World War II · Film · 1968
Anzio
A war correspondent lands with the Allies behind the German lines south of Rome, finds the road to the capital open, and watches a cautious command waste the chance while a band of Rangers fights its way back from disaster.
Where it happened
Follow the story across 3 places.
Stop 1: Anzio beachhead
Key location
The landing meets no resistance, and Ennis drives inland by jeep to find almost nothing between the beaches and Rome.
Stop 2: Cisterna, south of Rome
The Rangers march into a German trap, and a few survivors with Ennis escape across a minefield behind enemy lines.
Stop 3: Rome
Months after the landing, the Allied columns finally roll toward the city that seemed within reach on the first day.
What really happened
Operation Shingle put some 36,000 Allied troops ashore at Anzio and Nettuno on 22 January 1944, almost unopposed, to outflank the Gustav Line and open the road to Rome. Major General John Lucas, the model for the film's General Lesley, chose to consolidate the beachhead, and Kesselring rushed in divisions that soon hemmed it in.
On 30 January two battalions of US Rangers were ambushed near Cisterna: of 767 men only six made it back. The beachhead held through German counterattacks in February, and Lucas was replaced by Lucian Truscott. The breakout came on 23 May; General Mark Clark then turned toward Rome, which his troops entered on 4 June 1944, instead of cutting off the retreating German Tenth Army.
Where to watch
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Full details
- Original title
- Anzio
- Directed by
- Edward Dmytryk
- Countries
- Italy, United States
- Languages
- English
- Released
- 1968
- Period
- –
- Theaters of war
- Mediterranean & Africa
- Themes
- Combat
