States and the United Kingdom. The U. S. Navy and the Royal Navy shared
in supplying transports and naval escort and were able to prevent any
serious losses through enemy submarine action. Vital air support was
at first provided from aircraft carriers of both Navies and later by
land-based planes of the Allied air forces utilizing recently captured
airfields.

The Allies hoped to avoid French resistance to the landings by
arranging for the assistance of patriotic Frenchmen ashore and by
the participation in the operation of Gen. Henri Giraud, a French
military leader and former Army commander of great prestige who had
escaped from France. These plans were only partly successful. The
landings on the early morning of 8 November at beaches near Algiers,
Oran, Casablanca, Port-Lyautey, Fedala, and Safi met resistance at all
objectives. The opposition at Algiers and Safi collapsed quickly. Oran
could be occupied only after considerable fighting. French forces,
especially naval elements, in the neighborhood of Casablanca resisted
strongly, but yielded on 11 November, a few minutes before the final
assault on the city itself was to start. After a brief period of
neutrality, most of the French forces in northwest Africa joined in the
war against the Axis.

The Axis reacted to the Allied invasion by rushing troops to Tunisia
by air and sea, and captured the local airfields and ports without
opposition. British, American, and French troops drove eastward and at
the end of November and in early December launched their attack against
the Axis bridgehead. The Allied advance, however, was stopped short of
Tunis. Air superiority for the moment lay with the Axis. Lack of means
to overcome the increased resistance, in addition to weather conditions
which interfered with transport and flying, forced the postponement
until 1943 of a renewed advance over the difficult terrain of northern
Tunisia.

Meanwhile, the British Eighth Army was pressing German and Italian
forces back from Egypt through Libya and reached the southern border
of Tunisia in January 1943. Plans could then be perfected for a
co-ordinated attack against the remaining Axis forces in North Africa
by the British Eighth Army in the south and the Allied troops in the
north consisting of the British First Army, the American II Corps,
the French XIX Corps, and Allied air forces. Attack by Axis forces
at points of their own selection repeatedly interfered with Allied
preparations. In February the enemy broke through Faïd Pass and in a
series of attacks advanced beyond Kasserine almost to the Algerian
border. These attacks were stopped on 21–22 February when the enemy
started his withdrawal, destroying bridges and mining the passes behind
him.

But the Allied forces were closing in. After attacking and turning the
Mareth position, the British Eighth Army defeated the enemy there and
pursued him along the coast as far as Enfidaville, less than fifty
miles from Tunis. Accelerated Allied air and naval attacks choked
off the enemy’s supply and weakened his resistance. At the same time
the American II Corps was shifted northwest to a new sector on the
left of the British First Army. Then after severe infantry fighting
the American II Corps made an armored thrust to Mateur, and after a
pause it pushed tank forces east to the sea, separating Bizerte from
Tunis. Farther south the British First Army drove directly toward
Tunis. On 7 May both Bizerte and Tunis were occupied and by 13 May
Axis capitulation was complete. The Allies had achieved their initial
objective of opening the Mediterranean route to the Middle East and
seizing bases in North Africa. At the same time they had inflicted a
major defeat on the Axis Powers.

Allied strength in French North Africa had been brought to a total of
about a million men. Much of this strength was not intended for the
Tunisia Campaign but for later operations against Sicily and southern
Italy. Elaborate training establishments were developed by the American
Fifth and Seventh Armies and vast supply depots established with a view
to future operations from the African base.


                         Persian Gulf Command

In June 1942 an American theater of operations called U. S. Army
Forces in the Middle East was established with headquarters at Cairo.
Under this command were merged various groups and military missions
that had been active in this area since the spring of 1941. American
responsibilities for moving supplies to the Soviet Union led ultimately
to a separation of the Persian Gulf activities of USAFIME and their
establishment under an organization that was known from December 1943
to October 1945 as the Persian Gulf Command, with headquarters at
Tehran, Iran.

From 1941 to 1945 the main business of the U. S. Army in the Middle
East was to facilitate the supply of lend-lease goods to British
and Soviet forces. This task involved the construction of docks,
warehouses, shops, and highways as well as the operation of ports, a
railroad, and a motor transport service in Iran. At the same time the
Army constructed numerous airfields and bases, stretching across Egypt,
the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Eritrea, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria,
Iraq, and Iran.

  [Illustration: EGYPT

   THE PYRAMIDS NEAR CAIRO, EGYPT. For more than six months before
   the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States had recognized the
   military importance of the Middle East. Lend-lease equipment was
   poured into Egypt to aid the British in the western desert. The
   type of transport plane shown above performed constant service
   in the Middle East area. It was known familiarly as “the work
   horse of the war.” (C-47 transport, Dakota.)]

  [Illustration: EGYPT

   BRITISH SOLDIERS receiving instructions on an American-made
   engine at the U. S. Ordnance Repair Depot at Heliopolis near
   Cairo.]

  [Illustration: EGYPT

   TANKS AT THE HELIOPOLIS U. S. ORDNANCE REPAIR DEPOT. On Black
   Saturday, 13 June 1942, in a battle near Tobruk in Libya,
   British armor suffered severe tank losses inflicted by German
   88-mm. antitank guns. This defeat caused a withdrawal to the El
   Alamein Line in Egypt. (General Grant M3.)]

  [Illustration: EGYPT

   ITALIAN ANTIAIRCRAFT GUN captured by the British in the western
   desert of Egypt. Before the United States entered the war,
   American technicians worked closely with the British in the
   Middle East to obtain information on German and Italian weapons,
   equipment, and methods of warfare. (Italian Ansaldo antiaircraft
   gun, 75-mm.)]

  [Illustration: EGYPT

   INOCULATING EGYPTIAN WORKER WITH TYPHUS VACCINE. In June of 1942
   a separate command was formed in Cairo, called the U. S. Army
   Forces in the Middle East (USAFIME). Natives working with U. S.
   personnel were usually under Army medical supervision. Those
   handling food were subject to physical inspection and received
   medical treatment and whatever immunization inoculations were
   indicated for the locality. The use of preventive medicine
   stopped the outbreak of epidemics.]

  [Illustration: EGYPT

   B-25’S OVER THE WESTERN DESERT IN EGYPT. The U. S. Air Forces
   was active in the Middle East several months before the Allied
   landings in North Africa. The first mission of these bombers was
   against the enemy-occupied port of Matruh on the coast of Egypt
   in July 1942. (Medium bombers, North American B-25 Mitchell.)]

  [Illustration: EGYPT

   SELF-PROPELLED HOWITZER nicknamed the Priest. The crisis which
   developed when the British were forced to retreat to the El
   Alamein Line threatened the Suez Canal as well as the Allied air
   routes to Russia and India. Reinforcements and equipment were
   rushed to Egypt from the United Kingdom and the United States.
   The United States sent about 90 of the guns shown above, more
   than 300 General Sherman M4’s, and a large number of trucks. By
   October 1942, the situation had improved. The British Eighth
   Army attacked at El Alamein and drove the enemy out of Egypt,
   through Libya, and into Tunisia. (105-mm. howitzer, M7 howitzer
   motor carriage.)]

  [Illustration: ROMANIA

   LIBERATORS BOMBING PLOESTI OIL FIELD installations in Romania.
   The first U. S. air mission flown against any strategic target
   in Europe was on the Ploesti oil fields, a twelve-bomber raid
   by B-24’s from Egypt on 12 June 1942. The next raid on this
   target, 1 August 1943, was a low-level attack by 177 Liberators
   from Bengasi in Libya with the loss of 54 bombers. Refinery
   production was interrupted by these raids from Africa, but was
   not stopped until the spring of 1944 when continuous large-scale
   attacks were carried out from bases in Italy. (Heavy bomber
   Consolidated B-24 Liberator.)]

  [Illustration: EN ROUTE TO NORTH AFRICA

   CONVOY BOUND FOR NORTH AFRICA. Troops in the first landings
   approached their destinations in several large convoys, escorted
   by aircraft carriers and other warships. The convoy to Morocco
   originated in several ports of the United States on 23 October
   1942, and when near the African coast separated into three major
   parts. The convoy steaming to the vicinity of Oran and Algiers
   left the United Kingdom on 26 October. Before passing through
   the Straits of Gibraltar it separated into two parts. Inside the
   Mediterranean the two sections overtook slower cargo convoys and
   continued on a course toward Malta until sundown of 7 November.
   That night each section wheeled southward and separated further
   to reach several landing points near Oran and Algiers. Other
   convoys had already left both the United States and the United
   Kingdom before the attacks began.]

  [Illustration: EN ROUTE TO NORTH AFRICA

   NAVY FIGHTER AIRCRAFT on flight deck of a carrier approaching
   the coast of North Africa. In the background is a destroyer
   escort. Two to four destroyers operated with each carrier,
   providing antisubmarine protection, picking up personnel from
   wrecked aircraft, and augmenting the antiaircraft screen around
   their charge. (Grumman F4F Wildcat, single seater, carrier
   fighters.)]

  [Illustration: EN ROUTE TO NORTH AFRICA

   OIL TANKER refueling aircraft carrier en route to North Africa.]

  [Illustration: EN ROUTE TO NORTH AFRICA

   GUNNERY PRACTICE ABOARD A TRANSPORT. Submarines were a danger
   and gun crews were constantly on the alert. (Left, U. S. Navy
   3-inch gun; right .50-caliber water-cooled Browning machine
   gun.)]

  [Illustration: EN ROUTE TO NORTH AFRICA

   TROOPS ON TRANSPORT HEADED FOR FRENCH MOROCCO. Note rubber life
   belts on most of the men. These could be inflated instantly by
   means of gas cartridges in belts. In practice it was found that
   a fully inflated belt was not capable of supporting a soldier
   loaded down with his equipment. Men who found themselves in the
   water could not readily get rid of their packs and ammunition
   belts and several drownings occurred during the landings.]

  [Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO

   CASABLANCA, THE MAIN OBJECTIVE on the Atlantic coast of Morocco.
   The landings were made at Fedala, farther north, in order to
   attack Casablanca overland partly because of its very strong
   defenses and partly because of the necessity of capturing the
   port in usable condition. Casablanca was a naval base. The U.
   S. Navy had the mission of preventing French warships from
   interfering with the landings. American ships came under the
   fire of large coastal guns on El Hank Point (in the foreground,
   top picture) and engaged in running battles off Casablanca.
   Moored in the harbor was the battleship Jean Bart which also
   fired heavy shells to drive the American ships from their
   protective stations. After three days, when Casablanca was about
   to be attacked by ground, air, and sea bombardment and occupied
   by tanks and infantry, the city surrendered. The harbor was put
   to almost immediate use.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO

   PORT-LYAUTEY AIRPORT on the Oued Sebou north of Casablanca. The
   Kasba, an old walled fort, is on high ground between the lagoon
   at upper left and the mouth of the river. Early on 8 November
   1942, one landing was made on the north and two south of the
   river mouth. Those between the lagoon and the river were opposed
   by coastal defense guns and artillery from the Kasba. Hostile
   aircraft strafed all beaches and fighting lasted more than two
   days. Early on the 10th a naval party cut the cable across the
   river mouth and a U. S. destroyer steamed up the river under
   fire from the Kasba. Raiders and infantry occupied the airport
   at 0800 and Army fighter planes from a carrier landed by noon
   shortly after the Kasba surrendered.]

  [Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO

   TWO OF THE ATLANTIC PORTS SELECTED FOR INVASION. The main
   landings on the Atlantic coast took place in the vicinity of
   Fedala (top). In the early afternoon on the day of invasion,
   Fedala surrendered and the port was put to immediate use.
   Two destroyer-transports entered the port of Safi (bottom),
   130 miles south of Casablanca, at 0435 on 8 November. Their
   troops secured the harbor and key points inland while the first
   landings at the beaches were in progress. Shore batteries firing
   on the destroyers were silenced within a few minutes. By late
   afternoon the opposition in and around Safi came to an end.
   The reason for invading Safi was to obtain port facilities for
   unloading medium tanks.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO

   CURTISS SEAGULL SCOUT PLANE returning from observing and
   directing naval gunfire on Casablanca. Soon after the action
   started the radar on the large naval units was put out of
   commission by the concussion of the high-caliber guns. Spotting
   planes took over the task of directing fire and did an excellent
   job in spite of the difficulties caused by smoke over the
   port area. Battleships and cruisers had their own observation
   planes, launched by catapults and picked up by cranes. These
   planes assisted the infantry during the heavy fighting around
   Port-Lyautey by dropping antisubmarine depth charges on tanks
   and columns of vehicles. (Scout Observation-Curtiss SOC.)]

  [Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO

   NAVY DIVE BOMBER ON DECK OF A CARRIER. In the distance are two
   Army cubs, artillery observation planes. Three of these were
   brought across on a carrier for Army use and launched from the
   carrier to land on the race track at Fedala. Army-Navy teamwork
   was excellent during the invasion. Navy planes, on Army request,
   broke up enemy formations, bombed and strafed road blocks and
   strong points, often within an hour after the call had gone out
   from the forces ashore. Also on Army call, naval guns shelled
   points along the coast and some distance inland. (Grumman F4F
   Wildcat.)]

  [Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO

   THE JEAN BART, THE LATEST BATTLESHIP OF THE FRENCH NAVY.
   Although it was not finished at the time of the invasion and
   only one turret of four 15-inch guns had been installed, it
   opened fire on U. S. naval units at 0703 on D Day. The fire
   was returned and her battery was silenced within 15 minutes;
   five hits were made with 16-inch guns and the turret mechanism
   of the Jean Bart was jammed. Her guns were again operative at
   the end of D Day but did not fire until the 10th after which
   a 10-plane formation of dive bombers scored three hits, with
   1,000-pounders. Her guns were still able to fire. Plans to bomb
   and shell the ship on the 11th were abandoned because of the
   armistice.]

  [Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO

   AERIAL VIEW OF INFANTRY LANDING FROM ASSAULT BOATS north of
   Casablanca. Note heavy surf. Many of the landing craft were
   damaged on the beaches for lack of facilities to remove craft
   from the surf line and to repair or salvage them when stranded.
   At Fedala, for instance, more than half of the boats were
   unusable after the first landings. This slowed the follow-up
   unloading and was a contributory cause of the torpedoing of the
   transports waiting offshore to be discharged.]

  [Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO

   INFANTRY LANDING ON THE BEACH NEAR FEDALA. The landing itself
   was unopposed, but fighting developed just off the beach. (Left,
   landing craft, vehicle, LCV.)]

  [Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO

   DIRECTING LANDING-CRAFT TRAFFIC OFF FEDALA by means of semaphore
   flags. The port was captured and put into operation on D Day,
   but because of its limited capacity, freighters had to stand
   offshore awaiting their turns to discharge cargo. In the
   meantime unloading of ships went on with remaining assault
   craft. On the evening of 11 November a transport was torpedoed
   and sunk by submarine; a destroyer and tanker were damaged. The
   next day three additional transports were torpedoed and sunk.
   (Landing craft in picture: top center, LCV; middle left, landing
   craft, mechanized, LCM(3); middle right and bottom, landing
   craft, personnel (Ramp), LCP(R).)]

  [Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO

   UNLOADING EQUIPMENT IN FEDALA HARBOR. Waterproofed jeep coming
   off LCV. Note LCM in upper left. (Craft, upper left: LCM (3);
   upper right: LCV.)]

  [Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO

   LIGHT TANK IN CASABLANCA shortly after the surrender on 11
   November. Only light tanks were brought ashore in assault craft;
   the medium tanks were unloaded in the port of Safi until D plus
   2 and headed north toward Casablanca.]

  [Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO

   RADAR SETS NEAR CASABLANCA. This type of set was part of the
   equipment of the invading forces. By the end of December 1942,
   fifteen of these units were in operation as part of the air
   warning system of Casablanca. The searchlight automatically
   followed planes tracked by the radar. The city was almost at the
   maximum range of enemy bombers and was the target for few raids.
   (Radar set SCR 268.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: GIBRALTAR

   WARSHIP PASSING THE ROCK OF GIBRALTAR. This fortress was
   temporarily the Allied command post for TORCH. It was
   the only area on the European mainland under Allied control.
   Land-based aircraft did not take part in the beach assault
   phase, but aircraft were staged at the Gibraltar airport for
   take-off for Africa as soon as airfields there were captured. A
   U. S. fighter group equipped with British Spitfires landed near
   Oran about noon on D Day and aided in the fighting there; other
   planes flew to Algiers.]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   THE BEACH OF LES ANDALOUSES, west of Oran (top). The landings
   here were unopposed. Eastern part of Oran harbor (bottom). Early
   on 8 November two British ships (ex-U. S. Coast Guard cutters),
   carrying about 400 U. S. soldiers, entered the port between the
   moles shown in the distance. The ships came under point-blank
   fire from French naval vessels in the harbor and from shore
   batteries. They returned the fire but were sunk with great loss
   of life. When resistance in Oran ceased at noon on 10 November
   the port was cluttered with ships either sunk by British naval
   gunfire or sabotaged. Port installations had received only minor
   damage and were quickly put to use.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   SUPPLIES ON THE BEACH OF LES ANDALOUSES ON D DAY. Most of the
   Allied supply problems, both on the Atlantic side and in the
   Mediterranean, were caused by destruction of landing craft.
   About 95 percent were used during initial landings leaving
   few reserves for the build-up. The large seaworthy LST’s
   (landing ship, tank), which were to play a decisive role in all
   subsequent landings, were introduced by the British in the Oran
   area to carry light American tanks for beach landings.]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   UNLOADING SUPPLIES and laying prefabricated track on the beach
   in the Golfe d’Arzeu east of Oran (top). Guarding French
   and French colonial prisoners captured in the same vicinity
   (bottom). The plan for the capture of Oran and near-by airfields
   consisted of the frontal attack on the port itself and landings
   on both sides of the city at Mersatbou Zedjar and Les Andalouses
   west of Oran, and in the Golfe d’Arzeu east of Oran. Of the
   beach landings, those at Arzeu were much the largest and
   were made with little resistance. By afternoon of D Day all
   opposition in the neighborhood had ceased. (Top picture: 3 LCM
   (3)’s on beach; at center, offshore, is an LCM (1).)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   CAPTURED TRAIN AT SAINT-LEU ON THE GOLFE D’ARZEU. The railroad
   from Casablanca to Tunis figured prominently in the planning of
   the African invasion. If the forces on the Mediterranean coast
   were to be cut off by sea, supplies could be carried by railroad
   from Casablanca. During the fighting in Tunisia and the build-up
   in Africa for the invasion of Europe, this railroad played an
   important part. After its capture it was repaired and improved.
   Locomotives and rolling stock were obtained from the United
   States to speed delivery of supplies.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   TROOPS LOADING INTO ASSAULT CRAFT from transport prior to
   landing near Algiers. With minor exceptions, the landing craft
   were manned by Royal Navy personnel. Landings took place on
   beaches on both sides of the city as well as in the port itself.
   Although beach landings were not heavily opposed, one of the
   two British destroyer-transports making a frontal attack on the
   port had three boilers damaged by fire from shore but discharged
   her load of U. S. troops on a dock at 0520, D Day. Some troops
   were surrounded and taken to a French military prison, others
   regained the ship before she was eventually driven off. The
   hostilities here ceased the same day and the soldiers were set
   free by the French. (On davits, center of photograph: LCP(R).)]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   ALGIERS, THE MOST IMPORTANT OBJECT of the North African
   invasion. The ultimate goals for the operation were Bizerte and
   Tunis, but because of the land-based enemy aircraft in Sardinia,
   Sicily, and southern Italy, it was decided to land no troops
   farther east than Algiers until airports had been captured.
   British-American elements at Algiers re-embarked for a movement
   eastward to Bougie where they landed on 11 November. Bône was
   captured the following day by British paratroopers dropped from
   C-47’s and by seaborn forces from Bougie. From there the advance
   toward Tunis started. Allied columns reached Djedeida, twelve
   miles from Tunis, on 29 November 1942, but rapid enemy build-up
   forced the Allies to abandon it on 13 December.]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   ANTIAIRCRAFT DEFENSE OVER ALGIERS AT NIGHT. The city suffered
   practically no damage during the invasion. On the first evening
   of its surrender it was bombed by enemy planes. This attack was
   followed by many others, mostly aimed at the concentration of
   shipping in the harbor. Damage was surprisingly small. Algiers
   became Allied Force Headquarters (AFHQ).]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   FRENCH PRISONERS OF WAR CAPTURED DURING THE INVASION. The
   prisoners were released shortly after the end of hostilities,
   11 November, and from then on fought on the side of the Allies.
   On 15 November orders were issued for the movement of French
   troops, then at Algiers and Constantine, to protect the southern
   flank of the American and British units advancing into Tunisia
   along the northern coast. The French were reinforced by U.
   S. troops, including tank destroyer units, and one of their
   assigned missions was the protection of advanced airfields in
   the Tébessa-Gafsa area.]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   AVIATION ENGINEERS AT YOUKS-LES-BAINS lining up for mess. This
   Algerian airfield near Tébessa and the Tunisian border was
   occupied by U. S. paratroopers on 15 November 1942. It became
   operational for P-38 fighter planes (Lockheed Lightnings)
   shortly afterward. During the first few weeks there were no
   provisions for landing after dark and on 21 November six P-38’s
   crashed while trying to land in the evening. It was not an
   improved field and there was no effective air-raid system. The
   first warning of enemy aircraft was frequently the strafing
   or bombing itself. When the rains started, operations were
   drastically reduced by mud.]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   U. S. TANKERS HEATING THEIR C RATIONS, Spam and beans, over an
   improvised stove at Souk el Arba, Tunisia. The Souk el Arba
   area was taken by British paratroopers on 16 November. When
   the attempt to advance to Tunis was officially abandoned on 24
   December, both sides started a race to build up strength for
   the battle to come. The U. S. troops were at first committed
   piecemeal in different sectors of the line as they arrived from
   Algeria. Much of the Allied armor was obsolete and none of it
   was on a par with the best German equipment. (General Grant tank
   M3.)]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   GERMAN TIGER TANK. This heavy tank was encountered early in the
   campaign. The German High Command was particularly concerned
   with the performance of the Tiger in the defense of Tunis. Its
   high-velocity 88-mm. gun, equipped with a muzzle-brake, could
   knock out Allied tanks before the latter could get within
   effective range; and within range, Allied tank guns could not
   penetrate its frontal armor. The Tiger sacrificed mobility for
   armor and fire power. To avoid weak bridges, it was equipped
   with telescopic air intake, exhaust extensions, and over-all
   sealing that enabled it to cross rivers fifteen feet deep,
   completely submerged on the bottom. The gun has a traverse of
   360 degrees. Top picture is rear view of tank; bottom is front
   view. (Tiger, Pz., Kpfw., gun 8.8-cm., Kw. K. 36.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   GERMAN STUKA DIVE BOMBERS. These aircraft co-operated closely
   with ground forces, bombing and strafing ahead of their own
   advancing columns in addition to roaming behind the lines
   disrupting traffic and creating confusion. The bombers could
   operate successfully only where they had air superiority. In the
   later stages of the Tunisia Campaign, as the Allies gained air
   superiority, their effectiveness dwindled. The Germans turned a
   number of these planes over to the Italians. Note Italian and
   British markings in lower photograph. This Stuka was captured by
   the British. (Dive bomber, German Stuka JU-87.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   GERMAN FIGHTER PLANES. The primary mission of these planes was
   to intercept and destroy bombers but they were also used for
   strafing and fighter-bombing. The enemy used these types until
   the end of the war. (Top, German Focke-Wulf 190; bottom, German
   Messerschmitt 109.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   CAMOUFLAGING MEDIUM BOMBER at Youks-les-Bains airfield.
   Camouflaging for hiding purposes in olive groves or on rough
   terrain was relatively successful; however, camouflaging an
   aircraft on a flat, featureless landing field for hiding
   purposes was not practical. Camouflaging was often practiced
   to the extent of deceiving the enemy about the type or
   serviceability of planes. Note that the bomber above is minus
   both of its engines. (Martin B-26 Marauder.)]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   REMOVING FILM FROM FIGHTER PLANE after a reconnaissance flight.
   This long-range plane was adapted for photographic work by
   removing the armament and installing camera equipment instead.
   (P-38.)]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   LIGHT BOMBER, DOUGLAS A-20. This was a fast, versatile, and
   heavily armed plane used for both bombing and strafing in
   Tunisia, The American version was usually called the Havoc and
   the British version, the Boston.]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   HEAVY BOMBER, FLYING FORTRESS. This and the B-24 were the two
   heavy U. S. four-engined bombers used in the Mediterranean area.
   (Boeing B-17.)]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   FAÏD PASS. This opening in the eastern mountain chain was
   taken from a weak French garrison and held against U. S. and
   French counterattacks, 30 January-2 February 1943. Just before
   daylight, 14 February, very strong German forces came through
   Faïd Pass and others came from south of the pass to drive
   the Americans from positions to the west. The enemy cut off
   and isolated three groups, on Djebel Ksaira and Garet Hadid
   southwest of the pass, and Djebel Lessouda northwest of it. On
   15 February, an American armored counterattack to relieve the
   troops was made in strength far inferior to that required. Most
   of the troops were captured trying to escape. On 17 February,
   the American base at Sbeitla and the airfields at Thelepte were
   evacuated, as all troops were pulled back into the western
   mountain chain. The enemy then decided to continue his attack
   toward the northwest.]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   THE GENERAL GRANT TANK. These medium tanks were of the riveted
   hull type, later models having cast or welded armor, and were
   equipped with either a short-barreled (top) or long-barreled
   (bottom) 75-mm. gun. Principal armament was the 75-mm. cannon,
   in a right-hand sponson, capable of being swung in an arc
   of about 30 degrees. The entire tank would often have to be
   turned to bring the gun to bear. In a hull-down position only
   the secondary gun, the 37-mm. cannon in the turret, could be
   fired. The silhouette of the M3 was much higher than that of
   corresponding German tanks.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   CAPTURED GERMAN ARMOR. The Mark IV medium tank (top) was
   equipped with a 75-mm. cannon of higher velocity and range
   than any of the Allied tank guns then in use. It was generally
   superior to Allied tanks and was probably the best tank the
   enemy had until the Panther made its appearance in Italy, 1944.
   The Mark IV was used until the end of the war. The eight-wheeled
   armored car with a 75-mm. howitzer (bottom) was equipped with
   quite thin armor which was so well angled that machine gun
   bullets and small fragments were not effective against it. It
   could be steered from both ends and had a speed of slightly more
   than thirty miles an hour. (German medium tank Mark IV (Pz.
   Kpfw. IV); German armored vehicle, 7.5-cm. howitzer.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   KASSERINE PASS AREA. The enemy broke out of the pass on 20
   February 1943. On the 21st he headed toward Tébessa and Thala.
   The attack on Tébessa was halted; the main attack toward Thala
   made some progress. A British armored force, with heavy losses
   in tanks and men, delayed the enemy until U. S. artillery
   got into position. On the 22d the enemy pounded the defenses
   of Tébessa and Thala unsuccessfully. Allied planes attacked
   the enemy near Thala, and in the evening the Germans started
   to withdraw. The Kasserine push was the high point of enemy
   fortunes in Tunisia.]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   LOADING A TOWED HOWITZER. This gun was designed to give close
   support to the infantry. The picture was made during the
   February fight in Kasserine Pass (105-mm. howitzer M2.)]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   GENERAL SHERMAN TANK TOWING DISABLED HALF-TRACK at Sidi bou
   Zid (top). This tank gradually replaced the M3 (General Grant)
   in Tunisia. Its principal weapon was the 75-mm. cannon. Its
   turret could traverse an arc of 360 degrees in contrast to the
   sponson-mounted gun on the General Grant with a traverse of
   about 30 degrees. Reconnaissance party at Kasserine Pass on the
   Kasserine-Thala road (bottom). The enemy came up this road on
   his attack through the pass and stopped just before reaching
   Thala after indications of increasing Allied strength. (Medium
   tank M4.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   GERMAN ARMOR. The Mark III medium tank (top), the standard
   German tank in Tunisia, had a high-velocity 50-mm. cannon which
   could penetrate the frontal armor of U. S. light tanks at a
   thousand yards and the frontal and side armor of the General
   Grant at five hundred and one thousand yards respectively. The
   75-mm. antitank and assault gun (bottom), mounted on the same
   chassis as the Mark III tank, was encountered early in the
   Tunisian campaign. Its high-velocity gun was more than a match
   for any of the Allied tanks. Its low silhouette, characteristic
   of most German armor, made it difficult to detect and hard to
   hit. The prototypes of both these vehicles existed in Germany in
   1936 and were used until the end of the war.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   ITALIAN MEDIUM TANKS LEFT BEHIND AT KASSERINE PASS. This model
   was the backbone of the Italian armor in Tunisia. By Allied
   standards it was inferior in practically every respect, but it
   was the best the Italians had. (Italian medium tank M13/40 with
   47-mm. cannon.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   U. S. LIGHT TANK, captured by the Germans. The main weapon of
   this tank was the 37-mm. gun. Its armor was light and riveted
   together as was the armor on the first models of the medium
   tanks. A glancing shell could rip off the outside heads of the
   rivets and send the rivets ricocheting through the interior of
   the tank with the velocity of bullets. Note German markings on
   this vehicle. (U. S. light tank M3.)]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   U. S. TANK DESTROYERS. The combination truck and 37-mm. antitank
   gun (top) could not stand up against any type of armor the enemy
   had. The tank destroyer (bottom) was introduced in Tunisia
   after the Kasserine fight. The chassis was that of the General
   Sherman tank, the gun having a higher velocity than that of
   comparable Allied tank guns. The first time it saw action was in
   the vicinity of Maknassy during the middle of March 1943. The
   village of Maknassy was occupied by U. S. forces on 22 March
   1943.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   U. S. HALF-TRACK USED AS A MOBILE ANTIAIRCRAFT UNIT (top). AA
   units like this cut down the effectiveness of the Stuka dive
   bombers. Half-tracks proved practical for many purposes not
   originally intended. First designed as a cavalry scout car, it
   became, with modifications, a gun carriage mounting anything
   from a 37-mm. cannon to a 105-mm. howitzer, a personnel carrier,
   an ambulance, or just a truck. The standard half-track had armor
   protecting the crew. Long Tom or 155-mm. rifle towed by standard
   caterpillar (bottom). This was the heaviest piece of Allied
   artillery used during the Tunisia Campaign. (Top: multiple-gun
   motor carriage with 37-mm. cannon and .50-caliber water-cooled
   Browning machine gun.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   U. S. ARMOR NEAR EL GUETTAR IN CENTRAL TUNISIA. In foreground is
   a radio-equipped half-track personnel carrier, in background a
   75-mm. gun motor carriage M3. The latter, lightly armored, was
   an antitank vehicle with great mobility. The enemy developed
   a healthy respect for the hit-and-run tactics of U. S. forces
   using this weapon. The vehicle would wait until enemy armor came
   within range, get off as many shells as possible, and withdraw.
   U. S. forces pushed eastward from the Gafsa area to draw enemy
   units from the Mareth Line then under attack by the British. On
   23 March 1943 severe fighting broke out southeast of El Guettar
   and a German armored division was repulsed by U. S. forces with
   heavy tank losses to the enemy.]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   LOADING A HOWITZER. This was the 1918 Schneider model equipped
   with highspeed carriage. The action shown above took place
   during the enemy counterattack starting on 23 March 1943 east of
   El Guettar. Although the enemy attack was stopped, U. S. advance
   toward the coast halted for several days. During this action
   Allied fighters and light bombers accounted for much damage done
   to enemy armor and other vehicles along the Gafsa-Gabès road
   east of El Guettar. (155-mm. howitzer.)]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   INFANTRY NEAR EL GUETTAR. After the enemy attack in this area on
   23 March, the front became almost stabilized until the British
   Eighth Army broke through Oued el Akarit defenses along the
   coast north of Gabès on the night of 6–7 April. The junction
   between the forces fighting in Tunisia and the British Eighth
   Army from the Middle East took place on the Gafsa-Gabès road on
   7 April when a U. S. armored reconnaissance unit made contact
   with elements of the British army. The British Eighth Army had
   started its drive westward from El Alamein in Egypt on the
   night of 23–24 October 1942 and when the junction was made had
   traveled about 1,500 miles.]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   THE FAMOUS GERMAN EIGHTY-EIGHT. The original weapon, an Austrian
   88-mm. cannon, was used in World War I. Restrictions imposed
   by the Allies after that war limited German experimentation on
   conventional offensive artillery but not on defensive artillery
   such as antiaircraft types (in photograph). With different
   sets of aiming fire instruments this antiaircraft gun could be
   used as an antitank gun or a conventional piece of artillery.
   It was tested as an antiaircraft gun under battle conditions
   during the Spanish Civil War in 1936. Encountered throughout the
   war in increasing numbers, it was probably the most effective
   all-around piece of artillery the Germans had. (Left: 8.8-cm.
   Flak 36; right: 8.8-cm. Flak 18.)]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   GERMAN ANTITANK GUNS. These guns, effective against Allied
   armor, fired armor-piercing shells loaded with high-explosive
   fillers designed to burst inside the armor and to set the
   tank on fire. Antitank gun (top) could penetrate the armor of
   any Allied tank, front, side, or rear. Both U. S. and British
   armor-piercing shells were solid and did not fire the tanks;
   thus the Germans were able to salvage damaged armored equipment
   to a greater extent than were the Allies. It was not until well
   into the Italian campaign that armor-piercing shells equipped
   with fuzes and high-explosive fillers became available to Allied
   forces. (Top: German antitank gun, 7.5-cm. Pak. 40; bottom:
   German antitank gun, 5-cm. Pak. 38.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   GERMAN SIX-BARRELED ROCKET LAUNCHER. This weapon fired
   high-explosive, incendiary or smoke rockets and was light enough
   to be moved with ease. The screaming sound of the rockets had
   an adverse psychological effect on troops at the receiving end
   and the rockets were nicknamed “screaming meemies.” Artillery
   sound-ranging equipment could not locate the rocket launchers
   because firing did not cause a report. The enemy used this type
   of weapon until the end of the war. (15-cm. Nebelwerfer, 41.)]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   SHERMAN TANK WITH “SCORPION” ATTACHMENT, detonating mines during
   a test. The Scorpion was a revolving drum with chains attached
   (insert); when in motion it acted as a flail and could clear
   a path through a mine field for infantry and other tanks to
   follow. It was developed by the British and used extensively by
   them in desert warfare.]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   THE S-MINE. This German antipersonnel mine was used profusely
   and very effectively in Tunisia. It was nicknamed the Bouncing
   Betty because when stepped on it would bounce a few feet in the
   air before a secondary fuze set off the main explosive charge
   scattering some three hundred steel balls in all directions.
   The suspected presence of these mines naturally retarded troop
   movements during an advance. When retreating, the enemy would
   frequently use this mine to booby-trap buildings, dugouts or
   equipment left behind.]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   DJEBEL TAHENT IN NORTHERN TUNISIA, known as Hill 609. The
   British Eighth Army advancing northward along the coast replaced
   the U. S. II Corps in the Gafsa-Gabès area in April 1943.
   The corps then moved northward about 150 miles and went into
   position from Béja to Cap Serrat. French forces along this
   coast came under U. S. II Corps, which advanced in two groups,
   a northern wing astride the Sedjenane road and a southern wing
   along the Béja road, both converging on Mateur. The hill shown
   above was a natural fortress blocking the approach to the plains
   of Mateur. On 28 April 1943 artillery pounded enemy positions
   and on the next day the infantry attack started. After a
   three-day infantry fight, supported by tanks, the hill fell on 1
   May.]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   JEFNA AREA, LOOKING EAST TO THE PLAINS OF MATEUR. The Jefna
   position, on the Sedjenane-Mateur road, was one of the strongest
   German defenses in northern Tunisia and included two heavily
   fortified hills commanding the road to Mateur: Djebel Azag
   (Green Hill) on the north and Djebel el Ajred (Bald Hill) on the
   south. On 13 April 1943, U. S. forces relieved the British and
   took positions on both sides of the road and the mountains along
   the valley. The fight for the two hills lasted until 3 May when
   the Jefna positions were outflanked by U. S. and French forces
   advancing toward Bizerte and the Mateur plain north of Jefna.]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   INFANTRY AND ARMOR ADVANCING ON MATEUR. After the fall of Hill
   609 the enemy pulled back leaving the road to Mateur open. This
   small village in the middle of a plain was the center of enemy
   road communications in the U. S. zone of attack. Its occupation
   on 3 May opened the way for the advance on Bizerte, the main
   objective of the U. S.-French drive. (Bottom: General Sherman
   M4A1.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   GERMAN SIEBEL FERRIES. These diesel-powered, ponton-raft ferries
   were used to transport supplies from Italy and Sicily. They
   usually traveled in convoys and were often heavily armed with
   88-mm. antiaircraft guns when moving toward Tunisia as well as
   with the lighter protection which they retained for the return
   trip. Of shallow draft, they could unload directly onto the
   beach, a factor which became especially important after the
   Allies had gained control of the air and subjected the Tunisian
   ports to severe bombing.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   GERMAN TRANSPORT PLANES, JU-52, under fire from Allied aircraft.
   Toward the end of the Tunisia Campaign, the Germans received
   reinforcements by air from southern Italy and Sicily, using
   several hundred transports in daylight flights. The Allies
   gradually built up a force of planes within striking distance of
   the Sicilian straits and on 5 April the planned attack on the
   aerial ferry service started. By the 22d the enemy had lost so
   many planes that daylight operations were discontinued; however,
   some key personnel and a limited amount of emergency supplies
   were flown in by night. (Upper left: medium bomber B-25.)]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   LA GOULETTE WITH TUNIS IN DISTANCE. These two cities fell to the
   British on 7 May. The port of Tunis had been heavily damaged
   by Allied bombers, but damage in the city itself was small.
   La Goulette, at the entrance to the channel leading to Tunis,
   housed oil storage and general ship repair facilities which were
   put to immediate use by the Allies.]

  [Illustration: FRENCH MOROCCO

   TRANSPORT TAKING OFF from a field in French Morocco for the
   Middle East. After the conquest of most of North Africa a string
   of airports became available. While the fighting in Tunisia
   was still going on, regular flights between the west coast of
   Africa, the Middle East, and India were being established.
   (Douglas C-54.)]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   BIZERTE, THE MAIN OBJECTIVE of the French and U. S. forces of II
   Corps, fell on 7 May. Bizerte’s harbor and the important naval
   repair facilities at near-by Ferryville were to play important
   parts in future operations in the Mediterranean. The enemy had
   blocked the channel to the inner harbor by sinking ships at
   the entrance and had destroyed most of the port facilities not
   already wrecked by Allied bombings. The port, however, became
   operational a few days after capture; ships and supplies were
   assembled here for the invasion of Sicily. Insert shows some of
   the ships a few days before that invasion.]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   ENEMY PRISONERS NEAR MATEUR. Allied troops took 252,415
   prisoners, together with large quantities of equipment and
   supplies, when the enemy surrendered in Tunisia on 13 May 1943.
   Because of Allied air and naval superiority the enemy was unable
   to evacuate his troops. Of those captured, the Germans were
   among the finest and best trained troops the enemy had and he
   could ill afford to lose them.]

  [Illustration: EN ROUTE TO NORTH AFRICA

   TROOP QUARTERS IN THE HOLD OF A TRANSPORT. After the fall of
   French Morocco and Algeria and while the fighting in Tunisia
   continued, men and supplies poured into the Mediterranean for
   use in Tunisia and in the assaults on Sicily and Italy. Bunks
   were placed in tiers everywhere possible in the transports. The
   convoy traveled blacked out, with port holes closed. Because
   of the overcrowded conditions, seasickness was practically
   universal during the first few days out of port. The men spent
   as much time as possible on deck.]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   ARMY POST OFFICE AT ORAN. Mail from home was probably the most
   important of all morale factors and usually had first priority
   in spite of the fact that it occupied valuable shipping space
   needed for materials of war. Cargo space was saved with the
   V-Mail system by which letters were written on a special form,
   photographed on 16-mm. film at certain centers in the country
   of origin, then printed overseas. To encourage its use, V-Mail
   was sent by the fastest means available. Letters from men in the
   services, other than those by regular air mail, were sent free
   of charge.]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   INFANTRY MEN IN TRAINING NEAR ORAN. Training centers for all
   arms were opened in French Morocco and Algeria soon after the
   end of hostilities there in November 1942.]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   PARACHUTE TROOPS CHECKING EQUIPMENT before boarding planes for
   practice jump. These troops were essentially infantrymen and
   were armed with infantry weapons. Their boots, higher than the
   infantry shoes, were constructed to give ankles a maximum amount
   of protection when landing.]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   PARATROOPERS DURING TRAINING JUMP. Light artillery, food, and
   light vehicles were dropped separately with different colored
   parachutes, or came in by glider.]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   DOUGLAS C-47 TRANSPORT TOWING GLIDER. The gliders carried
   both men and equipment and could be landed in almost any flat
   pasture. The C-47 aircraft--the work horse of the war--was
   similar to the commercial DC-3, a standard type passenger
   carrier in the United States for some years prior to the
   war. The C-47, unarmed, was used during the war for carrying
   personnel and cargo of all sorts, towing gliders, dropping
   parachute troops, and parachuting supplies to isolated units and
   equipment to partisans behind enemy lines. The British called it
   the Dakota.]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   AIRBORNE TROOPS loading a 75-mm. pack howitzer into a cargo
   glider during training. Although this form of air transport was
   not used during the hostilities in northwest Africa, it was
   employed in subsequent operations based in North Africa.]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   TESTING A WATERPROOFED SHERMAN TANK on an African beach. These
   tanks were intended to go, during an assault, onto the beach
   with the infantry whenever possible. The main body of tanks
   would follow on LST’s as soon as the beachhead had been secured.
   The follow-up tanks, landed from the ship via ponton piers
   directly to shore, were not normally waterproofed. (Sherman tank
   M4A1.)]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   LEND-LEASE EQUIPMENT FOR THE FRENCH ARMY. Lockheed fighter plane
   (top) and Sherman tank (bottom). In January 1943, it was agreed
   that the United States would equip the French divisions formed
   from units then in North Africa, but comparatively little modern
   equipment became available for them in Tunisia until the summer
   of 1943. (P-38; Sherman tank M4.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   FRENCH TROOPS RECEIVING INSTRUCTIONS ON U. S. EQUIPMENT, in this
   case on the 105-mm. high-explosive shell. During the summer of
   1943 shipments of arms and equipment for the French arrived
   in North African ports in increasing volume. Training was
   accelerated and by the end of the year two fully equipped French
   divisions were fighting side by side with the Americans and
   British in Italy. As more equipment became available, additional
   French divisions were sent to the front.]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   QUARTERMASTER DUMP AT ORAN. Foodstuffs, stored in the open
   sometimes for months, suffered very little in spite of the hot
   African sun.]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   FREIGHTER BURNING IN THE HARBOR OF ALGIERS. The cause of the
   fire was not determined. While air raids on Algiers caused
   little damage to shipping and military installations, serious
   accidents and fires, some of which aroused suspicion of
   sabotage, were not infrequent.]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   WAACS WITH FULL FIELD EQUIPMENT arriving at a North African
   port. The bill establishing the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps
   (WAAC) became effective on 14 May 1942 and on 1 July 1943 a
   bill changing the status of the corps from an auxiliary serving
   with the Army to a component of the Army, Women’s Army Corps
   (WAC), became law. Most WAC duties in North Africa were of an
   administrative nature in offices of the various headquarters.
   Members of the Corps also worked in communications or other
   activities that could be handled as efficiently by women as by
   men.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   AIR FORCE MEN AT BREAKFAST IN THE DESERT. The mornings were
   often cold even in the summer and the men wore their heavy
   leather jackets.]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   REPAIRING MOTOR OF A HEAVY BOMBER, the Boeing Flying Fortress.
   The sand and dust of the desert were hard on engines of all
   kinds. On the nose of the plane, swastikas indicate number
   of enemy aircraft shot down and bombs show number of bombing
   missions flown. (B-17.)]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   CREW OF A HEAVY BOMBER before taking off on a mission. During
   the first few months after the landings, the Allied air forces
   were handicapped in their operations from North African bases
   through lack of suitable airfields. The lack of all-weather
   facilities such as hard-surfaced runways, taxiways, and
   hard-stands was particularly serious in the rainy winter season
   of 1942–43. In the area from the Atlantic coast of Morocco
   to the Tunisian border, there were only four air bases with
   any kind of hard-surfaced runways: Port-Lyautey, north of
   Casablanca; Tafaraoui, near Oran; Maison Blanche at Algiers; and
   the Bone airfield on the coast near the Tunisian border. (B-24.)]

  [Illustration: ALGERIA

   DIGGING OUT A MIRED FLYING FORTRESS from the mud of a North
   African bomber base.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   BOMBING THE RAILROAD YARDS IN ROME on 19 July 1943. Note bombs
   bursting in railroad area at top of picture. More than 500 heavy
   and medium bombers from bases in North Africa took part in the
   first bombing of Rome. The heavy bombers concentrated on the
   yards in the city and suburbs while the medium bombers attacked
   airfields on the outskirts. Every precaution was taken to bomb
   only targets of military significance. The crews had been
   especially selected and carefully briefed and trained for this
   mission, with the result that few bombs fell outside the target
   area.]

  [Illustration: IRAN

   THE PORT OF KHORRAMSHAHR, one of two Iranian ports operated by
   the United States, the other being Bandar Shahpur. These ports
   served for entry of lend-lease supplies en route to the USSR.
   By the fall of 1942, ports, highways, and railroads in Iran
   were sufficiently ready to handle increased traffic over the
   route through the Persian Gulf. The U. S. Army also operated the
   lighterage port of the Cheybassi in Iraq.]

  [Illustration: IRAN

   THE PORT OF BANDAR SHAHPUR on the Persian Gulf. The voyage from
   New York around South Africa to the Persian Gulf ports averaged
   70 days. When the Mediterranean route became available in 1943,
   the time was shortened to 42 days. This port, built on swampy
   land where the river Jarrahi empties into the gulf, has a
   semitropical climate. Both here and at Khorramshahr much of the
   work was done at night, and even then the temperature was around
   a hundred degrees Fahrenheit from March until October. The area
   is subject to torrential rains in winter. Docking space at both
   ports was often insufficient to accommodate all ships waiting to
   be unloaded, which necessitated the use of lighters.]

  [Illustration: IRAN

   TRUCK CONVOYS WITH SUPPLIES FOR RUSSIA. From the ports on the
   Persian Gulf, shipments went to Kazvin and Tehran by road
   and rail. From these points movements were regulated by the
   Russians. During the entire period of active operations, from
   August 1942 to May 1945, more than 5,000,000 long tons of
   lend-lease cargo were moved through the Persian Corridor to
   Russia. The greatest monthly movement of freight through the
   corridor took place in July 1944, when approximately 282,000
   long tons were delivered. The bulk of this total was moved by
   rail, the rest by truck and air.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: IRAN

   THE MAIN RAILROAD STATION AT TEHRAN (top) and freight train
   loaded with tanks bound for Tehran (bottom). U. S. troops
   from early 1943 operated the southern sector of the Iranian
   State Railway and the two Iranian ports. They constructed
   additional roads, docks, and other installations, and continued
   operation of aircraft and motor vehicle assembly plants. Diesel
   locomotives and rolling stock were brought in from the United
   States in large numbers.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: IRAN

   DELOUSING NATIVE WORKERS with DDT powder at Camp Atterbury,
   Tehran. At the peak as many as 40,000 native workers were
   employed by the U. S. Army, the majority as unskilled labor.
   American responsibility for moving supplies to the USSR led to
   the separation of the Persian Gulf activities of the U. S. Army
   Forces in the Middle East and the establishment of a separate
   organization called the Persian Gulf Command.]

  [Illustration: IRAN

   QUALEH MORGEH AIRPORT AT TEHRAN. This was jointly occupied by
   U. S. and Russian air forces. Top picture shows a Douglas C-47
   transport and a B-24 bomber. Bottom picture shows a detachment
   of Russian soldiers marching past U. S. transport planes.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: IRAN

   RUSSIAN PILOTS arriving at Abadan Airport, Iran. This airport,
   on an island in the Shatt al Arab near the head of the Persian
   Gulf, was the main assembly field for U. S. planes going to the
   Soviet Union through the Persian Corridor.]




                     SICILY, CORSICA, AND SARDINIA

  [Illustration: SICILY]




                              SECTION II

                     Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia


The decision to assault Sicily was made by the Chiefs of Staff at
Casablanca in January 1943. After the conclusion of the Tunisia
Campaign, plans were completed and preparations for the attack were
accelerated (Operation HUSKY). The island of Pantelleria,
located between North Africa and Sicily, occupied mainly by Italian
troops, was bombarded by Air Forces and Navy units and fell on 11 June.
Troops for the invasion were embarked from the United States, United
Kingdom, Algeria, Tunisia, and the Middle East.

On the night before D Day, a high wind of near gale proportions was
encountered as the convoys approached their rendezvous. Shortly after H
Hour, 10 July, airborne landings, although scattered by the high wind,
were to some extent successful in their effect on our beach assault.
Three hours after the landing, beachheads were established from Licata
to Scoglitti by the Americans and from Capo Passero to Syracuse by the
British.

Despite the problem of supply during the first two days, by 12 July the
Allied armies had seized the port of Syracuse and ten other Sicilian
towns in addition to several airfields. By the 23d, American tanks and
infantry, driving across the western end of the island, took the key
port of Palermo. The enemy, in the east, lodged in rugged mountain
terrain, offered stiff resistance.

On 25 July King Victor Emmanuel III had announced the resignation of
Premier Benito Mussolini and his cabinet, thereby exposing the weakness
of fascist Italy. Italian resistance had crumbled and in August the
German army started to withdraw to the mainland across the Strait of
Messina.

The British Eighth Army succeeded in taking Catania on the east coast
early in August, and Messina was entered by both American and British
units on the 16th. All organized resistance ceased on 17 August after
thirty-nine days of fighting.

Allied Force Headquarters’ plan for the occupation of Corsica and
Sardinia was confirmed at the Quebec conference held in August 1943.
After the withdrawal of the German forces from Sardinia, the island
fell into Allied hands without a struggle. The French army, given
the mission of taking Corsica, met only slight resistance from the
retreating German troops in October 1943.

Air bases established on both islands provided air coverage for future
operations in northern Italy and southern France.

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   INFANTRY MEN WITH FULL EQUIPMENT boarding ship for the invasion
   of Sicily. Extra clothing and personal effects were carried in
   the unmanageable barracks bag. The only satisfactory way to
   carry this bag was over the shoulder, an impossible feat for a
   man with a pack on his back. Later the bag was redesigned; a
   shoulder strap and a handle on the side were added. It was then
   called a duffel bag.]

  [Illustration: TUNISIA

   MEN MARCHING ABOARD LANDING CRAFT IN BIZERTE HARBOR. This port
   was one of the embarkation points for the invasion of Sicily, an
   island strategically important because its geographic location
   between Africa and Italy almost divides the Mediterranean Sea in
   two. In order to travel from one end of the Mediterranean to the
   other it was necessary to pass through the ninety-mile strait
   between Sicily and Tunisia. With Sicily in enemy hands, control
   of this strait was divided and enemy aircraft and submarines
   interfered with Allied shipping to the Middle East. (Landing
   craft, infantry, large, LCI (L).)]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   FLYING FORTRESS BOMBING ENEMY INSTALLATIONS in Sicily. For weeks
   prior to the invasion of the island, airfields, rail lines, and
   ports had been under aerial bombardment by Allied planes. Note
   black antiaircraft bursts.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   RESULT OF AERIAL BOMBARDMENT ON NAPOLA RAILROAD YARD, near
   Trapani in western Sicily. By the time of invasion the railroad
   net on the island was crippled and remained so throughout the
   campaign.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   PARATROOPERS HEADED FOR SICILY. On 9 July 1943 U. S.
   paratroopers boarded their transports at Kairouan, Tunisia. They
   were scheduled to land at 2330 on that day, but a forty-mile
   wind blew the planes from their course, and parachutists
   were strewn over a large part of southeastern Sicily, but
   nevertheless aided in retarding the German counterattack against
   the beachheads. (Douglas C-47.)]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   GELA BEACH, SICILY. The invasion of the island took place on 10
   July 1943. Gela was the center of the American invasion area
   which extended from Licata on the west to Scoglitti on the east.
   The British Army landed in the region between Capo Passero and
   Syracuse on the east coast of the island. Beach landings in both
   areas were preceded by airborne assaults. By sunrise, three
   hours after the first landings, the beaches were under control.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   LICATA BEACHES, LOOKING WESTWARD ALONG THE COAST. The highway in
   the foreground is the main coastal road. This was the western
   portion of the U. S. assault area and Licata, located at the
   foot of the hill in the distance, was occupied by 1130 on D Day.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   SCOGLITTI, in the eastern section of the U. S. invasion area.
   Troops landed here against little opposition and occupied the
   important town of Vittoria, a few miles inland, on D Day.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   AN AMERICAN CRUISER SHELLING DEFENSES in the Gela beach area
   during the early morning of D Day. The naval bombardment,
   which started at 0345, silenced the few coastal batteries that
   protected the beaches. Large-scale enemy resistance on the
   beaches did not materialize during the landings.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   ALLIED SHIPS UNDER AERIAL BOMBARDMENT. At daybreak on D Day
   enemy air forces launched a series of bombing and strafing
   attacks on the ships offshore and on the troops along the
   beaches.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   U. S. AMMUNITION SHIP EXPLODING as result of a direct hit by an
   enemy bomb during the late afternoon of 11 July 1943. The ship
   burned throughout the night, furnishing a brilliant beacon for
   enemy aircraft. The Allies made several attempts to sink the
   ship, but the water was too shallow.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   LOWERING LANDING CRAFT OFF GELA BEACH. Troops boarded the
   craft after it was afloat. (Foreground, landing craft,
   vehicle-personnel, LCVP; background, LCM.)]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   INFANTRY LANDING ON GELA BEACH (top). Unloading equipment and
   supplies from LCVP’s (bottom); in the background are two LST’s.
   The sea ran so high during the morning of the landings that many
   craft were washed up on the beach and could not be refloated in
   time for turn-around to mother ships. (LCVP in top picture.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   A BATTERY OF ANTIAIRCRAFT GUNS being unloaded from an L S T,
   the largest type landing craft used during the operation. The
   prototype of the landing ship, tank, was built by the British
   and used in the invasion of North Africa. The LST shown is a
   seagoing ship. Its payload was from 1,600 to 1,900 tons of which
   400 tons were deck-loaded. The ship could carry on each side
   sectional ponton ramps for inaccessible landings (in use above).
   The first three vehicles are 6-ton 6 x 6 prime mover trucks.
   (90-mm. guns.)]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   LANDING CRAFT ON BEACH. Top picture from left to right: LCI,
   LCM, and LCVP; on beach is a ¼-ton 4 x 4 truck, jeep. Bottom
   picture: in middle distance is LST, with bow doors open, ramp
   down, and unloading onto a sectional ponton ramp; in the
   foreground are two LCT’s. (The LCI (L) (1-350) was an infantry
   carrier with side ramps which could be lowered for unloading
   directly on the beach. It carried a crew of 3 officers and 21
   men.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   A LOADED DUKW COMING ASHORE ON THE BEACH (top). Prisoners loaded
   in a DUKW waiting to be evacuated (bottom). This amphibian
   truck, the DUKW, was one of the planned surprises of the
   operation. Until ports were captured and prepared for use, this
   means of moving all types of fighting equipment from ship to
   shore helped to solve a very pressing problem. (The term DUKW
   is the manufacturer’s (GMC) code serial number which has no
   meaning. The resemblance to the word duck and the purpose for
   which this vehicle was used quickly brought about the common
   name “duck.”)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   AN LST DECK-LOADED WITH MEN AND EQUIPMENT off Gela awaiting
   signal to approach the beach, while a U. S. cruiser fires on an
   enemy strong point.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   TROOPS ON THE BEACH. During the landing (top) and while
   troops were moving inland (bottom), the beaches were strafed
   sporadically. At one time, during the German tank-supported
   counterattack on D plus 1 in the Gela area, it looked as if the
   U. S. forces might be pushed back into the sea. (Top picture,
   left to right, center of beach, LCV, LCVP; offshore, LCVP.
   Bottom, a truck towing a 105-mm. howitzer is pulled through the
   sand by a diesel tractor with angledozer.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   WOUNDED ARRIVING ON BOARD A TRANSPORT. During the first days
   of the invasion the seriously wounded were brought back to
   transports equipped with surgical and medical facilities. These
   ships would then deliver the wounded to base hospitals in
   Africa.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   FLYING AMBULANCE. As soon as airfields had been captured many of
   the U. S. wounded were evacuated by planes to hospitals in North
   Africa. The Douglas C-47 transport was generally used for this
   purpose. Medical personnel accompanied wounded.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   FIRING A HOWITZER INTO ENEMY POSITIONS on the road to Palermo.
   After securing the beaches the U. S. forces drove to the west
   and north and began the advance on Messina along the north coast
   road. Palermo, one of the most important ports in Sicily, fell
   to U. S. forces on 22 July 1943. (75-mm. howitzer motor carriage
   T30 with a .50-caliber antiaircraft gun mounted in rear.)]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   HALF-TRACK DETOURING THROUGH A SIDE STREET. When the enemy
   retreated through the Sicilian villages he would often blow up
   buildings on both sides of the main street, thus blocking the
   passage for vehicles. If he had time he would also mine and
   booby-trap the road and ruins. (The 75-mm. gun motor carriage
   M3 was the first standardized American self-propelled antitank
   weapon used in World War II.)]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   TROINA. View from the northwest with Mt. Etna in the background.
   The town is located on top and around the base of the hill in
   the center of horizon line (top). View from Troina toward the
   northwest showing Highway 120 winding over the hills to Cerami
   (upper left corner) (bottom). Troina lies at the junction of
   Highway 120 and the road to Adrano and Paterno. The U. S.
   Seventh Army took Troina on 6 August after some of the fiercest
   fighting of the campaign.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   ENEMY ARTILLERY. At top is the famous German 88-mm. gun. The
   pillbox in the background was sited to fire both toward the
   sea and along the road. The coast of the island was ringed
   with pillboxes, some of which had not been completed at the
   time of the invasion. The self-propelled gun (bottom) of
   Italian manufacture is a 90-mm. cannon. It was used in North
   Africa as well as in Sicily. (Top, German 8.8-cm. Flak 18 with
   single-piece barrel; bottom, 90/53 Ansaldo self-propelled (SP)
   gun on redesigned M 13/40 Ansaldo chassis.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   HALF-TRACK MOVING THROUGH A SICILIAN TOWN. The gun is a 75-mm.
   howitzer M1A 1 used generally as an infantry support weapon.
   (75-mm. howitzer motor carriage T30.)]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   SELF-PROPELLED HOWITZER. This is the M7 howitzer motor carriage
   mounting a 105-mm. howitzer which was used for high angle as
   well as direct fire. The .50-caliber machine gun is mounted in a
   raised pulpit-like structure which gave the vehicle the nickname
   Priest. (Mounted on M3 tank chassis.)]

  [Illustration: SICILY

THE LONG TOM. This was the largest U. S. piece of artillery in Sicily.
A 7½-ton 6 x 6 prime mover truck towing a gun into position (top).
Firing from a camouflaged position in an orchard (bottom). (155-mm. gun
with standard carriage.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   OBSERVING FIRE ON SICILIAN TOWN. The officer at right is in
   telephone communication with the artillery command post. The
   man in the center is using a battery commander’s telescope
   (BC scope). U. S. field glasses and artillery sights of all
   kinds were greatly improved by the end of the Tunisian fight.
   Fine sand managed to work its way into the moving parts of
   optical equipment, obscuring the image and interfering with the
   mechanical operation. Moisture condensed on the inside of the
   lens elements and, combined with dust, cut down the optical
   effectiveness. Corrections were made by sealing the instruments
   wherever possible and by placing a moisture-absorbing chemical
   between the elements.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   SHERMAN TANKS ENTERING PALERMO on the day the city surrendered,
   22 July 1943.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   THE CITY OF PALERMO. The port had been damaged by Allied bombing
   raids, and the Germans before withdrawing had demolished some
   of the installations. After the arrival of U. S. troops the
   port was quickly made serviceable and was used as a supply base
   for troops advancing from here eastward along the coast toward
   Messina. It was later used as one of the embarkation ports for
   the invasion of Italy.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   SIGNAL CORPS MEN REPAIRING COMMUNICATIONS LINES. Maintaining
   communications and other public utilities behind the lines
   were problems that fell within the scope of Allied Military
   Government. In Sicily the U. S. Army was called upon to furnish
   personnel and supplies, though native labor and materials were
   used whenever possible.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   SICILIAN CHILDREN RECEIVING CANDY FROM A SOLDIER. U. S. soldiers
   were universally popular with children of all classes. The
   individual soldier gave a good portion of his ration of sweets
   and chewing gum to native children.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   SCENE FROM THE NORTHERN COAST OF SICILY, looking toward the
   west. At left is the San Fratello Ridge; at right is the
   village of Acquedolci. The fight for the San Fratello Ridge was
   unusually severe. Highway 113, the main axis of advance along
   the north coast from Palermo to Messina, follows the shore here.
   The enemy would blow the bridges, mine the approaches, and hold
   the top of each mountain ridge as long as possible, and then
   retreat behind the next ridge.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   SAN FRATELLO RIDGE. Top: the ridge is in the upper left of the
   picture, Torrente Furiano in the right foreground; bottom: view
   of the ridge on Highway 113 from the northwest. San Fratello
   Ridge was taken on 8 August after bitter enemy resistance.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   CORONIA VALLEY, typical of the valleys separating the mountain
   ridges along the northern coast. The valleys provided little
   concealment from the enemy in position on top of the ridges. The
   bridge spans were usually long and easily demolished. Note that
   both highway and railroad bridges are blown in this picture.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   PROBING FOR MINES AT A BRIDGE-CROSSING SITE. The mine detector
   reacts to metal; whether the metal was a mine or a shell
   fragment had to be determined by probing and digging, usually
   with a bayonet. (Mine detector SCR 625.)]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   BRIDGE BUILDING. In the valleys this task presented no
   particular problem once the enemy had been chased off the
   mountain ridge overlooking the bridge site. However, near
   Messina, where the road in some places is hewn out of the cliffs
   overhanging the sea, the problem was more difficult. The air
   compressor (Le Roi) mounted on a 2½-ton truck (in picture above)
   was used for operating power-driven saws, hammers, and drills.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   BROLO BEACH ON THE NORTH COAST OF SICILY. This is one of the
   several localities where U. S. forces made amphibious landings
   behind the enemy lines. Highway 113 runs along the hills, the
   railroad near the beach. The village of Brolo is at upper part
   of picture. The landing was supported by aircraft and naval
   gunfire.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   ENGINEERS REPAIRING A BREAK IN HIGHWAY 113, on the north coast,
   caused by German demolition. The locality is Capo Calavâ where
   the road practically overhangs the sea.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   MEDIC TREATING A BLISTER on an infantryman’s foot. Medical aid
   men were present at the scene of every action. They were unarmed
   and were identified by an arm band with a red cross, or a red
   cross painted on the helmet, or both.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   MEDICAL AID MAN GIVING BLOOD PLASMA TO A WOUNDED MAN. Plasma
   was dried human blood that could be kept almost indefinitely
   under ordinary conditions. It was prepared for use by adding
   the required amount of triple-distilled water or a saline
   solution containing the same amount of salt as whole human
   blood. It was not as effective as whole blood, which retained
   its effectiveness for a maximum of only twenty-one days when
   properly stored and refrigerated. This made whole blood
   difficult to keep and use under field conditions.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   DIGGING A FOXHOLE IN AN OLIVE GROVE using a helmet as a shovel.
   These holes provided excellent protection against shell and bomb
   fragments. The steel helmet was used for a variety of purposes
   besides protecting the head. It made a fine wash basin, was used
   as a basket to carry post exchange items (paper bags were not
   available), and practically everyone used it as a seat while
   living in the field. In some cases it was used as a cooking
   utensil in violation of regulations, as excessive heat took the
   temper out of the steel, making it useless for the purpose for
   which it was originally intended. (The soldier in picture is
   wearing the fiber liner while he digs with the steel helmet M1.)]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   A GOUMIER OF FRENCH MOROCCO. The goumiers, generally called
   goums by American soldiers, formed part of the French colonial
   troops. Serving with the Americans in Tunisia, Sicily, Italy,
   and southern France, they were greatly respected for their
   fighting ability. (The term “goum” literally means “company,”
   and a goumier is a member of an infantry company. Not all native
   infantrymen, however, were known as goumiers, the term applying
   only to soldiers of certain Moroccan tribes.)]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   GOUMIERS ADVANCING ACROSS THE HILLS IN SICILY. Their specialty
   was mountain fighting, and they used horses and mules to carry
   supplies.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   SOLDIERS STERILIZING MESS KITS AFTER EATING. When possible this
   was done before and after every meal. Such procedure was of the
   greatest importance in Sicily where sanitation as we know it was
   little practiced among the population as a whole. In spite of
   every precaution, dysentery of one kind or another was common
   among Allied forces.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

INFANTRYMAN TURNED MULE SKINNER.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   PACK MULE. The interior and northern coast of Sicily were
   mountainous and had few roads fit for vehicles. Mules often had
   to be used to bring supplies to troops in forward areas.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   FIELD BAKERY. The men in the picture above are using a British
   oven which was built into a trailer. Field ovens of U. S.
   troops were separate units and not built in trailer form. In
   some instances U. S. troops obtained the British type oven when
   previously stationed in the British Isles. Others obtained them
   in America. Every attempt was made to vary the rations of the
   troops, and fresh bread was baked when possible.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   FLYING FORTRESS DURING BOMBING OF MESSINA. In the first two
   weeks of August the enemy started to withdraw to Italy across
   the narrow Strait of Messina under heavy bombing attacks. By
   concentrating antiaircraft guns in and around Messina as a means
   of combating these attacks, the Germans managed to ferry across
   thousands of their first-line armored and airborne troops, but
   much of their heavy equipment was left behind. U. S. patrols
   entered the city from the west on 16 August 1943 while British
   units entered from the south on the same day. The campaign had
   lasted thirty-nine days.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   UNLOADING EQUIPMENT IN PALERMO. Even before the fighting
   in Sicily had ended, the build-up for the invasion of
   Italy started. The crane (left center) unloading pipe is a
   truck-mounted crane M2. Designed to handle 240-mm. howitzer
   materiel and 8-inch gun materiel in the field, it was a
   six-wheeled type with power supplied to all wheels and capable
   of accompanying convoy vehicles at a maximum speed of about
   thirty miles per hour. It was also used to facilitate unloading
   as above. The crew consisted of a chassis operator and a crane
   operator.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   SMOKE SCREEN OVER PALERMO HARBOR AREA. This port, within easy
   reach of enemy bombers based in Italy, was subjected to air
   raids during the build-up period before the invasion of the
   mainland. The smoke screen obscured the port area and kept the
   bombardiers from aiming at any specific target.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   LST’S IN PALERMO HARBOR. The very low altitude barrage balloons
   (above) protected the ships from dive-bombing attacks. They were
   flown at different altitudes from day to day.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   AMMUNITION DUMP NEAR PALERMO during the build-up for the
   invasion of Italy.]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   GLIDER TRAINING FIELD IN SICILY. (Douglas C-47 transport with
   CG-4 gliders.)]

  [Illustration: SICILY

   MESSINA WITH THE ITALIAN MAINLAND ACROSS THE STRAIT. On 3
   September 1943 British and Canadians of the British Eighth Army
   crossed this channel into Italy.]

  [Illustration: SARDINIA

   THE SINKING OF THE ITALIAN HEAVY CRUISER TRIESTE in Maddalena
   harbor, Sardinia. The cruiser was sunk by twenty-four B-17’s
   coming from bases in Africa, 10 April 1943. (Top picture:
   cruiser within its protective antitorpedo net; center: salvo of
   bombs landing on and near ship; bottom: this photograph was made
   within the next few days and shows oil rising from the sunken
   cruiser.)]

  [Illustration: SARDINIA

   SEAPLANE BASE. The planes are captured Italian seaplanes at
   Cagliari on Sardinia. Sardinia was not invaded by U. S. forces,
   but the Germans evacuated the island in September 1943. Shortly
   thereafter the Allies started basing aircraft there, chiefly
   medium bombers. The bases were within range of all central
   Italy. (Top plane is an Italian Cant. Z-506-B Airone (Heron)
   three-engined bomber torpedo reconnaissance seaplane. The planes
   have British RAF markings added after capture.)]

  [Illustration: CORSICA

   AIR CORPS PERSONNEL SETTING UP CAMP on the French island of
   Corsica. On 14 September 1943, French commandos landed to help
   patriots who were fighting the Germans. On 4 October the island
   was in Allied hands, and soon thereafter the airfields were
   being used as bases for fighters and medium bombers.]

  [Illustration: CORSICA

   BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON REPAIR TENT in Corsica, riddled by bomb
   fragments. U. S. medium bombers based here ranged over all
   northern Italy and southern France. Fields in Corsica were
   within range of enemy planes based in the Po Valley, and were
   bombed and strafed periodically.]

  [Illustration: CORSICA

   MALARIA CONTROL IN CORSICA. Throughout the Mediterranean
   campaign, the malaria problem was ever present. Vigorous
   measures were taken to eliminate the disease-carrying mosquito.
   Douglas A-20 Havoc light-bomber (top) spreading Paris green dust
   over swampland near an Allied military installation; (bottom)
   refilling hopper of plane with dust.]

  [Illustration]




                                 ITALY

                    (9 September 1943–4 June 1944)

  [Illustration: ITALY]




                              SECTION III

                                 Italy

                    (9 September 1943–4 June 1944)

The Allied victory in Sicily helped to bring about the surrender of
Italy. The terms of the Italian surrender were signed on 3 September
1943 and announced on the night of the 8th. Allied troops received the
news on shipboard while under way to invade Italy. Fighting did not
cease with the surrender. Instead, the Germans took over the country
with troops on the spot and sent reinforcements. The defeat of the
Germans in Italy would strengthen Allied control over the Mediterranean
shipping lanes and would provide air bases closer to targets in Germany
and enemy-occupied territory. The Allied troops in Italy would also
engage enemy troops which might otherwise have been employed against
the Russians.

On 3 September, elements of the British Eighth Army crossed into Italy
and advanced up the Italian toe in pursuit of the retreating Germans.
On 9 September the main assault was launched when an Anglo-American
force, part of the U. S. Fifth Army, landed on the beaches near
Salerno, south of Naples. Since the enemy had expected landings in the
vicinity of Naples and had disposed his forces accordingly, the Allies
encountered prompt and sustained resistance. By 15 September, however,
the Germans started to withdraw up the Italian Peninsula, pursued on
the west by the Fifth Army and on the east by the Eighth Army. The port
of Naples fell on 1 October and the Foggia airfields about the same
time.

After crossing the Volturno River against stiff resistance, the
Allies advanced to the Winter Line seventy-five miles south of Rome.
In bitterly cold weather the troops slogged through mud and snow to
breach the series of heavy defenses and advanced to the Gustav Line.
In midJanuary the main Fifth Army launched a new offensive across the
Rapido and Garigliano Rivers to pierce the Gustav Line and advance up
the Liri Valley toward Rome. Bridgeheads were secured across the rivers
and footholds were obtained in Cassino and surrounding hills, but no
break-through of the main German positions was effected. A few days
after the initial attack against the Gustav Line, an Anglo-American
amphibious force landed at Anzio and struck inland with the purpose
of compelling the Germans on the southern front to withdraw. But the
Allied beachhead force was contained by the enemy’s unexpectedly rapid
build-up and was hard pressed to stave off several fierce German
counterattacks.

After the Anzio front became stabilized and the effort to take Cassino
was abandoned, the AAI (Allied Armies in Italy) regrouped and launched
a new offensive on 11 May 1944. Fifth Army, led by French troops and
assisted by American troops, broke through the main German positions
in the Arunci Mountains west of the Garigliano River while the Eighth
Army advanced up the Liri Valley. A few days later the beachhead force
effected a junction with the troops from the southern front, and
advanced almost to Valmontone on Highway 6 before the axis of attack
was shifted to the northwest. After several unsuccessful attacks
toward Lanuvio and along the Albano road, the Fifth Army discovered an
unguarded point near Velletri, enveloped the German positions based on
the Alban Hills, and pushed on rapidly toward Rome, which fell on 4
June 1944 with the Germans in full retreat. Meanwhile preparations were
being rushed for an invasion of southern France by Allied troops, most
of them drawn from forces in Italy.

  [Illustration: ITALY

   RAILROAD YARDS IN NAPLES burning after bombardment by Allied
   bombers from Africa. Before the invasion of Italy the bombing
   of enemy rail communications leading into southern Italy had
   high priority. Naples and Foggia were the most important rail
   centers south of Rome and both were heavily bombed prior to the
   landings.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   GOLFO DI SALERNO. The plain of Salerno in Italy, ringed
   and dominated by mountains, provided observation posts and
   commanding positions for the enemy. Here, on 9 September 1943,
   landed elements of the U. S. Fifth Army, an Anglo-American
   force. The British 10 Corps of this army landed on the
   beaches shown in the center of the picture, the U. S. VI
   Corps on beaches at Paestum in distance. One division of the
   British Eighth Army landed at Taranto in the heel of Italy
   simultaneously with the main landings in the Golfo di Salerno.
   Just six days before these landings two divisions of the British
   Eighth Army had invaded Italy from Sicily. These two armies were
   to advance northward: the U. S. army along the west and the
   British army along the east side of the peninsula.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   MAIORI BEACH, located a few miles west of the town of Salerno.
   Three Ranger battalions landed here unopposed on the morning of
   the invasion. Their mission to advance across the mountains and
   into the Nocera plain to prevent reinforcements located around
   Naples from reaching the invasion area was accomplished.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   PAESTUM BEACH ON THE GOLFO DI SALERNO. At lower right is Paestum
   tower, the most prominent landmark on the beach. This beach was
   the scene of the first invasion of U. S. troops on the mainland
   of Europe. The landing took place before daylight on 9 September
   and the troops reached Monte Soprano before nightfall. The
   area did not contain many fixed defenses, but the enemy had a
   considerable number of tanks and mobile guns.]


  [Illustration: ITALY

  [Illustration: ITALY

   DUKW’S HEADING FOR SALERNO BEACHES. The one in the foreground is
   carrying gasoline in five-gallon cans. The maintenance of Allied
   forces for the first few days depended largely on craft such as
   these “ducks.”]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   INVASION SCENES AT PAESTUM BEACH. Infantry debarking from
   assault craft (top) and naval personnel evacuating wounded
   soldiers to a transport for medical care (bottom). The landing
   craft shown are all LCVP’s.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   DUKW LANDING AT PAESTUM BEACH. These amphibian trucks brought
   light artillery and antitank guns ashore after the first assault
   waves had landed and, later in the day, brought men and supplies
   ashore.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SOLDIERS HUGGING THE BEACH during air strafing and bombing
   attack on D Day. Five enemy air raids, each by a formation of
   eight fighter-bombers, were made against U. S. troops along
   the beach. Several smaller formations were sent against ships
   offshore. Casualties and damage caused were relatively slight on
   D Day.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   WRECKED SPITFIRE shot down by Allied antiaircraft fire over
   Paestum beach. As several U. S. fighter squadrons were equipped
   with British Spitfires, the planes bore U. S. markings.
   Providing air cover from the Salerno area was a difficult
   problem because Allied fighters were based in Sicily. The
   longest-range fighter, the P-38, could stay over the beaches for
   only one hour, the A-36 (modified North American P-51 Mustang)
   thirty minutes, and the Spitfire about twenty minutes. (In
   background: LST unloading equipment over sectional ponton ramp.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   REINFORCEMENTS COMING ASHORE at Paestum beach on D Day. Top:
   bulldozer coming ashore--in background is a U. S. type LST,
   two-davit design; bottom: infantry, armor, and medical aid
   men--in background is British type tank landing ship (LST
   (1)). This ship was one of three belonging to the Boxer class.
   These were the first ships built specifically for tank landing
   purposes after the successful experimentation with the converted
   Maracaibo class oil tankers. They could land medium tanks over a
   low ramp carried within the ship and extended through low gates
   toward the beach. Load: thirteen 40-ton tanks or the equivalent.
   (A DUKW also is shown in the top picture; the tanks in the
   bottom picture are Sherman M4A1.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   HEAVY EQUIPMENT ROLLING ASHORE ON D DAY. Waterproofed medium
   tanks (Shermans) rolling toward shore across sectional ponton
   ramp from LST (top), and LST discharging fully loaded trucks
   (bottom).]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   FREIGHTER BURNING AFTER BOMBING ATTACK. The night of 10–11 and
   the day of 11 September saw the greatest enemy air activity.
   During that time about 120 hostile aircraft raided the beaches
   and the transport area.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SALERNO, which fell to the British forces of the Fifth Army on
   D Day. Until the port of Naples, which fell on 1 October, was
   cleared, all reinforcements and supplies for the army came in
   over the beaches or through the port of Salerno. On 19 September
   the entire Salerno plain was securely in Allied hands. The
   German counterattacks which had started on 12 September had been
   checked by the 15th. On the 17th the Germans started to withdraw
   from the area.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   ENGINEERS REPAIRING A BRIDGE NEAR ACERNO. While part of the
   invading forces advanced westward toward Naples, part proceeded
   toward Benevento to the north. The enemy retreated slowly toward
   the river Volturno, the next natural line of defense, leaving
   rear guards to delay the advance, mine the roads, and blow the
   bridges.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   INFANTRY ADVANCING ACROSS BYPASS TO BRIDGE near Avellino on the
   way to the Volturno River. Blown bridges caused much delay;
   infantry, after crossing, generally ran into opposition that
   required the use of tanks, which had to wait until the engineers
   could rebuild the bridges.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   U. S. TROOPS IN NAPLES. The city fell to the British 10 Corps,
   assisted by elements of some U. S. units, on 1 October 1943.
   When Naples fell, the Allies were in possession of three of
   Italy’s best ports, Naples, Bari, and Taranto, as well as two of
   the most important airport centers, the Naples area on the west
   and the Foggia area on the east of the peninsula. The latter
   had fallen to the Eighth Army on 27 September and soon became
   the base for the biggest concentration of Allied bombers in the
   entire Mediterranean theater.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   U. S. NURSES DEBARK FROM LCI in the Bay of Naples. Port
   facilities in the city had been heavily bombed by the Allies for
   months before the invasion and the damage had been increased
   by the Germans as they retreated. Much of the cargo coming
   into the harbor had to be discharged over beaches in the bay.
   However, twelve days after the capture of the city the unloading
   facilities were beginning to function and that day 3,500 tons
   were discharged.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   AIRFIELDS NEAR NAPLES. Capodichino (top) and Pomigliano (bottom)
   after they had been put to use by the Allies. Both fields had
   been severely damaged by Allied bombers before the invasion.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   BARI AIRPORT, on the Adriatic just north of the heel of Italy,
   was captured by the British on 22–23 September 1943. The enemy
   had used this airport as a transport base and for staging
   fighters on the way to Africa. The near-by town of Ban became
   headquarters for the heavy Allied bombardment units based at
   several airfields on the Foggia plain. Both the town of Ban and
   the Bari airport were subject to attack by enemy aircraft.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   FLYING FORTRESSES taxiing out to runway to take off on a
   mission. This picture was taken early in the Italian campaign,
   before this airfield in the Foggia area had been improved. Soon
   after the Foggia airfields had been captured, Allied bombardment
   groups started to move from the African bases.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   LIBERATOR BOMBER taxiing along flooded runway on one of the
   airfields in the Foggia area. When the fall rains started in
   October 1943 most of these fields became muddy and some were
   flooded. The flying of missions was continued while construction
   was in progress, runways being lengthed and raised, and fields
   drained. By the end of 1943 most of the fields had been put into
   good shape and by that time two heavy bombardment groups, two
   medium groups, and two fighter groups were operating out of ten
   airfields in the Foggia area.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   AIRMAN BAILING OUT HIS TENT after a rainstorm in southern Italy.
   This was late fall 1943. As time went on conditions improved. By
   the end of the year there were 35,000 U. S. combat airmen with
   their supporting forces in Italy.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   CASERTA, NEAR NAPLES. This area fell to the Fifth Army on 5
   October 1943. The palace shown at end of tree-lined road became
   headquarters of the Fifth Army soon after the building was
   captured. Later it also became headquarters of the 15th Army
   Group (Fifth and Eighth Armies) and still later Allied Force
   Headquarters, the last named having control over the entire
   Mediterranean Theater of Operations. The German surrender in
   Italy was signed in the palace.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   VOLTURNO RIVER ABOVE CAPUA. This was the first natural line of
   defense north of the Naples area. The Fifth Army had reached the
   southern bank of this river by 6 October. In the period between
   the landings on 9 September and the arrival at the Volturno,
   the Fifth Army had suffered 12,219 casualties of all kinds;
   4,947 were U. S.; 7,272 were British. On 13 October the first
   successful crossing of this river took place above and below the
   hairpin loop. The river here is from 150 to 200 feet wide, its
   depth from 3 to 5 feet. U. S. troops crossed in assault boats
   or on rafts; some used life preservers, and some forded the icy
   stream with the use of guide ropes.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SOLDIERS ENTERING CAIAZZO after crossing the Volturno River. The
   two men in foreground are carrying the Springfield rifle with
   telescopic sights; those in rear, the Garand. (The Springfield
   rifle M1 903A 4, .30-caliber, bolt-action, manually operated,
   became the standard U. S. Army rifle in 1903. Garand rifle M1,
   .30-caliber, self-loading, semiautomatic, is at present the
   standard U. S. Army rifle.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   THE GARIGLIANO RIVER AREA on the Golfo di Gaeta. The area shown
   was the western anchor of the enemy Gustav Line as well as his
   Winter Line. By 15 November 1943 the Fifth Army was halted in
   front of the Winter Line, which consisted of well-prepared
   positions across the waist of Italy from the mouth of the
   Garigliano River on the west, through the mountains in the
   center, to the mouth of the Sangro on the east coast. The more
   formidable Gustav Line was located farther north except along
   the lower Garigliano where the two defense lines generally
   coincided. Little fighting took place in the area shown until
   the British 10 Corps crossed the river on 17 January 1944 to
   support the main Fifth Army effort to drive up the Liri Valley.
   Garigliano River is located at right in top picture and at lower
   left in bottom picture.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   THE CAMINO HILL MASS. Top picture is taken looking toward the
   northwest from road fork of Highways 6 and 85. Bottom picture
   shows the hill mass with the Rapido River Valley in distance.
   The Winter Line continued along the south and east slopes of
   these mountains. The Camino Hill area fell to British and
   American troops on 9 December 1943, after several days of severe
   fighting.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   THE MIGNANO GAP. Looking west through the gap toward Monte
   Cairo, the snow-covered mountain in distance. Cassino is located
   at the foot of this mountain (top). Looking north from the gap;
   the village of Mignano, Highway 6, and the railroad are in lower
   left hand corner (bottom). San Pietro Infine, the village on the
   slope of Monte Sammucro, was the scene of one of the costliest
   battles of the Winter Line campaign. Mignano Gap was one of the
   few breaks in the mountains of the Winter Line and the main
   effort to breach that line was made at this gap.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   VOLTURNO RIVER VALLEY NORTH OF VENAFRO. River is in foreground.
   The valley had been cleared of enemy troops by the middle of
   November 1943. While German rear guards carried out delaying
   actions, the main enemy forces strengthened the Winter Line
   defenses in these mountains, which separate the Volturno River
   from the Rapido River. Hard fighting took place for control of
   the road leading from Pozzilli through the mountains to San Elia
   in the Rapido Valley. Initial attempts made by U. S. forces to
   cross the mountains failed because of the exhaustion of the
   troops, the difficulty of supply, the unfavorable weather, and
   the determined resistance of the enemy. The U. S. units were
   replaced by fresh French mountain troops, who in January 1944
   fought their way across the mountains.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   THE MONNA CASALE MOUNTAIN RANGE. These are the highest mountains
   in the ridge separating the Volturno and Rapido Valleys. Two
   roads across these mountains connect the two valleys: the Colli
   al Volturn-Atina road on the north side of the range, the
   Pozzilli-San Elia road on the south side. Both were relatively
   poor. Hill mass at lower left is Monte Pantano. The battle for
   this hill started on the night of 28–29 November and lasted
   until 4 December. On that day the U. S. forces withdrew with the
   enemy still in possession of most of the area. French troops
   seized the rest of Monte Pantano on 17 December.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   COLLI AL VOLTURNO. This typical Italian mountain village is
   located at the headwaters of the Volturno and was on the right
   flank of the U. S. Fifth Army. The mountains between this area
   and the left flank of the British Eighth Army fighting along
   the east coast of Italy were so rugged that no fighting took
   place there. Both Allied armies merely maintained small patrols
   to keep in contact. The lower road on the left runs through the
   mountains separating the Volturno and Rapido River Valleys and
   leads to Atina north of Cassino.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   PACK TRAIN IN THE MOUNTAINS. These pack trains consisted mainly
   of mules, but horses and donkeys were also used. Without the use
   of pack trains the campaign would have been much more difficult.
   To supply the basic needs of an infantry regiment in the line
   two hundred and fifty animals per day were required.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   PACK TRAIN IN THE VENAFRO AREA. Top: first donkey is loaded with
   an 81-mm. mortar, the second carries the ammunition; bottom:
   strapping a light .30-caliber machine gun on a donkey. The pack
   animals obtained by the Allies in the Mediterranean area were
   of varying sizes, generally smaller than the ordinary American
   mule, and standard U. S. pack equipment had to be modified in
   the field. Most of the equipment, however, was purchased in
   Italy.]


  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   FIRING A HOWITZER ON THE VENAFRO FRONT, with camouflage net
   pulled back for firing. While the infantry crouched in foxholes
   on the rocky slopes of the mountains, the artillery in the muddy
   flats behind them gave heavy supporting fire on enemy positions.
   To clear the masks presented by the high mountains ahead,
   barrels had to be elevated. (105-mm. howitzer.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   BRITISH SOLDIERS SEARCHING A HOUSE IN COLLE, a village on Monte
   Camino. Soldier in foreground is covering his partner while the
   latter kicks open the door. The stone houses, typical of those
   in the mountain areas, with walls sometimes four feet thick,
   made fine strong points. They could be reduced by artillery,
   but in the Camino fighting, a joint British-American operation,
   there was no close-support artillery.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   PREPARING AIR DROP OF FOOD AND SUPPLIES. Packing food parcels
   into belly tanks of a P-40 (top), and attaching tank to the bomb
   rack of A-36 fighter-bomber (bottom). The tank is released like
   a bomb. During the fighting on Monte Camino in December several
   air drops were attempted, but poor visibility, poor recovery
   grounds, and proximity to enemy positions combined to defeat the
   attempts on that occasion.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   FLYING FORTRESS RETURNING FROM A MISSION. Note part of the
   pierced steel plank runway in the foreground. The moving of the
   heavy bombers from their bases in Africa to the Foggia area in
   Italy was a tremendous undertaking because of the equipment
   necessary to establish new runways, pumping plants, pipelines,
   repair shops, and warehouses. The move took place during the
   late fall and winter of 1943 and required about 300,000 tons of
   shipping. This was at a critical time of the ground fighting and
   there was not enough shipping to take care of both the air and
   the ground fighters. So heavy were the shipping requirements
   that the build-up of Allied ground forces was considerably
   delayed.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   OBSERVING SMOKE SHELLS FALLING on enemy-occupied Monte Lungo
   during the second fight for the village of San Pietro Infine on
   15 December 1943. The smoke was to prevent enemy observation on
   the village, which at this time was under infantry attack. The
   first attacks on San Pietro Infine, 8–9 December, were repulsed
   by the enemy, as were the attacks of 15–17 December. By this
   time, however, the Allies had launched an attack and taken
   Monte Lungo, thus outflanking the Germans in the San Pietro
   Infine area. This caused the Germans to evacuate the village and
   withdraw to the next position a few hundred yards back.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   HOSPITAL TRAINS taking men wounded in the 1943–44 winter
   campaign to base hospitals in the Naples area. Until the
   fighting had advanced beyond Rome, the main Allied hospital area
   in Italy was in and around Naples. The trains above have German
   and Italian cars and U. S. locomotives. (Ambulances: truck,
   ¾-ton 4 x 4, crew of 2 with 4 litter patients or 7 sitting
   patients.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   CHRISTMAS TURKEY ON THE HOOD OF A JEEP, Christmas 1943. Every
   effort was made to give the troops the traditional holiday
   dinners, complete with trimmings.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   VEHICLES CAUGHT IN FLOODWATERS OF THE VOLTURNO. The fall rains
   of 1943 started early and flooded the rivers and streams between
   Naples, the main supply base, and the fighting area of the
   Winter Line. Just behind the lines, mud, traffic, and enemy
   shelling combined to keep roads and bridges in a condition that
   required constant work.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   FRONT-LINE SOLDIERS BEING BRIEFED on arrival in rest camp in
   Naples. Because of lack of food and housing in Italy it was
   found impossible to give a man a pass and let him seek his
   own recreation. Military rest camps were set up in several
   localities, where the men could sleep late in clean beds, have
   good food, and some entertainment.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   THE TOWN OF ACQUAFONDATA UNDER ENEMY SHELLFIRE. This village was
   located on the road between Pozzilli in the Volturno Valley and
   San Elia, north of Cassino. The road was on the right flank of
   the Fifth Army throughout the Winter Line fighting. Most of the
   fighting along this road was done by French mountain troops of
   the Fifth Army.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   FIRING A MORTAR DURING A TRAINING PROBLEM near Venafro in the
   Volturno River Valley. Mortars played an important part during
   the drive through the Winter Line mountains and an intensive
   training schedule was maintained prior to and during the
   drive. (60-mm. mortar M 2, mount M 2, standard, developed by
   the French, but manufactured in the United States under rights
   obtained from the French.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   ADJUSTING ELEVATION AND DEFLECTION of 4.2-inch chemical
   mortar. This mortar had a rifled barrel and was designed for
   high-angle fire. Because of its accuracy (insured by rifled
   barrel), mobility, rate of fire, and ease of concealment, it was
   particularly suited for close support of attacking units.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   RADAR IN OPERATION NEAR SAN PIETRO INFINE. The operating parts
   were mounted on a semitrailer towed by a tractor or truck. A
   van-body truck carried a complete stock of spare parts. (Radar
   SCR 547.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   CAMOUFLAGED MOBILE ANTIAIRCRAFT UNIT near San Pietro Infine.
   Enemy air attacks were not very numerous during the Winter
   Line fight; the Germans had few aircraft to spare and the
   weather tended to restrict the use of enemy as well as Allied
   aircraft. (Multiple-gun motor carriage M 15 composed mainly of a
   half-track personnel carrier with a 37-mm. gun, two .50-caliber
   machine guns, and M 6 sighting system.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   HOWITZER IN THE MIGNANO AREA. This model was the largest U. S.
   artillery piece in Italy. It and the 8-inch howitzer were rushed
   from the States to help reduce the strong enemy fortifications
   of the Gustav Line; the most heavily fortified part of this line
   was in the Cassino area. (240-mm. howitzer.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   CAPTURED GERMAN ARTILLERY. The standard medium gun of the German
   Army. It was a World War I model which was used on all German
   fronts and was part of the corps artillery. The caliber was
   10-cm.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   CHANGING TRACKS ON A SHERMAN TANK at Presenzano. This village is
   located near Highway 6 a few miles behind the lines in Mignano
   Gap. Tanks had not played a big role during the Winter Line
   fight because of the mountainous terrain and the muddy lowlands.
   Tank units were kept ready for use once the infantry had cleared
   the way through Mignano Gap to Cassino and the entrance to the
   Liri Valley, the so-called Gateway to Rome.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   LOADING A CURTISS P-40 Kittybomber for a bombing mission. This
   was one of the first U. S. fighter types to get into combat, The
   many variations and modifications of this early fighter of World
   War II had many names. Those Army planes transported by naval
   aircraft carrier to the coast of Africa during the invasion
   there were called Tomahawks, those sold by the United States to
   the British were called Kittyhawks. Later in the war, as faster
   fighters arrived to protect bomber formations, the P-40 became a
   fighter-bomber and was called the Kittybomber. The P-40 groups
   in Italy were being re-equipped with Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
   fighters early in 1944.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   LOADING A MITCHELL MEDIUM BOMBER, North American B-25, with
   1,000-pound bombs. Tail fins were attached to the bombs after
   they were in position in the bomb bay.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   INFANTRY PATROL ENTERING CERVARO on 12 January 1944. The man at
   left is carrying a tommy gun and covering the two men in front
   as they hunt for snipers. A few minutes after this picture was
   made two men of this patrol were killed by Germans hidden in the
   ruins. Cervaro is on the western slopes of the Rapido Valley.
   By this time the Fifth Army had fought its way through the
   Winter Line mountains. Fighting in this area had lasted from 15
   November 1943 to 15 January 1944.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SMOKE POTS USED TO SCREEN INFANTRY crossing the Rapido River
   near Cassino. The first attempt to cross was made south of
   Highway 6 by a U. S. division on 20 January 1944. It was a
   failure. Crossings attempted in the next two days by this
   division also failed. By afternoon of 22 January all assault
   boats had been destroyed, efforts to bridge the stream had been
   unsuccessful, the troops who had managed to cross were isolated,
   and supply or evacuation had become impossible. On 23 January
   the attack in the sector was ordered halted. Casualties were
   1,681: 143 killed, 663 wounded, and 875 reported missing. On 24
   January another U. S. division managed to cross the Rapido north
   of Highway 6.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   LITTER BEARERS TAKE SHELTER ALONG ROAD near the Rapido River
   during the first crossing attempt. Casualties among medics
   were high during the Rapido River crossings. Visibility was
   generally poor because of mist or artificial smoke and enemy
   automatic weapons had been zeroed in on likely crossing sites
   and the surrounding areas. The only means of protection for the
   litter bearers was the red cross markings on their helmets and
   sleeves, but at night and during periods of poor visibility in
   the daytime these identifications were not easily seen.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   FIRING A MORTAR during the successful Rapido River crossing on
   24 January. The attack was made north of Highway 6 and directed
   toward the mountains north of Cassino. The outskirts of the
   town were entered for the first time on the morning of 26
   January. Tanks were not able to help during the first few days
   as the ground was too soggy and the engineers were unable to
   construct bridges. The entire area was under observation from
   Montecassino and the adjacent hills. Four tanks finally managed
   to cross during the morning of the 27th, but by noon they were
   all out of action. Two days later thirty tanks were across, the
   infantry had taken the village of Cairo high in the hills north
   of Cassino, and the Allies had made the first dent in the Gustav
   Line in the Cassino area. (81-mm. mortar.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   ARMORED CAR FIRING ITS CANNON IN THE CASSINO AREA. (Armored car
   M8; principal weapon, 37-mm. gun. The one above is also equipped
   with a .50-caliber M2 Browning machine gun in AA mount.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   ITALIAN SOLDIERS preparing to fire one of their railway guns
   against targets in the Gustav Line. On 7 December 1943, Italian
   units first entered the fight on the side of the Allies under
   command of Fifth Army. The Italians took over a narrow section
   in Mignano Gap with 5,486 combat troops. In addition to the
   combat personnel the Italians also provided various service
   companies and pack units which proved valuable in solving the
   difficult supply problem in the mountains.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   BURNING AMMUNITION DUMP in the Mignano Gap area near Highway 6.
   The dump was located about seven miles behind Cassino front. The
   fire was accidental and not due to enemy action. Dumps in this
   area were not camouflaged because they were too large and Allied
   air forces had most of the enemy air grounded. Huge quantities
   of ammunition were needed to reduce the defenses of the Gustav
   Line. Dispersion was difficult because of the muddy ground.
   Vehicles became mired as soon as they left the road.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   LOADING LST’S IN NAPLES FOR THE INVASION OF ANZIO. Everything
   was combat-loaded for quick removal, as plans required the
   convoy to be unloaded in twenty-four hours. The slow advance
   of the Allies late in 1943 led to the revival of plans for an
   amphibious operation south of Rome. Early in January 1944 the
   Allies broke through the Winter Line and unless some movement
   could be devised to breach the more formidable Gustav Line they
   faced another difficult mountain campaign. Enough landing craft
   for Anzio were finally assembled, though resources were limited
   by requirements for the coming Normandy invasion. (Note LST in
   center, with take-off runway for cub observation planes. Planes
   could not land on these runways. Two ships were thus equipped
   with six planes each which landed on the beachhead shortly after
   dawn on D Day, 22 January 1944.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   THE ANZIO BEACH AREA. Top: looking westward, Astura tower lower
   right; bottom: looking eastward. The beach shown in these
   pictures was the U. S. zone of the landing area. The British
   landing beach, about six miles northwest of Anzio, proved too
   shallow for unloading supplies. It was closed soon after the
   British forces had landed there, and supplies were handled
   mostly through the port of Anzio. The Anglo-American assault
   force consisted of almost 50,000 men and 5,200 vehicles.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   MORNING OF D DAY. Top: men coming ashore from LCI’s. Enemy air
   raids started at 0850 and consisted of three separate attacks by
   an estimated 18–28 fighter-bombers. One LGI was hit and is shown
   burning. Bottom: LST backing away from portable ponton causeway
   after having unloaded. Bulldozer is holding causeway in place.
   In background is an LGI with a deckload of soldiers waiting to
   go ashore.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   MEN AND EQUIPMENT COMING ASHORE on Anzio beaches on D Day
   morning. The first assault craft hit the beaches at 0200,
   22 January 1944. There was practically no opposition to the
   landings as the enemy had been caught by surprise. Men with
   full equipment wading ashore from LCI (top); in foreground are
   two DUKW’s near beach, at right is LST unloading equipment over
   portable causeway pontons (bottom).]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   ARTILLERY OBSERVATION PLANE taking off from LST carrier to land
   at Anzio beachhead shortly after dawn on D Day. The first use
   of an LST carrier for this purpose was during the invasion of
   Sicily. Two planes were launched and directed naval fire to the
   vicinity of Licata, Sicily. Cub planes were to play an important
   part at Anzio. The area of the beachhead and surroundings is
   generally flat and featureless and in such terrain observation
   was at a premium and it was vital to secure or deny that
   observation.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   B-26 BOMBING ROADS IN THE LIRI VALLEY behind the Gustav Line on
   22 January 1944 in order to hamper the enemy in sending troops
   to the Anzio area. The hill at lower left is Montecassino.
   The mountains immediately above the plane were the scene of
   bitter fighting during the winter of 1943–44. While the Anzio
   landing was still in preparation the Allied air forces had been
   bombing airfields and communication centers, and the army had
   started its drive (on 17 January 1944) to penetrate the Gustav
   Line. By the 22d, the date of the Anzio invasion, the attempt
   to penetrate the Gustav Line had bogged down in front of the
   Cassino defenses.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   DOUGLAS HAVOC BOMBING RAILROAD BRIDGE and enemy installations at
   Cisterna di Littoria. This town became one of the enemy strong
   points surrounding the beachhead. It was shelled and bombed for
   months, and when it finally fell, on 25 May 1944, it was nothing
   but a mass of rubble.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   THE PORT OF ANZIO, which was taken intact with very little
   opposition on the morning of D Day, 22 January 1944. The
   enemy had placed demolition charges to destroy the port and
   its facilities, but the assault was so sudden and unexpected
   that there was no opportunity to set off the charges. By
   early afternoon the port was ready to receive four LST’s
   and three LCT’s simultaneously. By midnight on D Day 36,034
   men, 3,069 vehicles, and large quantities of supply had been
   brought ashore, either through the port or over the beaches.
   The unloading area of the port (upper right) was not suitable
   for Liberty ships or other freighters; these continued to be
   unloaded offshore, mostly by DUKW’s.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   FREIGHTER UNLOADING CARGO INTO DUKW’S. Supplies for Anzio were
   carried by two methods: in truck-loaded LST’s from Naples and in
   bulk-loaded Liberty ships or other freighters from Africa. After
   its capture, the port of Anzio sustained regular shelling by
   enemy artillery. The LST’s docked at the port and the freighters
   unloaded into smaller craft or DUKW’s offshore.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   MEN WORKING ON A BARRAGE BALLOON. A number of balloons were
   used at the beachhead, chiefly in and around the port area.
   Floated at the end of a steel cable, their purpose was to
   prevent low-level strafing and dive-bombing attacks and to force
   the bombers high enough to give the antiaircraft gunners time
   to get on the target. Up to forty balloons were flown at one
   time over the port. These were filled with highly inflammable
   hydrogen gas, which was manufactured in the field. Helium gas
   was sometimes used but was harder to obtain.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   CAMOUFLAGED MULTIPLE-GUN MOTOR CARRIAGE M16 mounting four
   .50-caliber machine guns in Maxson turret. Allied antiaircraft
   artillery faced its first major test in Italy with the
   establishment of the beachhead. The enemy air force now started
   on a large-scale, continuous offensive. The offshore shipping,
   port, and beach congestion in the Anzio area offered easy
   targets. Allied fighter aircraft were based about one hundred
   miles to the south and they found it difficult to counter the
   enemy’s quick sneak raids and night attacks. Antiaircraft
   artillery units were mainly responsible for combatting these
   attacks and keeping the flow of supplies constant. By May 1944,
   1,051 pieces of antiaircraft artillery were on the beachhead,
   including sixty-four 90-mm. guns.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SOLDIER SHARING HIS C RATION WITH NATIVE BOY. A few days after
   the landing most of the civilian population, about 22,000, were
   evacuated by sea to Naples, leaving only about 750 able-bodied
   civilians. Later, as the need for workers increased, an office
   was set up in Naples to recruit Italian civilians for work at
   the beachhead. (Soldier is wearing a combat jacket, initially
   issued with trousers to members of armored units.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   CAMPOLEONE STATION near the Albano highway leading from Anzio
   to the Colli Laziali, the mountain mass overlooking the plains
   of the beachhead. By 31 January 1944 the Allies had advanced to
   Campoleone station, the front line being the railroad bed in
   foreground above, but the available forces could not hold the
   area. The enemy was bringing reserves toward the Gustav Line
   where the Allied drive had stalled. These enemy reserve troops
   were rerouted to contain the Anzio beachhead and, if possible,
   force the Allies back to the sea. The picture above, looking
   toward the sea, gives an idea of the flat, featureless terrain
   in the area. The group of buildings in the distance at right is
   the “Factory,” scene of hard fighting.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   CISTERNA DI LITTORIA. A thrust toward Cisterna di Littoria
   was made by the Allies on 25–27 January 1944, but was stopped
   about three miles southwest of the town. Another attempt made
   on 30 January-1 February met even less success. In the distance
   are the Colli Laziali overlooking the beachhead. Below the
   mountains is the town of Velletri. Highway 7 through Cisterna
   di Littoria leads past the mountains to Rome. Attempts to
   extend the beachhead failed: the first attempt along the Albano
   road was stopped at Campoleone; the second, the effort to cut
   Highway 7 at Cisterna di Littoria, was stopped within sight
   of the village. By this time the enemy outnumbered the Allies
   and the latter consolidated their positions and waited for the
   counterattacks.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   CAMOUFLAGED FOXHOLES AND ARTILLERY POSITIONS along the Mussolini
   Canal. On 2 February 1944, after the unsuccessful attempt to
   extend the beachhead, the Anzio force received orders to dig in
   and prepare for defense. By this date casualties totaled 6,487.
   Allied troops were on the defensive in Italy for the first time
   since the invasion at Salerno.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   LAYING AN ANTITANK MINE. The man at left is arming the mine by
   pulling the safety fork. This type of mine contained 6 pounds of
   cast TNT and had a total weight of 10⅔ pounds. The pressure of a
   man stepping on the mine would not detonate it, but any vehicle
   hitting it would set it off. Mines were generally laid at night
   or on foggy days behind a smoke screen. The task of laying mine
   fields at night in the open, almost featureless terrain resulted
   at first in many improperly marked fields causing accidents.
   The practice was finally adopted of first marking a field, then
   recording it, and only then laying the mines. (Antitank mine
   M1A1.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   LONG TOM FIRING AT GERMAN POSITIONS. On 3 February 1944 the
   enemy started a series of counterattacks to wipe out the
   beachhead. There were three main attacks: 3–12 February, 16–20
   February, and 28 February–4 March. The stalemate began on the
   latter date and lasted until the offensive to break out of the
   beachhead got under way on 23 May 1944. Enemy prisoners taken
   during the February fighting always commented on the heavy
   artillery fire, which caused numerous casualties, shattered
   nerves, and demoralized many enemy units.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SIGNAL CORPS MEN working in the main frame room of headquarters
   switchboard installation. The beach area at Anzio-Nettuno was on
   a slightly higher level than the rest of the beachhead area and
   was honeycombed with tunnels and caves so far underground that
   they were bombproof. Wherever possible the installations along
   the shore were put underground.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   RADAR SET IN OPERATION. By 24 February 1944 the first sets of
   this type were in position on the Anzio beachhead. They were
   brought in to cope with enemy jamming techniques and “window”
   (small strips of metallic paper dropped from attacking planes)
   which had reduced the effectiveness of earlier types of radar.
   During the night of 24 February a flight of twelve bombers
   approached in close formation, using the “window” method of
   jamming. Forty-eight 90-mm. guns directed by radar of the
   improved type caught them at extreme range over enemy territory
   and brought down five with the first salvo. The remainder of the
   formation jettisoned their bombs and fled. (Radar SCR 584.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   FIRING ANTIAIRCRAFT GUN at ground targets. The enemy
   counterattack down the Albano road on 16–20 February 1944 was
   the most severe and dangerous of the three main attacks the
   Germans made on the Allies at Anzio beachhead. On the 17th
   it looked as if the enemy might succeed in driving down the
   Albano road from the Campoleone area to Anzio and thus split
   the beachhead forces. To aid the hard-pressed infantry, all
   the artillery in the area was brought to bear on the enemy.
   In addition to 432 guns representing corps and divisional
   artillery and three companies of tanks, four batteries of 90-mm.
   antiaircraft guns were employed against ground targets. Two
   cruisers assisted with fire on the flank of the beachhead.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   GERMAN PRISONERS TAKEN NEAR THE ALBANO ROAD on 19 February 1944.
   The German attack started in the morning hours of 16 February
   and relied on smoke to conceal the advancing troops. By 18
   February the enemy infantry, strongly supported by tanks, had
   pushed the defenders back about three miles. The next day the
   Allies counterattacked and halted the advance. Never again was
   the enemy to come so close to rolling up the final beachhead
   line.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   TANK DESTROYER DUG IN BEHIND HAY STACK. These weapons were used
   well forward, sometimes dug in, but more often placed behind
   a house or other means of concealment. Tanks were also used
   well forward, particularly after the front became somewhat
   stabilized at the beginning of March. The distribution was about
   one company of tanks to one regiment in the line. This practice
   violated the principle of employing tanks in mass, but their
   usefulness in support of the infantry outweighed the loss of
   mobility and dispersion of strength.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   THE GERMAN PANTHER TANK. This heavy tank was probably the
   most successful armored vehicle the Germans developed, having
   relatively high speed and maneuverability, combined with heavy
   armor and a rapid-fire, high-velocity gun. It first appeared on
   the Russian front in the summer of 1943, and soon thereafter
   on the Italian front. No U. S. tank comparable to it appeared.
   The frontal armor could not be penetrated by Sherman tank
   guns at ordinary fighting range. In constructing this vehicle
   the Germans were influenced by the Russian tank, the T34. The
   corrugated surface (top picture) is a plastic coating to prevent
   magnetic mines from sticking to the metal. (Pz. Kpfw. Panther,
   7.5-cm. Kw. K. 42 (L/70) gun. After Action Reports indicate that
   there were a total of 165 enemy tanks surrounding the beachhead
   as of 28 February 1944. Of these 32 were Tigers and 53 Panthers,
   the rest being mostly Mark IV.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   ANZIO ANNIE, 280-mm. railway gun (top). The beachhead faced a
   heavy concentration of German artillery. During enemy attacks
   in February this was employed mostly in direct support of the
   infantry. Standard German divisional medium howitzer (bottom).
   The caliber was 150-mm. (15-cm. s. F. H. 18.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   LANDING CRAFT BRINGS WOUNDED TO HOSPITAL SHIP in Anzio bay. On
   the night of 24 January 1944 a fully illuminated and marked
   British hospital ship was bombed and sunk while taking wounded
   on board. All evacuation from the beachhead was by sea. Air
   transportation could not be used, since the dust raised by
   planes landing or taking off brought on enemy shelling. Hospital
   ships were used whenever possible, but as these could not dock
   in the shallow port, LCT’s were used to transfer patients from
   shore to ships. When storms and high seas interrupted this
   procedure the wounded were loaded on board LST’s at the Anzio
   docks for the 30-hour trip to Naples. For the period 22 January
   to 22 May, 33,063 patients were evacuated by sea.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   NURSE GIVING INTRAVENOUS INJECTION OF PLASMA to a wounded
   soldier. In the period 22 January to 22 May 1944, 18,074
   American soldiers suffering from disease, 4,245 from injuries,
   and 10,809 battle casualties--33,128 in all--were given medical
   care and attention in evacuation hospitals at the beachhead. If
   recovery required fourteen days or less, the casualty remained
   in the evacuation hospital; if the recovery period was estimated
   to take more than two weeks, the patient was evacuated to one
   of several base hospitals in the Naples area as soon as he was
   strong enough to be moved.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   NURSE DIGGING FOXHOLE. The confined area of the beachhead and
   the lack of distinction between the front lines and rear areas
   were nowhere more noticeable than in the locality of the U.
   S. evacuation hospitals. For more than sixteen weeks medical
   personnel healed and comforted the sick and wounded in an area
   within range of enemy artillery. Soldiers called the hospital
   zone “Hell’s Half Acre” and admitted their preference for the
   protection of a front-line foxhole to a cot in a hospital tent.
   Of the medical personnel at the beachhead, 82 were killed in
   action, 387 were wounded, 19 were captured, and 60 were reported
   missing in action.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   WRECKAGE OF EVACUATION HOSPITAL ON THE BEACHHEAD. Most of the
   hospitals were located in the vicinity of Nettuno, and all were
   within easy range of enemy artillery. It was impossible, within
   the confined area of the beachhead, to locate hospitals in an
   area out of reach of enemy artillery.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   MECHANICAL SMOKE GENERATOR IN ACTION. Generators of this type
   were used at ports to prevent accurate bombing and in the field
   to conceal movements of troops. Large quantities of oil, about
   two 53-gallon drums per hour, were consumed. The generator was
   capable of converting hydrocarbon oils of low volatility into a
   fog of relatively great persistence. The special oil, usually
   referred to as fog oil and used for the generation of large area
   screens, was a petroleum by-product. The fog would frequently
   extend five miles or more downwind. (Smoke generator M1.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SMOKE SCREEN SHIELDING ALLIED POSITIONS. Smoke was used to a
   great extent on the beachhead because the flat terrain which
   the Allies occupied was under constant observation from the
   enemy-held Colli Laziali. The harbor area was screened by smoke
   starting one-half hour before sunset, the time the enemy bombers
   usually appeared, and on every air raid alarm.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   BATHING FACILITIES at the beachhead were limited but those
   available were used to the fullest extent.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   PRIMITIVE SHOWER BATH. Some of the more hardy souls took their
   showers directly from the well in winter.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   FIRING A PACK HOWITZER. From the establishment of the beachhead
   the Allied artillery surpassed that of the enemy. Even with
   limitations imposed on some types of ammunition, the artillery
   was firing about 25,000 rounds per day. At the same time the
   enemy fire falling in the port and the rest of the beachhead
   was estimated to be not more than 1,500 rounds. The amount of
   Allied artillery increased month by month. At the end of March
   a battalion of 8-inch howitzers was brought in with the primary
   mission of demolishing houses used by the enemy as observation
   posts and strong points. In April a battery of 240-mm. howitzers
   was added to the beachhead forces. (75-mm. pack howitzer.)

  [Illustration: ITALY

   USED SHELL CASES BOUND FOR THE UNITED STATES as scrap are loaded
   into a freighter from an LCT.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SOLDIER FIRING A SUBMACHINE GUN at a haystack suspected of
   concealing enemy soldiers. After the last German attempt to
   reduce the beachhead had died out during the first days of March
   1944 there began a period of stalemate on the Anzio plain. This
   did not mean the end of fighting; it meant the end of pitched
   battles by large numbers of men and armor. Artillery duels still
   continued and enemy aircraft bombed and strafed positions as
   before. There were frequent clashes and fire fights between
   infantry patrols. To provide protection against enemy infantry
   attacks, stress was laid on the development of self-sustaining,
   mutually supporting points of resistance, usually centered on
   Italian farmhouses. (.45-caliber Thompson submachine gun.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SOLDIER TESTING “STICKY GRENADE” on an armored vehicle. This
   was a British weapon used against tanks. It had a hollow-type
   charge, and was held to the metal by magnets. Unlike the real
   sticky grenade which could be thrown and which stuck to the
   target by means of a glue substance, this antitank grenade had
   to be hand-placed. During the stalemate period the front-line
   troops were equipped with this type of grenade in addition to
   bazookas. The charge was a delayed action type and the grenade
   was set off by pulling the string attached to it.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   BEACHHEAD RATION DUMP. The failure of the main part of the
   army in the south to break through the Gustav Line and join
   the troops at Anzio necessitated maintaining the beachhead
   by sea for a longer period than planned. Shipping schedules
   were revised to take care of the gradually growing forces and
   to build up a reserve of food, fuel, ammunition, and other
   supplies. Food could be kept in a large dump, but fuel and
   ammunition presented problems. The beachhead area was so small
   that fuel and ammunition dumps, no matter where placed, were
   within enemy artillery range. These dumps were kept small and
   dispersed in order to keep losses to a minimum. Between 22
   January and 10 March 1944 a little more than 1,000 tons of
   ammunition were destroyed, mostly by enemy bombing. Losses never
   became critical.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SOLDIERS BUTCHERING A COW. Cattle and sheep would frequently
   wander into mine fields and be wounded or killed. The carcasses
   presented a welcome change from regular rations. During the
   stalemate some soldiers had their own chicken pens, others
   bought fresh eggs from the few remaining farmers. Foraging
   patrols for homeless livestock and poultry were as carefully
   planned as patrols against the enemy.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   LISTENING TO A CONCERT BY A SOLDIER ORCHESTRA. This is in a
   recreation area established by one of the divisions on the
   beachhead in March 1944. Only a limited audience could attend
   because of the ever-present danger of enemy artillery fire.
   During the critical period of enemy counterattacks in February
   all troops were needed for defense, but as soon as the front had
   become stabilized 750 men every four days were sent by LST to
   the rest center at Caserta.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   OPEN AIR BARBERSHOP AT THE BEACHHEAD located in one of the
   few wooded sectors of the area. Barber service, because of
   its uplifting effect on morale, was made available whenever
   possible.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   MALARIA CONTROL. Soldier pouring diesel oil in water-filled bomb
   crater to kill mosquito larvae. The Pontine Marshes near the
   beachhead had for centuries been notorious for the prevalence
   of malaria. In April 1944 large-scale draining projects were
   started, and patrols were sent out to dust or pour oil on
   canals, ditches, and pools. This activity was even carried
   right into no man’s land at night. The program, combined with
   preventive measures taken by the individual soldier, such as
   the use of head nets, mosquito bars, insect repellents, and
   atabrine, kept malaria from becoming a medical problem. The
   division stationed in the worst area did not develop a single
   new case of the disease.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   INFLATING RUBBER DUMMY TANK (top). Placing dummy tank in
   camouflaged position which had been vacated by a tank moving
   toward the front for the coming offensive (bottom). The dummy
   tank was designed by the British and manufactured in the United
   States.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   WATCHING THE BATTLE FROM OBSERVATION POINT. The offensive from
   the beachhead started at 0545, 23 May 1944, when the artillery
   began firing. Allied medium and fighter bombers strafed and
   bombed enemy positions. At 0630 the infantry and tanks moved
   out. The artillery preparations, the most intensive thus far at
   the beachhead, had searched out command posts, assembly areas,
   and dumps with the result that enemy communications and supply
   lines were severely damaged. The Germans recovered and put up
   a strong fight, but they could not make up for the initial
   disorganization.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   WALKING WOUNDED ON THEIR WAY FROM THE FRONT to a hospital. Tags
   tell the nature of the wound and what has been done for it in
   the field or at the first aid station. On the first day of the
   fight to break out of the beachhead, the Allies suffered the
   heaviest casualties of the Anzio Campaign. American combat
   casualties for the whole army on that day were 334 killed,
   1,513 wounded, and 81 missing, a total of 1,928 and the high
   point in the entire Italian campaign. The U. S. and British
   combat casualties at the beachhead between 22 January and 22
   May numbered about 30,000, including at least 4,400 killed
   and 18,000 wounded. The enemy captured about 6,800 prisoners.
   The noncombat casualties during this period amounted to about
   37,000.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   RECOVERING ARMOR. Tank recovery vehicle pulling disabled tank
   destroyer M10 out of mine field near Cisterna di Littoria (top).
   Many Allied tanks were disabled by running into their own mine
   fields. Front of tank destroyer is still smoking from effect of
   mine blast. In the left background is a disabled Sherman tank.
   To the right are a ruined German Mark IV tank and a personnel
   carrier. During the first day’s attack the Allies lost heavily
   in tanks and tank destroyers. Those that ran on mines were
   generally repairable, those lost as a result of enemy fire were
   often wrecked beyond repair. Tank recovery vehicle M31 (same as
   at top) towing German 75-mm. assault gun (bottom).]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   INFANTRY SOLDIER IN GISTERNA DI LITTORIA. This town on Highway
   7 had been one of the German strong points facing the beachhead
   forces. It fell to tanks and infantry on 25 May. The main
   Allied drive had been launched in the direction of Cisterna di
   Littoria with the object of continuing straight north to capture
   Valmontone on Highway 6 and cut off the enemy forces retreating
   toward Rome from the shattered Gustav Line defenses.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   THE VILLAGE OF CAMPOLEONE with Campoleone station in upper
   left. The station area was reached on 31 January, when the
   first attempt to break out of the beachhead was made, but was
   soon lost to enemy counterattacks. It was not retaken by the
   Allies until 29 May 1944 during the drive on Rome. Starting
   on that day a tank-infantry attack fought a two-day action to
   penetrate the German defenses here, but without success. The
   area was heavily defended by infantry weapons supported by enemy
   tanks, self-propelled guns, artillery, and flak guns. On 31 May
   the U. S. armored division making the attack was withdrawn for
   maintenance purposes. Losses in both tanks and personnel had
   been severe. The break-through, when it came, was made across
   the eastern side of the Colli Laziali.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   MONTECASSINO ABBEY. Liri Valley, the so-called Gateway to Rome,
   is on the left. On 15 February the abbey was bombed and shelled
   for the first time. Before that Allied soldiers had orders not
   to fire even a rifle shot at the structure. Enemy ammunition
   dumps were located close to the building, and gun emplacements
   in the vicinity were numerous. It had become a legitimate
   military objective. The bombing and shelling destroyed the abbey
   as a work of art, but its usefulness to the enemy was scarcely
   impaired. The rubble caused by the destruction of the upper
   parts of the building only served to strengthen the remaining
   lower parts.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   THE BOMBING OF CASSINO on 15 March. Although it had been
   repeatedly bombed before, the town was heavily bombed and
   shelled that day in preparation for the attack by the New
   Zealand Corps, at this time part of the Fifth Army. About 1,200
   tons of bombs were dropped and 195,969 rounds were fired by
   artillery ranging in size from 3-inch guns to 240-mm. howitzers.
   The enemy’s defenses were not destroyed. Protected by cellars,
   steel and concrete pillboxes, caves, and tunnels, the German
   troops suffered comparatively few casualties. The bombing and
   shelling neither overcame the enemy’s resistance nor noticeably
   reduced his morale. When the infantry moved in for the attack
   they were met by heavy mortar fire; when the Allied tanks
   appeared they could not advance because of bomb craters and
   debris. The attack was repulsed.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   CASSINO AREA, looking along Highway 6. “Castle Hill,” in left
   foreground topped by tower, was in Allied hands for weeks
   before the town of Cassino fell. Below cliff are ruins of
   the town. The picture, made from the vicinity of the abbey,
   gives some indication of the enemy’s observation over Allied
   positions. The main drive through the Winter Line defenses
   started above San Pietro Infine. U. S. forces began the advance
   on 15 November 1943 and had fought their way to the outskirts
   of Cassino by 26 January 1944, a distance of eight miles in
   seventy days. The town fell on 18 May to the Eighth Army after
   several unsuccessful attacks. The drive on the southern front,
   to penetrate the Gustav Line, started on 11 May 1944, while that
   out of the Anzio beachhead started on 23 May.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   HOWITZER. These pieces fired their first mission in Italy in
   Mignano Gap, 30 January 1944. They were used with good effect
   during the Gustav Line fight in and around Cassino. Vehicle
   towing weapon is converted General Grant tank M3 (top). Howitzer
   in position near San Vittore del Lazio, five miles southeast of
   Cassino (bottom). (240-mm. howitzer.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   THE ERUPTION OF VESUVIUS in March 1944 damaged a number of
   aircraft on fields in the vicinity. Fuselages and wings were
   pierced by fragments of rock hurled from the volcano. In
   foreground is a P-40 fighter-bomber.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   BAILEY BRIDGE over bypass on Highway 7 near Sessa Aurunca. This
   is the coastal road between Rome and Naples; the inland road,
   through the Mignano Gap, past Cassino and up the Liri Valley
   to Rome, is Highway 6. The Bailey bridge was invented by the
   British, from whom the U. S. forces obtained it.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   THE RUINS OF SANTA MARIA, INFANTE. This village between the
   Aurunci Mountains and the Golfo di Gaeta fell to U. S. forces on
   14 May, three days after the attack that was to carry the Allies
   to Rome started. The village had been demolished by air and
   artillery bombardment. (57-mm. antitank gun.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   GOLFO Dl GAETA. The high mountain at the right is Monte
   Petrella, which is 4,600 feet high; the one in the center is
   Monte Ruazzo, which is 4,000 feet high. The drive through the
   Gustav Line, started by the left flank of the Fifth Army, had
   reached Monte Petrella by 15 May and had advanced to the Itri
   Valley on the left of the picture. U. S. forces in general
   advanced along the slopes facing the sea.

   The French mountain troops advanced across the mountains farther
   to the north, then turned right into the Liri Valley on the
   other side and threatened to cut off the German forces around
   Cassino and in the lower part of Liri Valley. This action by the
   French made the German position untenable and the enemy started
   a general withdrawal from the Gustav Line.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   GOUMIERS OF THE FRENCH FORCES leading a pack train into the
   Aurunci Mountains during the drive that started 11 May. Tank
   is U. S. M5 light tank manned by French crew, and armed with a
   75-mm. howitzer.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   U. S. TANKS IN CORENO AUSONIO on 14 May. The same tanks, manned
   by Americans, were attached to the French mountain troops making
   a drive from the Castelforte area on the right flank of the
   Fifth Army, through the Aurunci Mountains and into the Liri
   Valley. (Left, light tank M5; right, medium tank M4.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SWEEPING THE TERRACINA BEACH FOR MINES. Terracina is located
   on Highway 7. During the drive the road became so overcrowded
   that some supplies had to be shipped by sea. Since the small
   harbor was cluttered with wreckage of ships, the beach had to be
   cleared for landing and unloading. (Mine detector SCR 625.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   GERMAN PORTABLE PILLBOXES. Some of these were found in the
   Gustav Line around Cassino and others were later found in
   the Hitler Line in the Liri Valley. These steel pillboxes,
   camouflaged and usually connected by communication trenches to
   well constructed bunkers, were impregnable to all but direct
   hits from artillery fire. (German mobile steel pillbox, being
   removed by tank recovery vehicle M31.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   VALMONTONE ON HIGHWAY 6, twenty-five miles southeast of Rome.
   This was the main escape route of the enemy forces trying to
   retreat toward Rome from the Cassino-Liri Valley area. The enemy
   kept the road open until 1 June. U. S. forces found the village
   unoccupied on the morning of 2 June when a battle patrol entered
   the town.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   A TANK-INFANTRY TEAM entering Rome on 4 June. The burning
   vehicle is a German Tiger tank. The enemy had been evacuating
   the city for several days, but had left a strong rear guard
   equipped with tanks and artillery to hold the Allies in and
   below the city as long as possible. Since the streets of Rome
   were not suitable for conventional infantry attacks, small
   tank-infantry teams entered the city from several directions and
   by early morning of 5 June were in possession of the bridges
   across the Tiber.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   INFANTRYMEN OF ONE OF THE TANK-INFANTRY TEAMS to enter Rome on 4
   June. Soldier on left has a Browning automatic rifle. The one on
   right holds a bazooka (rocket launcher M1).]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   INFANTRY AWAITING SIGNAL TO ENTER ROME on 4 June. At this time
   the city was being cleared by small tank-infantry teams.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   FIFTH ARMY ENTERING ROME on 5 June only to continue through the
   city in pursuit of the enemy retreating along the roads north
   of Rome. During this retreat the Germans were under constant
   bombing and strafing attacks by Allied air forces. The roads of
   retreat were littered with vehicles of all kinds. (3-inch gun
   motor carriage M10.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   GERMAN GRIZZLY BEAR on a street in Rome. This is a close-support
   weapon and mounts a short-barreled howitzer in a high, armored
   superstructure (15-cm Stu. H. 43 on Pz. Kpfw. IV chassis.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   INFANTRY IN PURSUIT OF THE ENEMY north of Rome. Note dead horse
   on left. Much of the German equipment was horse-drawn, limiting
   the speed of withdrawal. During the pursuit of the enemy from
   Rome to the Arno River whole divisions both American and French
   were gradually withdrawn from the Fifth Army to train for the
   coming invasion of southern France. Army strength dropped from
   248,989 on 1 June to 153,323 on 1 August 1944. Three U. S.
   divisions, veterans of the Italian campaign, were sent to the
   Naples area for invasion training. (57-mm. antitank gun.)]




                            SOUTHERN FRANCE

  [Illustration: SOUTHERN FRANCE]




                              SECTION IV

                            Southern France

The offensive operation in southern France, originally scheduled to
be executed simultaneously with the Normandy landings, was conceived
with the aim of pushing northward from the southern coast, creating
a diversion of enemy troops from the northern assault, and generally
weakening the German Army in France. This operation was given the code
name ANVIL.

A serious shortage of landing craft delayed the invasion until 15
August 1944. Meanwhile preparations for such a landing served as a
threat and held a large number of German forces on the southern coast.
Craft, used first for the Normandy landings, were then rushed to the
Mediterranean for use in mounting ANVIL.

During June and July three divisions which formed the bulk of the U. S.
VI Corps were withdrawn from the battle in Italy and sent to port areas
for training and for participation in Operation ANVIL. At the
same time all the French troops with U. S. Fifth Army were withdrawn
to prepare for the invasion. The Allied strategic air forces began the
process of neutralizing vital enemy communications and installations in
southern France. As D Day approached, a large naval force was amassed
in the Mediterranean, and the ground forces, American and French
troops, were embarked from Italy, North Africa, and Corsica.

An airborne task force of American and British units, with the
mission of preventing the enemy from reinforcing the coastal defense,
successfully jumped astride the Argens River behind the German
lines before H Hour. Landings took place on 15 August 1944 in the
Cannes-Toulon sector against scattered and disorganized resistance
from the enemy. The assault forces, assisted by members of the French
Resistance forces, pressed their attack rapidly, defeated the enemy
along the coast line, and pushed inland. The troops were met with
enthusiasm by the French population.

Toulon and Marseille were captured by units of the French forces. By
the end of August the combined American and French forces had broken
German resistance in southern France, destroyed and put to flight
the enemy, and advanced to Lyons. On 11 September 1944 they made
junction with the Normandy forces west of Dijon, thereby sealing all of
southwestern France.

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SMOKE RISING FROM WATERFRONT INSTALLATIONS as Liberators bomb
   Genoa, Italy, prior to the invasion of southern France. This
   was part of a plan to keep the enemy guessing as to where the
   assault would come. At the time of the Normandy landings most
   of the Allied troops intended for the simultaneous invasion of
   southern France were fighting in Italy.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   DOCKS AND U-BOAT PENS during an air attack at Toulon, a major
   French naval base. Allied air attacks destroyed U-boats awaiting
   repairs in their pens and crippled production facilities. By the
   end of July 1944 the Mediterranean Sea was almost cleared of
   German naval power.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   BOMBING OF RHÔNE RIVER BRIDGES at Tarascon by Allied planes.
   Pre-D-Day bombardment wrecked all but one bridge across the
   Rhône, which helped to hamper large-scale movement of enemy
   troops. The Allied forces were to advance through the Rhône
   River Valley which passes between two mountain masses, the
   Massif Central and the Alps, and forms a great natural corridor
   connecting the Mediterranean coast with the Paris basin.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   B-24 0VER THE GOLFE DE LA NAPOULE. Smoke rising in distance,
   near village of Théoule-sur-Mer, is caused by bombing of
   railroad, highway, and bridges. At right is Cannes. The air
   offensive in support of the invasion actually began as early as
   28 April 1944 when heavy bombers attacked Toulon. Between that
   time and August, the Mediterranean Allied air force dropped
   more than 12,500 tons of bombs on southern France. Beginning
   on 10 August the offensive was continued by attacking coastal
   batteries and radar stations, harassing coastal defense troops,
   and isolating the target area by destroying bridges across the
   Rhône.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   WATERPROOFED PRIEST undergoing test in preparation for the
   invasion. The invasion training center at Salerno, Italy,
   established a school of one week’s instruction in waterproofing
   vehicles for the coming assault. The 105-mm. howitzer motor
   carriage M7 was the principal artillery weapon of the U. S.
   armored division.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   VEHICLES ASSEMBLED AT THE PORT OF NAPLES for the invasion of
   southern France. The troop list of those landing during the
   first four days included over 155,000 personnel and 20,000
   vehicles of all types, including personnel and cargo carriers as
   well as armored vehicles.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   LOADED LST’S IN NAPLES HARBOR in August 1944 before the
   invasion. By this time the Germans had been pushed north of
   Florence, their air force had been greatly reduced, and their
   airfields in the Po Valley were under constant air attacks by
   medium and heavy bombers.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   MEN ON A BEACH NEAR NAPLES waiting for water transportation to
   take them to near-by landing craft and transports in the Bay of
   Naples. This was the final loading before the invasion. Although
   the Germans were aware of the concentration of troops and
   shipping and knew that the invasion was in preparation, no enemy
   bombings interfered with the loading operations. The Allied air
   forces had rendered most of their airfields within range of
   Naples inoperative for all practical purposes.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   MEN RECEIVING CARTRIDGES OF CARBON DIOXIDE for their life
   preservers, prior to boarding ships for the invasion. Rations
   for the first days were also issued, each man receiving one K
   ration, one D ration, one small bottle of Halazone tablets to
   purify water, one bottle of salt tablets, and two packages of
   cigarettes.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   FULLY EQUIPPED INFANTRY SOLDIER, armed with both a carbine and
   a rocket launcher, boarding a transport. (2.36-inch rocket
   launcher M1A1, known as the bazooka.)]

  [Illustration: EN ROUTE TO SOUTHERN FRANCE

   LST’S APPROACHING THE COAST OF FRANCE. Ships carrying men and
   equipment for the invasion sailed from ports in Africa, Italy,
   and Corsica, the most important loading port being Naples. In
   all, 853 vessels from the Allied navies formed the task force
   with an additional 1,267 small landing craft, deck-loaded.
   Several hours prior to the main assault amphibious landings were
   made on both flanks of the invasion area and airborne landings
   were made in the rear in order to isolate the beachhead from the
   enemy. French commandos landed at Cap Nègre and French marines
   landed near Cannes.]

  [Illustration: EN ROUTE TO SOUTHERN FRANCE

   ON BOARD AN AMERICAN CRUISER men pass ammunition to gunners
   firing on the beaches of southern France. Naval ships commenced
   long-range bombardment of prearranged targets at 0530 on D Day.
   Until 0800 this fire was almost continuous, lifting only when
   Allied bombers were over the targets. In all, naval guns fired
   over 15,900 projectiles into the beach area prior to the assault
   landings.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   DROPPING SUPPLIES TO PARATROOPERS on D Day, 15 August 1944. An
   Anglo-American airborne task force landed at various hours on D
   Day beginning at 0430 near le Muy and le Luc to establish road
   blocks, to prevent enemy movement toward the beaches, and to
   help reduce the defenses in the Frejus area. No air opposition
   was encountered and the paratroopers landed and came in contact
   with the enemy immediately, but resistance was light, primarily
   small arms fire. Preparations were made by the paratroopers for
   the landing of the glider-borne elements.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   DUST RISING FROM FIELDS AS GLIDERS LAND. The tow planes and
   gliders took off from airfields in the Rome area. No gliders
   were lost from enemy action, but many were wrecked in landing,
   causing some casualties. The first glider serial landed about
   0930 on 15 August 1944, and by late afternoon the whole force
   had landed. By nightfall four small villages had been occupied
   and 103 prisoners taken. A protective screen was established
   over the road net connecting the invasion coast with the
   interior.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   WOUNDED AND INJURED AIRBORNE TROOPS in an aid station at la
   Motte. The enemy opposition to the Anglo-American air drops
   and glider landings was relatively slight but this method of
   warfare, in itself dangerous, resulted in unavoidable accidents
   such as broken arms and legs and, in some cases, more serious
   injuries.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   ROCKET SHIP CONVERTED FROM AN LCT. Ahead of the first wave of
   assault troops in landing craft were rocket ships mounting tiers
   of rocket launchers. As these drew within range of the beach
   defenses they discharged their rockets. The first troops landed
   immediately afterward. Rocket ships were equipped with launchers
   for up to 1,000 rockets.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   SOLDIERS DESCENDING A LADDER into waiting assault craft.
   Climbing down along the high vertical side of a transport into
   a heaving and swaying assault craft while loaded down with
   ammunition, equipment, and rations was in itself a difficult
   task. The ladder shown here, constructed of chains separated by
   wooden pieces, was a great improvement over the old rope nets.
   The latter tended to bunch and stretch, making the descent
   extremely difficult and slow.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   INFANTRY MAN AND MEDICS in the LCVP nearing a beach. Advancing
   at full speed, the assault craft approached the beaches in the
   immediate wake of the rocket ships. Other landing craft can
   be seen on the beach. At right is an LST. Overhead are three
   barrage balloons.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   PART OF THE BEACH ON BAIE DE CAVALAIRE. On the left of the
   invasion coast in the U. S. sector, one division was to assault
   the beach area from Cap Cavalaire to the Cap de Saint-Tropez,
   including the town of Saint-Tropez. One battalion landing on the
   beach shown above advanced along the coastal road and cleared
   the town of Cavalaire-sur-Mer (portion of town is at left in
   photo), and by 1330 on D Day reached a road block, in the
   vicinity of Cap Negre, held by the French.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   BEACH ON THE ANSE DE PAMPELONE. All beach defenses were reduced
   in forty minutes after landings were made. The engineers started
   clearing the beaches of mines and laying beach pontons since the
   gradient was too shallow for ships to come up to the beach. One
   battalion attacked inland and seized the high ground north of
   the town of Rainatuelle (upper left). Two battalions moved north
   and northeast and seized the hills (upper right). Saint-Tropez
   is just behind these hills.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   THE CAP SARDINEAU BEACHES. Another of the three assault
   divisions landed here in the center of the corps invasion area
   at H Hour (0800) on D Day. The three small beaches (shown above)
   lay along a curving bay between Cap Sardineau and Pointe de
   l’Arpillon. The divisional area extended inland 15 to 20 miles
   to le Luc and le Muy where the airborne troops had previously
   landed. After clearing the beaches, the division’s mission was
   to contact the paratroopers to the north and the divisions on
   each flank.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   POINTE D’ANTHÉOR BEACH. On the extreme right of the invasion
   coast, this beach at an inlet near Pointe d’Anthéor was small
   and not well suited for a major landing. The landings took place
   on the beaches on both sides of the inlet which ends where
   the highway runs beside the railroad bridge. Here the Germans
   directed their fire upon the assault boats and made several
   direct hits, causing casualties. The assault troops placed a
   road block across the coastal highway and occupied the ground
   northwest of Rade-d’Agay.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   CAP DRAMMONT BEACH. The third division of the three in the U.
   S. assault area had the mission of securing the right of the
   invasion beaches. The divisional area extended from Pointe de
   Saint-Aygulf along the coast line to Théoulesur Mer on the Golfe
   de la Napoule. The first assault was over this beach west of Cap
   Drammont and was considered large enough only for the initial
   operations. The beach consisted of narrow strips of rocky shale
   between the water and steep embankments.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   DUPLEX-DRIVE TANK. Amphibian tanks were launched from LCT’s
   about 2,000 yards offshore to support infantry on the
   Saint-Tropez peninsula assault. By means of the duplex drive
   a regular medium tank was converted into an amphibian. When
   the canvas screen was raised and held in place by mechanical
   means the tank floated. The DD tank was vulnerable to mines and
   underwater obstacles. Offshore at right an amphibian 2½-ton
   truck is bringing a 105-mm. howitzer to the beach.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   INFANTRYMEN LANDING ON BEACH FROM AN LCI. In the center of the
   U. S. assault area troops landed under almost ideal amphibious
   conditions, four battalions abreast with little hindrance by
   mines and underwater obstacles and with light enemy resistance.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   A SMOKE SCREEN is laid to cover landing operations on the left
   flank of the American assault area. While engineers, using a
   mine detector (SCR 625), clear the beach of enemy mines, a DUKW
   with a 105-mm. howitzer approaches the shore.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   EXPLODING MINE. On D Day morning no fire on ships or craft from
   coast defense guns was reported, and on the beaches resistance
   consisted mostly of small arms and mortar fire. Underwater
   obstacles and land and marine mines were insufficient to delay
   the landings materially. The first waves of assault troops
   located and removed many of these obstacles. Note wire matting
   in lower left used to form a roadbed over loose sand.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   ENEMY TRENCHES ON BEACH and two American casualties. A
   waterproofed 2½-ton 6 x 6 truck offshore. Shortly after U. S.
   troops landed the enemy came out of shelters and opened fire
   with small arms and mortars. However, amphibian tanks, tank
   destroyers, and howitzers which had landed from DUKW’s were
   in position to meet this fire, and the infantry continued to
   advance inland against scattered and light opposition. The first
   enemy prisoners seemed dazed and well shaken by the preliminary
   naval and aerial bombardment.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   AID MEN ADMINISTER PLASMA TO A FRENCH WOMAN wounded during the
   invasion, using the rear of a DD tank for shelter. Men and women
   of the French Forces of the Interior assisted the advancing
   troops and made the countryside untenable for the isolated
   enemy detachments. By midnight, the corps reported that 2,041
   prisoners had been taken.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   LITTER BEARERS EVACUATING WOUNDED MAN. A medical battalion
   attached to the beach group set up collecting, clearing, and aid
   stations. The wounded were evacuated from the beach by Army and
   Navy medical personnel to hospital ships by LCVP’s. The casualty
   rates were low and the inland advance of troops rapid.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   ENEMY PILLBOX. On the morning of 16 August 1944 troops moved
   through Saint-Raphaël clearing most of the resistance. There
   was considerable improvisation on the part of the enemy, such
   as the mounting of tank turrets on concrete to form pillboxes.
   (Schmeiser machine gun and 20-mm. cannon mounted in pillbox.)]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   THE FIRST FRENCH PARTISANS (French Forces of the Interior) to
   meet the invading U. S. troops at the beach in the Saint-Tropez
   area. The partisans had been given a list of priority targets
   to be attacked on and after D Day. They were to intensify
   their activities in the rear of the enemy forces, with special
   emphasis on the destruction of bridges, cutting and blocking
   highways and railroads, and seizing or controlling telephone and
   telegraph centers.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   FRENCH TROOPS TAKE OVER A GERMAN GUN IN TOULON. At 2000
   on D plus 1 a French army, consisting of seven divisions,
   began landing on the beaches in the Saint-Tropez area, with
   the initial mission of capturing the port cities of Toulon
   and Marseille. The divisions assigned the taking of Toulon
   began the encirclement of the city on 20 August. Because of
   formidable enemy defenses, the combined efforts of the French
   army, the tactical air command, and the Allied naval task
   force were required before complete occupation of the city was
   accomplished. The German garrison surrendered to the French army
   on 28 August 1944. (German gun, 7.5-cm. Pak. 40.)]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   THE FRENCH BATTLESHIP STRASBOURG. This ship was scuttled and
   then damaged by Allied bombing on D plus 3, 18 August 1944,
   in Toulon harbor. The enemy made maximum use of artillery for
   coastal defense purposes. Batteries included railway guns, heavy
   coast artillery, German field pieces, old French and Italian
   equipment, and even naval guns transferred from French warships
   scuttled in Toulon harbor.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   DAMAGED DOCKS AT MARSEILLE, the second largest city in
   France, the most important port on the Mediterranean, and one
   of the three cities in southern France with facilities for
   handling 10,000-ton Liberty ships. (The others are Toulon and
   Nice.) Marseille capitulated to the French army on 28 August
   1944, particular emphasis being placed on preserving port
   installations which the Germans had hoped to render useless by
   large-scale demolitions.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   INFANTRY AND TANKS ADVANCE ALONG A COASTAL HIGHWAY. Failure
   of the defending forces to hold the invaders in the immediate
   coastal area was due to several facts: the enemy had disposed
   his divisions too far west; additional troops were committed
   in a piecemeal fashion; coastal units in general were weak,
   and lacked air support, armor, and heavy artillery. It is
   also estimated that about half the enemy troops were Russian,
   Czech, Turkish, Polish, and other non-Germanic people who were
   not inclined to put up a determined stand. The German corps
   headquarters, near Draguignan, became isolated from its command.
   The French Forces of the Interior constantly harassed the
   defending troops from the rear.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   INFANTRYMEN PATROL NORTH OF MONTELIMAR (top). An American tank
   passes wrecked German equipment north of Montelimar (bottom).
   American troops advanced on Montelimar from the south and
   northeast in an attempt to cut off and destroy the German army
   in that area. After eight days of hard fighting the town was
   taken, but a large portion of the enemy troops had succeeded in
   escaping north from the triangle formed by the Rhone, Drome, and
   Roubion Rivers, along Highway 86 west of the Rhone River and
   Highway 7 east of the river.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   GERMAN EQUIPMENT BURNING IN THE MONTELIMAR AREA as U. S.
   artillery shells enemy convoys attempting to withdraw to the
   north (top). Wreckage of enemy vehicles after being hit by
   artillery fire (bottom). By the end of August the Germans had
   succeeded in withdrawing the greater part of their personnel
   north of the Drome River, but left behind were destroyed
   vehicles, guns, and heavy equipment, which reflected the eight
   days of heavy fighting. American destruction of enemy equipment
   included between 2,000 and 3,000 vehicles, over 80 artillery
   pieces, and 5 large-caliber railway guns.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   A LITTLE FRENCH GIRL giving a soldier a bottle of wine as a
   gesture of welcome as U. S. troops march through the streets of
   a liberated French town.]

  [Illustration: FRANCE

   SOLDIERS OF THE SOUTHERN INVADING ARMY meeting soldiers from
   the northern invading army. At 1500, 11 September, elements
   of a French armored division of the southern forces made
   junction with a French armored division near Sombernon, 150
   miles southeast of Paris. The two invasion forces thus joined
   to form a continuous Allied front from the North Sea to the
   Mediterranean.]




                                 ITALY

                       (5 June 1944–2 May 1945)




                               SECTION V

                                 Italy

                       (5 June 1944–2 May 1945)

The Allies did not halt after taking Rome, but their northward progress
was soon slowed by skillful delaying tactics of the retreating enemy
and by the fact that all the French and some of the American divisions
were being withdrawn from the U. S. Fifth Army for the operation in
southern France. The Germans speeded construction of the Gothic Line
in the north Apennines, and early in August 1944 the Allies paused for
reorganization on a line running approximately from ten miles north
of Ancona on the east through Pisa to the west coast. The Fifth Army
held the territory south of the Arno River from the sea to a few miles
east of Florence; the British Eighth Army was north of Ancona on the
Adriatic.

During August preparations were made by the Allied armies in northern
Italy to penetrate the heavily fortified Gothic Line. This defensive
system of the enemy extended in general from southeast of La Spezia
through the mountains to Rimini. After regrouping and building up
supplies, the Allied armies started their offensive on 26 August. They
succeeded in breaching the Gothic Line in the center and along the
coast, but fierce enemy resistance, bad weather, and a shortage of
ammunition and replacements halted the offensive south of the Po River
plain by the late fall of 1944. The winter of 1944–45 was spent in the
mountains overlooking the Po Valley.

The spring drive by the Allied armies started on 9 April 1945. Bologna
fell on 20 April, and armor and infantry overran the plain and divided
the German forces. On 2 May 1945 the enemy in Italy surrendered
unconditionally.

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SOLDIER LOADING WING GUNS OF A FIGHTER with .50-caliber
   ammunition. In Italy these tough and maneuverable fighters
   were used for a variety of purposes, particularly after other
   fighter planes with a higher speed and longer range were
   available for escorting and protecting bombers. The P-47’s
   became fighter-bombers, and were also equipped to use rockets.
   (4.5-inch 3-tube AC rocket launcher M15 of a P-47.)]

  [Illustration: CORSICA

   FRENCH COMMANDOS AND SENEGALESE TROOPS on an LCI in a Corsican
   harbor prior to the attack on the island of Elba. The troops
   were taken to Elba on 17 June 1944 in U. S. landing craft and in
   two days the island had been secured.]

  [Illustration: CORSICA

   GOUMIERS BOARDING AN LST in Corsica for the attack on Elba.
   The attack, though not carried out by Fifth Army troops, was
   co-ordinated by Allied Force Headquarters with the advance on
   the Italian mainland and was launched when the forces driving
   up the mainland were nearly opposite the island. The attacking
   force consisted of French, goumiers, and Senegalese.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   BRAZILIAN SOLDIERS ARRIVING IN NAPLES, July 1944, to serve
   with the Fifth Army during the 1944–45 winter campaign in the
   northern Apennines.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   GASOLINE DISTRIBUTION POINT. Oil tankers brought gasoline into
   major ports. From there it was transported to storage tanks at
   distribution points by pipeline, trucks, or tankers where it was
   transferred to five-gallon cans for pickup.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   A TIGER TANK, such as was encountered in Tunisia and Sicily, but
   with a non-magnetic plastic coating. It is believed that most of
   the tanks thus coated were originally destined for the Russian
   front where the Germans were greatly troubled by delayed-action
   magnetic mines which were stuck onto the armor of their tanks by
   Russian infantry.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   GERMAN ARMOR. Medium tank is the Mark IV (top). Of the four tank
   types with which the Germans started the war, only this survived
   in service until the end. Originally it had a short-barreled
   75-mm. gun which changed its role from a close-support vehicle
   to a fighting tank. Assault gun (bottom). The Germans used
   this in great numbers, and it was often called a tank, but was
   actually an assault gun and tank destroyer on the chassis of a
   Mark III tank. (Top: Pz. Kpfw. IV tank with 7.5-cm. Kw. K. 40
   (L/43) gun; bottom: Stu. G. III with 7.5-cm. Stu. K. 40 gun.)]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   GERMAN AMPHIBIAN JEEP, a version of the light Army car,
   Volkswagen. Both versions were inferior in every respect to the
   U. S. jeep except in the comfort of the seating accommodations.
   (Schwimmwagen, le.P.K w.K.2s.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   ENGINEERS SETTING OFF ENEMY MINES in a street in Leghorn on
   19 July 1944, the day the city fell. The soldier at left is
   guarding engineers against snipers. The Germans had destroyed
   all the port facilities, mined the buildings in the harbor
   area, and made the latter unusable by blocking the entrance
   with sunken ships. The drive from Rome to the Arno River was
   a pursuit action in which the Germans, by skillful delaying
   tactics, slowed the Allied advance so that completion of
   the Gothic Line defenses in the northern Apennines could be
   expedited. The mouth of the Arno River was reached by 23 July
   1944.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   TROOPS IN PISA. The southern outskirts of this town on the Arno
   River were entered on 23 July 1944. The enemy had destroyed all
   bridges across the river and when the infantry entered the town
   they were met by heavy fire from across the river. The southern
   half of the city was found heavily mined and booby-trapped.
   During the approach to the Arno River plans were being completed
   for introduction of antiaircraft units into the lines as
   infantry since enemy air activity had decreased to the extent
   that many AA units could be more profitably used as infantry.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   FIRING HOWITZERS across the Arno River in August. The men of
   this unit were part of an American all-Negro regimental combat
   team, the first to appear in Italy. They entered the line south
   of the Arno on 23 August. A few weeks later an entire Negro
   infantry division was at the front. (105-mm. howitzer.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   MEMBERS OF AN ARMORED FIELD ARTILLERY UNIT firing a 105-mm.
   howitzer during training south of the Arno River. The howitzer
   is mounted on a Priest. The Fifth Army reached the Arno at
   Pontedera on 18 July and the first week in August found the
   forces grouped along the southern bank on a thirty-five-mile
   front reaching from the sea on the west to Florence. The month
   of August was used for resupplying, resting, and training the
   units. (105-mm. howitzer; M7 gun motor carriage.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   NEGRO TROOPS CROSSING THE ARNO near Pontedera on 1 September,
   during the drive toward the Gothic Line. The attack on this line
   was started by the Eighth Army along the east coast on the night
   of 25–26 August. On 1 September the line had been breached in
   that sector but by the 6th the advance had been stopped a few
   miles below Rimini on the Adriatic coast. This advance by the
   British caused the German High Command to shift three divisions
   opposing the Americans to the British sector. The forces
   directly opposite the Arno drew back into the Gothic Line, a
   distance of about twenty miles.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SHERMAN TANK FORDING THE ARNO in the Cascina area on 1
   September. Little opposition was met until the Gothic Line
   was reached. The Germans had started to withdraw into this
   line during the last days of August. Before the withdrawal,
   it was estimated that the area between the Arno River and the
   Gothic Line contained about 350 enemy tanks, half of which were
   Panthers and Tigers. (Sherman tank M 4A 1.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   TOP OF IL GIOGO PASS IN THE GOTHIC LINE, looking toward the
   north. The Fifth Army broke through this pass in the Gothic Line
   defenses outflanking the heavier prepared fortifications at Futa
   Pass on Highway 65. The scarcity of roads through the mountains
   made it possible for the Germans to concentrate their defensive
   works at a few key points such as the Futa and Il Giogo Passes.
   Highway 6524 branches off Highway 65 thirteen miles north of
   Florence, winds through Il Giogo Pass, and ends at Highway 9 in
   Imola (Po Valley).]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   INFANTRY ADVANCING OVER THE HILLS in the area of Il Giogo Pass
   on 18 September, the day the pass was taken. The fight for the
   area started on the morning of 12 September. The mountains on
   each side of Il Giogo Pass are too steep to require antitank
   defenses other than road blocks, but other defenses such as
   underground fortresses were numerous and well prepared. Barbed
   wire and antipersonnel mine fields guarded approaches. Many of
   the hills were covered with pine woods which made it difficult
   to locate enemy defenses by the use of aerial photographs. Some
   information was obtained from partisans who had worked on the
   Gothic Line.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   PACK MULE TRAIN approaching the Gothic Line in the area of Il
   Giogo Pass. For the difficult task of supplying their troops
   through the mountains the Allied forces had 9 Italian Army mule
   pack companies, each containing 260 mules. (2½-ton U. S. truck
   overturned.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   HIGHWAY 65 AT FUTA PASS. This pass, at an altitude of 2,962
   feet, is one of the lowest through the northern Apennines.
   Highway 65, the most direct route to Bologna and the Po Valley,
   became the main supply route and a principal axis of advance in
   the Fifth Army area, although the breach in the Gothic Line was
   not made here. Futa Pass fell on 22 September.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   INFANTRY PACK TEAMS bringing supplies to units fighting in the
   Gothic Line near Futa Pass. Mule pack teams were available but
   some of the paths were too steep even for pack animals.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   ANTITANK DITCH AT FUTA PASS. This ditch, about three miles long,
   crossed the road south of the pass. The ditch was covered with
   a network of infantry positions and bunkers for antitank guns.
   The area in front of the ditch was mined. Two of the bunkers in
   this area were topped by Panther tank turrets with long-barreled
   75-mm. tank guns.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   A PANTHER TURRET CASEMATE in the Gothic Line near Futa Pass. The
   turret could not be penetrated by the guns of any of our tanks,
   but was vulnerable to artillery fire.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   REPAIRING PONTON TREADWAY BRIDGE over the Arno at Pontedera.
   The supply situation of Fifth Army troops at the Gothic Line
   was made difficult by fall rains which raised the Arno River to
   flood level and washed out most of the bridges between Florence
   and Pontedera.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   MACHINE GUNNERS FIRING AT GERMANS in the Monticelli area near Il
   Giogo Pass. Note flash hider attached to front of machine gun.
   The Americans occupied Firenzuola on 21 September. (.30-caliber
   Browning machine gun M1917A1, a development of the M1917 which
   proved its worth in World War I.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   AMERICAN ENGINEERS CONSTRUCTING A BYPASS in the Firenzuola
   area during the pursuit of the Germans. The combat engineers,
   prepared to bulldoze a bypass or to install temporary bridges,
   followed closely behind the leading elements of the infantry and
   armor. (Jeep; crawler type diesel tractor with angledozer.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   BAILEY BRIDGE in the Firenzuola area. This is the same site as
   the scene of the bulldozer constructing a bypass, the picture
   being taken two days later. The Bailey bridge was particularly
   suitable for operations in the mountains of Italy where sudden
   rains would swell the rivers and wash out ponton bridges.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   AMERICAN ARTILLERYMEN firing captured German 150-mm. gun near
   Lucca. Note small amount of smoke. German ammunition was charged
   with smokeless, flash-less powder which in both night and day
   fighting helped the enemy tremendously in concealing his fire
   positions. All U. S. guns, from the rifle to the large howitzer,
   left telltale puffs of smoke during daytime or showed relatively
   large and brilliant muzzle flashes at night.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   A GROUP OF ARMORED VEHICLES at a salvage yard of a heavy
   maintenance company in Italy. (1, 2, and 3, light tanks M5; 4,
   medium tank M4; 5, gun motor carriage M10; 6, medium tank M4. A
   tractor and tank recovery trailer are partially visible, upper
   right.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SOLDIERS IN THE APENNINES receiving an issue of woolen
   underwear, September 1944. Some of the peaks in the northern
   Apennines rise to well over 5,000 feet and the weather is
   unpleasantly cold in winter. Fall rains, often turning to sleet,
   start in September and the higher peaks are usually snow-covered
   by late October. Highway 65, the main axis of advance, runs
   mostly on top of the mountain ridges. Here the cold is
   particularly severe. There is nothing to break the winter winds
   and part of the road is so high that it is often cloud-covered.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   LOADING MULES WITH AMMUNITION for 155-mm. howitzers in the
   Castel del Rio area on Highway 6524, between Firenzuola and the
   town of Imola in the Po Valley. After breaching the Gothic Line
   at Il Giogo Pass an attempt to reach the Po Valley at Imola
   was made along the route above. Because of the exposed salient
   and stiff enemy resistance, the axis of attack was changed to
   Highway 65. On 1 October, the day the picture was made, bloody
   fighting for possession of the controlling height of Monte
   Battaglia, east of Castel del Rio, was in progress.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   A TANK BATTALION PREPARING TO ATTACK along Highway 65 toward
   the village of Monghidoro. The attack started on the morning of
   1 October and by evening of the 2d the village was securely in
   Allied hands. The Sherman tanks pictured here are all armed with
   76-mm. guns.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   TRUCK TOWING HOWITZER along Highway 65 during the beginning of
   the 1 October drive. Smoke is from M2 smoke generators. (6-ton
   truck; 155-mm. howitzer.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   TERRAIN OF THE WINTER STALEMATE in the northern Apennines,
   looking toward the southeast. The high mountain peak in distance
   is Monte Vigese. This mountain was taken by the South Africans
   of the Fifth Army on 6 October 1944 after a three-day fight.
   The territory in the foreground was in enemy hands until the
   beginning of March 1945 when it was taken by American and
   Brazilian troops in a limited offensive to obtain better jumping
   off places for the main attack toward the Po Valley.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   NEGRO TROOPS ADVANCING ON HIGHWAY 12 along the Torrente
   Lima. Jeeps with trailers were used and in danger areas the
   windshields were folded forward and covered with canvas to
   prevent light reflection. The sort of road demolition shown was
   common during the fighting in the northern Apennines. Valley
   roads were subject to natural landslides, and large-scale
   destruction was easy to accomplish.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   ROAD IN THE APENNINES during the October drive. After the first
   week, weather was a contributing factor to the slow pace of the
   offensive. Rainy and foggy days worked almost entirely to the
   benefit of the enemy. Artillery observation planes were grounded
   and few of the planned air missions could be flown. Finally,
   with each mile that the troops advanced over the rain-soaked
   trails and dirt roads, the problem of keeping supplies moving
   forward increased. Engineers kept working night and day pouring
   gravel and crushed rock on the roads. They managed to keep
   highways open for all types of vehicles and side roads passable
   for the four-wheel-drive jeep and the powerful 2½-ton truck.
   (Jeep; 2½-ton truck.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   THE WEASEL, officially cargo carrier M29, came into its own
   during the campaign in the northern Apennines. It operated
   satisfactorily off the roads under mud or snow conditions and
   helped to provide lateral communications. Most roads in the
   Fifth Army sector of the Apennines ran more or less parallel
   in a northerly direction; the area of the winter fighting
   was almost completely devoid of east-west roads. The Weasel,
   originally designed for use over snow and ice, had low ground
   pressure and proved suitable for operation across fields or poor
   trails. It had a crew of two and a pay load of approximately
   1,000 pounds.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   JEEPS ALONG THE SUPPLY ROADS in the northern Apennines. This
   vehicle was capable of operating over unimproved roads and
   trails and could be shifted into four-wheel drive for steep
   grades and muddy or sandy terrain. It could climb a 60 percent
   grade and attain a speed of 65 miles per hour over level
   highways. The jeep could also ford a stream 18 inches deep while
   fully loaded and a deeper stream when especially equipped with
   exhaust and air-intake extensions. The jeep, truck, and pack
   mule were always important in the advances made.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   APPROACH TO LIVERGNANO ON HIGHWAY 65, looking from the south
   along the highway. The village is the small cluster of ruined
   houses below cliff on left. The Germans occupied the houses
   as well as the tops and sides of the two hills. The latter
   were honeycombed with caves which the enemy had enlarged and
   strengthened. The fighting lasted from 9 to 14 October. On the
   14th the enemy was still in possession of most of the village
   and the two hills but retreated because he had been outflanked
   from the west.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   THE RUINS OF LIVERGNANO. The main highway through the village
   runs to Florence (upper right), and to Bologna (center left).
   Livergnano, taken in a five-day fight, became known as “Liver
   and Onions.” During the final attack of this fall offensive
   toward Bologna, which started on 16 October and bogged down in
   mud toward the end of the month, the enemy concentrated his
   artillery fire on this village in an attempt to demolish the
   houses along the road and thus block the highway, the supply
   road for the area. The enemy managed to knock down some of the
   houses but did not succeed in stopping traffic. Bulldozers
   filled the craters in the road and pushed aside the rubble.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   MONTE BELLA FORMICHE, taken after a three-day fight starting on
   10 October. This mountain, located east of Highway 65, is 2,092
   feet high, the highest of the terrain features in the chain
   of enemy defenses stretching east and west across Highway 65
   through the village of Livergnano.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   LIGHTNING FIGHTERS. This twin-engined fighter was the first
   successful long-range bomber escort developed by the United
   States. Most Allied fighter planes in Italy gradually came to
   be used as fighter-bombers as the need for protecting bomber
   formations from hostile aircraft diminished. In August 1943
   the Germans had only about six hundred combat aircraft, mostly
   fighters, in Italy. About a third of these were of limited use.
   Demands for fighters on the Russian front and the need for
   protecting production centers in Germany from Allied bombings
   caused some withdrawal of enemy fighters based in Italy. (P-38.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   THUNDERBOLT FIGHTER-BOMBERS over the northern Apennines. Note
   belly tank to increase range, and bombs under wings. Beginning
   in October 1944, extensive use of the 110-gallon fuel tank
   incendiary bombs containing a jelly-like mixture called napalm
   was made for the first time on the Italian front. The bombs
   proved particularly effective against enemy bivouacs and troop
   installations in wooded areas where the highly inflammable
   fuel, scattered over a wide area, could start numerous fires.
   Fighter-bombers co-operated closely with the ground forces.
   (P-47.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   MUSTANG FIGHTERS. This plane, the P-51, was originally made
   for the British and was used by the Royal Air Force as early
   as November 1941. The Army Air Forces started to use it in
   July 1942. The A-36 version of the P-51 was a fighter-bomber,
   and except for diving brakes and differences in armament, the
   two ships were alike. With the addition of wing tanks the P-51
   became a long-range fighter used to escort bombers.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   LIBERATOR BOMBERS from Italian bases bombing the Munich area
   in southern Germany. Smoke-making generators in operation to
   blanket vital areas. Note black bursts of antiaircraft fare.
   Heavy bombers from Foggia could easily strike at the passes
   in the Alps and attack enemy installations and factories in
   southern Germany and Austria as these targets were closer to
   Allied bases in Italy than they were to those in England.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   LIBERATOR BEING SHOT DOWN by flak over the Po Valley in northern
   Italy. As the war in the Mediterranean progressed the size
   and effectiveness of the enemy air forces decreased, while
   the antiaircraft defenses increased and became more and more
   concentrated around the remaining enemy targets. As various
   enemy targets were damaged beyond usefulness, antiaircraft
   units defending them were sent to strengthen defenses around
   industrial plants still in production.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   FLAK-DAMAGED FUSELAGE OF A FLYING FORTRESS. This plane received
   a direct antiaircraft shell hit while on a mission over Hungary
   but managed to fly back to Italy where it collapsed on landing.
   In spite of damage to the bomber none of the crew was hurt.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   COREGLIA ANTELMINELLI in the mountains west of the Serchio
   River. This region was being held by an American Negro infantry
   division. On the morning of 26 December 1944 a mixed enemy force
   of Germans and Italians started an attack in this vicinity and
   pushed the division back several miles. An Indian brigade was
   rushed up to halt the advance of the enemy. Since it was feared
   that the enemy might break through and threaten the Allied
   supply base at Leghorn, reinforcements were rushed to the area
   to protect the vital base. On the night of the 27th the Indians
   made contact with the enemy who started to retreat. By 31
   December almost all the lost territory had been regained and the
   line was again stabilized.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   A SOUTH AFRICAN ARMORED UNIT in the Reno River valley firing at
   German positions across the river, November 1944. Combat action
   in the Fifth Army sector during November and the first half of
   December was largely confined to patrol activities and artillery
   duels. The South African armored division had been transferred
   from the Eighth Army to the Fifth Army in late August 1944.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   TANK MAINTENANCE POST in abandoned Italian farmhouse. During the
   long winter stalemate time was utilized to make major repairs
   on armored vehicles. Minor repairs, such as thrown tracks, were
   made at forward maintenance posts such as the above which was
   located only about 400 yards behind the front lines. (1, medium
   tank M4A1; 2 and 3, 76-mm. gun motor carriage M18; 4, medium
   tank M4A1; 5, medium tank M4, with 76-mm. gun (note different
   gun mount); 6, tank recovery vehicle M31.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   MOBILE FIELD ARTILLERY MAINTENANCE UNIT near the front. These
   units were used a great deal during the winter. Artillery off
   the main roads could be moved only with difficulty after the
   rains started and repairs that were normally made in shops
   behind the front had to be done in the field. The first two
   vehicles shown above are tank recovery vehicles M32, and are
   modifications of the M4 designed primarily for recovery of tanks
   from battlefields. The fixed turret replaces the customary tank
   turret. Third vehicle is weapons carrier, ¾-ton 4 x 4 truck.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   BRITISH ANTIAIRCRAFT GUNNERS protecting U. S. engineers
   constructing a Bailey bridge on Highway 64 crossing the Reno
   River. This was in preparation for an attack on Monte Belvedere
   west of the highway. The 3,600-foot mountain was taken on 24
   November 1944 by elements of a U. S. Negro infantry regiment
   and members of British and U. S. antiaircraft units serving as
   infantry. The enemy counterattacked for five days and the Allies
   had to give up the position. During the fall and winter of 1944
   most U. S. and British antiaircraft units were being trained
   for infantry duty as rapidly as training and the issuance of
   appropriate weapons would permit. (The gun shown is the 40-mm.
   automatic antiaircraft type, originally made in Sweden and used
   by the Allies and the enemy. The gun could be towed at 50 miles
   per hour and transferred from traveling to firing position in 25
   seconds.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   PATROL ACTIVITY, December 1944. During the relatively quiet
   period of the first half of December, both sides sent patrols
   to probe the front lines and bring back prisoners. When the
   cold weather set in, winter clothing was issued, including the
   reversible, hooded coat known as the parka shown above. One
   side was the conventional olive drab, the other side white for
   camouflage in snow. New type shoepacs, combination wool sweaters
   and cotton field jackets, and sleeping bags left the troops
   better prepared for inclement weather than they were during the
   previous winter, but there would be no possibility of keeping
   dry at the front during an attack when the rain lasted for days
   on end.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   INSPECTING FRONT-LINE TROOPS FOR TRENCH FOOT. The second winter
   of fighting in Italy found the Allies better equipped to handle
   the trench foot problem which in November 1943 accounted for
   20 percent of the casualties at its peak incidence. Units were
   gradually being equipped with shoepacs, an important item
   in the prevention of trench foot. The shoepac consisted of
   a moccasin-shaped foot of rubber, and a laced, waterproofed
   leather top, which extended well up the calf of the leg. It was
   worn with felt inner soles or woolen ski socks.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   PIPELINE PUMPING STATION AT LEGHORN. Construction of this line
   started soon after the capture of the port. By 23 November 1944
   the pipeline had reached Highway 65 just a few miles behind the
   front, eliminating the trucking of gasoline over this already
   overcrowded road.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   DOUBLE PIPELINE which carried gasoline from the port of
   Leghorn to the army front in the Apennines. “Pipeline walking”
   to inspect for leakage was done by jeep whenever possible.
   Because of hilly terrain several booster pumping stations were
   necessary. (4-inch double pipeline.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   FILLING CANS WITH GASOLINE at the Raticosa Pass on Highway 65,
   terminal of the pipeline from Leghorn. These cans were picked
   up by truck and distributed to individual units. As the front
   moved, the pipeline was extended to keep up with the troops.
   (Five-gallon gasoline cans.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   MEMBERS OF A SOUTH AFRICAN UNIT firing a Long Tom. This unit was
   stationed along Highway 64. During the winter of 1944–45 the
   U. S. Fifth Army roster included Brazilians, South Africans,
   British, and Italians as well as U. S. white and Negro troops,
   while the British Eighth Army along the east side of the
   peninsula contained New Zealanders, Canadians, Poles, Indians,
   Italians, and Jewish troops from Palestine in addition to United
   Kingdom units.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   TRUCK WITH ROTARY SNOWPLOW clearing Highway 64 near Collina.
   The first snow fell in the mountains on 11 November. Snow,
   rain, sleet, and ice-coated curves on the roads leading to the
   front made the supply situation a difficult one. The constant
   work by snowplows and the hand labor of thousands of soldiers
   and Italian civilians kept the main roads open throughout the
   winter.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   AMBULANCE EVACUATING WOUNDED from the front lines near Highway
   65, between Loiano and Livergnano. The flow of wounded from
   the battlefield was carefully controlled. Evacuation hospitals
   were kept as free of patients as possible, thereby affording
   immediate facilities for the most urgent cases. It was found
   desirable in daylight hours to direct the main stream of
   casualties to hospitals located farther in the rear, while
   during the night most of the patients were brought to the
   forward hospital units in order to reduce the delay caused
   by blackout ambulance driving over icy roads. (¾-ton 4 x 4
   ambulance.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   TRUCK ON HIGHWAY 65 near Loiano receives near miss, January
   1945. This highway had been the main axis of advance during the
   October offensive in the U. S. sector and was the only good road
   in this area. During the winter stalemate and build-up for the
   spring offensive, a period of about five months, this road was
   under observed enemy artillery fire directed from Monte Adone, a
   commanding position between Highways 64 and 65.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   MEN RESTING IN THEIR QUARTERS in an old barn after a day in
   foxholes at the front. During cold weather, winterization of
   living quarters was carried out on a large scale, although men
   in the extreme forward positions usually had to improvise with a
   raincoat and a blanket in a foxhole.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   TROOPS IN A DEFENSE POSITION near Highway 65. This area was
   thinly populated and houses were few and far between. Those
   still standing drew fire, and troops in support or reserve
   positions would dig in on the reverse slope of hills and make
   their foxholes as comfortable as possible. Roofs and walls were
   constructed from empty shell cases, food containers, and the
   like and reinforced with sand bags. Keeping warm was a problem:
   the area is almost bare of trees; most of the heating of the
   foxholes was done by gasoline stoves, sometimes issued, often
   improvised.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SOLDIERS AT THE ROMAN FORUM during a rest and recreation period
   away from the front. The rest-center idea, which had proved
   highly successful during the winter fighting of 1943–44, was
   carried out on a much larger scale in Rome and in the cities
   of the Arno Valley in the fall and winter of 1944–45. Hundreds
   of thousands of troops were rotated through the rest and leave
   centers set up under military supervision to provide a place
   of relaxation where men could forget the rigors and dangers
   of the front line, sleep in beds, take baths, visit places of
   historic interest, and generally indulge in the pleasures and
   entertainment of civilization, if only for a brief period.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   FIRING ROCKET PROJECTILES from a tank mount. Experiments were
   carried out in January 1945 in the Arno Valley. Of the several
   different mounts tested, one had 54 tubes placed on top of a
   medium tank turret, another had 18 tubes mounted on the same
   carriage as a towed 37-mm. gun. Because of the great variation
   in deflection and range the weapon was not practical against
   a point target and the smoke and flame given off when fired
   tended to disclose its position. It proved effective for a heavy
   concentration over a wide area for a short period. The short
   range of the rocket, slightly less than 4,000 yards, was a
   limiting factor. (Each cluster of 3 magnesium tubes is a rocket
   launcher, aircraft M15, mounted on M17 (T40) modified rocket
   launcher frame. 4.5-inch rockets were used.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   AN INFANTRY COMPANY moves into the line under a smoke screen to
   relieve another company. During the five-month static period
   starting at the beginning of November 1944, rotation of units
   for rest and recreation was a regular procedure.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   JEEP PASSING A TRAFFIC CONTROL POINT in the northern Apennines.
   Rigid supervision of transportation over the crowded mountain
   roads was necessary if proper supply was to be made, tactical
   movements carried out, and vehicles conserved. To accomplish
   this, traffic control points were set up. Road movement
   approval was required for all convoys of ten or more vehicles.
   The traffic posts also served as a check on unnecessary or
   unauthorized use of military vehicles. Military police operated
   “chain points” where vehicles going into the mountains were
   stopped and beyond which the use of chains was mandatory.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   RESTACKING HOWITZER AMMUNITION. German air activity by this time
   was so slight that dumps a few miles behind the front were not
   camouflaged. (Ammunition for 155-mm. howitzer.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SIGNAL CORPS MEN checking wires outside the telephone exchange
   in a cave at Livergnano.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   MAN CARRYING HOWITZER AMMUNITION to a battery high in the hills.
   These men were members of a division especially trained for
   mountain fighting. On 18 February 1945 this division, together
   with the Brazilian division under Fifth Army command, started an
   assault on German positions in the Monte Belvedere area west of
   Highway 64. The Monte Belvedere area dominated about ten miles
   of this highway. After severe fighting that lasted until 5 March
   1945, the mountain mass was in Allied hands. (Ammunition for
   75-mm. howitzer.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   REINFORCEMENTS MOVE UP toward the fighting in the Monte
   Belvedere area. The men are equipped with M1 rifles and
   carbines, special shoes, and rucksack type pack.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   EVACUATING WOUNDED FROM MONTE BELVEDERE. As vehicles could not
   negotiate the mountain trails, stretcher bearers had to carry
   the wounded. Casualties from mines were numerous as the enemy
   had been in position on this dominating hill for several months
   and had mined and booby-trapped every likely avenue of approach
   as well as many of the farmhouses on the mountain slopes.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   RED CROSS GIRL writing letter for wounded soldier. In addition
   to performing duties such as this, the American Red Cross
   operated clubs and motion picture theaters for the soldiers. The
   clubs served coffee, doughnuts, and ice cream, and sponsored
   musical programs, vaudeville shows, and dances. All was free of
   charge. The estimated attendance at the Red Cross clubs in the
   Arno Valley during February 1945 was 896,000.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SOLDIERS DURING A LULL IN THE FIGHTING on Monte Grande which was
   taken on 20 October 1944 after a tough two-day fight. The city
   of Bologna was only about nine miles away and could be plainly
   seen from the summit. Because of its commanding position,
   the Germans made several local attacks during the winter to
   recapture the mountain but were repulsed each time.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   INFANTRY COLUMN passing a supply-transfer point in the Monte
   Grande area east of Highway 65, February 1945. Supplies were
   transferred from trucks to the tracked Weasels at this point.
   Higher in the mountains the mule pack train took over from the
   tracked vehicles.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   Members of an American Engineer Company working on a trail in
   the vicinity of Monte Grande. An Indian pack mule convoy is
   returning after taking supplies to the front line.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   BRIDGING EQUIPMENT. “Ark” with end sections of treadway in
   raised position (top). Medium tank M4, crossing canal on Ark
   (bottom). With a total span of 54 feet, the treadway would
   span a canal about 45 feet wide. After November 1944, when
   the offensive in the mountains bogged down, most of the armor
   with the Fifth Army was gradually withdrawn to the Arno Valley
   where training for the spring offensive took place. New methods
   and techniques were developed and tried. The Ark above was
   constructed by an ordnance company for use in crossing canals in
   the Po Valley.]

  [Illustration]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SIGNAL CORPS LINEMEN stringing communication wire in preparation
   for the coming spring offensive. During the winter stalemate
   many new lines were strung and hookups were made to the Italian
   state underground cable system. Circuits linked all units of the
   Fifth Army and an eight-mile line containing eight open-wire
   circuits was started in February 1945 from Filigare on Highway
   65 near Monghidoro to the village of Lagaro Highway 6620.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SOLDIERS IN LIVERGNANO watch the shelling of the village by the
   enemy, March 1945. Livergnano was taken on 14 October 1944 after
   a five-day fight along Highway 65 in an attempt to break through
   into the Po Valley. The advance was halted a few miles beyond
   this village. (Garand M1, .30-caliber rifle.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   INFANTRY ACTION during the attack toward Monte della Spe. The
   soldier in the foreground is covering the house with his rifle
   while the other members of his squad approach it. A few minutes
   after this picture was made the house and the knoll behind it
   were taken, netting 57 German prisoners. Monte della Spe, west
   of Highway 64, was taken on 5 March 1945.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   MONTE DELLA SPE AREA, looking toward the east. Highway 64
   parallels the Reno River (in distance). The village of Vergato
   is shown on the west bank of the river. Monte della Spe is the
   rounded hill in foreground. It was taken on 5 March 1945 during
   an attack to secure a suitable jumping off place for the spring
   offensive. Vergato, which was an enemy strong point, and most
   of the surrounding territory remained in enemy hands after the
   capture of Monte della Spe. The main offensive, the attack
   toward the Po Valley, started from here on 14 April 1945 and by
   the 20th Allied troops had broken into the valley.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   EASTER SERVICE 1 APRIL 1945.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   RETURNING PATROL. As the spring offensive became imminent,
   patrol activities increased.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SOLDIERS MOVING UP into the line a few days before the start of
   the attack toward the Po Valley.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SELF-PROPELLED GUNS of a South African armored unit firing
   a mission a few days before the attack to break into the Po
   Valley. These vehicles are American Sherman tanks modified by
   the British as self-propelled guns. Prior to the jump-off, the
   units along the Fifth Army front had been engaged in a series of
   deceptive artillery fires.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   NEGRO SOLDIERS FIRING HOWITZERS in support of the Nisei who were
   making an attack northward along the mountain ridges toward the
   towns of Massa and Carrara. The attack started on 5 April 1945.
   The Nisei were American soldiers of Japanese ancestry. (75-mm.
   howitzers.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   BODIES OF AMERICAN INFANTRYMEN killed during the opening of the
   spring offensive. Note stretcher bearer in background looking
   for casualties. The infantry was making an attack across the
   mountains toward Massa and Carrara on the west coast.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   TANK DESTROYER speeding along Highway 1 through the town of
   Querceta during the spring offensive. The main effort of the
   army was along Highways 64 and 65.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   BRINGING IN THE FIRST PRISONERS taken at the start of the main
   drive to reach the Po Valley. On 14 April at 0945 the offensive
   was started by U. S. mountain troops in the hills west of
   Vergato on Highway 64.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   PIANORO ON HIGHWAY 65, looking south toward the hills occupied
   by the Allies for almost six months. Pianoro, at lower left, was
   one of the keys of the German defense systems barring entrance
   to Bologna and the Po Valley. The fight for Pianoro started on
   16 April. Entering what was left of the town on the evening of
   the 18th, the infantry found it booby-trapped.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   SOUTH AFRICAN ARMOR waiting along Highway 64 for a U. S.
   infantry division to pass on its way to the Po Valley, 20
   April. On this date the troops in the U. S. zone broke through
   the mountains into the Po Valley just west of Bologna. The two
   highways in this area, 64 and 65, became congested with troops
   and vehicles in pursuit of the fleeing enemy. (Sherman medium
   tanks.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   U. S. ARMY MOTION-PICTURE CAMERAMAN photographing the first
   tank of the South African armored force to cross the Reno River
   southwest of Bologna, 20 April. The practice of infantrymen
   riding on tanks while advancing was included in training for
   armored units in the United States early in 1944. (Sherman M4A3
   tank with British 17-pounder; camera: PH-330 (Sig C), Eyemo,
   Bell, and Howell, 35-mm., three lenses mounted in turret.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   WEARY U. S. TROOPS IN BOLOGNA on the morning of 21 April. The
   city, entered from the south by U. S. forces and from the east
   by Poles of the Eighth Army, fell that day. Pressing forward the
   troops pursued the fleeing Germans.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   ITALIAN PARTISANS WATCHING FOR SNIPERS. During the winter of
   1944–45 Allied officers, arms, and ammunition were dropped
   behind the enemy lines to assist partisans in the Po Valley.
   Although partisans, armed with equipment obtained from Italian
   arsenals or seized from the Germans, first appeared north of
   Rome, it was not until the Allies reached Bologna that they met
   the efficiently organized groups from the Po Valley. As troops
   entered the city, where the Germans were numerous, the partisans
   struck, seizing government agencies and public utilities.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   THE PANARO RIVER BRIDGES near Bomporto. After the breakout into
   the Po Valley, the next objective was the Po River. The area
   south of this river is broken by small streams and numerous
   canals. Most of the bridges had been destroyed by the Allied air
   forces during the winter. Later air reconnaissance found these
   undamaged bridges at Bomporto. A task force, sent to secure
   them, passed through the fleeing and disorganized enemy. So
   sudden was its appearance that, by 1600 on 21 April, it captured
   the bridges before the Germans could detonate previously laid
   demolition charges.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   TREADWAY BRIDGE ACROSS THE PO RIVER at San Benedetto. Opened on
   the afternoon of 25 April, it was the first bridge across the
   river. The infantry had started to cross in this area on the
   morning of the 23d in assault boats under heavy machine gun,
   mortar, and rifle fire as well as fire from enemy antiaircraft
   guns lowered to fire airbursts on a flat trajectory. Casualties
   were high, but by 1745 a bridgehead of 2,000 square yards had
   been established on the north bank of the Po. The bridge above
   is 915 feet long. (Floating treadway bridge M2, class 18.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   ACTION DURING THE PO RIVER CROSSING at Ostiglia, 24 April. A
   57-mm. antitank gun firing in support of an infantry assault
   across the railroad bridge to the north bank of the river. (The
   British 6-pounder was the forerunner of the 57-mm. gun. It was
   adapted for U. S. use and also manufactured for other United
   Nations under the lend-lease agreement as the 57-mm. antitank
   gun.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   INFANTRY CROSSING PO RIVER UNDER FIRE, Ostiglia railroad bridge,
   24 April. The crossing in this zone was opposed by enemy machine
   guns and 20-mm automatic weapons. The patrol above worked its
   way to the other side and knocked out enemy guns and crews. The
   railroad bridge was partially demolished and unfit for vehicles.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   “ALLIGATORS” ABOUT TO CROSS PO RIVER near Ostiglia. Developed by
   the U. S. Navy, the first shipment of these amphibian tracked
   vehicles arrived in December 1944 and training was begun.
   Great secrecy surrounded them and they were kept thoroughly
   camouflaged before the dash to the Po. They were armored and
   each had socket mounts at four locations for either .30-or
   .50-caliber machine guns. A stern ramp could be lowered to take
   on a vehicle. Maximum capacity was 8,000 pounds and a crew of
   three. (LVT(4).)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   FERRYING EQUIPMENT ACROSS THE PO in support of the infantry
   assault, Ostiglia, 25 April. The large vehicle is a 76-mm.
   gun motor carriage M18, designed for tank destroyer use. It
   was a full track-laying type, using a torsion bar independent
   suspension, and was front-sprocket driven. The vehicle was
   lightly armored, had a low silhouette, and was highly mobile.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   PONTON BRIDGE under construction across the Po River near
   Ostiglia. This bridge was opened on 25 April. (M2 treadway
   bridge.)]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   INFANTRY ACTION AT VICENZA, in the foothills of the Alps. The
   advance of the Allies across the plain was too fast for the
   Germans to halt, reorganize, and make a determined stand behind
   either the Po or the other rivers in the Po plain. Speedy
   thrusts by infantry-armor columns split the enemy forces and
   severed communications. After the crossing of the Po, the action
   on both sides developed into a race to the Alps, the enemy
   hoping to escape into Germany, the Allies determined to prevent
   them. Many isolated pockets of resistance developed behind the
   advancing columns and special task forces were organized on 23
   April to deal with them.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   TANK DESTROYER on the shore of Lake Garda blocking one of the
   escape routes to Brenner Pass. Heavy fighting took place in the
   demolished tunnels on the road along the east shore of this
   lake, but on 30 April the area was under Allied control.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   GERMAN PRISONERS and their equipment captured on the Po plain.
   For the first time in the Italian campaign, the enemy was
   retreating over terrain suitable for swift pursuit. Since the
   Germans lacked vehicles and gasoline, they had to rely to a
   great extent on horse-drawn transportation. They retreated
   across an open valley having a fine network of roads for
   mechanized forces and were forced to cross wide rivers by
   ferries and ponton bridges under constant attack by Allied air
   forces. The retreat became a rout.]

  [Illustration: ITALY

   PRISONERS WERE CAPTURED by the tens of thousands in the Po
   Valley and marched to the rear, often unguarded, or guarded only
   by one or two men. On 2 May 1945, the Germans signed the terms
   of the unconditional surrender of their forces in Italy. One
   week later the war in Europe was concluded with complete victory
   for the Allies. The Italian campaign had been a bitter one,
   lasting 607 days (3 September 1943 to 2 May 1945). Casualties of
   the Fifth Army, including all nationalities serving with that
   army, totaled 188,546. United States losses were 19,475 killed,
   80,530 wounded, and 9,637 missing.]


  [Illustration]




                              Appendix A

                         List of Abbreviations


    AA             Antiaircraft
    AC             Air Corps
    AT             Antitank
    cm.            Centimeter
    DD             Duplex drive
    DDT            Dichloro-Dithenyl-Trichloroethane
    Flak           Fliegerabwehrkanone (antiaircraft artillery gun)
    JU.            Junkers (designation of airplane built by company
                   of that name)
    K.             Kanone (gun)
    Kw.            Kraftwagen (motor vehicle)
    Kw.K.          Kampfwagenkanone (tank gun)
    LCI            Landing craft, infantry
    LCI (L)        Landing craft, infantry (large)
    LCM            Landing craft, mechanized
    LCP            Landing craft, personnel
    LCP (R)        Landing craft, personnel (ramp)
    LCT            Landing craft, tank
    LCV            Landing craft, vehicle
    LCVP           Landing craft, vehicle-personnel
    le.P.Kw.K.2s   Leichter Personen Kraftwagen, K.2, Schwimmend
                   (light personnel vehicle, K.2, amphibian)
    LST            Landing ship, tank
    LVT            Landing vehicle, tracked
    mm.            Millimeter
    Pak.           Panzerabwehrkanone (antitank gun)
    Pz. Kpfw.      Panzerkampfwagen (tank)
    SCR            Signal Corps Radio
    S.F.H.         Schwere Feld Haubitze (medium field howitzer)
    Sig C          Signal Corps
    SOC            Scout Observation Curtis
    SP             Self-propelled
    Stu. G.        Sturmgeschuetz (self-propelled assault gun)
    Stu. H.        Sturmhaubitze (self-propelled assault howitzer)
    Stu. K.        Sturmkanone (self-propelled assault gun)
    TD             Tank destroyer
    TNT            Trinitrotoluene; trinitrotoluol (high explosive)
    WAC            Women’s Army Corps
    USAFIME        U. S. Army Forces in the Middle East
    USSR           Union of Soviet Socialist Republics




                              Appendix B

                            Acknowledgments


The photographs in this volume came from the Department of Defense. All
are from the U. S. Army files except the following:

   U. S. Navy: pp. 13, 14, 15, 19, 20b, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 30, 77,
   107, 116, 122b, 125b, 139, 190, 258, 316, 339, 354.

   U. S. Air Forces: pp. 10, 12, 18, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 64, 71,
   73, 80, 90, 91, 92, 94, 97a, 101, 109, 111, 157, 162, 164, 165,
   166, 167, 168, 173, 182, 185, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 224, 225,
   239, 240, 257, 285, 305, 306, 307, 308, 317, 318, 323, 324–25,
   326, 327, 328–29, 351, 390, 391, 392, 393, 394, 395.

   U. S. Coast Guard: pp. 117, 118, 126, 181, 183a, 315, 333, 334,
   336.




                                 Index


    Acquafondata, Italy, 216

    Acquedolci, Sicily, 140–41

    Air attacks. See also Bombardment, aerial.
      Allied, 12, 71, 94, 157, 164, 173, 239, 240, 282, 305, 306, 307,
        393
      German, 37, 118, 181, 185

    Airbases. See Airfields.

    Aircraft, Allied
      bombers, heavy, 12, 47, 91, 92, 93, 100, 109, 157, 193, 195, 210,
        393
      bombers, light, 46, 168, 240
      bombers, medium, 10, 44, 71, 225, 239
      cub planes, 22, 238
      damaged, 110, 182
      fighter-bomber, 209
      fighters, P-38, 45, 85, 390
      fighters, P-40, 224, 285
      fighters, P-47, 351, 391
      fighters, P-51, 392
      gliders, 82, 83, 162, 318
      naval, 14, 21, 22
      transport planes, 5, 73, 82, 100, 111, 162, 317

    Aircraft carriers, 14, 15, 22
      converted LST, 238

    Aircraft, German
      dive bomber, 42
      fighter planes, 43
      transports, 71

    Aircraft, Italian
      seaplanes, 165

    Airfields
      Bari, Italy, 192
      Cagliari, Sardinia, 165
      Capodichino, Italy, 191
      Comiso, Sicily, 162
      Foggia, Italy, 210
      Foggia area, Italy, 194
      Italy, 193
      Pomigliano, Italy, 191
      Port-Lyautey, North Africa, 19
      Qualeh Morgeh, Tehran, 100
      Youks-Les-Bains, Algeria, 39

    Airports. See Airfields.

    Algiers, Algeria, 36, 37, 88

    Ammunition
      Allied, 86, 351
      loading of, 379
      salvage of, 267

    Ammunition dumps
      on fire, 232
      Italy, 416
      Sicily, 161

    Ammunition ship on fire, 118

    Amphibian craft
      “Alligators,” 447

    Amphibian tanks, duplex-drive, 330, 335

    Amphibian trucks, DUKW, 123, 178, 180, 237, 242

    Amphibious landings. See Landing operations.

    Antiaircraft guns
      37-mm., 58
      90-mm., 253
      British, 400
      German, 371
      German, 88-mm., 62, 131
      Italian, 75-mm., 8
      Self-propelled, 244

    Antiaircraft tracer fire, 37

    Antiaircraft unit, mobile, 220

    Antitank ditch, 370

    Antitank grenade, 269

    Antitank guns
      37-mm., 57
      57-mm., 287, 445
      German, 357
      German, 50-mm., 63
      German, 75-mm., 63
      German, 88-mm., 62, 131
      German, self-propelled, 54

    Antisubmarine net, 164

    “Anzio Annie,” 257. See also Railway guns.

    Anzio, Italy, 235, 241

    Armored vehicles. See Vehicles.

    Army nurse, 190

    Army post office, Algeria, 78

    Arno River, Italy, 363, 364, 372

    Artillery
      fire, directing, 135
      German, 50, 62, 222, 299
      guns, 155-mm., 58, 134, 250, 406
      howitzers, 75-mm., 128, 132, 434
      howitzers, 105-mm., 11, 52, 133, 207, 361, 362
      howitzer, 155-mm., 60
      howitzers, 240-mm., 221, 284
      Italian, gun, 90-mm., 131
      mortars. See Mortars.
      observation planes, 22, 238
      pack howitzers, 75-mm., 83, 266
      positions, camouflaged, 248

    Assault guns, German, 54, 278, 357


    Bailey bridges, 286, 375
      construction of, 400

    “Bald Hill,” Tunisia, 68

    Barbershop, Anzio, Italy, 273

    Bari airbase, Italy, 192

    Barracks bag, 107

    Barrage balloons, 160, 243, 320, 322

    Bathing facilities, Italy, 264, 265

    Battleship, French, damaged, 23, 340

    Bay of Cavalaire, southern France, 323

    Bay of Pampelonne, southern France, 324–25

    Bazookas, 296, 314.
      See also Rocket launchers.

    Beaches. See Invasion beaches.

    Bivouac area, Corsica, 166

    Bizerte, Tunisia, 74–75

    Blood plasma. See Plasma.

    Bologna, Italy, 441

    Bomb damage
      Italy, 226, 282, 287
      railroad, 110
      repair shop, 167

    Bombardment, aerial, 94, 109, 117, 282, 306, 307
      See also Air attacks.

    Bombers
      heavy, B-17, 47, 91, 93, 109, 157, 193, 194, 210
      heavy, B-17, damaged, 395
      heavy, B-24, 12, 92, 100, 194, 305, 308, 393
      heavy, B-24, damaged, 394
      light, A-20, 46, 168, 240
      medium, B-25, 10, 71, 225
      medium, B-26, 44, 239

    Bombs, loading of, 224, 225

    Bomporto, Italy, 443

    “Bouncing Betty,” 66.
      See also Mines.

    Brazilian troops, 354

    Bridges
      construction of, 145, 187, 286, 375
      destroyed, 187, 286, 307, 374
      Highway 7, Italy, 199
      Panaro River, Italy, 443
      ponton, treadway, 372, 449
      railroad, damaged, 446
      treadway, 425, 444

    Bridging equipment, 425

    British troops, 208, 400

    Brolo beach, Sicily, 146

    Bulldozers, 183, 236, 374.
      See also Tractor, diesel.


    Cagliari field, Sardinia, 165

    Caiazzo, Italy, 198

    Cameraman, motion picture, 440

    Camino Hill mass, Italy, 200

    Camouflage
      aircraft, 44, 285
      antiaircraft gun, 244
      foxhole, 248
      howitzers, 207, 221, 266, 284
      “Long Tom,” 250
      radar, 219
      tank destroyer, 255
      vehicle, 263

    Campoleone, Italy, 280

    Campoleone station, Italy, 246

    Cannes area, France, 308

    Cape Drammont beach, southern France, 328–29

    Cape Sardineau beach, southern France, 326

    Capodichino air base, Italy, 191

    Carbines. See Small arms.

    Cargo gliders. See Gliders.

    Cargo ships. See Transport planes.

    Caronia Valley, Sicily, 143

    Casablanca, French Morocco, 18, 28

    Caserta, Italy, 196

    Cassino, Italy, 282

    Casualties, 277, 319, 334, 435
      evacuation of, 126, 127, 179, 212, 258, 336, 408, 420
      treatment of, 259

    Cavalaire beach, southern France, 323

    Cerami, Sicily, 129

    Cervaro, Italy, 226

    Cheylus area, Tunisia, 56

    Christmas dinner, Italy, 213

    Cisterna di Littoria, Italy, 240, 247, 279

    Civilians
      French, 345
      Italian, 245
      Sicilian, 139, 149

    Clothing, winter, 378, 401

    Colli al Volturno, Italy, 204

    Comiso air base, Sicily, 162

    Communications
      repair of, 138
      telephone lines, 138, 417, 426
      telephone switchboard, 251

    Construction
      bridges, 145, 187, 286, 375
      detour, 374
      road, 147

    Convoy
      en route to North Africa, 13, 17
      en route to southern France, 315
      motor, 97, 374

    Coreglia Antelminelli, Italy, 396

    Crane, truck-mounted, 158

    Crew
      heavy bomber, 92
      machine gun, 373
      mortar, 229
      tank, 40

    Cruiser, 21, 116, 124, 316
      Italian, 164

    Cub planes, 22, 238


    Delousing of native labor, 99

    Destroyer escort, 14

    Detour, 188, 375

    Distribution points, gasoline, 355, 405

    Djebel Azag, Tunisia, 68

    Djebel el Ajred, Tunisia, 68

    Djebel Ksaira, Tunisia, 48

    Djebel Tahent, Tunisia, 67

    Docks
      Bandar Shahpur, Iran, 96
      Khorramshahr, Iran, 95

    “Duck.” See Amphibian trucks.

    Dugout, German, 334

    DUKW. See Amphibian trucks.

    Dump
      ammunition, 161, 232, 416
      gasoline, 355, 405


    Easter service, Italy, 430

    Enclosure, prisoner of war, 76

    Equipment, German
      damaged, 343, 344
      on fire, 344

    Evacuation of wounded, 126, 127, 212, 336, 420

    Evacuation hospital, Italy, 421


    Faïd Pass, Tunisia, 48

    Fedala harbor, French Morocco, 20

    Ferry, Siebel, German, 70

    Field bakery, 156

    Field hospital. See Hospitals.

    Fighter-bomber, A-36, 209

    Fighter planes
      P-38, 45, 85, 390
      P-40, 224, 285
      P-47, 351, 391
      P-51, 392

    First aid, 148, 149, 335

    Flooded areas, Italy, 194, 195, 214

    Foggia air base, Italy, 210

    Formia, Italy, 199

    Foxholes, 61, 150, 260, 411, 428
      camouflaged, 248

    Freighters, 242
      Allied, on fire, 88, 185

    French colonial troops, goumier, 151, 152, 290, 352, 353

    French commandos, Corsica, 352

    French train, captured, 34

    French troops, 86, 339

    Furiano Stream, Sicily, 142

    Futa Pass, Italy, 368


    Gaeta, Italy, 199

    Garet Hadid, Tunisia, 48

    Garigliano River, Italy, 199

    Gasoline cans, 405

    Gela, Sicily, 112–13

    Generators, smoke, 262, 263

    Genoa, Italy, 305

    Gibraltar, 30

    Gliders, 82, 83, 162, 318

    “Green Hill,” Tunisia, 68

    Grenade, antitank, 269

    “Grizzly Bear,” 299. See also Artillery, German.

    Gulf of Gaeta, Italy, 288–89

    Gulf of Salerno, Italy, 174

    Gun motor carriages, 57, 59, 129, 298, 362, 398

    Gunnery practice, aboard transport, 16

    Guns. See also Artillery, Antiaircraft guns, and Assault guns.
      37-mm., 230
      antitank, 287

    German, 339

    German, 88-mm., 41, 131

    German, 150-mm., 376
      naval, 3-inch, 16
      railway, German, 257
      railway, Italian, 231


    Half-tracks, 53, 58, 59, 129, 132

    Harbors
      Algiers, Algeria, 36
      Anzio, Italy, 241
      Bizerte, Tunisia, 108
      Casablanca, French Morocco, 18
      Fedala, French Morocco, 20
      Genoa, Italy, 305
      Maddalena, Sardinia, 164
      Marseille, France, 341
      Naples, Italy, 173
      Oran, Algeria, 31
      Palermo, Sicily, 137, 159
      Safi, French Morocco, 20

    Hatab River, Tunisia, 51

    Headquarters, underground, 251

    Heliopolis Ordnance Repair Depot, Egypt, 6, 7

    Highway bridge, demolished, 143

    Highways. See also Roads.
      Albano, Italy, 246
      6, Italy, 201, 283, 294
      7, Italy, 199, 247, 286
      12, Italy, 383
      64, Italy, 399, 407, 439
      65, Italy, 368, 387, 388, 408, 438
      85, Italy, 202
      113, Sicily, 140–41, 142, 147
      120, Sicily, 130
      6524, Italy, 365

    “Hill 609,” Tunisia, 67

    Hospital, evacuation, Italy, 421

    Hospital ship, 258

    Hospital train, 212

    Hospitals
      field, 259
      field, damaged, 261

    Howitzer motor carriages, 11, 128, 132, 133, 309

    Howitzers. See Artillery.


    Il Giogo Pass, Italy, 365

    Immunization of native, Egypt, 9

    Infantry
      column, 69, 79, 189, 342, 366, 414, 419, 423, 432
      patrol, 343

    Infantrymen, 61, 154, 188, 198, 215, 268, 296, 297, 300, 313, 314,
        322, 331, 345, 346, 360, 369, 376, 402, 418, 427, 428, 431,
        441, 447, 450
      debarking, 35, 321
      embarking, 107

    Invasion beaches
      Algeria, North Africa, 31
      Anzio, Italy, 235, 236
      Brolo, Sicily, 146
      Cape Drammont, southern France, 328–29
      Cape Sardineau, southern France, 326
      Cavalaire, southern France, 323
      French Morocco, North Africa, 24, 25
      Gela, Sicily, 112–13, 120, 125
      Les Andalouses, Algeria, 32
      Licata, Sicily, 114
      Paestum, Italy, 176–77, 181
      Point Anthéor, southern France, 327
      Ramatuelle, southern France, 324–25
      Scoglitti, Sicily, 115

    Invasions, preparations for
      Anzio, 233
      Elba, 352, 353
      southern France, 311, 312, 313, 314

    Invasion fleet, for Sicily, 74–75


    Jefna area, Tunisia, 68


    Kasserine Pass area, Tunisia, 51, 53


    Ladder, chain, 321

    La Goulette, Tunisia, 72

    Lake Carda, Italy, 451

    Landing craft
      LCI, 108, 122, 190, 236, 237, 331
      LCI on fire, 236
      LCM, 26, 27, 33, 119, 122
      LCP, 26, 35
      LCT, 122, 258, 267
      LCV, 25, 26, 27, 125
      LCVP, 119, 120, 122, 125, 179, 322
      LST, 120, 121, 122, 124, 160, 182, 183, 184, 233, 238, 311, 315,
        353
      LVT, 447

    Landing operations
      Algeria, North Africa, 33, 35
      Anzio, Italy, 236, 237
      French Morocco, North Africa, 24, 25, 26, 27
      Salerno area, Italy, 179, 180, 183, 184
      Sicily, 119, 120, 122, 125
      southern France, 322, 331, 332, 333, 334

    Leghorn, Italy, 359

    Les Andalouses beach, Algeria, 31

    Liberty ships, 95

    Licata, Sicily, 114

    Lifebelts, rubber, 17

    Lima River, Italy, 383

    Linemen, Signal Corps, 426

    Liri Valley area, Italy, 199, 203

    Litter bearers, 179, 336, 420.
        See also Casualties.
      taking cover, 228

    Livergnano, Italy, 387, 417, 427

    Livergnano area, Italy, 388

    Living conditions, Italy, 195, 410, 422

    “Long Tom,” 58, 134, 250, 406.
      See also Artillery.


    Machine guns. See also Small arms.
      .30-caliber, 206, 373
      .50-caliber, 16, 58, 230, 244
      German, 337

    Maddalena, Sardinia, 164

    Maiori beach, Italy, 175

    Malaria control operations, 168, 274

    Maps
      Anzio area, Italy, 234
      Italy, 170
      Sicily, 104
      southern France area, 302
      Tunisia, xii

    Marseille, France, 341

    Medical aid men, 148, 149, 322, 335, 336, 402, 420, 435

    Medical aid station, southern France, 319

    Medical inspection, Italy, 402

    Mehdia, French Morocco, 19

    Mess, 40, 90, 213, 245

    Mess kits, sterilization of, 153

    Mess line, 39, 153

    Messina, Sicily, 157, 163

    Mignano, Italy, 201

    Mignano Gap area, Italy, 232

    Military police, 415

    Mines
      antipersonnel, German, 66
      antitank, 249
      detector, SCR, 625, 144, 292, 332
      sweeping, 65, 292, 333, 359

    Minturno, Italy, 199

    Monna Casale, Italy, 202, 203

    Monte Cairo, Italy, 201, 203

    Monte Camino, Italy, 200, 201, 283

    Monte Cannavinelle, Italy, 201

    Monte Corno, Italy, 201

    Monte della Spe area, Italy, 429

    Monte delle Formiche, Italy, 389

    Monte Lungo, Italy, 200, 201

    Monte Pantano, Italy, 203

    Monte Petrella, Italy, 288–89

    Monte Porchia, Italy, 200

    Monte Ruazzo, Italy, 288–89

    Monte Sammucro, Italy, 201, 283

    Monte Soprano, Italy, 176–77

    Monte Trocchio, Italy, 200, 283

    Monte Vigese, Italy, 382

    Montecassino, Italy, 200, 203, 239, 281

    Mortars
      4.2-inch, 218
      60-mm., 217
      81-mm., 206, 229
      crew, 229

    Mt. Etna, Sicily, 130

    Mt. Vesuvius, eruption of, 285

    Mountains. See also Terrain.
      Colli Laziali, Italy, 247
      northern Apennines, Italy, 382, 391
      Tunisia, 48, 68

    Mud
      Italy, 384, 385, 386, 424
      Tunisia, 93

    Mussolini Canal, Italy, 248


    Naples, Italy, 173, 189, 354

    Native laborers, Tehran, Iran, 99

    Naval aircraft, 14, 21, 22

    Naval fire support, Sicily, 116, 124

    Negro troops, 361, 363, 383, 434

    Night firing, 433

    Nurse, Army, 259
      digging foxhole, 260


    Observation posts
      Italy, 211, 276
      Sicily, 135

    Obstacle, antitank, 370

    Oil tanker, refueling aircraft carrier, 15

    Oran, Algeria, 87

    Oran harbor, Algeria, 31

    Ordnance Repair Depot, Egypt, 7


    Pack mules, 154, 155, 379, 384, 424

    Pack trains, Italy, 205, 206, 290, 367

    Paestum beach, Italy, 176–77

    Palace, Caserta, Italy, 196

    Palermo, Sicily, 136, 137, 159

    Panaro River, Italy, 443

    Parachute troops, 80, 81, 111

    Partisans
      Free French, 338
      Italian, 442

    Patroling, 401, 431

    Pianoro, Italy, 438

    Pierced steel planks, 210, 225

    Pillboxes, German, 131, 337
      cast iron, 293
      portable, 293

    Pipelines, Italy, 403, 404

    Pisa, Italy, 360

    Plasma, 149

    Ploesti oil refineries, on fire, 12

    Po River, Italy, 444, 445, 447, 448, 449

    Point Anthéor, southern France, 327

    Pomigliano air base, Italy, 191

    Ponton causeways, portable, 236, 237

    Ponton treadway bridges, 449

    Ports. See also Harbors.
      Bandar Shahpur, Iran, 96
      Khorramshahr, Iran, 95
      Lyautey, North Africa, 19

    Pozzilli, Italy, 202

    Prato, Italy, 432

    “Priest,” 11, 133, 309, 362.
      See also Vehicles armored.

    Prisoners of war
      French, 33, 38
      German, 76, 254, 437, 452, 453
      Italian, 123

    Pumping station, pipeline, Italy, 403

    Pyramids, Egypt, 5


    Quarters
      aboard transport ship, 77
      Italy, 410

    Querceta, Italy, 436


    Radar
      SCR 268, 29
      SCR 547, 219
      SCR 584, 252

    Railroads
      Iran, 95, 96, 98
      Italy, 199
      North Africa, 34
      Sicily, 110

    Railroad bridges
      demolished, Sicily, 143
      Italy, 446

    Railroad station, Iran, 98

    Railroad yards
      on fire, 173
      Italy, 94
      Sicily, 137

    Railway guns
      German, 280-mm., 257
      Italian, 231

    Ramatuelle, southern France, 324–25

    Ramatuelle beach, southern France, 324–25

    Ramp, ponton, sectional, 121, 182, 184

    Rapido River area, Italy, 227

    Ration depot, Anzio, Italy, 270

    Recreation
      concert, 272
      sight-seeing, 412

    Red Cross worker, Italy, 421

    Refueling of aircraft carrier, 15

    Reno River, Italy, 429, 440

    Repair of aircraft, 91

    Repair depot, Italy, 223

    Repair shop, electrical, 167

    Rhone River, France, 307

    Rifles. See also Small arms.
      .30-caliber Garand M1, 427
      .30-caliber M1903A 4, 198
      Browning automatic, 296

    River crossings, Italy, 363, 440, 446, 448

    Rivers
      France, 307
      French Morocco, 19
      Italy, 197, 199, 202, 214, 363, 364, 372, 383, 429, 440, 444,
        445, 447, 448, 449
      Tunisia, 51

    Roads. See also Highways.
      Iran, 97
      Italy, 204, 228, 384, 386, 415, 423, 432, 439
      Sicily, 114, 128
      Tunisia, 48, 69

    Rocket gun, German, 150-mm., 64

    Rocket launchers, 314, 351, 413

    Rocket ship, converted LCT, 320

    Rome, Italy, 94, 295, 298, 299, 412
      outskirts of, 297

    Russian pilots, 101

    Russian troops, Iran, 100


    Safi harbor, French Morocco, 20

    Salerno, Italy, 187

    Salvage depot, Italy, 377

    Salvage of shell cases, 267

    San Fratello ridge, Sicily, 140–41, 142

    San Pietro Infine, Italy, 201, 283

    Santa Maria Infante, Italy, 287

    Scoglitti, Sicily, 115

    Scout observation plane, 21

    Seaplane base, Sardinia, 165

    Searchlight for radar, 29

    Sebou River, French Morocco, 19

    Semaphore flags, 26

    Shell, German, explosion of, 409

    Shell fire, German, 216

    Small arms, 198, 206, 268, 296, 419, 427

    Smoke pots, 227

    Smoke screens, 159, 211, 263, 332, 381

    Snowplow, 407

    Staging area, Italy, 310

    Submachine gun, .45-caliber, 268

    Submarine base, Toulon, France, 306

    Supply depot, 87

    Supply operations
      aerial drop, 209, 317
      Italy, 242, 369, 418, 423


    Tank destroyers, 57, 59, 255, 397, 436, 451
      damaged, 278
      German, 357

    Tank recovery vehicles, 278, 293, 399.
      See also Tanks.

    Tanks
      damaged, 7, 377
      German, heavy, 41, 256, 356
      German, medium, 50, 54, 357
      Italian, medium, 55
      light, 28, 56, 290, 291, 434
      maintenance of, 223
      medium, 40, 49, 53, 69, 85, 136, 184, 275, 291, 364, 380, 398,
        425, 439, 440
      medium with “Scorpion” attachment, 65
      medium, waterproofed, 84, 330, 335
      on fire, 295
      rubber, dummy, 275
      turret, German, 337

    Tarascon, France, 307

    Telephone lines. See Communications.

    Terracina beach, Italy, 292

    Terrain
      Camino Hill mass area, Italy, 200
      Campoleone area, Italy, 280
      Cassino area, Italy, 283
      Futa Pass area, Italy, 368
      Garigliano area, Italy, 199
      Gothic Line area, Italy, 365, 366, 367
      Gulf of Gaeta, Italy, 288–89
      Gulf of Salerno, Italy, 174, 175
      Middle East, 97
      Mignano Gap area, Italy, 201
      Monna Casale area, Italy, 203
      Monte Belvedere area, Italy, 419
      Monte della Spe area, Italy, 429
      Monte del le Formiche area, Italy, 389
      Montecassino area, Italy, 281
      North Africa, 48, 51, 67, 68, 69, 79
      northern Apennines, Italy, 382, 391
      Paestum area, Italy, 176–77
      Pianoro area, Italy, 438
      Salerno area, Italy, 186
      Serchio Valley area, Italy, 396
      Sicily, 130, 140–41, 142, 143, 146, 152
      southern France, 318, 323, 324–25, 328–29
      Volturno Valley area, Italy, 202

    Toulon, France, 306, 339

    Tractors, diesel, 236, 374
      with angledozer, 125

    Traffic control point, Italy, 415

    Trains
      freight, Iran, 98
      French, captured, 34
      hospital, 212

    Training
      Italy, 217, 309
      North Africa, 79, 80, 81, 84
      of British, 6
      of French, 86

    Transport planes
      C-47, 5, 82, 100, 111, 162, 317
      C-54, 73

    Transport ships, 16
      en route to French Morocco, 17

    Troina, Sicily, 130

    Tufo, Italy, 199

    Tunis, Tunisia, 72


    Unloading operations, 33, 85, 121, 158, 242
      Lend-lease, 85, 95


    Valmontone, Italy, 294

    Vehicles, 310, 384
      ambulances, 212, 408
      amphibian. See Amphibian trucks.
      armored, 230, 362, 433.
        See also Howitzer motor carriages and Gun motor carriages.
      armored, waterproofed, 309
      bogged down, 214
      bulldozer, 183. See also Tractors, diesel.
      cargo carriers, 385, 423
      caterpillar, 58
      German, 50, 358
      half-tracks. See Half-tracks.
      jeep, waterproofed, 27
      jeeps, 53, 213, 383, 386, 415
      snowplow, 407
      tank destroyers. See Tank destroyers,
      tank recovery, 278, 293, 399.
        See also Tanks,
      tanks. See Tanks,
      tractors. See Tractors, diesel.
      trucks, 97, 121, 184, 381, 386, 409
      truck, waterproofed, 334
      truck, wrecked, 367

    Velletri, Italy, 247

    Venafro, Italy, 201

    Vicenza, Italy, 450

    Volturno River, Italy, 197, 202, 214


    “Weasel,” 385, 423.
      See also Vehicles, cargo carriers.

    Women
      Army nurses, 190, 259, 260
      Red Cross worker, 421

    Wac’s, North Africa, 89

    Wounded. See Casualties.


    U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1988 0-194-423: QL 3


    PIN: 039020-000


FOOTNOTES:

[1] See George F. Howe, Operations in Northwest Africa, 1941–1943,
in the series U. S. ARMY IN WORLD WAR II; and T. H. Vail Motter, The
Persian Corridor and Aid to Russia, Washington, 1951, in the same
series.


Transcriber’s Note:

Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling errors have been corrected
silently.