Salerno 1943: The Allied
Invasion of Italty
Angus Konstam
After the defeat of the Afrika Korps in North Africa
in the Spring of 1943 the Allies drew up plans for the invasion of Italy. The
first objective was Sicily, and once the island was secured in mid-August the
British and Americans turned their attention to the Italian mainland. Three weeks
after last German troops escaped from Sicily the British crossed the Straits
of Messina to establish a bridgehead on the “toe” of Italy. Four
days later on 9 September 1943 a joint Anglo-American force commanded by General
Mark Clark landed on the Italian mainland near Salerno, to the south of Naples.
At first the British met little resistance, but the German response was swift,
and local counter-attacks and the determined defence of German strongpoints pinned
the attackers close to the beaches. What followed was a gruelling week of attack
and counter-attack, as both sides fought a grim battle for possession of the
hamlets and road junctions which formed the only landmarks in an otherwise flat
river-crossed landscape.
Further to the south the Americans suffered substantial casualties on the beach
near Paestum, but after breaking the crust of the German defences they managed
to advance far enough inland to safeguard their bridgehead. This meant they the
Americans were also less concentrated than the British, a point noted by the
Germans who concentrated their troops against the American sector and launched
a powerful counter-attack. The German attack was eventually halted, but the crisis
had been sufficient for General Clark to contemplate re-embarking his troops.
This German defeat, combined with the advance of Montgomery’s troops from
the south prompted the Germans to break off the fighting on 16 September and
pull their forces back beyond Naples.
The hard-fought battle resulted in an Allied victory, but for eight days the
outcome was in doubt, and defeat was a distinct possibility. This campaign title
will provide a spirited chronicle of those crucial days in September 1943 when
the future of Italy hung in the balance.
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