The Day of Battle (132 page)

“
probably saved the forces at Anzio
”: Michael Carver,
Harding of Petherton, Field-Marshal,
125; Nicolson,
Alex,
233 (“
within a week or fortnight
”); Allen, 117 (“
for every mile of advance
”).

“
the actual course of events
”: Molony V, 686; Field-Marshal Lord Wilson,
Eight Years Overseas,
193 (“
irreparable disaster
”); Nicolson,
Alex
, 233 (“
absolutely full of inertia
”); Greenfield, ed., 264 (“
Had I been able to rush
”).

Through the Looking Glass

On a brisk January day in 1752:
Nearby Cápua had been the largest, richest city in southern Italy before earning Rome’s enmity by befriending Hannibal. H.V. Morton,
A Traveller in Southern Italy,
267–68, 270 (“
beauty and gaiety
”). The slave revolt began in the Cápua amphitheater. Bertarelli, 258. Edward D. Churchill,
Surgeon to Soldiers,
292; Walter L. Medding, “The Road to Rome,” ts, n.d., 337th Engineer Regt, CEOH, box X-38, 55 (
hole-and-mirror contraption
); author visit, May 3, 2004; Karl Baedeker,
Southern Italy and Sicily,
10; Charles J. Bové, “The Royal Palace of Caserta,” n.d., Fifth Army, administrative files, USMA Arch.

Captured on October 8
: “Engineer History, Fifth Army, Mediterranean Theater,” n.d., MHI, 15; Carver,
The Imperial War Museum Book of the War in Italy,
134 (“
muddling sort of maze
”); Churchill,
Surgeon to Soldiers,
267; James Parton, “
Air Force Spoken Here,
” 387; Harold Macmillan,
War Diaries,
365 (“
in disorder
”); Rupert Clarke,
With Alex at War,
130 (
messed at the palace kennel
); “Trip Reports Concerning Use of ULTRA in the Mediterranean Theater, 1943–1944,” n.d., NARA RG 457, E 9002, SRH-031, 73; Ronald Lewin,
Ultra Goes to War,
325.

Fifteen thousand soldiers:
Parton, 355, 386; Raymond H. Croll, memoir, ts, 1973, R.H. Croll papers, MHI, 215 (“
in and out of windows
”); corr, Graham Erdwurm to author, Sept. 5, 2003 (“
New England cotton mill
”); corr, Jon Clayton to family, Feb. 14, 1944, 7th Inf Regt, 3rd ID, ASEQ, MHI, 2 (“
midnight in a madhouse
”); John North, ed.,
The Alexander Memoirs, 1940–1945,
109 (“
whoever arrived first
”).

The building had little heat:
Parton, 389 (“
shivering and scratching
”); Lavinia Holland-Hibbert Orde, “Better Late Than Never,” ts, n.d., IWM, 96/34/1, 193; Medding, “The Road to Rome,” X-38, 49–50, 53.

The twelve hundred rooms:
Charles F. Marshall,
A Ramble Through My War,
13; Medding, The Road to Rome,” X-38, 41, 55 (
soldiers’ fingerprints
); corr, Clayton, Feb. 14, 1944 (
basketball court
); memoir, P. Royle, ts, 1972, IWM, 99/72/1, 116 (
venereal disease
); Lynn H. Nicholas,
The Rape of Europa,
234; memo, H. M. Wilson, March 20, 1944; memo, J. L. Devers, March 20, 1944; corr, H. M. Wilson, March 28, 1944; corr, J. L. Devers, March 31, 1944, all in NARA RG 492, MTOUSA AG, 33.5-446, box 1431.

An errant bomb had bent:
Churchill,
Surgeon to Soldiers,
292 (“
stuffy, swank dining room
”); Bill Mauldin,
Up Front,
139; Medding, “The Road to Rome,” X-38, 48–49 (
palace porcelain
); letter, R.L.V. ffrench Blake to author, July 27, 2003 (“
if anyone dropped a plate
”).

Officers in the palace bar:
Malcolm S. McLean, “Adventures in Occupied Areas,” ts, 1975, MHI, 68; George Biddle,
Artist at War,
223; Carver,
The Imperial War Museum Book of the War in Italy,
138 (“
made less and less sense
”); Parton, 368 (“
big as cabbage leaves
”); David Hunt,
A Don at War,
250–51 (
San Carlo Opera Company
); Marshall, 14; Medding, “The Road to Rome,” X-38, 55.

a “looking glass war
”: Churchill,
Surgeon to Soldiers,
292, 294; “History of the Aviation Engineers in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations,” June 1946, historical section, AAF Engineer Command, CEOH, X-39; C. L. Sulzberger,
A Long Row of Candles,
234; Nicolson,
The Grenadier Guards,
368; JPL, 185 (
hungry soldiers soon emptied
); Medding, “The Road to Rome,” X-38, 36–37, 59; Marshall, 13.

engineers built a colony for generals:
Morton, 269; Bertarelli, 259; “History of the Aviation Engineers,” X-39 (“
feeling of the men
”); Parton, 390.

maintained twenty-two lofts:
AAR, 6681st Signal Pigeon Co, July 9, 1944, NARA RG 407, SGCO-6681-0.1, box 23228; Hunt, 250–51 (“
extremely noisy
”); Vaughan-Thomas, 201 (“
get in your bones
”).

Clark rarely missed a chance:
diary, MWC, Jan. 28, 1944, Citadel, box 65; corr, Graham Erdwurm to author, Sept. 5, 2003 (
rope factories
); Medding, “The Road to Rome,” X-38, 53; http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/PT/PT-201.html; http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq60-5.htm (
motor torpedo boats
);
Calculated,
292; memo, HKH to Ernest J. King, June 6, 1944, “Report of the Engagement Between the USS
Sway
and PTs
201
and
206
on 28 January 1944,” MWC, Citadel, box 3, folder 7 (
Neither boat crew took time
).

Alexander had prodded Clark:
Martin Blumenson,
Mark Clark,
187; Viscount Alexander of Tunis, “The Allied Armies in Italy,” n.d., CMH, II-34 (“
Risks must be taken
”).

“
The left corner of Clark’s mouth
”:
PP,
396; MWC to Renie, Jan. 18, 1944, personal corr, Citadel (“
by massaging my hair
”); diary, MWC, Jan. 23, 25, 28, 1944, Citadel, box 65.

“
The more stars a man gets
”: Maurine Clark,
Captain’s Bride, General’s Lady,
115; Blumenson,
Mark Clark,
196–97 (“
You turn your lamb chops
”); MWC to Renie, Jan. 11, 1944, personal corr, Citadel (“
I am distressed
”).

“
an awfully good man
”: Blumenson,
Mark Clark,
196–97; Eisenhower diary, Nov. 23, 1943, HCB, DDE Lib, A-908 (“
victimized by his wife
”).

“
It causes me some embarrassment
”: DDE to MWC, Nov. 22, 1943, DDE Lib, PP-pres, box 23. Released from restricted materials at author’s request.

“
I do not want you to refer to me
”: MWC to Renie, Nov. 27, Dec. 17, 1943, personal corr, Citadel.

Clark’s virtues as a commander:
OH, Jacob E. Smart, Nov. 1978, Arthur W. McCants and James C. Hasdorff, AFHRA 239.0512-1108 (“
broad-gauged
”); “Beyond the Bridgehead,”
Time,
Oct. 4, 1943, 28+ (“‘
ringside’ visits
”); OH, Harry Lemley, 1974, Gerald F. Feeney, SOOHP, MHI, 2/32; Eric Sevareid,
Not So Wild a Dream,
379 (
puzzled theatergoers
); Charles D’Orsa, “Trials and Tribulations of an Army G-4,” ts, n.d., CARL, N-4906, 1 (“
I want my headquarters
”).

“
The general was a difficult man
”: Vernon A. Walters,
Silent Missions,
93, 95; OH, Robert J. Wood, former asst. G-3, Fifth Army, March 4, 15, 1948, and “Memo for Mr. Matthews,” March 22, 1948, SM, MHI (“
very impatient man
”); Sulzberger, 232 (“
rather Renaissance Florentine
”).

“
entitled to take Rome
”:
Calculated,
289; Sulzberger, 231; Sevareid, 383.

Since Salerno, battle casualties alone: Salerno,
93–94;
From the Volturno to the Winter Line,
114;
Fifth Army at the Winter Line,
114; attributed to Joseph Stalin. Elizabeth Knowles, ed.,
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations,
636 (
million deaths a statistic
); Chester G. Starr, ed.,
From Salerno to the Alps,
269 (
twenty thousand dead
).

“
Sometimes if I appear to be unreasonable
”: Walters, 109.

“
what looked like a piece of driftwood
”: Burtt Evans [
sic
] and Burgess W. Scott, “Nightmare Job at Anzio,” March 3, 1944, in Steve Kluger,
Yank,
159+.

At 8:40
A.M.
, twelve miles south of Anzio:
memo, H. S. Strauss, CO, U.S.S.
Sway,
to CO, Task Force 81, Jan. 29, 1944, MWC papers, Citadel, box 3, folder 7.

One minute after the initial challenge:
memo, S.M. Barnes, CO, Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 15, to HKH, March 26, 1944, MWC, Citadel, box 3, folder 7; Gervasi, 533

“
What shall we do?
”: Blumenson,
Mark Clark,
175–77.

Clark helped brace the helmsman:
memo, unsigned, to MWC, Jan. 28, 1944, MWC, corr, Oct. 1943–Jun 1944, box 3; Gervasi, 533; memo, Strauss, Jan. 29, 1944, (“
weight on the conscience
”); memo, HKH to King, June 6, 1944; diary, MWC, Jan. 28, 1944, Citadel, box 65 (“
as flagrant an error
”).

“
a downward slant
”:
Calculated,
294; Rossi and Casaldi, 159; OH, Casaldi, May 7–8, 2004 (
into the wine cellars
);
SSA
, 356 (“
this white apartment house
”).

marooned all Navy pontoons ashore:
“Report on Port and Beach Operations at Anzio,” 540th Engineer Combat Regt, Apr. 29, 1944, NARA RG 334, NWC Lib, ANSCOL, box 343; minutes, Anzio supply conference, Jan. 30, 1944, Naples, NARA RG 492, MTOUSA, transportation section, box 2697 (
civilian schooners
).

As for the enemy:
Charles W. Crawford, III, “A Study of the Adequacy of the Intelligence Provided Maj. Gen. John P. Lucas,” ts, June 1970, CARL, N-8224.494; “Historical Record, HQ, VI Corps, Mounting and Initial Phase of Operation
SHINGLE
,” March 15, 1944, LKT Jr., GCM Lib, box 13, folder 2 (“
horse-and motorcycle-mounted
”); Sheehan, 71f (
estimated 72,000
); E. T. Williams and R. H. Humphreys, “Reports Received by U.S. War Department on Use of Ultra in the European Theater, WWII,” Oct. 1945, NARA RG 457, E 9002, SRH-037, 9 (“
We deal not with the true
”).

“
Our enemies did not react
”: memo, “Morale of Troops,” JPL to R.T. Frederick, Feb. 22, 1944, Robert T. Frederick papers, HIA, box 1.

None of this surprised Clark:
Arthur F. Fournier, “Influence of Ultra Intelligence upon General Clark at Anzio,” thesis, 1983, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Ft. L, 102–6; Mark, 129–30; Andrew Brookes,
Air War over Italy, 1943–1945,
53 (
venereal disease hospital
);
StoC,
388 (“
three full divisions
”).

Truscott today had drafted his order:
“Historical Record, HQ, VI Corps, Mounting and Initial Phase of Operation
SHINGLE
.”

short ride to the Villa Borghese: SSA,
358.

“
His gloomy attitude
”: JPL, 348–49;
StoC,
390 (“
Will go all out
”).

On January 27 and 28 an obscure fighter unit: AAFinWWII,
424.

Blacks had fought in every American war:
Morris J. MacGregor, Jr.,
Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940–1965,
4; Hondon B. Hargrove,
Buffalo Soldiers in Italy,
2; memo, Truman K. Gibson, Jr., office, secretary of war, to Ray E. Porter, Aug. 6, 1945, NARA RG 165, WD, special planning division, general corr, 291.2, box 32 (
four black Army regiments
); http://www.nps.gov/fols/Buffalo_Soldier/body_buffalo_soldier.html. Other accounts suggest the nickname derived from buffalo hides worn by the men to stay warm.

“
hopelessly inferior, lazy, slothful
”: Daniel K. Gibran,
The 92nd Infantry Division and the Italian Campaign in World War II,
3; Krewasky A. Salter,
Combat Multipliers: African-American Soldiers in Four Wars,
80 (“
a thousand years behind
”); “History of the Office of the Inspector General in World War II,” 1946, CMH, 2-3.6 AA, 2–3, 12 (
Jim Crow laws
).

When World War II began:
Ulysses Lee,
The Employment of Negro Troops,
88, 416 (
633,000 soldiers
); “The Negro in the Navy,” 1947, Bureau of Naval Personnel, “United States Naval Administration in WWII,” 1 (
only six black sailors
), 14–15, 41 (
no black officers
); Salter, 82 (“
segregation will be maintained
”); Matt Schudel, “Frederick C. Branch Was 1st Black Officer in U.S. Marine Corps,” Apr. 13, 2005,
WP,
B6.

segregation
“
has proven satisfactory
”: memo, “War Department policy in regard to negroes,” Oct. 16, 1940, WD, AG office, NARA RG 165, E 501, WD, special planning division, general corr, 291.2, box 32; “Attitudes of White Enlisted Men Toward Sharing Facilities with Negro Troops,” July 30, 1942, SOS, research branch, NARA RG 165, E 501, WD, general corr, 291.2, box 32 (“
strong prejudice against sharing
”); Hargrove, 4 (“
not a sociological laboratory
”); memo, HQ, AGF, July 20, 1943, chief of staff journal, NARA RG 337 (“
93rd Division has three bands
”); Bernard C. Nalty,
Strength for the Fight,
147 (“
fraught with danger
”).