The Super Summary of World History - Alan Dale Daniel [214]
The Americans refused to wait around worrying about postwar Europe. They wanted to engage the Nazis, defeat them as soon as possible, and then go home. In the event, the Americans folded at Casablanca because Roosevelt insisted the United States immediately get into the ground action and stay in it. Waiting around to build up forces in England for six months to a year, while doing little else, was political suicide. Thus, the United States and England invaded Sicily after the conquest of North Africa and then moved on to Italy. Originally, the invasion agreement only included Sicily with the decision on Italy coming later. However, the conquest of Sicily went faster than expected making the invasion of Italy automatic.
The invasion of Sicily went well considering how new everyone was at massive amphibious operations. The true problem with the capture of Sicily was the escape of the Axis divisions across the strait to Italy with their supplies and equipment. With the Allies having local air control and total control of the sea allowing the Axis escape was a paramount blunder. To this day it is unclear how the Allies allowed this to happen. It was crucial to trap and destroy the Axis armies on Sicily. Apparently, the capture of the German and Italian armies on Sicily was not foreseen or planned. The Germans who escaped from Sicily played key roles in holding up the Allied advance up the Italian boot.[291]
With Sicily seized, the Allies quickly invaded Italy at the bottom of the boot and at the beaches of Salerno just south of Naples on the west coast. (See Figure 62) Montgomery proceeded to land at the toe of Italy’s boot and at the east near the top of the heel, while the Americans went ashore at Salerno. At Salerno, Kesselring’s troops put up a stiff defense from the heights overlooking the beaches. Following up with effective counterattacks, Kesselring nearly drove the Americans into the sea. Luftwaffe attacks on the fleet damaged several ships while German tanks drove within shouting range of the beach; nevertheless, naval gunfire broke the Nazi offensives, and Allied air power soon captured the sky over the beaches. After securing the beaches, the Americans struggled to expand the pocket and requested Montgomery hurry his advance; however, Montgomery did no such thing. When Montgomery did arrive the Germans were already pulling back to new and very well prepared lines of defense south of Rome—the Gustov line.
Figure 63 Italy—Allied Assaults on Gustov Line and Anzio 1943-4
Advancing past Salerno, the Allies ran into exceptionally well-chosen and prepared German positions on the Gustov line south of Rome. Kesselring and his German engineers chose this mountainous area because of its ideal defensive terrain features. After numerous bloody attempts to breach the line had failed, the Allies mounted an amphibious assault behind the Gustov line at Anzio on the western side of Italy just north of the Gustov Line and south of Rome. (See Figure 63) Unfortunately, the invasion’s commander was under specific orders from General Clark to attain the beach and then dig in. Following these orders doomed the Allied invasion to bloody stagnation. If the troops had moved inland at once, behind the Gustov line, a forced German retreat was axiomatic. This is one of the best ways to wage war, force your enemy out of superb positions without an assault as Sherman consistently accomplished on his march to Atlanta (see the US Civil War). Kesselring responded to Allied sluggishness by swiftly placing his men on the invaluable high ground above the beaches; thus, preventing a breakout and subjecting the trapped