15. Anzio, Italy, January-June, 1944
The Battle of Anzio was an example of an American field commander, General John Lucas, using First World War tactics of entrenchment when the battle situation called for mobility and rapid advance. After landing at Anzio, where he had achieved complete surprise over the German defenders, Lucas ordered his troops to establish defensive fortifications rather than move his advance units towards Rome, the objective of the operation. His delay allowed the Germans to develop a defensive ring around the American positions, which had the Mediterranean at their backs, including heavy artillery with which to bombard the Americans. The surprise achieved by the landings was squandered by the delay moving off the beaches, and the Americans were trapped in a flat location, ringed by an enemy on elevated ground, with a clear view of the American positions. There was little shelter from enemy artillery, and a reclaimed marsh behind the Americans was flooded by the Germans, further restricting American movement.
Lucas remained in command for a month, during which combat was constant, though the Americans were unable to break the German line and remained in the trap of their own creation. Lucian Truscott relieved Lucas and fighting continued within the trap until May, when the Americans finally broke through the German defenses. Despite Truscott urging his commander, General Mark Clark, to advance towards the German defense line near Monte Cassino, cutting off the Germans there, Clark ordered him to instead capture Rome, which was accomplished on June 4. American scout patrols had arrived at the virtually undefended city on the first day of the Battle of Anzio, but did not return for five months. The Battle of Anzio led to 5,538 Americans killed. British units involved in the battle suffered from equally high casualties.