Take Post
Anzio, October 22nd
I’m back on the old Route 6 heading north. As I came down this way a few days ago I passed an Italian War Cemetery but it was closed. As I go by again I see that it is open and I have to stop and pay my respects.
When I get home I’ll have to research a bit more about the Italian involvement on the side of the Allies from 1943 to 1945. The museum tells the story in photo’s and memos but I can’t read Italian so I’ll just have to wait.
I knew I shouldn’t have jinxed things by menitoning the weather. Cloudy and foggy to begin with and patches of rain. It’s rather cool as well but I can see what looks like sun way off to the west.
Back on the road through Casino again, right through the town this time following what would have been Route 6. When I get to Aquino I turn left and head toward Pontecorvo.
The Hitler line extended pretty much in a straight line from the mountains to the east, through Aquino and on to Pontecorvo, then on to the coast at Gaeta. It was in the section between Aquino and Pontecorvo that the Canadians had to cross the Liri then the Melfa. I stopped in Pontecorvo because I could see on the map that there is a bridge in town over the Liri River. This bridge would have been blown by the time the boys got there but a quick look suggests that the middle part looks pretty old while both ends look like they’ve been worked on so maybe they destroyed both ends and not the middle…but then what do I know…I only took one year of engineering.
At the same time that the Canadians began there assault of the Hitler Line near the end of May 1944, the Americans made their breakout from Anzio. Anzio is on the west coast just below Rome. A combined American/British force had landed there on January 22, 1944 but were unable to break out of the bridgehead. The intent of this amphibious assault was to land north of the Hitler Line and thus flank the German line. It wasn’t until the Canadian assault on the Hitler Line further to the east that the Allies, now 150,000 strong as opposed to the 23,000 that had initially landed, where able to move inland.
I’ve travelled up to Frosinone today, which is just short of where the Canadian advance stopped. I won’t go to the end of the line but I will tell you that for the Canadian Corps it was a difficult thing to be so close to Rome and be told they were going into reserve. The Liri Valley campaign was one tough slog and many of our boys paid the price. By the time they had captured Colleferro they were only 50 km from Rome, but the Americans were already north of them and the valley was starting to get clogged.
There is some question today as to whether the American General Mark Clark could have significantly altered the outcome of the Italian Campaign and possibly the war, if he had not been so enamoured with being the first of the Allied Armies to take Rome. His army was perfectly positioned to swing east in a pincer movement and trap or destroy a significant portion of the German army in Italy. He didn’t do that and all the glory of taking Rome, which had been declared a free city by the Germans, went to him.
That glory was short lived. Rome fell on June 4th, 1944. The Allies landed in Normandy two days later and for all intents and purposes everyone forgot about the war in Italy.
If you are wondering about the name of Daniel Dancock’s book “The D-Day Dodgers”, well, it’s what Lady Astor called the soldiers prancing about in sunny Italy. Perhaps her stays in Italy gave her the impression that it was nothing but a romp through the vineyards and olive groves. The Candians didn’t bat an eye over the insult…in fact if you get a chance to read Dancock’s book you’ll come across the little ditty that starts:
“We are the D-Day Dodgers, out in Italy, Always on the vino, always on the spree.”
Since the boys have been pulled out of action I’m going to do the same. I’m heading to Anzio, not so much to see the beachhead but rather I think I might be able to use this spot as a jumping off point for a wee wander into Rome. I haven’t been particularly interested in going to Rome, but as they say, all roads lead there. I’m ahead of my schedule and don’t have to be in Firenze until Wednesday, so we’ll see what Anzio has to offer by way of accommodations and tourist directions.
So far, with a few exceptions, I’ve simply wandered into town and looked around for a sign that says Hotel. At Nettuno, spitting distance from Anzio, I’ve driven around and around and around and still can’t see anything vaguely resembling a hotel. The Hotel Moroco looked like it had been damaged during the Anzio landings and hasn’t been repaired. I even tried parking and wandering about but to no avail. So…I’m off down the road.
Finally, along the seafront in Anzio I see the sign for the Grand Hotel Dei Cesari, flags a flyin’ in the breeze. The young lady at the desk speaks inglese so I’m home free for the night. I’ve also managed to get an “Orario Dei Treni” which tells me that for E9.30 I can get a day transit pass to travel into Rome and use all the buses and metro. Oh…and the statzione is 400 m around the corner.
I’ll mull all this over with a glass of red.
Stand Down