Naples to Rome: Volturno Line Bernhardt Line Anzio Gustav Line/Cassino#1 Cassino#2&3 Cassino to Rome
bigpigeon.us webpage WWII Germany > The MTO > Italy > Cassino to Rome, © 2024 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 27 Jun 2024.
In mid-May 1944, the German defenses in the Monte Cassino area of the Gustav Line collapsed and the Allies were able to resume their drive northward through southern Italy.
bigpigeon.us webpage WWII Germany > The MTO > Italy > Cassino to Rome, © 2024 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 27 Jun 2024.
In mid-May 1944, the German defenses in the Monte Cassino area of the Gustav Line collapsed and the Allies were able to resume their drive northward through southern Italy.
Cassino to Rome Overview
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In mid-May 1944, a concerted Allied offensive called Operation Diadem finally broke through both the Gustav Line in southern Italy.
Before reaching Rome, Allied forces had to push aside two German armies and pass through two secondary German defensive lines, the Hitler Line and the Caesar Line, shown on the accompanying map. |
Italian Front Order of Battle Overview - 10 May 1944
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The Operation Diadem Map
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The accompanying map shows the Gustav Line breakout during Operation Diadem, from May 11 to May 23. Note that in the Fifth Army sector, US and French forces have already penetrated the Hitler Line.
Operation Diadem is also called the 4th Battle of Monte Cassino, since the key part of the operation was the struggle between Polish and German troops on Monte Cassino. Any additional information on the Operation Diadem phase of the Italian Campaign will be in the webpage Italy > Cassino/the Gustav Line. |
Advance Past the Gustav Line
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The Anzio Beachhead Breakout
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The accompanying map shows progress during the first three days of the VI Corps breakout from the Anzio Beachhead. Units from left to right are the 45th Infantry Division, 1st Armored Division, 3rd Infantry Division, and the US/Canadian 1st Special Services Force.
Note Velletri near the top of the map. North of Velletri is the Velletri Gap, which will provide a route northward to Highway 6 between the Alban Hills to the west and the Lepini Mountains to the east. |
Breakout from Anzio - the First Three Days
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I will add other segments as I find suitable maps for the period May 24-30.
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The Liberation of Rome
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In early June, Germany declared Rome an open city, and German forces withdrew without damaging the city, allowing the US Fifth Army to begin entering Rome on 4 June.
In what I believe was one of the most consequential US military blunders of WWII, the Fifth Army commander, General Mark Clark, chose to direct his forces northwest toward Rome rather than north to cut off retreating German forces. |
The Liberation of Rome, 31 May - 4 Jun 1944
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██ Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - WWII Germany > The MTO > Italy > Cassino to Rome ██
- Taken from the bigpigeon.us WWII Dead module.
- II Corps is coming from the Gustav Line as part of Operation Diadem, VI Corps from the Anzio Beachhead.
- Co. F, 350th Inf. Regt., 88th Inf. Div., II Corps, Fifth Army; WIA 28 May 1944 near Roccagorca, SE of Rome, Lazio, Italy, DOW 28 May 1944; Operation Diadem/Fourth Battle of Monte Cassino - The MTO > Italy > Cassino to Rome.
- C.O. 1st Bn., 6th Armored Inf. Regt., 1st Armored Div., VI Corps, Fifth Army; KIA 28 May 1944 near Artena, SE of Rome, Lazio, Italy; shell hit 1st Bn. command post; The MTO > Italy > Cassino to Rome.
- 168th Inf. Regt., 34th Inf. Div., VI Corps, Fifth Army; KIA 29 May 1944 near Villa Crocetta, SE of Rome, Lazio, Italy; Anzio Beachhead breakout - The MTO > Italy > Cassino to Rome.
- Co. G., 15th Inf. Regt., 3rd Inf. Div., VI Corps , Fifth Army; KIA 27 May 1944, Valletri Gap, near Valletri, SE of Rome, between Alban Hills & Lepini Mountains, Lazio, Italy; The MTO > Italy > Cassino to Rome; BNR.
- unit unknown (Artillery OCS graduate, Ft. Sill, OK); KIA 3 Jun 1944 approaching Rome, Lazio, Italy; The MTO > Italy > Cassino to Rome.
- Co. F, 350th Inf. Regt., 88th Inf. Div., II Corps, Fifth Army; DOW 12 May 1944, near Minturno, SW of Cassino, Lazio, Italy; Operation Diadem/Fourth Battle of Monte Cassino - The MTO > Italy > Cassino to Rome.
- Co. I, 168th Inf. Regt., 34th Inf. Div.; KIA 30 May 1944 Italy; The MTO > Italy > Cassino to Rome.
- 751th Tank Bn., attached to 3rd Inf. Div., VI Corps, Fifth Army; KIA 4 Jun 1944 outskirts of Rome, Lazio, Italy; The MTO > Italy > Cassino to Rome.
██ Allied Order of Battle - Cassino to Rome ██
- Not yet complete. Working version is at The MTO > Italy > Order of Battle.
██ Sources for Big Pigeon's WWII Germany > The MTO > Italy > Cassino to Rome webpage ██
- Cassino to the Alps (scalable maps) (United States Army in World War II, Mediterranean Theater of Operations series, Ernest F. Fisher Jr., 1989, CMH #6-4) - http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-MTO-Cassino/index.html.
- The webpage header image Rome 5 Jun '44 is courtesy of the World War II Museum in New Orleans, LA. It shows General Mark Clark, who commanded the US 5th Army in Italy, in Rome just after liberation.
- The Order of Battle Overview, 10 May 1944 map is courtesy of the New Zealand website, http://tothosewhoserved.org/nz/army/nzarmy08/chapter01.html. On this date, New Zealand forces were part of the British X/10th Corps northeast of Cassino.
- The Operation Diadem - Advance Past the Gustav Line and Liberation of Rome maps by Gene Thorp are taken from Rick Atkinson's The Day of Battle.
- The Breakout from Anzio - the First Three Days map is courtesy of battlearchives.com.