The Story of the 34th Infantry Division
Book I • Louisiana to Pisa

Chapter XIV • ANZIO
Waiting [pp. 65-69]

   At S. Angelo d'Alife little could be done during the first few days out of the line except to rest and recover the strength which had been expended so freely on the Cassino hills. Within a few days the Division was directed to move to a new area at S. Giorgio near Benevento, where the Division first went into action in Italy. At this place some progress was made to fill the decimated ranks of the infantry since the 2nd Battalion, 133rd Infantry, released from its guard duty at Allied Force Headquarters, rejoined the Division, fresh and at full strength.

   On 11 March the Division was ordered to prepare to move by sea to the Anzio Beachhead, by now a legendary place where hard-pressed Allied troops had just succeeded in holding off determined enemy counter-offensives.

   The 34th was still understrength. A bare few days before embarkation, which began 17 March, large numbers of replacements were received, creating a problem for the three Regiments who were faced with the possibility of heavy action before efficient teamwork could be built up. Between 17 and 25 March, 2 LSTs made a journey each night from Naples to the tiny harbor of Anzio. The 168th Infantry, marching straight off the transports, closed in an assembly area in the right sector of the beachhead, and immediately began relief of elements of the 3rd Infantry Division. The 135th Infantry followed suit a few days later while the 133rd Infantry remained in Division reserve.

   The beachhead at Anzio was a place unique in the experience of the 34th Division. A small piece of flat land measuring less that ten miles at its widest point and no more than eight miles deep, heavily cultivated and criss-crossed with canals and drainage ditches - these few square miles were so congested with troops and equipment that at times it seemed impossible to find a vacant place to dig a hole or pitch a puptent. For this reason the bulk of the Division's transportation was left behind at Naples where it was used to bring up supplies from the ports and dumps to the forward areas of the southern front in preparation for the gigantic Spring offensive which was even then in an advanced stage of planning.

   At Anzio the 34th learned a new type of warfare. They learned that the enemy, from the hills overlooking the beachhead, could see everything that went on in our sector during the daylight. They learned to dig into the sides of the ditches and stream beds and to remain under cover during the day, coming out at night to stretch their legs and to keep watch against the ever-present possibility of a German attack. The infantry learned the routine of manning defensive positions, posting guards, making patrols, and being relieved. The artillery perfected the shattering technique of coordinated artillery fire in which the shells of hundreds of guns arrived on their target at the same instant. The Signal Company operated its scores of miles of telephone wires, learned to lay its lines away from the most likely objectives of German artillery fire, to dig in all their switchboards, and to provide for alternative channels of communication. The engineers learned the difficulty of laying barbed wire entanglements and minefields at night, under cover of infantry patrols. The entire Division shared the same life in damp and dismal holes, under a constant hammering from German artillery and aircraft.

   When the Division arrived at the beachhead, the enemy had just failed in two concerted attempts to drive the Allies into the sea, and no one could be sure that they would not try a third time. On the front of the 34th Division, the enemy units consisted of the 362nd Infantry Division, a recently-formed organization who were not outstandingly good, but who maintained a high standard of alertness in their defense. After a time it became apparent that the Germans had abandoned the offensive, and the 34th conducted a series of well-coordinated raids to secure information on enemy units, on their tactics and their defensive positions. Never before had the agencies used to collect information about the Germans worked so well together. Aerial photographs, interpreted at headquarters only a few hours after they had been taken, were used to pinpoint enemy weapon positions. Prisoners taken by the infantry were carefully questioned for facts about enemy tactics, supply, and other matters. The artillery staffs built up a complete picture of the opposing gun lay-out, and after almost two months of hard work our knowledge of the enemy opposite us was complete and accurate almost to the last detail. During this period, also, our own troops had been relieved by turns, and as each unit passed into reserve, it went to a training school where veterans could pass on the benefit of their experience to the large numbers of fresh replacements. At no time did the Division delude itself with the idea that the current defensive phase was anything but temporary. No one, especially as the beachhead became more and more crowded with the steady influx of troops and supplies, had any desire to remain a sitting target for the Germans any longer than was necessary. All day and all night the German artillery shot harassing fires at our dumps, our forward positions, and our supply lines. It was difficult for them to miss - so congested was the area. At night their artillery program was stepped up to take advantage of the fact that the traffic on the roads increased since we could only move supplies at night.

   On 11 May, when the main attack on the southern front jumped off, everyone on the beachhead was tense. All in the Division knew that if this drive succeeded the time when the beachhead would have a land link with the remainder of the Army was not far distant. The planning staffs had worked hard to prepare for the breakout from the beachhead. The troops had trained and rehearsed their part in detail. No longer were we to be on the defensive. Instead, if all went well, the Allied beachhead force would play a crucial part in the encirclement of the right wing of the German troops as they fell back up the boot of Italy in the face of the drive from the south.

Chapter XIII CASSINO Storming	Chapter XV THE BREAKOUT - ROME - CIVITAVECCHIA Chasing
Return to the beginning, The Story of the 34th Infantry Division Introduction, Foreword, Contents

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