Salerno-Naples

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bigpigeon.us webpage WWII Germany > The MTO > Sicily to Naples > Salerno-Naples, © 2026 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 30 Dec 2025

In early September 1943, the British Eighth Army landed at two locations in extreme southern Italy.

On 3 September in Operation Baytown, the British Eighth Army landed unopposed on the toe of the Italian peninsula, across the Straits of Messina from Sicily.
On 9 September in Operation Slapstick, the British 1st Airbourne Division landed by sea at the Italian naval base at Taranto, near the heel of the Italian peninsula. This landing was at the invitation of the new Italian government.

Southern Italy, 1943

Scalable Version

::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Operation Avalanche, The Allied Landing at Salerno, 9 September 1943 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

In Operation Avalanche, a major amphibious operation, the US Fifth Army, consisting of US and British forces, landed on the beaches south of Salerno.
Smaller units of US rangers and British commandoes landed on the left flank of the beachhead.
The landing was opposed from the beginning, and for most of the following week German forces attempted to eliminate the beachhead. Allied naval gunfire helped to keep the enemy at bay.
On September 16, the German army began a planned withdrawal to the north.
On 19 September, elements of the British Eighth Army pushing northward reached the Salerno beachhead.
Note that the US Fifth Army initially consisted of British X Corps on the left flank and US VI Corps to the right.

The Salerno Beachhead

Throughout the remainder of the Italian campaigns, the US Fifth Army advanced on the left flank with the British Eighth Army on the right flank.

The Allied advance to the Volturno Line, mid-September to early October 1943

During the latter part of September, the Allies pushed north through southern Italy, with the US Fifth Army arriving at the first German defensive line on the Volturno River north of Naples in early October.

To the east, British forces liberated Foggia with its complex of airfields on 27 September.
The Fifth Army entered Naples on 1 October 1943. Naples then became the major base supporting Allied operations on the Italian mainland.

Advance to the Volturno

Naples:

A civilian uprising spread through Naples on the last four days before the German army withdrew to the north. On 1 October 1943, U.S. Army forces began entering Naples. The damage shown on the accompanying photo was due to previous Allied bombing.

Once the harbor facilities were repaired, Naples became the major port supporting Italian operations. Around six port battalions, along with thousands of Italian laborers, worked in the Naples harbor.

Liberation Scene in Naples

Foggia:

Airfields around Foggia on the Adriatic east of Naples could now support US Fifteenth Air Force operations in Northern Italy, Austria, and the Balkans.

The Foggia Airfields

With the advance to the Volturno Line, the Allies had achieved the initial goals of the Italian campaign. They had a foothold on the European mainland, supported by an excellent harbor and a number of air bases. The quick and easy part of the Italian campaign was over.

However, a major goal of the Italian campaign was to continue to apply pressure on the German Army, thus diverting German resources from the war in the east with Russia and from the pending invasion of western Europe. Thus, nineteen months of bloody, miserable and frustrating fighting lay ahead.

██ Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - WWII Germany > The MTO > Italy > Salerno-Naples ██

Access full individual records through bigpigeon.us > WWII Dead > Roster Records.
Among the supporting naval forces, the dead appear in the MTO Sea War webpage.

02-02 - WWII Germany > The MTO > Italy > Salerno-Naples-Foggia: (updated 2 Jul 2025)

No known Pottawattamie area deaths among the ground forces, perhaps because few elements of the 34th Infantry Division were involved in this operation.

██ Sources for Big Pigeon's WWII Germany > The MTO > Italy > Salerno-Naples webpage ██

The Southern Italy, 1943 map is courtesy of the Digital History Center at the US Military Academy at West Point. The list of digitized atlases is at https://dhc.westpoint.edu/atlases/.
Salerno to Cassino (scalable maps) (United States Army in World War II, Mediterranean Theater of Operations series, Martin Blumenson, 1993, CMH #6-3) - http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-MTO-Salerno/index.html#index.
Naples-Foggia, 9 September 1943-21 January 1944 (The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II, The U.S. Army Center of Military History, Kenneth V. Smith, illustrated brochure, CMH #72-17) - https://history.army.mil/html/books/072/72-17/CMH_Pub_72-17.pdf.
Salerno, American Operations from the Beaches to the Volturno, 9 September-6 October 1943 (American Forces in Action series, U.S. Army Center of Military History, CMH #100-7) - https://history.army.mil/html/books/100/100-7/CMH_Pub_100-7.pdf.