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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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.)

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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.

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.)

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.)

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.)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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.)

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.

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.

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.)

ITALY