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36th Infantry in Italy: April - August 1944
Anzio Beach - 1944
Dan's destination in Italy was notorious one, even in the States. The 36th Infantry Division was currently stationed at the Anzio beachhead, which was still a very "hot" location due to the fact that it was totally surrounded by Germans. The original invasion of this site in January 1944 (part of Operation Shingle) had stalemated without the Allied troops being able to exploit the full surprise achieved upon the initial invasion landings. Allied command had chosen to consolidate it's forces rather than drive inland, and the Nazi Army took full advantage of this opportunity to reconstitute it's own forces and wage a staggering counter-attack which nearly pushed the invaders back to the sea. At the time of Dan's arrival, artillery shells dropping in main bivouac areas, and even in the Aid Stations set up on the beaches were disconcertingly commonplace.
Liberation of Rome - June 1944
On May 23rd, Dan was "blooded" in combat commanding Able Company of the 1st Battalion 143rd Infantry Regiment during the "Anzio Breakout", the Fifth Army push to expand their tenuous foothold in central Italy. In their role in Operation Diadem, The 36th Infantry forces then passed through the devastated Cisterna, then through the moonscaped ruins of Monte Cassino, finally reaching the Velletri area. In a tactical stroke of brilliance, the 36th Infantry enacted a daring nighttime stealth movement to flank the hills overlooking this key defensive town, taking the stunned defenders by complete surprise. The liberation of Velletri is universally agreed to be the decisive battle that opened the door to the liberation of Rome, which fell to the Allies just a few days later on June 4th. After relentlessly pursuing the German Tenth and Fourteenth Armies well past Rome, the 36th Division was relieved of front-line duties and returned to the site of one of their previous invasions, the coastal city of Paestrum. Right around this time, Dan was reassigned as Company Commander of "G" or "George" Company of the 143rd Infantry Regiment.
July 8th 1944 Morning Report
At Paestrum, the 36th received more enlisted and officer replacements, and started intensive amphibious invasion training led by the more experienced veterans of the outfit. Taking into account the lessons learned from previous invasions, several weeks of drills for embarking/disembarking from assault boats, neutralizing bunkers and barbed wire with explosive charges, and even staged assaults were commonplace for the “T-Patchers”. This exhausting training regimen culminated in a full dress mock-up invasion on the shores of Italy on August 8th, colorfully dubbed "Operation Cowpuncher II".
Operation Cowpuncher II
At this time, most of the troops knew that something was brewing, something big. It was clearly evident that a sizable invasion operation was going to take very place soon to utilize their finely honed talents. Rumor also said that it would most likely be in Southern France. Even "Axis Sally" (also known as "The Berlin Bitch") taunted US troops about their upcoming operations in Southern France via the airwaves. The German Army Command was of course well aware of an impending attack in the region, but they couldn't pin down exactly where or when it would happen, thanks to the efforts of Allied Counter-Intelligence. Finally in the first weeks in August, many of the Fifth Army troops were pulled from Italy to spearhead the Allied Forces worst-kept secret: The Invasion of Southern France.
143rd Infantry boards Transports in Pozzouli
The 36th Infantry division pulled out of their positions in Qualiano two days later, and motored to the port town of Pozzouli to set up a bivouac and staging area. These staging areas were tightly controlled, not only to protect the secrecy of their destination or time that they would arrive (which was unknown to most of those present), but also to prevent the very real possibility of desertion, a problem that was not unknown to Army Command by this point in the war. The next morning at 08:00, the "T-Patchers" of the 143rd boarded LSTs that would take them to the join the main transport ships carrying the 36th Infantry Division massing off the coast of Salerno. Promptly at 0:800 on August 12th, the fleet set out on their 36-hour journey Northwest across the Tyrrhenian Sea, threading their way north of Sardinia to drop anchor just off the coast of Ajaccio, island of Corsica. Only when the Division was well on their way were the troops finally briefed as to their destination, and their respective combat missions. Shortly thereafter General Alexander Patch, commanding General of the 7th Army issued a message to all invasion troops to be read over the loudspeakers on each ship in the convoy:
"Soldiers of the Seventh Army,
We are embarking upon a decisive campaign in Europe. Side by side, wearing the same uniform and the same equipment, battle-experienced French and American soldiers with a single purpose and a common aim -- destruction of Nazism and the German Army. The agonized people of Europe anxiously await our coming. We cannot and will not fail. We will not stop until the last vestige of German tyranny has been completely crushed. No greater honor could come to us than this opportunity to fight to the bitter end in order to restore all that is good and decent and righteous in mankind. We are an inspired Army. God be with us."
What follows focuses on "George" Company of 2nd Battalion, 143rd Infantry Regiment, and offers just a glimpse at what they were up against, and what they went through on their French Riviera D-Day, August 15th, 1944.
Dan Henry and Operation Dragoon
1 - Italy 2 - Operation Dragoon 3 - Invasion Plans 4 - German Defenses 5 - Cote D'Azur D-Day 6 - Aftermath 7 - Sources
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