75th Anniversary of the Battle of Monte Cassino and Northern Italy (Gaming The Battles)

Operation Fischfang

The initial counter offensive by the Germans against the British 1st Division at Anzio had pushed the British out of their salient and back to the positions held before their break out attempt. This line stabilised for a few days as both sides dug in although continued to test each other’s defences with minor assaults and aggressive patrolling.

On 16th February, the Germans launched a new offensive codenamed Operation Fischfang. Their assault was once again launched down the Via Anziate and included a number of newly arrived Tiger tanks as well as several platoons of Panthers. The German attack punched through the British 1st Division’s defensive line, causing significant losses to the defenders. The British defensive line continued to crumble as the Germans pushed further South. Two days later, the Germans had almost reached the original Allied beach head and were assaulting the last defensive line.

A number of assaults were launched against the last Allied defensive line between 18th and 20th February and included constant support by the Luftwaffe. The Germans came so close to pushing the Allies back into the sea that Allied artillery ended up firing over open sights at the advancing German tanks. Accurate gunning coupled with the punishing bombardment from the Allied Navy just offshore, eventually halted the German advance.

The German advance had come at some cost, with an estimated 5,500 casualties whereas the Allies had suffered some 3,500 casualties. With the German army exhausted, they began to dig in around the Northern part of the Anzio beach head and rebuild their forces. Hitler however had other ideas and ordered Kesselring to continue the assault. Against both their better judgements, Kesselring and Von Mackensen started another assault on 29th February against the US forces dug in around Cisterna. The US held their ground and rebuffed the Germans who lost a further 2,500 casualties. With both sides now exhausted and with the Spring rains turning much of the battlefield into a quagmire, both sides dug in to wait for late spring.

Lucas is Replaced

Lucas was given scant resources to create a stable beach head and had even less chance of delivering on his objective of going on the offensive and driving toward Rome. This did not however stop Allied commanders from being critical of his role, with Churchill himself being particularly vocal in his disapproval of Lucas’ perceived passivity. General Alexander visited VI Corps HQ on 14th February to impress on Lucas that he should ‘break out as soon as tactically possible’. After his departure, Alexander commented that he felt VI Corps lacked the determination to deliver.

Lucas saw the writing on the wall and commented in his diary on a number of occasions that Operation Shingle was not deliverable. His perception proved accurate as he was replaced on 22nd February by Lucian Truscott.