By mid 1943 Allied Forces were on the offensive having inflicted defeats on the Germans. On the Eastern Front the Germany Army had been defeated at Stalingrad and in North Africa Axis forces had surrendered in May 1943. In July the Russians launched an offensive at Kursk and Anglo-American forces landed in Sicily, quickly securing the island. The military pressure triggered the collapse of Benito Mussolini's regime and the establishment of a new government which began secret negotiations for peace with the Allies.
It was decided to open a second front in Europe, in Italy, to divert German Forces from the Eastern Front and from the forthcoming Normandy landings. The plan was to execute amphibious landings at Calabria (Operation Baytown) on the toe of Italy, followed by Salerno (Operation Avalanche) near Naples and Tarranto (Operation Slapstick) on the East coast.
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| Invasion of Italy September 1943 |
The first troops crossed the Messina Straight from Scicily on 3rd September 1943, secured a beachhead and began moving north. On the 8th December the Armistice of Cassibile was announced with Italy officially surrendering to the Allies. This news resulted in an immediate response from the Germans who commenced an occupation of Italy and the disarming of Italian forces. This action meant the Anglo-America Forces would now face German troops when they conducted their landings at Salerno and Taranto.
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| Gulf of Salerno |
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| Gulf of Salerno IJ |
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| Gulf of Salerno |
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| Salerno Peninsular |
The landings at Salerno were conducted by the American Fifth Army under the command of General Mark Clark. The American Sixth Corps would land in the South, the British Tenth Corps in the North. In the British sector the 46th Division on the left, and the 56th Division on the right would land on beaches South of Salerno. British commandos would secure Salerno, US Rangers securing vital mountain passes on the Solerno Peninsular.
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| Salerno British Landing Beach looking North |
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| Salerno British Landing Beach looking South |
At 03:30 on 9th September 1943 US troops landed on on the beaches without any preliminary bombardment to achieve tactical surprise. That failed and the American troops were subject to heavy artillery and machine gun fire.
In the British Sector a massive preliminary naval bombardment assisted in the British landings on the beaches. British Commandos and US Rangers seized their objectives.
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| Salerno Beach Landings British troops and vehicles from 128 Brigade, 46th Division |
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| Salerno Beach Landings British Bren-carriers rolling off Landing Craft |
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| Salerno Landings British Commandos landing in Salerno |
By the evening of the 9th September a fragmented beachhead had been established with a precarious 15km gap between the British and American sectors, split by the River Sele.
The Germans began reinforcing troops in the area and withdrew troops from the immediate shoreline into stronger defence lines on the high ground to prepare for a concentrated counter attack.
On the 12th September the Germans launched their attack on the Allied Bridgehead striking down the Sele River valley, exploiting the unlinked gap between the American and British sector. Over the next two days they were able to force the allies to retreat. American paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division dropped into the beachhead to reinforce the line.
The Allied line held, and the German offensive stalled as Allied naval gunfire from battles ships and cruisers, together with concentrated artillery support, and air bombing exhausted the attacking troops.
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| Salerno Naval Gunfire support |
On the 16th September German forces began a structured, fighting withdrawal north toward the first of a series of defensive boundary lines, the Volturno Line. The Americans and British linked up, securing the beach head and began preparing for offensive operations.
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| Salerno Beachhead IJ |
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