Capturing Our Mission: Cisterna di Latina

The mission was a high-stakes infiltration designed to break the stalemate at the Anzio beachhead. The tactical objective was for the 1st and 3rd Ranger Battalions to seize the town of Cisterna under cover of darkness, while the 4th Ranger Battalion and the 15th Infantry Regiment 3rd ID to attacked along the main road to provide support (King, 1985). 

 Allied intelligence failed to identify that the German 14th Army had heavily reinforced the sector for a counteroffensive. Instead of a "lightly held" town, the Rangers moved into the assembly area of two German divisions (Atkinson, 2007). 

The Rangers utilized a deep drainage ditch (the Mussolini Canal) for concealment. While effective for noise discipline, it restricted their mobility and vision, essentially funneling them into a trap (Blumenson, 1969). 

The Rangers (light infantry) were pitted against the Hermann Göring Panzer Division and the 26th Panzer Division. The Germans possessed heavy armor and self-propelled guns that the Rangers' light weapons could not penetrate (Hogan, 1992). 

January 30: The Infiltration

• 01:30 Hours: The 1st and 3rd Ranger Battalions begin their 4-mile trek through the Mussolini Canal toward Cisterna (King, 1985).
• 05:00 Hours: The Rangers emerge from the canal into open fields near the town. They are immediately engaged by German outposts and realize they are surrounded by a massive concentration of German armor and infantry (Laurie, 1994).

 January 30: The Ambush and Defense

• 07:30 Hours: The Rangers attempt to establish a perimeter in a cluster of farmhouses. German tanks begin "sniping" the buildings at point-blank range (Darby & Baumer, 1980).
• Mid-Morning: The 4th Ranger Battalion attempts a rescue mission but is halted by intense German 88mm fire and heavy casualties along the Conca-Cisterna road (Blumenson, 1969).

 January 30 – February 2: The Conclusion

• Final Stand: By late afternoon on Jan 30, the 1st and 3rd Battalions have virtually exhausted their ammunition. Only six Rangers from the original force of 767 successfully evade capture and return to Allied lines (King, 1985).
• Aftermath: The "Ranger Force" is effectively destroyed. The remaining personnel are folded into the First Special Service Force, and the Ranger units are officially disbanded in the Mediterranean Theater (Hogan, 1992).

Operation Shingle was designed to bypass the German Gustav Line and facilitate a rapid capture of Rome. The Battle of Cisterna (January 30 – February 2, 1944) occurred eight days after the initial landings during a major Allied offensive intended to break out of the established beachhead.

Mission Situational Analysis

• The mission at Cisterna was a critical tactical component of the larger breakout strategy overseen by Major General John P. Lucas. 

Strategic Intent

• To capture Cisterna, which sat on the Conca-Cisterna Road, to disrupt German supply lines and force a German withdrawal from the Gustav Line.

Tactical Approach

• A night infiltration by the 1st and 3rd Ranger Battalions, who were to seize the town and hold it until reinforced by the 3rd Infantry Division.

Operational Failure

• Allied command was unaware that Cisterna was being used as a staging area for 36 German battalions preparing for their own counterattack. 

Enemy Strength

• The lightly armed Rangers unexpectedly encountered heavy German armor, including elements of the Hermann Göring Panzer Division and the 715th Motorized Infantry Division. 

•  January 22, 1944: Operation Shingle commences with virtually unopposed Allied landings at Anzio and Nettuno.
• January 25–27, 1944: The 3rd Infantry Division makes initial unsuccessful attempts to capture Cisterna.
• January 29, 1944: Allied forces at the beachhead grow to 69,000 men, while German defenders under Field Marshal Kesselring mass 71,500 troops to contain them.
• January 30, 1944 (01:30): The 1st and 3rd Ranger Battalions begin their 4-mile trek through a drainage ditch toward Cisterna.
• January 30, 1944 (Dawn): Rangers are discovered 800 yards from the town and ambushed by superior forces; 761 of the 767 men are killed or captured.
• February 1–2, 1944: German "Fischfang" counterattacks begin, though they fail to retake ground from the Allies.
• May 1944: Cisterna finally falls to Allied forces during the subsequent "Operation Buffalo" breakout. 

• Atkinson, R. (2007). The day of battle: The war in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944. Henry Holt and Company.
• Blumenson, M. (1969). United States Army in World War II, Mediterranean Theater of Operations: Salerno to Cassino. Office of the Chief of Military History, United States Army. history.army.mil
• Darby, W. O., & Baumer, W. H. (1980). Darby's Rangers: We led the way. Presidio Press.
• Hogan, D. W., Jr. (1992). Raiders or elite infantry? The changing role of the U.S. Army Rangers from Dieppe to Grenada. Government Printing Office. 
• King, M. J. (1985). Rangers: Selected combat operations in World War II (Leavenworth Papers No. 11). Combat Studies Institute, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.
• Laurie, C. D. (1994). Anzio: The U.S. Army campaigns of World War II. U.S. Army Center of Military History. history.army.mil