Axis victory
192-594: Invasion of Italy Winter Line Gothic Line 1945 Spring Offensive Operation Achse ( German : Fall Achse , lit. 'Case Axis '), originally called Operation Alaric ( Unternehmen Alarich ), was the codename for the German operation to forcibly disarm the Italian armed forces after Italy 's armistice with the Allies on 3 September 1943. Several German divisions had entered Italy after
384-411: A Franco-German war broke out, it would quickly escalate to a European war since Britain would almost certainly intervene, rather than risk the prospect of France's defeat. Moreover, they contended that Hitler's assumption was flawed that Britain and France would ignore the projected wars because they had started their rearmament later than Germany. The opposition expressed by Fritsch, Blomberg and Neurath
576-471: A cautious advance along the coastal roads towards Pizzo Calabro and Crotone . The 76th Panzerkorps avoided engagement and slowly retreated northwards. After some unrealistic and fruitless attempts by personalities of minor importance (embassy official Blasco Lanza D'Ajeta, Foreign Ministry official Alberto Berio, industrialist Alberto Pirelli) to contact the Allies and start negotiations for an exit of Italy from
768-610: A collapse of Italy or an overthrow of Mussolini. More reports about a speech delivered by the Italian diplomat Giuseppe Bastianini , information from Heinrich Himmler 's men in Italy and the presence in Sicily of General Mario Roatta , who was considered untrustworthy, strengthened Hitler's suspicions. On 21 May, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel , the head of the OKW, issued guidelines developed to respond to
960-540: A fake command, denominated Auffrischungsstab München , to hide the creation of a new army group which on 14 August would be moved to Bologna under the name of Army Group B , and would enact Operation "Achse" in Northern Italy. At 02:15 on 26 July the 215th Infantry Division was the first German unit to enter Italy, heading for Liguria , while the Panzergrenadier Division Feldherrnhalle and
1152-499: A few days in Ukraine at the headquarters of Field Marshal Erich von Manstein , soon learned of the armistice from a BBC transmission, and acted with extreme resolve. At 19:50, a few minutes after Badoglio had finished his announcement, the aide of General Jodl broadcast the coded word "Achse" to all subordinated commands; it was the signal for the German forces to attack Italian forces in all
1344-495: A linkup with the Americans to the south. At Paestum , the two lead battalions of the 36th (Texas) Division (from the 141st and 142nd Infantry Regiments ) received stiff resistance from two companies of the von Doering group. German observers on Monte Soprano directed fire onto the landing craft. LST 336 took 18 hits, and some LCTs and DUKWs sheered away to avoid German shellfire. The division had not been in combat before and as
1536-685: A local law firm in his home town. In 1901, he entered into civil service and worked for the Foreign Office in Berlin. In 1903, he was assigned to the German embassy in London , at first as Vice-Consul and from 1909 as Legationsrat (legation counsel). After the visit of the Prince of Wales to the Kingdom of Württemberg in 1904, as Lord Chamberlain to King William II, Neurath was created an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of
1728-663: A memorandum on the German embassy's official position regarding the Armenian Genocide to German consulates in the Ottoman Empire. The memorandum justified the actions of the Ottoman government during the Armenian Genocide while also attempting to present the German government as protesting against the "excesses" of the genocide. In 1917, he temporarily quit the diplomatic service to succeed his uncle Julius von Soden as head of
1920-580: A more general advance, and by 16 September the British 5th Infantry Division had reached Sapri, 40 km (25 mi) beyond Belvedere, where forward patrols made contact with patrols from VI Corps' 36th Division. On 16 September, the overall commander of forces in the Salerno area, General von Vietinghoff, reported to Field Marshal Kesselring that the Allied air and naval superiority were decisive and that he didn't have
2112-649: A probable Allied attack on Italian soil. Germany and Italy were still allies. The decision to create German units in Italy was made during the final phase of the Tunisian campaign ; on 9 May 1943, two days after the fall of Tunis to the Allies , the German High Command ( OKW ) informed the Italian Supreme Command ( Comando Supremo ) that three new German units would be formed, mostly employing second-line German units evacuated from North Africa . They would be
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#17328455031422304-502: A rapid response to any Allied landing. In Calabria, Herr's LXXVI Panzer Corps had two divisions concentrated in the Castrovillari area. Its third division, 1st Parachute Division ( 1. Fallschirmjäger-Division ), was deployed toward Taranto. The rearguard in the toe was BattleGroup von Usedom, comprising a single battalion (1/67th Panzergrenadier Regiment) with detachments of artillery and engineers. Meanwhile, Balck's XIV Panzer Corps
2496-400: A result of the Italian surrender, there was a general belief amongst the soldiers that the landings would be routine. The 141st Infantry lost cohesion and failed to gain any depth during the day which made the landing of supporting arms and stores impossible, leaving them without artillery and anti-tank guns. However, the 142nd Infantry fared better and with the support of the 143rd Infantry ,
2688-490: A single plan for the occupation of Italy and the Balkans, which was called "Achse". On 5 August, on the advice of Admiral Ruge and because of the strengthening of the Italian defenses of Rome, the "Schwartz" plan was abandoned. Another problem for Hitler and the German leadership came from a lack of detailed information about Mussolini's fate and the refusal of Victor Emmanuel III to meet Hitler, which would have been an occasion for
2880-679: A sudden attack on the new Italian leadership. While the planning was under way, the Wehrmacht command had begun the transfer of the divisions needed to enact operations when the Italians defected. Starting on 27 July, the 2. Fallschirmjäger-Division of General Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke was moved by air from Southern France to the Pratica di Mare Air Base , a move that surprised both the Italian commands and Kesselring, as neither had been warned beforehand. Meanwhile, on 31 July, General Kurt Student (commander of
3072-462: A three-star general. Late in the war, Neurath had contacts with the German resistance . The Allies prosecuted Neurath at the Nuremberg trials in 1946. Otto von Lüdinghausen appeared for his defence. The prosecution accused him of " conspiracy to commit crimes against peace; planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression; war crimes and crimes against humanity ". Neurath's defence strategy
3264-664: A time when the disposal of Allied shipping capacity was in crisis and permit an increase of British and American supplies to the Soviet Union . In addition, it would tie down German forces in Italy. Joseph Stalin , the Soviet leader , had been strongly pressuring Churchill and Roosevelt to open a "second front" in Europe, which would lessen the German Army 's focus on the Eastern Front , where
3456-440: A two-battalion drop at Capua to block the highway there. The Italian surrender on 3 September led to the cancellation of Operation Giant I and its replacement by Operation Giant II, a drop of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment on Stazione di Furbara and Cerveteri airfields, 40 kilometres (25 mi) northwest of Rome. This was intended to aid Italian forces in saving Rome, one of the most culturally significant cities in
3648-555: A very broad 56 km (35 mi) front, using only three assault divisions (one American, the 36th , under Major General Fred L. Walker , in VI Corps, and two British: the 46th , under Major-General John Hawkesworth , and 56th (London) , under Major-General Douglas Graham , in X Corps), and the two corps were widely separated, both in distance (19 km (12 mi)) and by the Sele River . Clark initially provided no troops to cover
3840-514: A vital bridge over the Sarno River at Scafati . They surrounded Mount Vesuvius and prepared to advance on Naples. The Fascist troops occupying the city provoked a rebellion by the population which started on 27 September. With the swift advance by British X Corps and Naples in rebellion, the Germans were forced to evacuate. On 1 October, "A" Squadron of the 1st King's Dragoon Guards entered Naples,
4032-457: A weak spot in the lines. German losses, particularly in tanks, were severe. On 14 September and the following night, Tedder ordered every available aircraft to support the Fifth Army, including the strategic bomber force. Over 1,000 tons of bombs were dropped during the daylight hours. On 15 September both the 16th Panzer and 29th Panzergrenadier Divisions went on the defensive, marking the end to
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#17328455031424224-646: The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht that the Allied air and naval superiority had forced LXXVI Panzer Corps onto the defensive, and that a decisive success would depend on the attack by XIV Panzer Corps. If this failed, the 10th Army must break off the battle to avoid being 'mangled'. On 16 September, the Schmalz group renewed its efforts on the X Corps front but with no more success, although No. 2 Commando suffered casualties, including 31-year-old Captain Henry Wellesley ,
4416-483: The 16th Panzer Division arrived in early June and was sent west of Bari . On 19 May also, the headquarters of general Hans Hube 's XIV Panzer Corps was also sent from France to strengthen the command structure of the Commander-in-Chief South ( Oberbefehlshaber Süd ), Field Marshal Albert Kesselring . On 20 May 1943, during a prolonged discussion at his headquarters, Hitler expressed his doubts about
4608-450: The 16th Panzer Division had organised his forces into four mixed arms battle groups which he had placed roughly 10 km (6 mi) apart and between 5 and 10 km (3 and 6 mi) back from the beaches. The Dőrnemann group was just east of Salerno (and therefore were opposite Major General John Hawkesworth 's British 46th Infantry Division when it landed), the Stempel battle group
4800-465: The 1st Canadian and British 5th Infantry Divisions , launched Operation Baytown under General Bernard Montgomery 's direction. Opposition to the landings was light and the Italian coastal units surrendered almost immediately. Except to the Italian paratroopers of the 185th Infantry Regiment "Nembo" which was attached to the 211th Coastal Division had provided stiff resistance in the Aspromonte, but
4992-408: The 1st Fallschirmjäger-Division to Sicily immediately, and then sent the headquarters of XIV Panzer Corps (under General Hube ) and the 29th Panzergrenadier Division, ready for deployment, to Reggio Calabria . On 17 July, Hitler decided to meet with Mussolini and his collaborators, and assess their resolve to continue the war. The meeting was near Feltre on 19 July 1943. On the same day, Rome
5184-681: The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler and the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich , despite the precarious situation on the Eastern Front. Protests by Field Marshal Von Kluge and further worsening of the situation in the East forced however Hitler to send only the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, without its heavy weapons. This division crossed the Brenner Pass on 3 August and then placed itself between Parma and Reggio Emilia . This
5376-488: The 715th Infantry Division were deployed to protect the passage through the alpine passes on the French–Italian border . The Italian commands protested and tried to stop the inflow of the divisions with some pretexts, but Kesselring intervened through the Italian Supreme Command on 1 August, and the 305th Infantry Division marched on foot first to Genoa and then to La Spezia . Meanwhile, more German units entered Italy:
5568-448: The 76th Infantry Division , on 2 August, heading for Savona ; the 94th Infantry Division , on 4 August, heading for Susa and then Alessandria ; the 87th Corps headquarters (General Gustav-Adolf von Zangen ), which on 11 August established itself in Acqui and assumed command of the three newly-arrived German divisions. Some conflicts and incidents between the German troops on passage and
5760-570: The Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), in London: "I am not satisfied with the situation at Avalanche. The build-up is slow and they are pinned down to a bridgehead that has not enough depth. Everything is being done to push follow-up units and material to them. I expect heavy German counter-attack to be imminent." By 12 September, X Corps had taken a defensive posture because every battalion
5952-425: The Eastern Front for Operation Citadel . On 17 June Mussolini, after a partial refusal, urgently asked for two German armoured divisions, as a reinforcement to confront the powerful Allied forces. After more arguments caused by another change of mind by Mussolini and by a proposal by General Vittorio Ambrosio , the Chief of Staff of the Italian armed forces, to turn down German reinforcements and to move to Italy
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6144-758: The German High Command formed a new army headquarters to be Army Command South's main field formation. The new German 10th Army headquarters, commanded by Heinrich von Vietinghoff , was activated on 22 August. The German 10th Army had two subordinate corps with a total of six divisions which were positioned to cover possible landing sites. Under Hermann Balck 's XIV Panzer Corps was the Hermann Göring Airborne Panzer Division (under Wilhelm Schmalz ), 15th Panzergrenadier Division ( Eberhard Rodt ) and 16th Panzer Division ( Rudolf Sieckenius ); and under Traugott Herr 's LXXVI Panzer Corps
6336-640: The Joint Chiefs of Staff instructed General Dwight D. Eisenhower , the Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean theater, to go ahead. Despite the overwhelming success of the Sicilian campaign, a significant number of Axis forces managed to avoid capture and escape to the mainland. Contemporary Axis propaganda portrayed this as a success. In late July, the fascist government fell and Mussolini
6528-646: The Military Intelligence Service and commander of the Motorized-Armored Army Corps tasked with defending the capital), General Antonio Sorice (War Minister), Admiral Raffaele de Courten (Minister of the Navy), General Renato Sandalli (Minister of the Air Force), General Paolo Puntoni , General Giuseppe De Stefanis , and Major Luigi Marchesi (secretary of Ambrosio) participated. Faced with
6720-700: The Night of the Long Knives — would have been futile if not dangerous. In response to the reservations expressed at the conference, Hitler tightened his control of the military-foreign policy making apparatus by removing those who expressed reservations at the November conference: Blomberg, Fritsch and Neurath. On 4 February 1938, Neurath was sacked as Foreign Minister with Blomberg and Fritsch also losing their posts (the Blomberg–Fritsch Affair ). Neurath felt his office
6912-671: The Royal Victorian Order . Neurath's career was decisively advanced by Secretary of State Alfred von Kiderlen-Waechter . In 1914, he was sent to the embassy in Constantinople . During World War I , he served as an officer with an infantry regiment until 1916, when he was badly wounded. In December 1914, he was awarded the Iron Cross . He returned to the German diplomatic service in the Ottoman Empire (1914–1916), where he wrote
7104-471: The Secret Cabinet Council , a purported super-cabinet to advise Hitler on foreign affairs. On paper, it appeared that Neurath had been promoted. However, this body only existed on paper; Hermann Göring subsequently testified that it never met, "not for a minute". In March 1939, Neurath was appointed Reichsprotektor of occupied Bohemia and Moravia , serving as Hitler's personal representative in
7296-529: The U.S. VI Corps under Major General Ernest J. Dawley , the British X Corps under Lieutenant-General Richard McCreery , with the 82nd Airborne Division in reserve, a total of eight divisions and two brigade -sized units. Its primary objectives were to seize the port of Naples to ensure resupply, and to cut across to the east coast, trapping Axis troops further south. The naval task force of warships, merchant ships and landing craft totaling 627 vessels came under
7488-637: The Via Ostiensis , reached the Magliana bridge. Meanwhile, the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division advanced from north along the Via Aurelia , Via Cassia , and Via Flaminia , but was halted near Lake Bracciano by the Ariete II Division (General Raffaele Cadorna ) and suspended its advance after some negotiations. The paratroopers, instead, went ahead with their action; fierce fighting erupted at Magliana between
7680-546: The XXVI Italian Army Corps in Bolzano , complained vehemently and threatened an armed reaction, but after Kesselring's intervention on 1 August the crisis passed and the German units were allowed to proceed; the 44th Infantry Division reached Bozen, assumed control of the Brenner Pass and thus ensured the transalpine communications with Germany. Right after July 25, Hitler had initially decided to immediately send to Italy
7872-482: The fall of Berlin in April 1945. In addition, the invasion left the Allies in a position of supplying food and supplies to conquered territory, a burden that would otherwise have fallen on Germany. As well, Italy occupied by a hostile German army would have created additional problems for the German commander-in-chief (C-in-C), Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring . The Allies had originally planned to cross from
Operation Achse - Misplaced Pages Continue
8064-446: The "Siegfried", "Konstantin", and "Kopenhagen" plans (ready since May) were confirmed, and new operations were studied: "Schwartz" to capture the Italian government in Rome, "Achse" to capture the Italian fleet , "Eiche" to free Mussolini from captivity, and "Student" to capture Rome. On 28 July, Hitler reviewed the operational planning: the "Konstantin" and "Alarich" plans were combined into
8256-601: The 'toe' of Italy. By 3 September, most of this unit was in prepared positions at Bagnara Calabra , 40 km (25 mi) from the landings which it had orders to hold until 6 September. After this they were to withdraw to join the rest of the 29th Panzergrenadier Division which was concentrating at Castrovillari, 130 km (80 mi) to the rear. The Krüger Battle Group (two battalions of 71st Panzergrenadier Regiment, 129th Reconnaissance Battalion and detachments of artillery and engineers) under 26th Panzer Division , would then stand at Nicotera, roughly 24 km (15 mi) up
8448-475: The 'toe' of Italy. The build-up across the Straits of Messina had proved slow; he was therefore short of transport and decided to halt his formations to reorganize before pushing on. However, General Alexander issued orders on 10 September that "It is of the utmost importance that you maintain pressure upon the Germans so that they cannot remove forces from your front and concentrate them against Avalanche". This message
8640-551: The 11th Airborne Corps, and due to take command of Ramcke's paratroopers) and SS- Hauptsturmführer Otto Skorzeny reached Kesselring in Frascati and outlined the "Schwarz" plan for him. This was however soon cancelled by Hitler. Meanwhile, at 12:00 on 26 July Rommel had returned from Thessaloniki to Rastenburg , leaving command of the new Army Group F to Field Marshal Maximilian von Weichs , and on 29 July he assumed command in Munich of
8832-415: The 14th and 76th Panzerkorps, with three Panzer divisions and two Panzergrenadier divisions) and then to retreat with minimal losses north of Naples, while simultaneously carrying out the "Achse" plan and capturing Rome with part of his forces. In order to defend the political and military leadership and to resist a possible German attack, Italian commanders had concentrated a considerable number of troops in
9024-483: The 16th Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion. The British Commandos captured the town of Salerno after some serious fighting that cost 40 (Royal Marine) Commando and 41 Commando nine killed and thirty-seven wounded. The two British infantry divisions, however, met determined resistance and had to fight their way ashore with the help of naval bombardments. The depth and intensity of German resistance forced British commanders to concentrate their forces, rather than driving for
9216-523: The 76th Panzerkorps assumed the defense of Calabria with part of the 26th Panzer Division and the 29th Panzergrenadier Division; his orders were to carry out delaying actions in case of Allied attack across the straits. On 3 September, indeed, XIII British Corps of the Eighth British Army under General Bernard Law Montgomery crossed the straits northwest of Reggio Calabria ( Operation Baytown ), landed without meeting much resistance and started
9408-517: The Albanella to Rutino sector was 6 km (4 mi) south-east of Ogliastro, somewhat south of the U.S. 36th Division's beaches. The British X Corps, composed of the British 46th and 56th Infantry Divisions and a light infantry force of U.S. Army Rangers and British Commandos of Brigadier Robert "Lucky" Laycock's 2nd Special Service Brigade , experienced mixed reactions to its landings. The U.S. Rangers met no opposition and with support from
9600-448: The Allied build-up was constrained by the limited transport available for the operation and the pre-determined schedule of the build-up based on how, during the planning phase, it had been anticipated the battle would develop. By 12 September, it had become clear that the Fifth Army had an acute shortage of infantry on the ground. That day, General Sir Harold Alexander , the 15th Army Group commander, reported to General Sir Alan Brooke ,
9792-455: The Allied governments at the end of July, called for a completely unconditional surrender; Castellano thus found himself in great hindrance, as the instructions Badoglio had given him required to bargain the exit of Italy from the war and a strong military collaboration with the Allies, including the intervention of as many as fifteen British and American divisions that were to make contemporaneous landings north and south of Rome simultaneously with
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#17328455031429984-507: The Allies' speed of advance was entirely dependent on the rate at which their engineers could clear obstructions. Thus, Montgomery's objections to the operation were proved correct: the Eighth Army could not tie down German units that refused battle and the main obstacle to their advance was the terrain and German demolitions of roads and bridges. By 8 September, Kesselring had concentrated Heinrich von Vietinghoff 's 10th Army , ready to make
10176-633: The Allies, while Keitel and Warlimont instead stated that the new German units would be deployed in Central and Northern Italy, as a strategic reserve force. A last meeting was held in Bologna on 15 August, between generals Roatta and Jodl, the latter accompanied by Rommel (who had just been made commander of the new Army Group B in Northern Italy) and by a SS guard of the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler ;
10368-571: The American chargé d'affaires reported, "Baron von Neurath has shown such a remarkable capacity for submitting to what in normal times could only be considered as affronts and indignities on the part of the Nazis, that it is still quite a possibility that the latter should be content to have him remain as a figurehead for some time yet". He was involved in the German withdrawal from the League of Nations in 1933,
10560-417: The Axis cause, but at the same time it started a series of confused attempts to start secret negotiations with the Allies, to get out of the war and to avoid the consequences of a sudden change of sides. The need to gain time induced the new Italian government to make a show of loyalty to the alliance, asking for a more active participation of the German ally in the defense of the Italian Peninsula and thus for
10752-413: The Biferno river. Konstantin von Neurath Konstantin Hermann Karl Freiherr von Neurath (2 February 1873 – 14 August 1956) was a German diplomat and Nazi war criminal who served as Foreign Minister of Germany between 1932 and 1938. Born to a Swabian noble family, Neurath began his diplomatic career in 1901. He fought in World War I and was awarded the Iron Cross for his service. After
10944-456: The British 1st Airborne Division, was killed in one of these actions. By 11 September the ports of Bari and Brindisi, still under Italian control, were occupied. Operation Avalanche–the main invasion at Salerno by the American Fifth Army under Lieutenant General Mark Clark –began on 9 September 1943, and in order to secure surprise, it was decided to assault without preliminary naval or aerial bombardment. However, as Admiral Henry Hewitt ,
11136-439: The British 46th Infantry Division attacked. The British 7th Armoured Division, passing through the 46th Division, was assigned the task of taking Naples, while the newly landed U.S. 3rd Infantry Division took Acerno on 22 September and Avellino on 28 September. The Eighth Army made good progress from the "toe" in spite of German demolitions and linked with the British 1st Airborne Division at Taranto. Its left linked up with
11328-457: The Corps comprised the 2nd Parachute Division under General Walter Barenthin, ready for action south of Rome, and the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division (General Fritz-Hubert Gräser ), reinforced by an armored battalion of the 26th Panzer Division ( Kampfgruppe Büsing ), stationed between Orvieto and Lake Bolsena , north of Rome. These units comprised about 26,000 men and some hundreds of armored fighting vehicles, and were activated by Kesselring in
11520-401: The Eighth Army 480 km (300 mi) south of the main landing at Salerno . He was proved correct; after Operation Baytown, the British Eighth Army moved 480 km north to the Salerno area against no opposition other than engineering obstacles. Plans for the use of Allied airborne forces took several forms, all of which were cancelled. The initial plan to land glider-borne troops in
11712-411: The Fifth Army's right on 16 September. The Eighth Army now concentrated its forces east of the Apennine Mountains and pushed north along the Adriatic coast through Bari . On 27 September, the Eighth Army captured the large airfield complex near Foggia , a major Allied objective. At the same time British X Corps made good progress; they pushed through the mountain passes of Monti Lattari and captured
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#173284550314211904-478: The German forces and the Granatieri di Sardegna, supported by armored units of the Ariete II Division, but at 02:00 on 9 September the Ciampino airport was captured, and an hour later news came that German troops had arrived in Tor Sapienza , along Via Prenestina , just eight km away from the city center. More and more alarming news pushed the political and military leadership, after some uncertain orders by Ambrosio to try to contact Kesselring, to decide to abandon
12096-421: The German troops in Sicily, after an effective fighting retreat, managed to cross the Straits of Messina and even to save a great part of the heavy equipment. In the following days Hube deployed the XIV Panzer Corps (16th Panzer Division, 15th Panzergrenadier Division, and Hermann Goring Division) in the area between Naples and Salerno , while the 1st Parachute Division was sent to Apulia and General Herr with
12288-436: The Germans consented to recalling to Italy part of the 4th Italian Army from Southern France, but they were alarmed by Roatta's plans about a positioning of the German forces that, in case of defection, seemed to expose them to the risk of becoming isolated and being destroyed by the Allies. The meeting was a failure and convinced the German generals that, despite reassurances from Roatta (possibly not yet informed by Ambrosio of
12480-406: The Germans. On the Greek island of Cephalonia , 1,315 Italian soldiers were killed in action against the Germans and over 5,100 Italian soldiers from the 33rd Infantry Division "Acqui" were summarily executed by the German Army after running out of ammunition and surrendering. In Rome, with the royal family and the government having fled, a disorganized defense by Italian troops of the capital
12672-438: The Italian commands and units took place also at the Brenner Pass ; Rommel, worried by the news of a strengthening of the Italian garrison and mining of the mountain passes, sent the Kampfgruppe Feuerstein south, with part of the 26th Panzer Division and the 44th Infantry Division , with orders to say that they had been sent to help Italy against the common enemy. The Italian Supreme Command in Rome and General Gloria, commander of
12864-522: The Italian partisan movement, proved far superior to the German support, and were able to aid the Allied advance to a substantial degree. The Salerno battle was also the site of the Salerno Mutiny instigated by about 500 men of the British X Corps, which had by this time suffered over 6,000 casualties, who, on 16 September, refused assignment to new units as battle casualty replacements. They had previously understood that they would be returning to their original units, from which they had been separated during
13056-425: The Italian troops deployed in France and the Balkans, the ever-deteriorating situation (during Operation Corkscrew , Pantelleria surrendered without resistance on 11 June) induced Hitler to send three more German divisions: the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division , the 29th Panzergrenadier Division (both newly reconstituted in France after their decimation at Stalingrad ), and the 26th Panzer Division . The last of them
13248-453: The Italians had rejected the harsh demands of the Allies. Even in the morning of 8 September, Rahn met the king and the latter reassured him about his decision not to surrender, and in the afternoon Roatta reaffirmed by telephone that news coming from abroad were a propagandist hoax. Rahn was thus taken by surprise when at 19:00 on 8 September, having been warned by Berlin about the news of the armistice, he met Guariglia whom immediately confirmed
13440-537: The King, his relatives, Badoglio, Ambrosio, and Roatta boarded the corvette Baionetta , which reached Brindisi at 14:30 on 10 September, the city having already been reached by Allied troops which had safely landed in Italian-controlled Taranto (the British 1st Airborne Division ), Brindisi, and Bari (two divisions of the 5th Corps) during Operation Slapstick . Allied invasion of Italy Invasion of Italy Winter Line Gothic Line 1945 Spring Offensive The Allied invasion of Italy
13632-447: The Kingdom of Württemberg. His grandfather, Constantin Franz von Neurath, had served as Foreign Minister under King Charles I of Württemberg (reigned 1864–1891), and his father, Konstantin Sebastian von Neurath (died 1912), had been a Free Conservative member of the German Reichstag and Chamberlain of King William II of Württemberg . Neurath studied law in Tübingen and in Berlin . After graduating in 1897, he initially joined
13824-556: The Krüger Battle Group which was withdrawing from the Nicotera position. After an initial attack that made no headway, the Krüger Battle Group veered away but the northern attack continued throughout the day before the whole German force withdrew at dusk. Progress was slow as demolished bridges, roadblocks and mines delayed the Eighth Army. The nature of the countryside in the toe of Italy made it impossible to by-pass obstacles and so
14016-721: The Navy sailed to Allied ports to surrender. The German forces in Italy were prepared for this and implemented Operation Achse to disarm Italian units and occupy important defensive positions. Operation Slapstick commenced on 9 September. The first echelon of the British 1st Airborne Division arrived on four British cruisers, a U.S. cruiser, and the British fast minelayer HMS Abdiel . The Italian battleships Andrea Doria and Duilio with two cruisers passed by, en route to surrender in Malta. There were no Germans in Taranto and so disembarkation
14208-671: The Nazi Party (membership number 3,805,229). Additionally, in September 1937, he was given the honorary rank of a Gruppenführer in the SS , equivalent in the Wehrmacht rank to a Generalleutnant . On 5 November 1937, the conference was held between the Reich's top military-foreign policy leadership and Hitler, which was recorded in the so-called Hossbach Memorandum . At the conference, Hitler stated that it
14400-688: The Operations Division of the General Staff, declared the General Staff as formally dissolved in the morning of 9 September; the subordinate commands and the troops showed signs of bewilderment and confusion. Meanwhile, at 05:10 on 9 September the King and Badoglio, along with high-ranking officers, dignitaries and family members, fled Rome in seven cars; without encountering any difficulties, they passed Tivoli and Avezzano and reached Pescara and later Ortona , where more fleeing officers had gathered. There
14592-550: The Salerno beachhead was secured. By the end of the first day the Fifth Army, although it had not gained all its objectives, had made a promising start: the British X Corps' two assault divisions had pushed between 8 and 11 km (5 and 7 mi) inland and the special forces had advanced north across the Sorrento Peninsula and were looking down on the Plain of Naples. To the south, the U.S. 36th Division had established itself in
14784-525: The Sardinia Command (later 90th Light Infantry Division ), the Sicily Command (later 15th Infantry Division ), and a "ready reserve". Adolf Hitler wrote to a dubious Benito Mussolini that since they were weak units that needed reinforcements, two additional German divisions would be sent from France. The 1st Fallschirm-Panzer Division Hermann Göring arrived mid-May 1943 and was sent to Sicily, and
14976-418: The U.S. VI Corps commander, was relieved of his command by Clark and replaced by Major General John P. Lucas . The U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, after suffering serious casualties near Altavilla , was merged with British X Corps, joining the U.S. Army Rangers and the British 23rd Armoured Brigade on the Sorrento Peninsula to flank the German defenses at Nocera Inferiore , Sant'Antonio Abate , and Angri , which
15168-601: The afternoon, two German battlegroups, the Kleine Limburg and the Krüger, had attacked Persano and overrun the 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry before crossing the Sele to engage the 2nd Battalion of the 143rd Infantry and virtually wipe it out. The battle groups continued their strike south and south-west until reaching the confluence of the Sele and its large tributary the Calore, where it
15360-433: The alternative Operation Seatrain envisioned shifting VI Corps to the X Corps sector. The navy protested that reversing the landing process would be impossible since loading beached landing craft would make them heavier and unable to withdraw from the beach. Advice from superiors and subordinates convinced Clark to continue fighting, and he later denied seriously considering evacuation. The U.S. VI Corps had by this time lost
15552-508: The amphibious force commander, had predicted, tactical surprise was not achieved. As the first wave of Major General Fred L. Walker 's U.S. 36th Infantry Division approached the Paestum shore at 03:30 a loudspeaker from the landing area proclaimed in English: "Come on in and give up. We have you covered." The Allied troops attacked nonetheless. Major General Rudolf Sieckenius , commander of
15744-460: The announcement of the armistice, in order to defend the capital and deal with the German reaction. During a new meeting between Castellano and Bedell Smith in Cassibile , Sicily, on 31 August, the Italian envoy unsuccessfully insisted again to be made a part of the Allied operative details; the intervention of an American airborne division to protect Rome and the Italian government ( Operation Giant 2 )
15936-535: The announcement of the armistice. The Allied commander-in-chief, sustained by an order from Washington of the Allied heads of state, firmly rejected the request, confirmed his intentions in a threatening tone, and cancelled Operation "Giant 2". At 18:00 on 8 September a hurried and dramatic Council of the Crown was held at the Quirinale Palace ; the king, Badoglio, Ambrosio, Guariglia, General Giacomo Carboni (head of
16128-406: The announcement that very evening. Badoglio protested and vainly tried to obtain another delay; the Italian leaders and generals, extremely worried about the German reaction, made an awful impression on General Taylor, who advised the Allied command to give up Operation "Giant 2", which he deemed to be destined to fail, given the disorganization of the sizable Italian forces stationed around Rome. In
16320-436: The area around Rome; the main force consisted in the Motorized-Armored Army Corps of General Giacomo Carboni , composed of: Other units tasked with the defense of Rome were Overall, about 55,000 men and 200 armored fighting vehicles protected Rome and outnumbered the German forces in the area. The German forces near Rome consisted in the 11th Airborne Corps of General Kurt Student , headquartered in Pratica di Mare ;
16512-428: The armistice, and at 19:42 Badoglio gave in turn his proclamation via the public service broadcaster EIAR . During the previous days, the German representatives in Rome had been given reiterated statements of loyalty to the alliance, expressed at the highest levels; on 3 September Badoglio himself had confirmed to Rahn his firm will to remain at the side of Germany, and still on 6 September General Toussaint thought that
16704-463: The arrival of more German divisions, which however worsened the German threat to Italy. The Italian leadership tried to keep a grip on this difficult phase by alternating requests for help and obstructionism towards the incoming German forces and requests to deploy the German divisions in the South, on the frontline; already on 31 July, during the meeting between Ambrosio and Kesselring, arguments began about
16896-585: The axis" (American General Mark W. Clark would later call it "one tough gut"). Churchill noted that Italian popular support for the war was declining and an invasion would remove Italy from the Axis, thus weakening Axis influence in the Mediterranean Sea and opening it to Allied traffic. This would allow the reduction of shipping capacity needed to supply Allied forces in the Middle East and Far East theaters at
17088-404: The battlefield. Units, short of transport and subjected to other delays, arrived piecemeal and were formed into ad hoc battle groups for immediate action. By 13 September, all the immediately available reinforcements had arrived including additional elements from the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division which had been released by Generalfeldmarschall Kesselring from further north near Rome. By contrast,
17280-658: The best part of three battalions, and so the forward units of both its divisions were withdrawn to reduce the length of the defensive line. The 45th Division consolidated at the Sele - Calore position while the 36th Division was on the high ground on the seaward side of the La Caso stream (which flowed into the Calore). The new perimeter was held with the assistance of Major General Matthew Ridgway 's 82nd Airborne Division . Two battalions (roughly 1,300 paratroopers ) of Colonel Reuben Tucker 's 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), after
17472-676: The bulk of its forces were fighting in the largest armed conflict in history against the Soviet Red Army . However, U.S. Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall and much of the American staff wanted to avoid operations that might delay the main invasion of Europe, which had been planned as early as 1942, and which finally materialized as Operation Overlord in 1944. When it became clear that no cross-channel invasion of occupied France could be undertaken in 1943, both parties agreed to an invasion of Sicily , codenamed Operation Husky , with no commitment made to follow-up operations. After
17664-422: The cancellation of Giant II, had been assigned to execute the final version of Operation Giant I at Capua on the evening of 13 September. Instead, they jumped inside the beachhead, guided by Rebecca/Eureka beacons and moved immediately into the line on the right of VI Corps. The next night, with the crisis past, 2,100 paratroops of Colonel James Gavin 's 505th PIR also parachuted into the beachhead and reinforced
17856-605: The change of regime was a prelude to an Italian defection, which would endanger the German forces fighting in Southern Italy and the entire Wehrmacht presence in Southern Europe. At first Hitler thought about intervening immediately with the forces already on site to occupy Rome and arrest Badoglio, the king and the members of the new government; however he soon changed his mind and, together with Jodl and Rommel (who had been urgently recalled from Greece) he decided to re-activate
18048-454: The city. Roatta exhorted the king and Badoglio to leave Rome by the Via Tiburtina , then he ordered his forces to try to retreat to Tivoli and finally he abandoned the city himself, leaving Carboni without any order. Carboni in turn fled in civilian clothes, then re-entered the city in the morning of 10 September, when the situation was definitely compromised. General Umberto Utili , head of
18240-465: The clear instructions transmitted by Eisenhower and the first indiscretions leaking on foreign radios about the armistice, the Italian leadership, after heated discussions where Carboni went as far as to propose that they retracted Castellano's actions, finally agreed with Marchesi, who said that they should unavoidably keep the word they had given to the Allies, and confirm the news. At 18:30 General Eisenhower, speaking on Radio Algiers, officially announced
18432-438: The coast from Bagnara. On 4 September, the British 5th Infantry Division reached Bagnara Calabra , linked up with 1st Special Reconnaissance Squadron (which arrived by sea) and drove the 3rd Battalion, 15th Panzergrenadier Regiment from its position. On 5 September the allies flew above Soveria Mannelli (central Calabria ) and bombed all along the downstream area of the town, where Nazi bases and warehouses stood. Fortunately,
18624-409: The command of Vice Admiral Henry K. Hewitt . Following the disappointing air cover from land-based aircraft shown during the battle of Gela in the Sicily landings, Force V of HMS Unicorn and four escort carriers augmented the cruisers USS Philadelphia , Savannah , Boise , and fourteen destroyers of Hewitt's command. Cover for the task force was provided by Force H under
18816-500: The command of Vice Admiral Algernon Willis, a group of four British battleships and two fleet carriers with destroyers, which was directly subordinate to the C–in–C Mediterranean Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham . In the original planning, the great attraction of capturing the important port of Taranto in the "heel" of Italy had been evident and an assault had been considered but rejected because of
19008-528: The consensus that Neurath had been a willing and active participant in war crimes but held no such prominent position during the height of the Third Reich's tyranny and so had been only a minor adherent to the atrocities committed. He was found guilty by the Allies on all four counts and was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment. Neurath was held as a war criminal in Spandau Prison until November 1954, when he
19200-478: The contacts that were under way with the Allies), who assured that Italy would not defect and added "we are not Saxons!", that an Italian defection was imminent. The atmosphere at the meeting was so tense that the German delegation refused food and beverages offered by the Italians, fearing they would be poisoned. The preparations against an Italian betrayal therefore proceeded swiftly; detailed dispositions were issued to
19392-416: The defenders, from Traugott Herr 's LXXVI Panzer Corps , were too scattered for it to be effective.) The element of surprise was further limited by belated discovery of naval minefields off Salerno requiring landing craft to spend two hours traveling 19 km (12 mi) from the transports to the landing beaches. On the German side, Kesselring lacked the strength to push the Salerno landing back, and
19584-425: The defense of Italy, while Hitler made an exhausting speech in favor of fighting till the end. Moreover, Hitler gave an optimistic view of the situation and refused the sweeping Italian requests for more land and air support, mentioning technical and operative difficulties. But also, he did not heed the vehement requests of Jodl , Keitel and Warlimont : to create a unified command in Italy under German control, to move
19776-624: The end of August, Hitler sent to Italy his new representatives: the diplomat Rudolf Rahn (who replaced the ambassador Von Mackensen) and General Rudolf Toussaint , who replaced Von Rintelen as military attaché. Kesselring had already authorized General Hans Hube (in command of the XIV Panzer Corps), on orders from OKW, to organize the withdrawal of his four divisions from Sicily and its redeployment in Calabria , which Hube skillfully carried out on 17 August ( Operation Lehrgang ). The vast majority of
19968-414: The evening of 8 September, which restricted any initiative to mere defensive measures in case of German attacks, and by Roatta in the night of 9 September, who especially demanded to avoid turmoil and ‘seditions’ among the troops. Faced with the efficiency of the German units, which immediately demanded surrender or collaboration with threats and intimidations, most of the Italian commanders, also fearful of
20160-703: The evening of 8 September: already at 20:30 they attacked the Mezzocammino fuel depot, and the German paratroopers immediately started advancing south, overcoming sporadic resistance by the Piacenza Division in Lanuvio , Albano Laziale , and Ardea . After reaching the EUR district at 21:30, the 2nd Parachute Division overpowered some units of the Piacenza and Granatieri di Sardegna Divisions and after half an hour, advancing along
20352-560: The fall of Benito Mussolini in July 1943, while Italy was officially still an ally of Germany, despite the protests of the new Italian government under Pietro Badoglio . The armistice was made public on 8 September. German forces moved rapidly to take over the Italian zones of occupation in the Balkans and southern France , and to disarm Italian forces in Italy. Some Italian troops, with no orders from superiors, and hampered by desertions, resisted
20544-478: The fall of Mussolini, Hitler sent six Heer (Army) divisions to Italy, including a Panzer division, and three Waffen-SS divisions. Rommel and his headquarters (then in Munich ) were sent to Thessaloniki to control a new army group in the Balkans. Hitler and the German leadership were thus taken by surprise by the fall of Mussolini on 25 July ; due to wrong information from the ambassador Hans Georg von Mackensen and by
20736-576: The fighting in the North African campaign . Eventually, the corps commander, Lieutenant-General Richard McCreery , persuaded about half of the men to follow their orders. The remainder were court-martialled . Three NCOs who led the mutiny were sentenced to death but the sentence was not carried out and they were eventually allowed to rejoin units. With the Salerno beachhead secure, the Fifth Army began its attack northwest towards Naples on 19 September. On 20 September, Major General Ernest J. Dawley ,
20928-606: The first Allied unit to do so. The entire Fifth Army, now consisting of five American and three British divisions, reached the line of the Volturno River on 6 October. This provided a natural defensive barrier, securing Naples, along with the Campanian plain and the vital airfields on it, from a German counterattack. Meanwhile, on the Adriatic Coast , the Eighth Army advanced to a line from Campobasso to Larino and Termoli on
21120-468: The guns of HMS Ledbury seized their mountain pass objectives while the Commandos, from No. 2 (Army) Commando and No. 41 (Royal Marine) Commando , were also unopposed and secured the high ground on each side of the road through Molina Pass on the main route from Salerno to Naples. At first light units of No. 2 Commando moved towards Salerno and pushed back a small force of tanks and armoured cars from
21312-536: The high ground inland left the airfield within easy range of German artillery and therefore unusable by Allied aircraft. On 10 September, German bombers began targeting Admiral Hewitt's flagship USS Ancon while the ship was serving as General Clark's headquarters. The flagship called thirty "red alerts" over a period of 36 hours in response to 450 Luftwaffe flying sorties. Admiral Hewitt reported: "Air situation here critical." The Allied aircraft carriers had intended to withdraw on 10 September, but remained with
21504-661: The highly successful outcome of the Sicilian campaign had become clear, both Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt , the U.S. President , accepted the necessity of continuing to engage the Axis before the start of the campaign in northwest Europe . Discussions had been ongoing since the Trident Conference held in Washington, D.C., in May, but it was not until late July, with the fall of Italian Fascist Prime Minister Benito Mussolini , that
21696-517: The impressive reputation of military capacity of the Wehrmacht and many times tired by a lengthy and disliked war, soon abandoned any intent of resistance; with a few exceptions, the troops, left with neither orders nor leaders, often dispersed. The situation of the German forces in Italy was actually a difficult one; Rommel, with his Army Group B, had the easier task of occupying the northern regions and neutralizing any resistance by Italian forces in that area, but Kesselring, in command of Army Group C ,
21888-461: The invasion so that their Supermarine Seafires could provide the air cover which invasion planners had expected to operate from Montecorvino. Eighty-five Allied vessels were hit by German bombs off Salerno. Fritz X glide bombs dropped by Dornier Do 217s disabled USS Savannah and narrowly missed USS Philadelphia on the morning of 11 September. The following morning, Clark moved his headquarters ashore, and Hewitt transferred with his staff to
22080-528: The island of Sicily into the "arch" area ( Taranto ) of the Italian mainland, envisioning a limited invasion of the Italian "boot", whence they would advance up the western coast, anticipating a strong defense by both German and Italian forces. The overthrow of Mussolini made a more ambitious plan feasible, and the Allies decided to make their invasion two-pronged by combining the crossing of the British Eighth Army under General Sir Bernard Montgomery into
22272-550: The latest by 1943. Of those invited to the conference, objections arose from Neurath, War Minister Generalfeldmarschall Werner von Blomberg and Army Commander-in-Chief, Generaloberst Werner von Fritsch . They all believed that any German aggression in Eastern Europe was bound to trigger a war with France because of the French alliance system in Eastern Europe, the so-called cordon sanitaire . They further believed that if
22464-522: The lines in the vicinity of Avellino was widely dispersed and failed, incurring significant casualties. In the X Corps sector the lead elements of Major General George Erskine 's British 7th Armoured Division began to land, along with the 23rd Armoured Brigade . With strong naval gunfire support from the Royal Navy and well-served by Fifth Army's artillery, the reinforced and reorganized infantry units defeated all German attempts on 14 September to find
22656-476: The main attack was on the boundary between the two Allied Corps which ran roughly from Battipaglia to the Tyrrhenian sea, with the greatest weight due to fall on the VI Corps side On the morning of 13 September, elements of Major General Walker's 36th Division attacked and captured Altavilla from the high ground 14 km (9 mi) behind Paestum, but a counterattack forced them to withdraw as darkness fell. During
22848-491: The mainland with the simultaneous seizure of the port of Naples further north. Although the Americans were mindful of Napoleon 's maxim that Italy, like a boot, should be entered from the top, the range limits of Allied fighter aircraft based in Sicily reduced their choices to two landing areas: one at the Volturno River basin to the north of Naples and the other south of Naples at Salerno (though separated from Naples by
23040-588: The major peripheral commands (only twelve copies), and the No. 1 and No. 2 Memorandums issued on 6 September by the Supreme Command to the Staffs of the three armed forces, containing indications about the deployment of the forces in the different theaters. These were however general guidelines, lacking details and nearly inapplicable (also due to excessive secrecy measures); they were ineffective and they contributed, along with
23232-528: The many Italian troops in northern Italy south (towards the regions attacked by the Allies), and to give command of the Axis forces in the theatre to General Wolfram von Richthofen . After the meeting, Hitler was convinced that he had lifted Mussolini's morale. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel had been put in charge of forces being organized in Bavaria for intervention in case of Italy's defection ("Operation Alaric"). Rommel
23424-576: The military attaché Enno von Rintelen , who did not foresee that the meeting of the Grand Council of Fascism would threaten the Fascist regime, and instead thought that Mussolini would be able to strengthen collaboration with Nazi Germany. The news of the fall of Mussolini and the creation of a military government led by Marshal Pietro Badoglio surprised and enraged Hitler, who immediately understood that, despite assurances by Badoglio and Italian diplomats,
23616-505: The morning of 8 September, Allied bombers bombed Kesselring's headquarters in Frascati . While they failed their objective and caused heavy civilian casualties, the Allied fleets approached the Gulf of Salerno to launch Operation Avalanche (the main landing of the 5th American Army of General Mark W. Clark ). Badoglio, more and more anxious, sent Eisenhower a telegram asking for a deferment of
23808-476: The mountain passes of the Sorrento Peninsula above Salerno was abandoned on 12 August. Six days later it was replaced by Operation Giant, in which two regiments of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division (Major General Matthew Ridgway ) would seize and hold crossings over the Volturno River. This was at first expanded to include the entire division, including an amphibious landing by the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment , then deemed logistically unsupportable and reduced to
24000-656: The mountainous Sorrento peninsula). They chose Salerno because it was closer to their air bases. Operation Baytown was the preliminary step in the plan in which the British Eighth Army would depart from the port of Messina , Sicily, across the narrow Straits and land near the tip of Calabria (the "toe" of Italy), on 3 September 1943. The short distance meant landing craft could launch from there directly, rather than be carried by ship. The British 5th Infantry Division (Major-general Gerard Bucknall ) of XIII Corps , under Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey , would land on
24192-619: The negotiations of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement (1935) and the remilitarisation of the Rhineland . Neurath was also made a member of Hans Frank 's Academy for German Law . To mark the fourth anniversary of the regime on 30 January 1937, Hitler determined to enroll all the remaining non-Nazi ministers in the Nazi Party and to confer upon them personally the Golden Party Badge . By his acceptance, Neurath officially joined
24384-441: The news and told him about the exit of Italy from the war and from the Axis alliance. Rahn replied bitterly, then hastily left Rome along with Toussaint and the embassy personnel and went to Frascati, where Kesselring's headquarters were located. Despite the initial surprise, the German response, having been accurately planned and organized in detail, was swift and effective; Hitler, who at 17:00 came back to Rastenburg after spending
24576-468: The north side of the "toe" while its 1st Canadian Infantry Division (Major-General Guy Simonds ) would land at Cape Spartivento on the south side. Montgomery was strongly opposed to Operation Baytown. He predicted it would be a waste of effort since it assumed the Germans would give battle in Calabria; if they failed to do so, the diversion would not work, and the only effect of the operation would be to place
24768-613: The passes on the France–Italy border . Meanwhile, German reserves kept being redeployed to face potential threats in the Mediterranean theater. Hitler, seriously worried about the Balkans and in conflict with the Italian leadership and Mussolini himself because of collaboration agreements between the Italian and local partisan forces, decided to send the 1st Panzer Division to the Peloponnese and even considered sending to Italy his three elite Waffen-SS armored divisions , then deployed on
24960-489: The persecution of Czech Jews according to the Nuremberg Laws . Draconian as those measures were, Neurath's rule overall was fairly mild by Nazi standards. Notably, he tried to restrain the excesses of his police chief, Karl Hermann Frank . However, in September 1941, Hitler decided that Neurath's rule was too lenient and so stripped him of his day-to-day powers. Reinhard Heydrich was named as his deputy but in truth held
25152-571: The plain to the right of the Sele river and the higher ground to a depth of 8 km (5 mi), although the 141st Infantry was still stuck near the beach. However, the XIV Panzer Corps commander, Hermann Balck, had seen the 16th Panzer Division's battle groups perform as intended and he had ordered both the Hermann Göring Division south to the battle and later in the day had been able to order 15th Panzergrenadier likewise. Meanwhile, to
25344-399: The planning of Operation "Alarich", to create a detailed plan to react to the Italian defection and swiftly occupy the Italian peninsula, after sending enough reinforcements. Kesselring was told to be ready to the change of sides and to prepare the withdrawal of his forces from Sicily, Sardinia and Southern Italy; new directives were issued, with new operational plans. In a matter of few days,
25536-423: The political stability of the Fascist government and the danger of a collapse of his Italian ally. A report by the German diplomat Konstantin von Neurath found declining morale among the Italian population and pro-British sentiment spreading through the professional classes and the military. Hitler was convinced that the situation in the Mediterranean needed great attention, and a detailed plan had to be prepared for
25728-538: The positioning and role of the new German divisions. At the conference held in Tarvisio on 6 August between the Italian Foreign Minister Raffaele Guariglia , Ambrosio, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Keitel (with the menacing presence of SS guards), the mutual distrust became apparent; Ambrosio asked to increase the German divisions from nine to sixteen, but to deploy them in Southern Italy against
25920-524: The possibility of losing the eight German divisions in Southern Italy; Kesselring, however, showed great capability, and his forces fought with ability and effectiveness. Despite advice by Rommel to quickly withdraw from Southern Italy and retreat to the La Spezia – Rimini line, Kesselring managed to avoid the isolation and destruction of his forces and also to cause trouble to the Allied bridgehead at Salerno, to counterattack with some success (after massing there
26112-594: The possible defection of Italy from the Axis. The plan envisioned a series of operations in different theaters: Operation Alarich, the invasion of the Italian mainland; Operation Konstantin, the neutralization of the Italian forces in the Balkans ; Operation Siegfried, occupation of the Italian-occupied areas in Southern France ; Operation Nürnberg, to guard the France–Spain border ; Operation Kopenhagen, to control
26304-467: The power to neutralize it. The 10th Army had succeeded in preventing troops from being cut off, and continuing the battle would invite heavy losses. The approach of the Eighth Army was also posing a threat. He recommended breaking off the battle, pivoting on Salerno to form a defensive line, preparatory to a withdrawal on 18/19 September. Kesselring's agreement reached von Vietinghoff early on 17 September. General Hermann Balck, commanding XIV Panzer Corps -
26496-410: The prelude to World War II . However, he was often averse to Hitler's aims for tactical, not necessarily ideological, reasons. That aversion eventually induced Hitler to replace Neurath in 1938 with the more compliant Joachim von Ribbentrop , a fervent Nazi. Neurath served as Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia between 1939 and 1943, but his authority was only nominal after September 1941. Neurath
26688-432: The previous day, as did the naval bombardment. The arrival of the British battleships HMS Warspite and Valiant , with 381 mm (15 in) guns, off the beaches provided the Allied troops with a morale boost, although Valiant was not required to shoot and Warspite ' s 29 rounds were awe-inspiring but a minor contribution to the 2,592 naval rounds fired that day. On 15 September, Kesselring reported to
26880-468: The principal armoured formation near Salerno - wrote that his tanks ‘suffered heavily under Allied naval gunfire, with which [they] had nothing to counter'. This triggered an Axis forces retreat from areas which were covered by Allied naval gunfire. General von Vietinghoff then reported to his superior that his attacks ‘were unable to reach their objective owing to the fire from naval guns and low-flying aircraft'. Allied air and naval support lines, aided by
27072-492: The protectorate. Hitler chose Neurath in part to pacify the international outrage over the German occupation of Czechoslovakia . Soon after his arrival at Prague Castle , Neurath instituted harsh press censorship and banned political parties and trade unions. He ordered a harsh crackdown on protesting students in October and November 1939 (1,200 student protesters went to concentration camps and nine were executed). He also supervised
27264-399: The real power. Heydrich was assassinated in 1942 and succeeded by Kurt Daluege . Neurath officially remained as Reichsprotektor . He tried to resign in 1941, but his resignation was not accepted until August 1943, when he was succeeded by the former Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick . On 21 June 1943, Neurath had been raised to the honorary rank of an SS- Obergruppenführer , the equivalent to
27456-465: The reserve formation which had landed by 08:00, were able to push forward. Minesweepers cleared an inshore channel shortly after 09:00; so by late morning destroyers could steam within 90 m (100 yd) of the shoreline to shell German positions on Monte Soprano. USS Philadelphia and Savannah focused their 15 cm (6 in) guns on concentrations of German tanks, beginning a barrage of naval shells which would total eleven-thousand tons before
27648-603: The river, offering the Germans an easy route to attack, and only belatedly landed two battalions to protect it. Furthermore, the terrain was highly favorable to the defender. Planning for the Salerno phase was accomplished in only forty-five days, rather than the months that might be expected. A U.S. Army Ranger force, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel William O. Darby , consisting of three U.S. Ranger battalions (the 1st , 3rd and 4th ), and two British Commando units, under Brigadier Robert Laycock (consisting of No. 2 (Army) Commando and No. 41 (Royal Marine) Commando ),
27840-526: The royal Württemberg government. On 30 May 1901, Neurath married Marie Auguste Moser von Filseck (1875–1960) in Stuttgart . His son, Konstantin, was born in 1902, followed by his daughter, Winifred, in 1904. In 1919, Neurath, with the approval by President Friedrich Ebert , returned to diplomacy and joined the embassy in Copenhagen as Minister to Denmark . From 1921 to 1930, he was the ambassador to Rome and
28032-481: The small amphibious force flagship USS Biscayne so the large Ancon could retire to North Africa. The Allies fought to expand their beachhead for three days while the Germans defended stubbornly to mask the build-up of their reinforcements for a counter-offensive. On 10 September, Clark visited the battlefield and judged that it was unlikely that X Corps would be able to push quickly east past Battipaglia to link with VI Corps. Since X Corps' main line of thrust
28224-480: The south, the 29th Panzergrenadier Division from LXXVI Panzer Corps had also been directed to Salerno. Neither side had gained the initiative. Luftwaffe planes began strafing and bombing the invasion beaches shortly after 04:00 on the morning of 9 September before X Corps seized the Montecorvino airfield 5 km (3 mi) inland later that day, destroying three dozen German planes. However, failure to capture
28416-491: The subordinated commands, which in turn studied detailed operative plans to act with speed and efficiency. The German leadership expected only weak resistance by the Italian armed forces and counted on quickly solving the situation. General Von Horstig, a representative of the weaponry office of the Wehrmacht in Italy, was already preparing plans for the plunder of the resources and the systematic destruction of factories and infrastructures of military importance in Southern Italy. At
28608-400: The then-Duke of Wellington, who was killed. The Allied air forces and navies continued to batter enemy targets, although during an air attack by Dornier Do 217 K-2 bombers armed with Fritz X radio-controlled glide bombs, Warspite was hit and disabled, which required her to be towed to Malta for repair. On 9 September, Montgomery's formations had been strung out along the coastal roads in
28800-628: The thrust towards Paestum. Further north the Schmalz group of the Hermann Göering Division achieved surprise, attacking the 128th (Hampshire) Brigade (comprising three battalions, the 2nd, 1/4th and 5th, of the Hampshire Regiment ), of the British 46th Division, on the high ground east of Salerno. The armoured column following up was intercepted and driven back, leaving the German infantry exposed. The Allied bomber effort continued on 15 September, although slightly less intensively than
28992-476: The timing of the announcement of the Italian surrender. The Badoglio government hoped to gain more time to organize the resistance against the German forces, delaying the announcement at least till 12 September. Only in the night of 8 September did Badoglio learn from General Maxwell Taylor (the second-in-command of the 82nd Airborne Division , whose intervention was planned for "Giant 2", who had been secretly sent to Rome) that General Dwight Eisenhower would make
29184-470: The two battalions of the 504th. A clear sign of the crisis passing was when, on the afternoon of 14 September, the final unit of 45th Division, the 180th Infantry Regiment , landed, Clark was able to place it in reserve rather than in the line. The 325th Glider Infantry Regiment , reinforced by the 3rd Battalion, 504th PIR, landed by sea on 15 September. A night drop of 600 paratroops of the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion to disrupt German movements behind
29376-401: The two countries reacted immediately to the worsening situation. In Rome, Ambrosio urged unrealistic demands for help from Germany on Mussolini. Among the German commanders in Italy, Eberhard von Mackensen and Albert Kesselring became increasingly skeptical about Italian defense capabilities, and asked for reinforcements. Hitler, more and more worried about an Italian collapse, decided to send
29568-399: The urban area was barely damaged. On 7 September, contact was made with the Krüger Battle Group. On 8 September, the 231st Independent Brigade Group , under Brigadier Robert "Roy" Urquhart , was landed by sea at Pizzo Calabro , 24 km (15 mi) behind the Nicotera defenses. They found themselves attacked from the north by a mobile force from 26th Panzer Division and from the south by
29760-403: The vagueness of Badoglio's message on the evening of 8 September, to the confusion of the peripheral commands of the Italian forces about the unexpected news of the change of sides and the aggressiveness of the German forces, thus resulting in insecurity and indecision among those commands. The situation of the Italian armed forces was worsened by the contradictory instructions issued by Ambrosio in
29952-532: The very strong defenses there. However, with the signing of the armistice with the Italians on 3 September, the picture changed. It was decided to carry the British 1st Airborne Division (Major-General George Hopkinson ) to Taranto using British warships, seize the port and several nearby airfields and follow up by shipping in Lieutenant-General Charles Allfrey 's British V Corps and a number of fighter squadrons. The airborne division, which
30144-575: The war theaters of the Mediterranean. The Italian high commands, in the weeks leading to the armistice, had issued instructions for commanders and troops about their behaviour in case of a withdrawal from the war and possible German aggressions; these orders were Order No. 111 issued by the Staff of the Italian Army on 10 August, the OP 44 Memorandum issued on 26 August by General Mario Roatta (on Ambrosio's orders) to
30336-426: The war, Neurath served as minister to Denmark, ambassador to Italy and ambassador to Britain. In 1932, he was appointed Foreign Minister by Chancellor Franz von Papen , and he continued to hold the post under Adolf Hitler . In the early years of the Nazi regime, Neurath was regarded as playing a key role in Hitler's foreign policy pursuits in undermining the Treaty of Versailles and in territorial expansion in
30528-546: The war, possibly avoiding the dangerous consequences of a surrender at discretion and a German occupation, on 12 August General Giuseppe Castellano , Ambrosio's counselor, left Rome for Madrid , where he met the British ambassador Sir Samuel Hoare . The latter informed Churchill and then directed Castellano to Lisbon where, on 17 August, the first meeting with the Allied emissaries, General Walter Bedell Smith and political advisers Kenneth Strong and George F. Kennan , took place. The Allies' demands, definitively established by
30720-471: The west coast of Italy at Salerno on 9 September as part of Operation Avalanche , while two supporting operations took place in Calabria ( Operation Baytown ) and Taranto ( Operation Slapstick ). Following the defeat of the Axis powers in North Africa in May 1943, there was disagreement between the Allies about the next step. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill wanted to invade Italy, which in November 1942 he had called "the soft underbelly of
30912-425: The western world, from German razing, a condition of the Italian armistice. Because the distance from the Allied beachheads precluded any substantial Allied support of the airborne troops, Brigadier General Maxwell D. Taylor , the acting assistant division commander (ADC) of the 82nd Airborne Division, was spirited into Rome to assess the willingness of Italian troops to cooperate with the Americans. Taylor's judgment
31104-400: Was 26th Panzer Division ( Heinrich Freiherr von Luttwitz ), 29th Panzergrenadier Division ( Walter Fries ) and 1st Parachute Division ( Fritz-Hubert Graser ). Von Vietinghoff specifically positioned the 16th Panzer Division in the hills above the Salerno plain. On 3 September 1943, the British Eighth Army 's XIII Corps , commanded by Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey and composed of
31296-434: Was able to overcome their resistance. Albert Kesselring and his staff did not believe the Calabria landings would be the main Allied point of attack, the Salerno region or possibly even north of Rome being more logical. He had already therefore ordered General Traugott Herr 's LXXVI Panzer Corps to pull back from engagement with the Eighth Army, leaving only 29th Panzergrenadier Division 's 15th Panzergrenadier Regiment in
31488-423: Was agreed. On 1 September, after a consultation between the king, Guariglia and Ambrosio, the Allies were radioed the reception of the conditions of the armistice. On 3 September, Castellano and Bedell Smith therefore signed the Armistice of Cassibile , in presence of the representatives of the British and American governments, Harold Macmillan and Robert Daniel Murphy ; there was however a grievous mistake about
31680-453: Was attacked by over 500 Allied bombers , which accelerated maneuvers by monarchists, high military officers, and even part of the Fascist leadership, more and more concerned with finding a way out of the war. The Feltre meeting accomplished little. Despite pleas by Ambrosio to present Italy's critical situation clearly and to ask for freedom of action to withdraw from the war, Mussolini was weak and indecisive and only asked for more German help in
31872-403: Was between Pontecagnano and Battipaglia (and so faced Major General Douglas Graham 's British 56th Infantry Division ), the Holtey battle group was in a reserve role at Persano on the Sele river which formed the corps boundary between Lieutenant General Richard McCreery 's British X Corps and Major General Ernest Dawley 's U.S. VI Corps , while the von Doering battle group responsible for
32064-406: Was committed and there were no reserves available to form an attack. In the south, the 36th Division made some progress but towards midday a counterattack by elements of the 29th Panzergrenadier Division overran the 1st Battalion, 142nd Infantry Regiment. On 13 September, the Germans launched their counteroffensive. While the Hermann Göring battle groups attacked the northern flank of the beachhead,
32256-402: Was concerned entirely with the assessment that Germany could not start a war in the heart of Europe without Anglo-French involvement, and more time was needed to rearm. However, they did not express any moral opposition to aggression or disagreement with Hitler's basic idea of annexing Austria or Czechoslovakia. That said, offering moral or humanitarian arguments to Hitler — just three years after
32448-543: Was deployed at Salerno on 9 July. The 29th Panzergrenadier Division was sent to Foggia in mid-June and the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division was deployed north of Rome in the first days of July. Meanwhile, on 24 June, the Reichsführer-SS Brigade had been moved to Corsica, and in mid-July, the command of the 76th Panzerkorps (General Traugott Herr ) also arrived. The Allied invasion of Sicily began on 10 July 1943, and established solid beachheads, despite Italian and German counterattacks. The political and military leaders of
32640-404: Was further reinforced on 12 September by a personal visit from Alexander's Chief of Staff , Brigadier A. A. Richardson. Montgomery had no choice- while reorganizing the main body of his troops, he sent light forces up the coast which reached Castrovillari and Belvedere on 12 September, still some 130 km (80 mi) from the Salerno battlefield. On 14 September, he was in a position to start
32832-417: Was in great difficulty after September 8: after the bombing of Frascati, he barely managed to receive the communication of the coded word "Achse" and also learned of the Allied landing near Salerno , where only part of the 16th Panzer Division was stationed. At first, he feared that he would not be able to simultaneously contain the Allied advance and carry out his mission against Rome. Even the OKW considered
33024-407: Was marginalized and opposed Hitler's aggressive war plans because he felt that Germany needed more time to rearm, which were detailed in the Hossbach Memorandum of 5 November 1937. Neurath was succeeded by Joachim von Ribbentrop but remained in government as a minister without portfolio to allay the concerns that his removal would have caused internationally. Neurath was also named as president of
33216-408: Was not overly impressed with Italian fascism . After the death of Chancellor Gustav Stresemann in 1929, Neurath was already considered for the post of Foreign Minister in the cabinet of Chancellor Hermann Müller by President Paul von Hindenburg , but his appointment failed because of the objections raised by the governing parties. In 1930, Neurath returned to head the embassy in London. Neurath
33408-450: Was positioned to face possible landings from the sea with 16th Panzer Division in the Gulf of Salerno, the Hermann Göring Division near Naples and the 15th Panzergrenadier Division to the north in the Gulf of Gaeta. On 8 September (before the main invasion), the armistice of Italy to the Allies was announced, first by General Eisenhower , then in the Badoglio Proclamation by the Italian government. Italian units ceased combat and
33600-475: Was predicated on the fact that his successor and fellow defendant, Ribbentrop, was more culpable for the atrocities committed in the Nazi state than Neurath was. The International Military Tribunal acknowledged that most of Neurath's crimes against humanity were conducted during his short tenure as nominal Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, especially in quelling the Czech resistance , and in the summary execution of several university students. The tribunal came to
33792-482: Was recalled to Germany in 1932 and became Reichsminister of Foreign Affairs as an independent politician in the "Cabinet of Barons" under Chancellor Franz von Papen in June. He continued to hold that position under Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher in December and then under Adolf Hitler from the Machtergreifung on 30 January 1933. During the early days of Hitler's rule, Neurath lent an aura of respectability to Hitler's expansionist foreign policy. In May 1933,
33984-487: Was refused two panzer divisions from northern Italy to assist him. Operation Avalanche was planned under the name Top Hat and supported by a deception plan, Operation Boardman, a false threat of an Allied invasion of the Balkans . In mid-August, the Germans had activated Army Group B under Erwin Rommel with responsibility for German troops in Italy as far south as Pisa . Army Command South under Albert Kesselring continued to be responsible for southern Italy and
34176-401: Was removed as head of the Italian government, envoys of which soon began approaching the Allies to make peace. It was believed a quick invasion of Italy might hasten Italian surrender and produce quick military victories over the German troops trapped fighting in a hostile country. However, Italian (and more so German) resistance proved relatively strong, and fighting in Italy continued even after
34368-417: Was solved by the intervention of Von Rintelen, and the Division advanced without problems towards Gemona , Gorizia , and Opicina ; by 2 September it was fully deployed in the Julian March . Right after the removal of Mussolini from power, the new government led by Badoglio had officially proclaimed the decision to continue the war alongside Germany and kept reassuring the German leadership of its loyalty to
34560-422: Was soon followed by the transfer of the 65th Infantry Division from Villach to the Ravenna – Rimini area, and the transfer of the 24th Panzer Division from Tyrol to Modena by 30 August. On 3 August the Waffen-SS Generaloberst Paul Hausser arrived in Reggio Emilia with the headquarters of the II SS Panzer Corps , to take command of the three incoming divisions. The last German division to enter Italy
34752-507: Was stopped by artillery firing over open sights, naval gunfire and a makeshift infantry position manned by artillerymen, drivers, cooks and clerks and anyone else that Major General Walker could scrape together. Clark's staff formulated various evacuation plans: Operation Brass Rail envisioned Clark and his 5th Army headquarters staff leaving the beachhead to establish headquarters afloat aboard HMS Hilary . Operation Sealion envisioned shifting British X Corps to Paestum with VI Corps, while
34944-438: Was tasked with holding the mountain passes leading to Naples, but no plan existed for linking the Ranger force up with X Corps' follow-up units. Finally, although tactical surprise was unlikely, Clark ordered no naval preparatory bombardment or naval gunfire support take place, despite experience in the Pacific Theater demonstrating it was necessary. (Major General Walker, commanding the U.S. 36th "Arrowhead" Division, believed
35136-458: Was that the operation would be a trap and he advised cancellation, which occurred late on the afternoon of 8 September after pathfinders had already taken off aboard their troop carrier aircraft. The main landings ( Operation Avalanche ) were scheduled to take place on 9 September, during which the main force would land around Salerno on the western coast. It would consist of the U.S. Fifth Army , under Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, comprising
35328-404: Was the 71st Infantry Division , which was transferred from Denmark to an area north of Ljubljana on 7 August, and from 25 August started entering Friuli on orders from Rommel, who feared possible hostile actions by the Italians and the mining of the Eastern alpine passes. After another conflict with the Italian Supreme Command, which once again menaced to result in armed clashes, the situation
35520-441: Was the Allied amphibious landing on mainland Italy that took place from 3 September 1943, during the Italian campaign of World War II . The operation was undertaken by General Sir Harold Alexander 's 15th Army Group (comprising General Mark W. Clark 's American Fifth Army and General Bernard Montgomery 's British Eighth Army ) and followed the successful Allied invasion of Sicily . The main invasion force landed on
35712-482: Was the time for war or, more accurately, wars, as what Hitler envisioned were a series of localised wars in Central and Eastern Europe in the near future. Hitler argued that because the wars were necessary to provide Germany with Lebensraum , autarky and the arms race with France and Britain made it imperative to act before the Western powers developed an insurmountable lead in the arms race. He further declared that Germany must be ready for war as early as 1938 and at
35904-407: Was to be north towards Naples, he decided to move the VI Corps left hand boundary north of the Sele river and move the bulk of Major General Troy Middleton 's U.S. 45th Division into the gap. In view of the enemy reinforcements approaching from the north he also ordered a battalion-sized mixed arms group to reinforce the Rangers the next day. Over the same period, German reinforcements filtered into
36096-438: Was tried as a war criminal at the Nuremberg trials and was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his compliance and actions in Nazi Germany. He received an early release in 1954 and then retired to his family estate, where he died two years later. Neurath was born at the manor of Kleinglattbach (since 1972 part of Vaihingen an der Enz ) in Württemberg , the scion of a Swabian Freiherren noble family and political dynasty of
36288-476: Was unable to withstand a German attack. Some individual soldiers and sometimes whole units, like the 24th Infantry Division "Pinerolo" in Thessaly , went over to the local resistance . Only in Sardinia , Corsica , Calabria and the southern part of Apulia were Italian troops able to offer successful resistance and hold off the Germans until relieved by the arrival of the Allies . The first German combat units were sent to Italy to bolster its defenses against
36480-429: Was undergoing training exercises in two locations 640 kilometres (400 mi) apart, was ordered on 4 September to embark on 8 September. With such short notice to create plans, Operation Slapstick was soon nicknamed Operation Bedlam. The Avalanche plan (using less than half the troops landed during Operation Husky) was daring, considering possible resistance by six German divisions. The Fifth Army would be landing on
36672-524: Was unopposed. The only casualties occurred when Abdiel , at anchor, struck a mine and sank in minutes, with 168 killed and 126 injured. On 11 September, as patrols were sent further afield, there were some sharp encounters with elements of the German 1st Parachute Division. But 1st Parachute could do little but skirmish and fall back because most of its strength was attached to the 26th Panzer and Hermann Göring Divisions at Salerno. Major-General George Frederick Hopkinson , General Officer Commanding (GOC) of
36864-470: Was worried about the fate of German troops in Sicily and southern Italy, who would be cut off from Germany by an Italian "betrayal". But Hitler ignored warnings from Rommel. On 21 July, Hitler decided to suspend the planning of "Alaric" and to send German reinforcements to Italy. The codename "Alaric" was later quietly changed to "Achse" to avoid offending the Italians ( Alaric was the Visigothic king who sacked Rome in 410 ). On 25 July, before he learned of
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