Dear Mr. Guttman,
I’m writing a novel and one of my (American) characters is an American soldier in Anzio from January to May. I know that the the US 88th Div. was the one that entered the heart of Rome on June 4, 1944. Was this division also in Anzio? Was this the operation titled “Operation Buffalo”? If these soldiers weren’t from Anzio, were there other divisions from Anzio that entered Rome soon after?
Thank you for your help!
Lisa Clark
? ? ?
Dear Ms Clark,
There are numerous websites that can provide information on the 88th Infantry Division in Italy from its arrival before Monte Cassino in January 1944. The unit did not arrive at Anzio, however, until May 29, alongside the Allied forces pressing on overland to relieve the hapless beachhead following the German abandonment of Monte Cassino. While the 88th’s troops saw their share of fighting, little or none of it was on the Anzio beachhead itself. Perhaps the links below, including a reference from the University of Kentucky might help in your research.
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-A-Anzio/USA-A-Anzio-6.html
http://books.google.com/books/about/Draftee_Division.html?id=owNnAAAAMAAJ
As for Operation Buffalo, that specifically refers to the final effort to break the VI Corps out from the beachhead from May 23 to May 25, 1944, after which the reunited Allied armies could focus on Rome.
Sincerely,
Jon Guttman
Research Director
World History Group
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