September 8, a powerful naval force threatening to tip toward the Gulf of Salerno. Salerno that day had been hit by the latest bombing. Many weeks underwent continuous air raids and was now reduced to a heap of ruins.
People bivouacked in tunnels and cellars, hungry and hopeless. But suddenly, at 19.45, also in the general population of Salerno came Marshal Badoglio's voice announcing the armistice. The war was over then? People thought this was so and went out of the shelters. The illusion was short-lived: the appearance of the ships on the horizon at Salerno led the burrow again.
On board were 463 units that set sail from ports in Algeria and Sicily as 100,000 British and 70,000 American soldiers who made up the body, landing under the command of U.S. General Mark Clark lived in the tense hours that preceded the start of operations.
All aboard, including officers, were completely unaware of what had happened in those days. Unaware that the armistice with Italy was signed secretly on September 3, and ignoravano che sarebbe stato reso pubblico entro poche ore. Erano tutti convinti che lo sbarco avrebbe incontrato la tenace resistenza degli italiani e dei tedeschi. Ma, improvvisamente, la tensione che regnava a bordo venne infranta da una comunicazione radiofonica. Alle 18,30, mentre l’operazione "Avalanche” è in pieno svolgimento con i convogli alleati in vista di Salerno (da una settimana la costa campana è sottoposta ad intensi attacchi in preparazione della invasione), da Algeri il gen. Eisenhower comunica la notizia dell’armistizio intervenuto tra gli Alleati e gli italiani. Ecco il testo del breve annuncio:"Qui è il gen. Eisenhower. Il governo italiano si è arreso incondizionatamente a queste forze armate. Le ostilità between the armed forces of Italy and the United Nations cease immediately. All the Italians who will help us to keep out the German aggressor from Italian soil will have the assistance and support of the Allied nations. "A similar announcement is made on the radio at 19.45 by the Italian Prime Minister Marshal Pietro Badoglio. The message to the Italian people so 'concludes: "... They [the Italian armed forces], however, react to attacks of any origin."
The news, completely unexpected, provoked widespread expressions of joy. I danced jubilant soldiers on the bridges. The war with Italy was over! No longer thought of the dangers. All were convinced that instead of a battle, there would have been in Salerno waiting for a crowd in celebration.
at 3:30 am on September 9th gen. Mark Clark launched Operation "Avalanche". The 1st Airborne Division seized without resistance Taranto. Meanwhile
55,000 men of the Anglo-American troops landed in the Gulf of Salerno, covered by a naval force which has a total of four battleships, seven aircraft carriers, 11 cruisers and a few dozen fighters, as well as spare unit and children. The soldiers took the floor with relative ease and without conflict, but suddenly, to their surprise, they found the German reaction.
In the 48 hours followed the landing, the Allies were able to overwhelm the defenses Germany and go inward. The German resistance was weak, General Clark could be satisfied. Its probably too optimistic about landing now strengthened because the events seemed to justify it. Ships could easily download tanks and vehicles. The reinforcements were able to flood regularly on the beach.
Meanwhile the German artillery was silent, and the Luftwaffe seemed to have disappeared. Continuing the advance, the Allies occupied the airport and they provided Montecorvino to reactivate the runway. The battle seemed won. The Germans retreated or surrendered. Three days after landing, the Allies controlled a bridgehead 100 km long and 10 deep. But suddenly, the morning of Sept. 12, a dramatic change in the situation: the Germans unleashed a counterattack. Fresh, well-armed troops attacked the area north of surprise trouncing the deans of British commandos. A few hours later, the counter-attack, carried out with extreme violence, spread to the whole of the front. The German troops had arrived to reinforce the divisions that Kesselring was forced to hold in Rome with a view to a second landing and to overcome the fierce but uncoordinated resistance of the Italian troops in Port St. Paul. Now that he had secured full control of the Italian capital, he could hurl it against the allied troops.
Under the impact of the German forces, the entire Anglo-American staggered grid. The retreat was general. Many departments are disbanded. Many prisoners were captured. Strategically important position as Battipaglia Altavilla and were recaptured. During this counterattack, the Germans felt very close to victory. Meanwhile, the situation had become desperate. General Clark had lost his optimism, and insisted on sending reinforcements. At this point, to counter the German advance was decided to use the Airborne Division paratroopers. They were the American paratroopers who were to be launched in Rome. Licata airport remained idle, they were now thrown in the back to target and disrupt the enemy's movements. But even the intervention of the Paratroopers changed the situation: the Germans continued their victorious advance and came in sight of the avant-garde mare.Fu at this point that the Marshal Alexander, commander of allied forces in the Mediterranean, decided to solve the dramatic situation by ordering the intervention of the squadron. For the first time the navy was engaged in a pitched battle. On September 14 a powerful team to battle left Malta bound for Salerno. It also belonged to the battleships Warspite, Valiant, and Nelson Rodneu armed with 381 mm cannons. Meanwhile, flocks of heavy bombers were launched on the coast from Salerno to sow ruin and destruction behind the German lines.
Questo attacco segnò l'inizio della controffensiva alleata. I danni furono enormi. Anche per la popolazione civile che da una settimana si trovava costretta a vivere in prima linea. Ma ai fini della battaglia fu soprattutto decisivo il bombardamento navale. Spingendosi quasi al limitare della costa, le navi assolsero il compito che normalmente compete alle artiglierie. Il loro tiro era estremamente preciso. Le loro bordate distrussero ora postazioni tedesche, ora interi centri di abitazioni civili. Una vera valanga di fuoco si abbatté sul Salernitano. Grazie a un nuovo sistema di segnalazione, le truppe alleate potevano chiedere direttamente l'appoggio dell'artiglieria navale come se si trattasse di batterie terrestri. Le postazioni tedesche vennero centrate a una a una.
Due giorni dopo, il 16, Kesselring ordinò alle sue truppe di ritirarsi verso nord «per sottrarsi all'efficace bombardamento da parte delle navi da guerra». Per gli anglo-americani la via di Napoli era aperta. «Se a Salerno» commenterà Alexander a operazione conclusa «la marina e l'esercito non avessero potuto disporre della superiorità, lo sbarco sarebbe fallito.» Avalanche fu dal punto di vista militare un successo, anche se politicamente e strategicamente non raggiunse gli obiettivi che erano stati prefissati, ossia l'immediata liberazione di Napoli e la rapida avanzata su Roma. Per liberare Roma occorrerà aspettare circa nove mesi e per percorrere i 54 km che dividono Salerno da Napoli gli Alleati impiegheranno twenty-two days.
People bivouacked in tunnels and cellars, hungry and hopeless. But suddenly, at 19.45, also in the general population of Salerno came Marshal Badoglio's voice announcing the armistice. The war was over then? People thought this was so and went out of the shelters. The illusion was short-lived: the appearance of the ships on the horizon at Salerno led the burrow again.
On board were 463 units that set sail from ports in Algeria and Sicily as 100,000 British and 70,000 American soldiers who made up the body, landing under the command of U.S. General Mark Clark lived in the tense hours that preceded the start of operations.
All aboard, including officers, were completely unaware of what had happened in those days. Unaware that the armistice with Italy was signed secretly on September 3, and ignoravano che sarebbe stato reso pubblico entro poche ore. Erano tutti convinti che lo sbarco avrebbe incontrato la tenace resistenza degli italiani e dei tedeschi. Ma, improvvisamente, la tensione che regnava a bordo venne infranta da una comunicazione radiofonica. Alle 18,30, mentre l’operazione "Avalanche” è in pieno svolgimento con i convogli alleati in vista di Salerno (da una settimana la costa campana è sottoposta ad intensi attacchi in preparazione della invasione), da Algeri il gen. Eisenhower comunica la notizia dell’armistizio intervenuto tra gli Alleati e gli italiani. Ecco il testo del breve annuncio:"Qui è il gen. Eisenhower. Il governo italiano si è arreso incondizionatamente a queste forze armate. Le ostilità between the armed forces of Italy and the United Nations cease immediately. All the Italians who will help us to keep out the German aggressor from Italian soil will have the assistance and support of the Allied nations. "A similar announcement is made on the radio at 19.45 by the Italian Prime Minister Marshal Pietro Badoglio. The message to the Italian people so 'concludes: "... They [the Italian armed forces], however, react to attacks of any origin."
The news, completely unexpected, provoked widespread expressions of joy. I danced jubilant soldiers on the bridges. The war with Italy was over! No longer thought of the dangers. All were convinced that instead of a battle, there would have been in Salerno waiting for a crowd in celebration.
at 3:30 am on September 9th gen. Mark Clark launched Operation "Avalanche". The 1st Airborne Division seized without resistance Taranto. Meanwhile
55,000 men of the Anglo-American troops landed in the Gulf of Salerno, covered by a naval force which has a total of four battleships, seven aircraft carriers, 11 cruisers and a few dozen fighters, as well as spare unit and children. The soldiers took the floor with relative ease and without conflict, but suddenly, to their surprise, they found the German reaction.
In the 48 hours followed the landing, the Allies were able to overwhelm the defenses Germany and go inward. The German resistance was weak, General Clark could be satisfied. Its probably too optimistic about landing now strengthened because the events seemed to justify it. Ships could easily download tanks and vehicles. The reinforcements were able to flood regularly on the beach.
Meanwhile the German artillery was silent, and the Luftwaffe seemed to have disappeared. Continuing the advance, the Allies occupied the airport and they provided Montecorvino to reactivate the runway. The battle seemed won. The Germans retreated or surrendered. Three days after landing, the Allies controlled a bridgehead 100 km long and 10 deep. But suddenly, the morning of Sept. 12, a dramatic change in the situation: the Germans unleashed a counterattack. Fresh, well-armed troops attacked the area north of surprise trouncing the deans of British commandos. A few hours later, the counter-attack, carried out with extreme violence, spread to the whole of the front. The German troops had arrived to reinforce the divisions that Kesselring was forced to hold in Rome with a view to a second landing and to overcome the fierce but uncoordinated resistance of the Italian troops in Port St. Paul. Now that he had secured full control of the Italian capital, he could hurl it against the allied troops.
Under the impact of the German forces, the entire Anglo-American staggered grid. The retreat was general. Many departments are disbanded. Many prisoners were captured. Strategically important position as Battipaglia Altavilla and were recaptured. During this counterattack, the Germans felt very close to victory. Meanwhile, the situation had become desperate. General Clark had lost his optimism, and insisted on sending reinforcements. At this point, to counter the German advance was decided to use the Airborne Division paratroopers. They were the American paratroopers who were to be launched in Rome. Licata airport remained idle, they were now thrown in the back to target and disrupt the enemy's movements. But even the intervention of the Paratroopers changed the situation: the Germans continued their victorious advance and came in sight of the avant-garde mare.Fu at this point that the Marshal Alexander, commander of allied forces in the Mediterranean, decided to solve the dramatic situation by ordering the intervention of the squadron. For the first time the navy was engaged in a pitched battle. On September 14 a powerful team to battle left Malta bound for Salerno. It also belonged to the battleships Warspite, Valiant, and Nelson Rodneu armed with 381 mm cannons. Meanwhile, flocks of heavy bombers were launched on the coast from Salerno to sow ruin and destruction behind the German lines.
Questo attacco segnò l'inizio della controffensiva alleata. I danni furono enormi. Anche per la popolazione civile che da una settimana si trovava costretta a vivere in prima linea. Ma ai fini della battaglia fu soprattutto decisivo il bombardamento navale. Spingendosi quasi al limitare della costa, le navi assolsero il compito che normalmente compete alle artiglierie. Il loro tiro era estremamente preciso. Le loro bordate distrussero ora postazioni tedesche, ora interi centri di abitazioni civili. Una vera valanga di fuoco si abbatté sul Salernitano. Grazie a un nuovo sistema di segnalazione, le truppe alleate potevano chiedere direttamente l'appoggio dell'artiglieria navale come se si trattasse di batterie terrestri. Le postazioni tedesche vennero centrate a una a una.
Due giorni dopo, il 16, Kesselring ordinò alle sue truppe di ritirarsi verso nord «per sottrarsi all'efficace bombardamento da parte delle navi da guerra». Per gli anglo-americani la via di Napoli era aperta. «Se a Salerno» commenterà Alexander a operazione conclusa «la marina e l'esercito non avessero potuto disporre della superiorità, lo sbarco sarebbe fallito.» Avalanche fu dal punto di vista militare un successo, anche se politicamente e strategicamente non raggiunse gli obiettivi che erano stati prefissati, ossia l'immediata liberazione di Napoli e la rapida avanzata su Roma. Per liberare Roma occorrerà aspettare circa nove mesi e per percorrere i 54 km che dividono Salerno da Napoli gli Alleati impiegheranno twenty-two days.