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​bigpigeon.us webpage WWII Germany  > The MTO > Naples to Cassino/Anzio > Battle of Anzio, © 2026 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 31 Dec 2025
​
The lengthy Battle of Anzio resulted from a poorly-implemented plan to bypass the Gustav Line via an amphibious landing south of Rome.
The Setting:
On the accompanying map, Rome is located on the upper left and Cassino, the key point in the German Gustav Line, on the lower right.

It was hoped that a successful landing in the Anzio area, on the lower left, might draw enough German forces from the Gustav Line to allow a breakthrough in the Cassino area.
Rome Area Roadmap - Anzio & Cassino
Rome Area Roadmap - Anzio (bottom left) & Cassino (bottom right)
  • On 22 January 1944, Allied forces began landing on the beaches near Anzio and Nettuno south of Rome.
  • ​The landing by US and British forces, comprising the US Fifth Army's VI Corps, achieved surprise and initially the Anzio operation appeared promising.
  • ​However, the German army soon contained the Anzio Beachhead. Throughout its lifetime, the entire Anzio Beachhead was subject to German artillery fire.
Scalable Map
 In mid-February, German counterattacks regained a portion of the beachhead.
​
In late May, a breakout north from the Anzio Beachhead followed the Operation Diadem extended breakout of the Gustav Line from the Cassino area to the Mediterranean

The German Army withdrew from Rome on 4 June 1944.
Anzio Beachhead - Mid-February
Anzio Beachhead - mid-February
Not long after Rome fell, the three American divisions shown on the above map (3rd Infantry, 36th Infantry - Texas, and 45th Infantry - Oklahoma) were withdrawn from combat to prepare for their next mission. On August 15, they formed the nucleus of the American Seventh Army, which along with the French forces landed on the southern coast of France and advanced northward into northeastern France.
  █  Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - WWII Germany > The MTO > Naples to Cassino/Anzio > Battle of Anzio  █ 02-02 - WWII Germany > The MTO > Naples to Cassino/Anzio > Battle of Anzio: (five dead, updated 27 Oct 2025)
  • Anzio deaths starting on 23 May 1944 with the Anzio Breakout are in Cassino/Anzio to Rome subpages.
​† Hansen, Matthias Peter, SN 39-839-172, US Army, Humboldt Co., CA
  • 30th Inf. Regt., 3rd Inf. Div., VI Corps, Fifth Army; KIA 31 Jan 1944 Anzio Beachhead, Lazio, Italy.
  • WWII Germany > The MTO > Naples to Cassino/Anzio > Battle of Anzio
† Heckman, John Phillip, SN 37-118-341, US Army, Audubon Co.
  • Battery C, 437 Anti-Aircraft Bn. (Automatic Weapons), VI Corps, Fifth Army; DOW 15 May 1944 Anzio Beachhead, Lazio, Italy.
  • WWII Germany > The MTO > Naples to Cassino/Anzio > Battle of Anzio
† Landon, Arnold Dale, SN 20-706-405, US Army, Cass Co.
  • Co. K, 168th Inf. Regt., transferred to Antitank Co., 133rd Inf. Regt., both 34th Inf. Div. VI Corps, Fifth Army; KIA 22 May 1944 Anzio Beachhead, Lazio, Italy.
  • WWII Germany > The MTO > Naples to Cassino/Anzio > Battle of Anzio
† Morrow, Marjorie Gertrude, SN N-733475, US Army, Audubon Co.
  • US Army Nursing Corps, 95th Evacuation Hospital, Anzio; KIA 7 Feb 1944 Anzio Beachhead, Lazio, Italy, shrapnel ruptured femoral artery; German plane jettisoned ordnance over the Anzio Beachhead hospital complex, 28 died.
  • WWII Germany > The MTO > Naples to Cassino/Anzio > Battle of Anzio
† Mustard, James Eldon, SN 37-426-156, US Army, Jasper Co.
  • Co. 6, 2nd Regt., First Special Service Force (a joint US-Canadian special operations brigade known as the Devil's Brigade), VI Corps, Fifth Army; DOW 18 Feb 1944 Anzio Beachhead, Lazio, Italy.
  • WWII Germany > The MTO > Naples to Cassino/Anzio > Battle of Anzio

                                                    ██   Allied Order of Battle - Battle of Anzio   ██ 
​⏶ ​US VI Corps - assaulted Anzio 22 Jan 1944; breakout began 23 May 1944; junction with US II Corps 25 May 1944
  • British 1st Infantry Division (Penney), arrived Italy 7 December 1943, assaulted Anzio 22 January 1944 
  • US 3rd Infantry Division - assaulted Anzio 22 January 1944; to US II Corps 29 May 1944
  • US 45th Infantry Division - assaulted Anzio 22 January 1944
  • US 1st Armored Division - from US II Corps January 1944; landed Anzio beginning 24 January 1944
  • British 56th Infantry Division - from British X Corps and to Anzio February 1944; to Egypt for refitting 28 March 1944
  • British 5th Infantry Division - from British X Corps and to Anzio replacing British 56th Division mid-March 1944; to Palestine for refitting July 1944; to British XXX Corps in NW Europe March 1945
  • US 34th Infantry Division - from US II Corps 22 February 1944; began landing Anzio 21 March 1944
  • US 36th Infantry Division - from US II Fifth Army; to US VI Corps and began landing Anzio 22 May 1944

█  Sources for Big Pigeon's WWII Germany > The MTO > Naples to Cassino/Anzio > Battle of Anzio webpage █