Salerno, American operations from the beaches to the Volturno, 9 September-6 October 1943

109 Pages·11.32 MB·English

by  Center of Military History

SALERNO
American Operations From
the Beaches to the Volturno
9 September - 6 October 1943
CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY
UNITED STATES ARMY
WASHINGTON, D.C., 1990
First printed by the Historical Division, War Deparrment,
for the American Forces in Action series, 1944
CMH Pub 100-7
For s.lk by thc Supt!rintcndcnt of Documents, u.s. Government Printing OffilT
Washington, D.C. 20402
Foreword to CMH Edition
Salerno: A merican Operations From the Beaches to the Volturno
(9 September-6 October 1943) is one of a series of fourteen studies
of World War II operations originally published by the War Depart
ment's Historical Division and now returned to print as part of
the Army's commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of that
momentous clash of arms. These volumes, prepared by professional
historians shortly after the events described, provide a concise
summary of some of the major campaigns and battles fought by
American soldiers. The skillful combination of combat interviews
with primary sources, many of which are now lost, gives these
unassuming narratives a special importance to military historians.
The careful analysis of key operations provides numerous lessons
for today's military students.
I am pleased that this entire group of studies will once again
be available. I urge all military students and teachers to use them
to enhance our collective awareness of the skill, leadership, daring,
and professionalism exhibited by our military forebears.
Washington, D.c. HAROLD W. NELSON
15 September 1989 Colonel, FA
Chief of Military History
Ul

Foreword
In the thick of battle, the soldier is busy doing his ;ob. He has
the knowledge and confidence that his ;ob is part of a unified
plan to defeat the enemy, but he does not have time to survey
a campaign from a fox hole. If he should be wounded and
removed behind tIle lines, he may have evm less opporttmity
to learn what place he and his unit had in the larger fight.
AMERICAN FORCES IN ACTION is a series prepared by
the War Department especially for tile information of wounded
me1l. It will show these soldiers, who llave sen'ed tlleir COIl1l
try so well, the part they their comrades played in achieve
(ll1d
ments wllldl do honor to the record of the United States Army.
G. C. MARSHALL,
Chief of Staff·
v
WAR DEPARTMENT
Military Intelligence Division
Washington 25, D. C.
26 August 1944
Under the command of Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark, the Fifth Army,
a great Allied force composed of the British 10 Corps and the United
States VI Corps, carried out the first large scale invasion of the Euro
pean mainland and secured a firm base for future operations in Italy.
Salerno: The A mel"ican Operations from the Beaches to the
Volturno is an account of the American forces who landed on the
beaches in the Gulf of Salerno. The actions of our British allies have
been duly recorded by their command.
This study is the third of a series called AMERICAN FORCES
IN ACTION, designed exclusively for military personnel and pri
marily for wounded soldiers in hospitals to tell them the military
story of the campaigns and battles in which they served. No part
of this narrative may be republished without the consent of the A. C.
of S., G-2, War Department, Washington 25,. D. C.
Salerno is based on the best military records available. The manu
script, paintings, and sketches were prepared in the field by the Fifth
Army Historical Section. The panoramic sketch of the Salerno battle
ground is by Col. W. P. Burn, C.W.S. Photographs are by the U. S.
Army Signal Corps. Readers are urged to send directly to tl,e His·
torical Branch, G-2, War Department, Washington 25, D. C., com
ments, criticism, and additional information which may be of value
in the preparation of a complete and definitive history of the action
at Salerno.
vi
Contents
Page
PREPARATIONS FOR INVASION
FronJ A/rica to Italy ........................................... .
Plans for the Invasion o/Italy . ..... .. ... .... ........ ......... .... 2
Fi/th Army Plans ..............••••... •.•. . . . . . . . . . ••. . . . . . . . . . 7
"I',paring lor D Day. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . ... . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . ... . . 9
()n the Convoys...................... .. ........... ... ... ... ... 12
l~nemy Opposition ............................................. 14
D DAy ......................... . . .......................... '7
TIlt: Firs/ Hours on the Beaches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. 17
Gumon Tank A//ack .................. ." .' .... ... ......... 27
Progress of the Combat Teams.. .. ...... . .. .. ..... 30
At the End 0/ D Day ......... " . .. . . ........... ' .... ' 35
or
EXPANSION THE BEACHHEAD (10--11 SEPTEMRER) ........ 37
The Advancc of the loth .... _ .... ' ...... '" ." ... . .. .... ...... .. 38
lIigh Tid, at Altavilla ................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . .. 40
The 1791h Drives inlO the Scl~Calore Corridor.................... 41
First Ball/~ 01 Ih~ Tobacco Factory . .. ... .... ... ... ........... .... 45
TII~ G~n~1"lI1 Situation, Evening 01 t t S~pt~mb~r ....... ............ 49
TIlE GERMAN COUNTERATTACK (12--'4 SEPTEMBER) ......... 52
UncertainlY at Allavilla ................ .. ... . ....... .. 53
Th~ Second Baule ol/he Tobacco Foclory, /2 S~pt~mber .. . ...... 55
nllr Troops Change Positions. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... .. . . .. 57
Alltlck (Iud COllnurallack at Allavilla, 13 S~ptembe,. ............... 59
Sparring Oil t/I< Le/t Flank . . . . . . . •.. . .. 6,
Th, SIOIIII Breaks at t/I< Tobacco F<lclory ....... ........... ' . 62
,./ COl ps Goes 011 the Dt'jenSlve ... ... ...... 65
Ilo/ding th~ Line, /4 SI.e,p t~mber ... . .. . . . .. . .•... . 67
FIlth Army Position, Sep/~lIIber . . ... .... . ..•. ... . 71
VII
rag~
PURSUING THE ENEMY (15 SEPTEMBER-6 OCTOBER) ......... 74
Our Right Flank Adv(I1lCL'S, 15-/9 Sc'ptemba. . . . . . .. , .... , , . .. 76
German Delaying Tactics .............. . ...... , . . .. . .. . .. 79
The 3d Divis;on Takes Accl'l1o, 20-27 Scptt'lI1bn. . . . . .......... , 81
The Advance 0/ VI Corps, 20-27 September .....• " ... 85
Avcllino, Naples, and the Volturno, 28 September-6 October......... 87
CONCLUSION. . . . . . ... . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ... . .. .... ... 91
III ustra tions
Page
Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark 3
Mount Soprano ... ......................•........••.........••..... (,
Panorama of the Salerno Battlegrountl ......•......•••.........••••... 10
The Beaches of Paestum .................•......................•.... IS
The Tower of Pacstum ..... _. ... _. . _. ..••.... _. ..••• __ .. _. ...•.•.... 22
Dukws Come Ashore on 0 Day .........••.........•...........•...
Bulldozers Construct Roads .............•.. .... _. •••.... __ ....•......
Highway 18 ................................. ..................... .
A German 8S-mm Dual-purpose Gun ................................ _
The Wall of Paestum .............................................. .
LST's Bring in Trucks and Tanks
Ponte Sele ........... __ ... _. .......•.................•.......••....
View of Altavilla ............••. _. ......•......
The Grataglia .......... _. . . . . . . . . ... _• • . . ........... .
The Tobacco Factory ............................... .
Mount San Chirico .... _. .....................................•.
Combat Engineers of the 142d Infantry ....••....................•.....
Blo\\'n Bridges _. ....................... _. ..................... , , .. .
The Church at Acerno .................... . ..•......••....
A Bridge Southwest of Acerno .................... _. ..•..............
Infantry of the 3d Division ......................................... .
The Volturno River Valley ....•.•........... .......••.........•....
Insignia ... . ............................ .......... ......... 92
Vltl
Maps
No.
The Invasion of haly ............................. Fnccs page
:2 The Salerno Plain, D Day Plans .................... Faces page 5
3 The Paestum Beaches, 9 September 19-13 .................. Page 20
4 D Day Progress, VI Corps ............................. Page 32
5 The 36th Divisior, Advances, 10 September 1943·· .. · .Faccspagc 39
6 The Left Flank, " September '943 ................ Faces page 4'
7 Fifth Army Beachhead, 2400, II September '943········· .. Page 48
8 The Left Flank, '2 September '943 ................. Faces page 53
9 Action at Altavilla, 13 September 1943·· ................. . Page 58
10 45th Division, 1200, 13 September 1943 .................. Page 61
II Action on the Left Flank, '3 September '943····· ..•.... · .Page 63
12 German Counterattacks, 13 September 1943 ............... Page 66
'3 45th Division, 14 September 1943 ................... .. . Page 6g
'4 36th Division, '4 September '943 .... .................... Page 70
15 and,6 Advance to the Volturno, 16 September--6 Ocrober 1943 ..... Page 76
17 The 30th Infantry <Ie Acerno, 20-22 September 1943 ........ Page 82
,8 Advance in the Central Mediterranean, 1 J November 1942-
6 October '943 ...................... ................ Page 90
IX