Battle of San Pietro Infine
Encyclopedia
The Battle of San Pietro Infine (commonly referred to as the "Battle of San Pietro") was a major engagement from 8–17 December 1943, in the Italian Campaign
of World War II
involving Allied Forces attacking from the south against heavily fortified positions of the German "Winter Line
" in and around the town of San Pietro Infine
, just south of Monte Cassino about halfway between Naples and Rome. The eventual Allied victory in the battle was crucial in the ultimate drive to the north to liberate Rome. The battle is also remembered as the first in which the troops of the Italian Royal Army (Regio Esercito) fought as co-belligerents of the Allies following the armistice with Italy
. The original town of San Pietro Infine was destroyed in the battle; the modern, rebuilt town of the same name is located a few hundred meters away.
from the south followed the Allied successes in North Africa
. Eighth Army
's advance from the east following the Second Battle of El Alamein
and the British-American invasion of French North Africa by the British First Army in Operation Torch
had led by May 1943 to the surrender of Axis forces in Africa.
The Germans retreated to the island of Sicily and on the night of 9/10 July 1943, an Allied armada of 2,590 vessels launched one of the largest combined operations of World War II: the invasion of Sicily
. Over the next five weeks, 500,000 Allied soldiers, sailors, and airmen fought German and Italian forces for control of the island. Although the Allied powers were victorious, the Axis managed to evacuate over 100,000 men and 10,000 vehicles from Sicily across the Straits of Messina during the first seventeen days in August. The Allies then invaded the Italian mainland in September 1943 at Salerno, in Calabria
(Operation Baytown) and Taranto
(Operation Slapstick
).
On 8 September, before the main invasion, the surrender of Italy
to the Allies was announced. Italian units ceased combat, and the Italian Navy sailed to Allied ports to surrender. This changed the German defensive strategy greatly, and the Germans now regarded their former allies as enemies and moved to disarm Italian units and occupy important defensive positions. The invasion at Salerno was ultimately successful and Allied forces took nearby Naples on 1 October. German forces then withdrew to the north toward Rome and dug in along a series of well-fortified lines. By late 1943 fighting had reached the Winter Line
.
The German commander—General Albert Kesselring
—had marked out the "Winter Line" as three parallel defensive systems to the south of Rome. The defensives lines were called the Reinhard Line, Gustav Line and Hitler Line
, placed 18 km (11.2 mi) one from the other, taking advantage of the point at which the Italian Peninsula is narrowest; they served as a formidable series of obstacles in the path of the Allied march toward Rome. The Reinhard was the southernmost of the three and was the German fall-back position from the Barbara Line
and Volturno Line
further to the south as German forces retreated gradually up the peninsula. (The Reinhard was also called the Bernhardt Line
.) The Reinhard was actually a southern bulge in the stronger Gustav line to the north. On the eastern side, the Reinhard went from the Sangro River to the Adriatic Sea
(along which length it was identical to the Gustav Line); then, in the west, it bulged south from Cassino to incorporate the mountains overlooking the approaches to the Liri Valley and then moved west to the mouth of the Garigliano River
. The line passed directly through the town of San Pietro Infine, blocking the Mignano Gap
, the pass through which Route 6, the main road up the center of Italy from Naples
to Rome, ran toward Cassino and the entrance to the Liri valley.
The Germans occupied San Pietro in September 1943 to prepare the defenses. They evacuated all non-essential Italians from the town, meaning women, children and old men; they conscripted able-bodied men to help set up the defenses and requisitioned available vehicles and beasts of burden. They set up a defensive apparatus in the whole territory, in particular on Mount Sambúcaro and Mount Lungo, which overlooked the Mignano Gap. These were strategically important positions because they allowed the control of the long stretch of Route 6, important for the advance of the Allies. The Fifth Army began to attack the Reinhard/Bernhardt Line
on 5 November, and the attacks continued into December.
The Battle of San Pietro was preceded by Allied attacks on the Camino hill mass
at the entrance to the Mignano Gap (named for the small town on the road at that point). The entire hill mass is about 10 km (6.2 mi) long and 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) wide. After that, the main Allied effort was against the German defenses on Mount Sambùcaro and Mount Lungo, which dominated the narrow valley on the east and west respectively. As a point of historical interest, the assault on Mount Lungo was aided for the first time by the 1st Italian Motorized Group
, part of the recently reconstituted Italian army, now fighting on the side of the Allies.
's XIV Panzer Corps.
After a week of intense attacks and counter-attacks, the U.S. 36th Division's 143rd Infantry Regiment and the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment commanded the heights of the Sambùcaro mass. The U.S. 36th Division, then planned a further effort for 15 December. 143rd Infantry assisted by 504th PIB would continue to push west along the shoulders of Sambùcaro and take San Vittore del Lazio while to the south of Route 6 142nd Infantry Regiment supported by the Italian 1st Motorized Group were to capture Mount Lungo. In the center, 141st Infantry would attack San Pietro itself. The main attack of the 36th Division started at 12:00 on 15 December. In an effort to break the German defenses in the town, two platoons from the 753rd Tank Battalion attacked with 16 Sherman Tank and Tank Destroyers. The armored attack failed due to mines and anti-tank fire. Four of the 16 tanks survived. After four successive Allied attacks and German counter-attacks, the Germans pulled back from San Pietro since the dominating ground on both flanks, Mount Lungo and the Sambùcaro peaks, was now in II Corps' possession. The Germans launched a counter-attack on 16 December to cover their withdrawal as they retreated to positions farther north at Cedro Hill, Mount Porchia, San Vittore, and the western spurs of Sambúcaro.
.
By mid-January, the Fifth Army had reached the formidable Gustav Line defenses and commenced the first Battle of Monte Cassino
, which started on 17 January 1944.
Italian Campaign (World War II)
The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
involving Allied Forces attacking from the south against heavily fortified positions of the German "Winter Line
Winter Line
The Winter Line was a series of German military fortifications in Italy, constructed during World War II by Organisation Todt. The primary Gustav Line ran across Italy from just north of where the Garigliano River flows into the Tyrrhenian Sea in the west, through the Apennine Mountains to the...
" in and around the town of San Pietro Infine
San Pietro Infine
San Pietro Infine is a comune in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about northwest of Naples and about northwest of Caserta...
, just south of Monte Cassino about halfway between Naples and Rome. The eventual Allied victory in the battle was crucial in the ultimate drive to the north to liberate Rome. The battle is also remembered as the first in which the troops of the Italian Royal Army (Regio Esercito) fought as co-belligerents of the Allies following the armistice with Italy
Armistice with Italy
The Armistice with Italy was an armistice signed on September 3 and publicly declared on September 8, 1943, during World War II, between Italy and the Allied armed forces, who were then occupying the southern end of the country, entailing the capitulation of Italy...
. The original town of San Pietro Infine was destroyed in the battle; the modern, rebuilt town of the same name is located a few hundred meters away.
North Africa and Sicily
The Allied invasion of ItalyAllied invasion of Italy
The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied landing on mainland Italy on September 3, 1943, by General Harold Alexander's 15th Army Group during the Second World War. The operation followed the successful invasion of Sicily during the Italian Campaign...
from the south followed the Allied successes in North Africa
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
. Eighth Army
Eighth Army (United Kingdom)
The Eighth Army was one of the best-known formations of the British Army during World War II, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns....
's advance from the east following the Second Battle of El Alamein
Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
and the British-American invasion of French North Africa by the British First Army in Operation Torch
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
had led by May 1943 to the surrender of Axis forces in Africa.
The Germans retreated to the island of Sicily and on the night of 9/10 July 1943, an Allied armada of 2,590 vessels launched one of the largest combined operations of World War II: the invasion of Sicily
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
. Over the next five weeks, 500,000 Allied soldiers, sailors, and airmen fought German and Italian forces for control of the island. Although the Allied powers were victorious, the Axis managed to evacuate over 100,000 men and 10,000 vehicles from Sicily across the Straits of Messina during the first seventeen days in August. The Allies then invaded the Italian mainland in September 1943 at Salerno, in Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
(Operation Baytown) and Taranto
Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
(Operation Slapstick
Operation Slapstick
Operation Slapstick was the code name for a British landing from the sea at the Italian port of Taranto during the Second World War. The operation, one of three landings during the Allied invasion of Italy, was undertaken by the British 1st Airborne Division in September 1943.Planned at short...
).
On 8 September, before the main invasion, the surrender of Italy
Armistice with Italy
The Armistice with Italy was an armistice signed on September 3 and publicly declared on September 8, 1943, during World War II, between Italy and the Allied armed forces, who were then occupying the southern end of the country, entailing the capitulation of Italy...
to the Allies was announced. Italian units ceased combat, and the Italian Navy sailed to Allied ports to surrender. This changed the German defensive strategy greatly, and the Germans now regarded their former allies as enemies and moved to disarm Italian units and occupy important defensive positions. The invasion at Salerno was ultimately successful and Allied forces took nearby Naples on 1 October. German forces then withdrew to the north toward Rome and dug in along a series of well-fortified lines. By late 1943 fighting had reached the Winter Line
Winter Line
The Winter Line was a series of German military fortifications in Italy, constructed during World War II by Organisation Todt. The primary Gustav Line ran across Italy from just north of where the Garigliano River flows into the Tyrrhenian Sea in the west, through the Apennine Mountains to the...
.
Italy
Albert Kesselring
Albert Kesselring was a German Luftwaffe Generalfeldmarschall during World War II. In a military career that spanned both World Wars, Kesselring became one of Nazi Germany's most skilful commanders, being one of 27 soldiers awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords...
—had marked out the "Winter Line" as three parallel defensive systems to the south of Rome. The defensives lines were called the Reinhard Line, Gustav Line and Hitler Line
Hitler Line
The Hitler Line was a German defensive line in central Italy during the Second World War. The strong points of the line were at Aquino and Piedimonte. In May 1944, the line was re-named the Senger Line, after General von Senger und Etterlin, one of the generals commanding Axis forces in the area...
, placed 18 km (11.2 mi) one from the other, taking advantage of the point at which the Italian Peninsula is narrowest; they served as a formidable series of obstacles in the path of the Allied march toward Rome. The Reinhard was the southernmost of the three and was the German fall-back position from the Barbara Line
Barbara Line
During World War II, the Barbara Line was a series of German military fortifications in Italy, some south of the Gustav Line, and a similar distance north of the Volturno Line. Near the eastern coast, it ran along the line of the Trigno river. The line mostly consisted of fortified hilltop...
and Volturno Line
Volturno Line
The Volturno Line was a German defensive position in Italy during the World War II.The line ran from Termoli in the east, along the Biferno River through the Apennine Mountains to the Volturno River in the west....
further to the south as German forces retreated gradually up the peninsula. (The Reinhard was also called the Bernhardt Line
Bernhardt Line
The Bernhardt Line was a German defensive line in Italy during World War II. Having reached the Bernhardt Line at the start of December 1943, it took until mid-January 1944 for U.S. 5th Army to fight their way to the next line of defenses, the Gustav Line. The line was defended by XIV Panzer Corps...
.) The Reinhard was actually a southern bulge in the stronger Gustav line to the north. On the eastern side, the Reinhard went from the Sangro River to the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
(along which length it was identical to the Gustav Line); then, in the west, it bulged south from Cassino to incorporate the mountains overlooking the approaches to the Liri Valley and then moved west to the mouth of the Garigliano River
Garigliano River
The Garigliano is a river in central Italy.It forms at the confluence of the rivers Gari and Liri. Garigliano is actually a deformation of "Gari-Lirano"...
. The line passed directly through the town of San Pietro Infine, blocking the Mignano Gap
Mignano Monte Lungo
Mignano Monte Lungo is a comune in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about 70 km northwest of Naples and about 45 km northwest of Caserta....
, the pass through which Route 6, the main road up the center of Italy from Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
to Rome, ran toward Cassino and the entrance to the Liri valley.
Preparations
Bernhardt Line
The Bernhardt Line was a German defensive line in Italy during World War II. Having reached the Bernhardt Line at the start of December 1943, it took until mid-January 1944 for U.S. 5th Army to fight their way to the next line of defenses, the Gustav Line. The line was defended by XIV Panzer Corps...
on 5 November, and the attacks continued into December.
The Battle of San Pietro was preceded by Allied attacks on the Camino hill mass
Monte la Difensa
The battle for Monte La Defensa, which took place between 3 December and 9 December 1943, occurred during Operation Raincoat, part of the Battle for the Bernhardt Line during the Italian Campaign in World War II....
at the entrance to the Mignano Gap (named for the small town on the road at that point). The entire hill mass is about 10 km (6.2 mi) long and 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) wide. After that, the main Allied effort was against the German defenses on Mount Sambùcaro and Mount Lungo, which dominated the narrow valley on the east and west respectively. As a point of historical interest, the assault on Mount Lungo was aided for the first time by the 1st Italian Motorized Group
Italian Co-Belligerent Army
The Italian Co-Belligerent Army , or the Army of the South , was the army of the Italian Royalist forces fighting on the side of the Allies during World War II....
, part of the recently reconstituted Italian army, now fighting on the side of the Allies.
The battle
The direct attack on the German positions in and around San Pietro began on 8 December by II Corps of the Fifth Army. The positions were defended by the second and third battalions of the 15th Panzer Grenadier Regiment and the second battalion of the 71st Panzer Grenadier Regiment, all part of German Tenth ArmyGerman Tenth Army
The 10th Army was a World War I and World War II field army. During World War I the 10th army was stationed at the Eastern Front against Russia, and occupied Poland and Belorussia at the end of 1918 when the war ended....
's XIV Panzer Corps.
After a week of intense attacks and counter-attacks, the U.S. 36th Division's 143rd Infantry Regiment and the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment commanded the heights of the Sambùcaro mass. The U.S. 36th Division, then planned a further effort for 15 December. 143rd Infantry assisted by 504th PIB would continue to push west along the shoulders of Sambùcaro and take San Vittore del Lazio while to the south of Route 6 142nd Infantry Regiment supported by the Italian 1st Motorized Group were to capture Mount Lungo. In the center, 141st Infantry would attack San Pietro itself. The main attack of the 36th Division started at 12:00 on 15 December. In an effort to break the German defenses in the town, two platoons from the 753rd Tank Battalion attacked with 16 Sherman Tank and Tank Destroyers. The armored attack failed due to mines and anti-tank fire. Four of the 16 tanks survived. After four successive Allied attacks and German counter-attacks, the Germans pulled back from San Pietro since the dominating ground on both flanks, Mount Lungo and the Sambùcaro peaks, was now in II Corps' possession. The Germans launched a counter-attack on 16 December to cover their withdrawal as they retreated to positions farther north at Cedro Hill, Mount Porchia, San Vittore, and the western spurs of Sambúcaro.
Aftermath
The Battle of San Pietro was part of the overall campaign to breach the Bernhardt/Reinhard Line, some 10 km (6.2 mi) deep at that point. It took six weeks of heavy fighting—from early November to late December—to overcome the German defenses. During that time, the Fifth Army sustained 16,000 casualties. The highway through the Mignano Gap to the Liri Valley was nicknamed "Death Valley" by members of the attacking force. The battle destroyed the town of San Pietro Infine completely. Destruction was wrought by a combination of close combat, both Allied and German mortar and artillery, and German "scorched earth" policy. Both the battle and the plight of the civilian population have inspired numerous accounts, most famous of which is the John Huston film The Battle of San PietroThe Battle of San Pietro
The Battle of San Pietro is a 1945 documentary film directed by John Huston about the Battle of San Pietro Infine during World War II. It was shot by Jules Buck.Huston and his crew were attached to the US Army’s 143rd regiment of the 36th division...
.
By mid-January, the Fifth Army had reached the formidable Gustav Line defenses and commenced the first Battle of Monte Cassino
Battle of Monte Cassino
The Battle of Monte Cassino was a costly series of four battles during World War II, fought by the Allies against Germans and Italians with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome.In the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans...
, which started on 17 January 1944.
See also
- Henry T. WaskowHenry T. WaskowHenry Thomas Waskow was a US Army captain memorialized in Ernie Pyle's dispatch "The Death of Captain Waskow," which in turn was faithfully portrayed in the movie The Story of G.I. Joe...
- Italian Campaign (World War II)Italian Campaign (World War II)The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
- Allied invasion of ItalyAllied invasion of ItalyThe Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied landing on mainland Italy on September 3, 1943, by General Harold Alexander's 15th Army Group during the Second World War. The operation followed the successful invasion of Sicily during the Italian Campaign...
- Gustav Line
- Fifth United States Army
- Barbara LineBarbara LineDuring World War II, the Barbara Line was a series of German military fortifications in Italy, some south of the Gustav Line, and a similar distance north of the Volturno Line. Near the eastern coast, it ran along the line of the Trigno river. The line mostly consisted of fortified hilltop...
- 36th Infantry Division (United States)
- European Theatre of World War IIEuropean Theatre of World War IIThe European Theatre of World War II was a huge area of heavy fighting across Europe from Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 until the end of the war with the German unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945...
External links
- Complete text of Fifth Army at the Winter Line, the U.S. War Department account of relevant operations at the United States Army Center of Military History
- 36th Division in WWII, San Pietro, site of the Texas military forces museum.
- Oral history account of battles of San Pietro and Cassino.