 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (April 2013) |
| Battle of Cisterna | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Battle of Anzio in the Italian campaign of the Mediterranean theatre of World War II | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States |
 Germany | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Mark Wayne Clark John P. Lucas William Orlando Darby |
Eberhard von Mackensen Traugott Herr | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
|
3rd Infantry Division 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment 6615th Ranger Force[1] |
Fallschirmjäger-Lehr-Batallion
1st Paratroop Panzer Division 71st Infantry Division 26th Panzer Division[1][2] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
311 killed 450 POWs 761 Casualties[3][4][5] | 400 Casualties[3] | ||||||
The Battle of Cisterna took place during World War II, on 30 January–2 February 1944, near Cisterna, Italy, as part of the Battle of Anzio, part of the Italian Campaign. The battle was a clear German victory which also had repercussions on the employment of U.S. Army Rangers that went beyond the immediate tactical and strategic results of the battle.
During this battle, the 1st, 3rd, and 4th U.S. Army Ranger battalions, the 83rd Chemical Mortar Battalion, and the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, which had been brigaded as the 6615th Ranger Force (Provisional) commanded by Colonel William O. Darby, were assigned to support the renewal of an attack by Major General Lucian Truscott's 3rd Infantry Division, which had previously failed to take Cisterna from 25 to 27 January. The 3rd Division's attack was part of a large offensive by Major General John Lucas's U.S. VI Corps to break out of the Anzio beachhead before German reinforcements could arrive and concentrate for a counterattack.
- ^ a b Lloyd Clark (2006), pp. 118 & 137
- ^ Lamson (1948), pp. 27–35
- ^ a b Zaloga S. (2005), p. 44
- ^ Gerolymatos, André (2016). An International Civil War: Greece, 1943–1949. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-18230-9.
- ^ Henderson, Horace Edward (2001). The Greatest Blunders of World War II: How Errors Mistakes and Blunders Determined Victory Or Defeat. iUniverse. ISBN 978-0-595-16267-3.
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