The+Italian+Campaign+and+the+Battle,+Bloody+Anzio

The Italian Campaign and the Battle, Bloody Anzio __Bio__: Name: John Devlin Age: 30 Hometown: New York School Attending: None Birthday: 7/16/1913 Listed as: Married, three children Occupation: Sanitation Worker Income: $20,000 per year

As a Commanding Officer who attended the meeting between Roosevelt, Churchill, and their higher-ranking officers in Casablanca, Morocco, this is where I was first informed that I would have to go back into battle to lead my platoon in the Italian campaign. The plan was that first; the allies would take Italy and move into Europe, and eventually attacking the heart of Europe (Danzer 573). The Italian campaign got off to a good start in 1943, with the capture of Sicily. Stunned by the army’s collapse in Italy, the Italian government forced Benito Mussolini to resign and on July 25, 1943, King Victor Emmanuel summoned Mussolini to his palace, where he stripped him of all power and arrested him, telling him that he is the, “most hated man in Italy” (Danzer 573) As Italians began celebrating the imprisonment of their dictator, Hitler sent troops to Italy, determined to stop the allied forces from moving into Germany. This is where I fought and lead both the hardest and longest battle I had ever experience in my service in the army. This battle was fought in Anzio, Italy, about 40 miles away from Rome (Lankford 1). Everyone now refers to this once beautiful Italian city as, “Bloody Anzio”, for all of the fighting and deaths occurring here. There are no safe places here. Enemy soldiers are everywhere you turn. The fighting lasts through the night and continues on into the day, never stopping. This is going into the fourth month hat me and my platoons have been stationed here. Both sides of this battle have lost a lot of soldiers, the Axis loosing over 30,000 so far and us Allies loosing over 25,000. I have lost a lot of good soldiers and some of my friends. I am really surprised that I am still alive after all these months (Phillips 2). It seems right now that we Allies have the upper hand in this battle and I expect that we will win it soon, hopefully by the end of May 1944. I do not know how much longer I will spend in Italy, but I hope that I will be able to leave soon (Dnazer 573). __Citations:__ Picture 1: Soldier standing and smiling - http://www-2id.korea.army.mil/subsites/museum/pictures/Photos%20WWII/WWII-Soldier-at-end-of-Patt.jpg Picture 2: Anzio - http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/bildnachweise/orte/44-02-03%20anzio.jpeg 1. Danzer, Gerald et al. __The Americans: Reconstruction of the 21st Century.__ Illinois: McDougal Inc, 2003 2. Phillips, Charles, and Alan Axelrod. "World War II on the Italian Front." __Encyclopedia of Wars.__ New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. __American__ __History Online.__ Hunterdon Central Regional High School. 23 November. 2007. 3. Lankford, James R. “977TH FIELD ARTILLERY BATTALION.” __Army History__ __Research__. 2002. 24 November. 2007. < http://www.armyhistory.org/armyhistorical.aspx?pgID=868&id=373&exC   ompID=32>