Salerno 1943: The Allies invade southern Italy (Campaign Book 257)

In mid-September 1943, as the opening move of the Allied campaign to liberate the mainland of Italy, an Anglo-American invasion force landed on the beaches of the Gulf of Salerno, only a few dozen miles to the south of Naples. Italy had just surrendered, and the soldiers in the landing craft prayed that the invasion would be unopposed. It was not to be. The Germans had seized control of the Italian-built beach defences, and were ready and waiting. What followed was one of the bloodiest battles of the whole Mediterranean campaign - a ten day contest where victory hung in the balance. Over 80,000 British and American soldiers waded ashore at Salerno, and after bitter fighting they managed to establish a narrow and vulnerable bridgehead. The British enclave near Salerno was separated from the American sector around Paestum by a river, and German-held strongpoints. All attempts to link up the two parts of the bridgehead were thwarted by the German defenders, who were being reinforced faster than the Allies. Then the Americans were nearly flung back into the sea by a ferocious German counterattack, as the German commander on the spot used his veteran armour and Panzergrenadiers to deadly effect. Although driven back towards the beach, the Americans rallied and grimly held on, and the crisis passed. The ferocious ten-day battle at Salerno was eventually decided by a combination of Allied reinforcements, and secondary landings in support of the beleaguered Salerno bridgehead. The battle for Salerno changed the course of the campaign - by its end it was clear that wherever possible the Germans were going to fight for every inch of ground in Italy, and the campaign was not going to be the easy victory the Allied commanders had hoped. Using documentary records, memoirs and eyewitness accounts from all sides, Angus Konstam recreates the battle day by day, hour by hour. His methodically researched account offers a fresh perspective on a decisive battle that has largely been neglected by British and American historians in recent years. A meticulous illustrated examination of Operation Avalanche, the highly contested British and US invasion of the Italian mainland.In mid-September 1943, as the opening move of the Allied campaign to liberate the mainland of Italy, an Anglo-American invasion force landed on the beaches of the Gulf of Salerno, only a few dozen miles to the south of Naples. Italy had just surrendered, and the soldiers in the landing craft prayed that the invasion would be unopposed.It was not to be. The Germans had seized control of the Italian-built beach defences, and were ready and waiting. The ferocious ten-day battle at Salerno was eventually decided by a combination of Allied reinforcements, and secondary landings in support of the beleaguered Salerno bridgehead.Using documentary records, memoirs and eyewitness accounts from all sides, Angus Konstam recreates the battle day by day, hour by hour. His methodically researched account offers a fresh perspective on a decisive battle that has largely been neglected by British and American historians. Operation AVALANCE. 9. september 1943 gik en anglo-amerikansk hærstyrke -15. hærgruppe, der bestod af den britiske 8. hær og den 5. amerikanske hær - i land på Italiens vestkyst i Salerno bugten. Formålet med invasionen var at fremskynde en italiensk overgivelse til de allierede og gøre det muligt hurtigt at nedkæmpe de øvrige tyske styrker i Italien. Chefen for de tyske styrker feltmarskal Albert Kesselring, der stod overfor 15. hærgruppe, gennemførte imidlertid et storstilet tysk modangreb mod de allierede styrker med 10. tyske armé støttet af 2. tyske luftflåde. Modangrebet påførte de allierede store tab og tvang dem tilbage mange steder. En overgang overvejede de allierede en evakuering af de allierede styrker. Det lykkedes ikke for de tyske styrker at kaste de allierede i havet, da de ydede hård modstand og 17 september afbrød feltmarskal Kesselring offensiven COVER......Page 1 TITLE......Page 2 CONTENTS......Page 3 INTRODUCTION......Page 5 THE STRATEGIC SITUATION......Page 7 CHRONOLOGY......Page 12 OPPOSING COMMANDERS......Page 15 OPPOSING FORCES......Page 21 OPPOSING PLANS......Page 28 OPERATION AVALANCHE......Page 34 AFTERMATH......Page 88 THE BATTLEFIELD TODAY......Page 92 FURTHER READING......Page 94 INDEX......Page 95 In mid-September 1943, as the opening move of the Allied campaign to liberate the mainland of Italy, an Anglo-American invasion force landed on the beaches of the Gulf of Salerno, only a few dozen miles to the south of Naples. Using documentary records, memoirs from all sides, this title recreates the battle day by day, hour by hour. --From WorldCat.org Cover; Title; Contents; Introduction; The Strategic Situation; Chronology; Opposing Commanders; Opposing Forces; Opposing Plans; Operation Avalanche; Aftermath; The Battle Field Today; Further Reading; Related Titles; Imprint Angus Konstam ; Illustrated By Steve Noon. Includes Bibliographical References (page 94) And Index.