The Story of the 34th Infantry Division
Book I • Louisiana to Pisa
Chapter XV • THE BREAKOUT - ROME - CIVITAVECCHIA
Chasing [pp. 70-76]
The Story of the 34th Infantry Division
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34th Inf Div Assn
History
34InfDiv,Chap15 |
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Chapter XV • THE BREAKOUT - ROME - CIVITAVECCHIA • ChasingAt 0630 hours on the morning of 23 May [1944] the great sortie from the beachhead smashed into action. The mission of the 34th Division was to hold the perimeter and allow the assaulting elements of the 1st Armored Division on the left, the 3rd Infantry Division in the center, and the 1st Special Service Force on the right to pass through them and to pierce the German defense line. However, the 135th Infantry was attached to the 1st Armored Division for this operation, while the 133rd Infantry stood by to support the Special Service Force. Preceded by a fifteen-minute artillery preparation, fiercer than anything seen before, the Americans hit the unfortunate 362nd Infantry Division such a blow that it reeled back in confusion. Within a few hours the enemy's forward positions were over-run and hundreds of prisoners of war were on their way to our PW cages. On the left, the 135th Infantry with the Armored Division had made excellent progress and had crossed the railway embankment which formed a major feature of the German defense line. On the right, the 133rd Infantry rushed to the sector of the Special Service Force, whose initial attack to cut Highway 7 had been thrown back, and restored the situation by an assault in the face of severe opposition from infantry and tanks to cut the highway and the railway southeast of the key road junction of Cisterna. While resistance in this town continued for some time from the cellars and ruined buildings, the success of the breakout was evident. The 362nd Infantry Division within three days had been virtually annihilated as an organized fighting force. The 34th Infantry Division reformed and prepared to exploit this triumph. The 168th Infantry moved to the west, the 133rd Infantry, returning from its foray, moved up to the left of the 168th, and both Regiments formed up for a concerted push to the northwest. On 25 May the 135th Infantry, relieved of attachment to the Armored Division after a magnificent performance, moved into 34th Division reserve. At dawn on 26 May our troops made rapid progress which continued until late on 27 May when stiff enemy resistance was met along a line approximately 1000 yards short of the railroad between Lanuvio and Velletri. It had long been known that the Germans had prepared a strong defense line in this area. Bunkers and mortar positions had been dug into the north face of the railway embankment while machine gun and rifle emplacements were hastily completed by the retreating German troops as they occupied their defenses. Further, the village of Villa Crocetta had been turned into a fortress containing over a battalion of infantry, reinforced with tanks and self-propelled guns. The Germans in the face of our fierce attack succeeded in maintaining their positions. We committed the 135th Infantry from reserve to the left flank of the Division. Even the 109th Engineer Battalion was sent into the line as infantry. Nothing was held back. Rome was the goal - all or nothing. Finally on 2 June, with the town of Velletri captured and his line in danger of encirclement, the enemy suddenly gave way. His units, patched-up remnants of the troops who had borne the shock of the breakout from the beachhead, had fought surprisingly well. The German High Command had used every effort to bolster them with replacements from the butchers, bakers, tinkers, and tailors of rear area units. By the morning of 3 June the enemy was in full retreat. The 100th Infantry Battalion made a very determined attack to clear a road block on Highway 7 which led to Rome. A motorized task force with infantry, tanks, tank destroyers, engineers, field artillery, and reconnaissance troops, was constituted and ordered to press on north with all speed to seize crossings of the Tiber River southwest of Rome. The Germans had honored their undertaking, to consider Rome an open city, but all the Tiber River bridges between Rome and the sea were destroyed. Our Engineers worked fast to make crossings, and within a day the entire Division had passed to the northern bank. The Germans conducted their retreat very skillfully. They lost no time in evacuating their heavy equipment, which by day and night marches, fell back, protected by a screen of motorized infantry, self-propelled guns, and engineers. In spite of the terrific toll taken by our air forces in their bombing and strafing attacks along the highways, the Germans were able to evacuate much of their materiel, and seriously impeded our advance by means of their well-executed demolitions and roadblocks. The 1st Armored Division and the 34th Division were given the mission of an all-out pursuit of the enemy north and northwest of Rome. During this time the 135th Infantry was re-attached to the 1st Armored Division, and was pursuing the Germans north of Rome to the Viterbo airfields. The 34th Division, advancing day and night at top speed, relieving the lead battalion from time to time so as to maintain the freshness of the troops and the vigor of the pursuit, reached the town of Civitavecchia during the morning of 7 June. During this advance the work of the service troops was absolutely outstanding. The 34th Signal Company, whose unobtrusive efficiency had almost come to be taken for granted, now excelled [in] all its efforts by tirelessly linking the Division units by telephone and by maintaining radio contact. During the operation a few hours prior to capturing Civitavecchia the Division advanced forty-one miles, and telephone communication was continuously maintained between the Division headquarters and Corps headquarters far to the rear, as well as to the leading elements of the Division. To maintain the speed of the pursuit only those vehicles that were necessary for the job could be permitted to move on the roads. The 34th Military Police [Platoon] were given the task of controlling traffic to this end, and they rose to the occasion. The [34th] Quartermaster Company, hauling rations and gasoline from dumps far to the rear, enabled all troops to push on with the confidence that their supplies would always be maintained. With the capture of the port of Civitavecchia there was every indication that the German rearguards were rapidly being overtaken, for just south of the town our troops were pressed to a ridge just in time to see an important bridge along Highway 1 being blown up by the Germans. The chase was nearing a climax. The 133rd Infantry passed through the 168th Infantry, who had taken the port, and moved to a line of hills a few hundred yards south of the town of Tarquinia. Here the Germans had decided to attempt a stand for the first time since they relinquished their hold on Lanuvio. The troops they had chosen for this job consisted of the 40th Jaeger Regiment from the 20th German Airforce Field Division. This formation had been brought down from Denmark, passing the Normandy invasion front which had been opened only a few days before, and was rushed to Italy in an attempt to help prevent the much disorganized German Armies from being overrun. The engagement with this fresh Regiment was joined shortly after noon on 7 June. The day was warm, visibility was excellent. Our troops looking down from one ridge could see the Germans fully in the open busily digging foxholes and machine gun positions. The enemy, apparently not expecting such a vigorous chase, had not placed a strong screen of outposts to the south of their proposed line. They were wide-open. In one terrific punch the 133rd Infantry completely smashed the entire German Regiment. Within a few hours the enemy had been scattered and were retreating northward in great confusion. Prisoners from practically every company in the Regiment had been taken, and the way north was once more open. However, during the night of 8-9 June, the 361st RCT, part of the newly-arrived 91st Infantry Division, relieved the 133rd Infantry and continued the advance under the command of the 36th Infantry Division. The 34th Infantry Division reassembled in the vicinity of Civitavecchia and, when pressing supply needs necessitated our evacuation of the port, the Division moved on 12 June to the vicinity of Tarquinia for rest and training.
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Chapter XIV
Chapter XVI