Anzio 1944 - Maurice Britt, the Liberator and Operation Fischfang

[@1089maul]

Woody/Alex, Very interesting presentation! I love hearing about individuals not normally seen in books. Thanks. Bob

[@philbosworth3789]

An excellent episode from Alex. I'm so glad this wasn't a Monday short.

[@robertoneill2502]

Cracking show and much needed attention shown to Anzio.

[@Pam_N]

A superb launch to @WW2TV Anzio Week!

[@LibTech798]

I've only discovered this channel recently, but I am loving the discussions so far. Thanks!

[@WW2TV]

Welcome aboard!

[@therealuncleowen2588]

Absolutely fantastic there were details in today's discussion that I have never heard before thank you for that.

[@american_cosmic]

Great program! My grandfather was with the 3rd Infantry Division - he joined up with the 30th just before they landed at Anzio, and he earned his Combat Infantry Badge there. He rarely talked about his experiences in WW2, which we know was common with vets. But he was so damn proud to have fought at Anzio. My dad could never remember if it was Lucas or Clark that my grandfather despised... but whichever one it was, my grandfather really detested him for getting so many men killed unnecessarily. My dad said that was one of the things he mentioned multiple times. On the other hand, Truscott was one of the great Allied generals of World War 2... a real leader. After the war, Truscott was invited to speak at some event at the big Allied cemetery there, at Anzio-Nettuno, maybe for the dedication, I'm not sure. He turned his back to the press, to the assembled upper brass, and guests. And he directly addressed the dead soldiers that laid buried before him. He quietly apologized to them, that he regretted he didn't do more to keep more of them alive... he lost so many. You could tell it ate at him. But to me, it was one of the great solemn and inspiring moments of World War 2, and I've always been so impressed by Truscott.

[@merdiolu]

I will have a lot of American WWII buffs disagree with me but during WWII era as far as I can see on my readings , Lucian Truscott was the best and greatest combat and unit commander in general rank in division sized and then later two star rank corps size commsnd and THEN three star rank army commander in US Army as a whole. Not Patton ( sorry he was too exagerrated esp by Hollywood fame that disguised his shortcomings and failures) , not Bradley , certainly not Clark or MacArthur. But Truscott , he was the real deal. He was humble , not dramatic or egoist , nor PR obssesed but absolutely professional in his trade , diplomatic and cooperative with his allies ( Combined Chiefs of Staff commander Lord Mountbatten , 15th Army Group commander Harold Alexander and later X Corps and then Eighth Army commander Dick McCreery say nothing but praise about Truscott) and most importantly took care of his men under his command , limiting excessive casaulties. What more you can ask for from a general ?

[@american_cosmic]

@@merdiolu Well said. Truscott doesn't get all the respect and credit that he should and that other WW2 generals are perhaps a bit undeserving of. He was one of my favorite generals of all time, not least because my grandfather fought under him

[@razgriz9146]

​@@american_cosmic Patton and Montgomery definitely come to mind in that regard if we're strictly discussing the European Theater of Operations and the North African Theater of Operations. General Courtney H. Hodges, Lieutenant General William H. Simpson, Lieutenant General Lucian K. Truscott, Jr., General Claude Auchinleck, Lieutenant General Miles Dempsey and General Harry Crerar are the true unsung heroes of the Western Allies in their quest to vanquish the European Axis Powers and liberate Europe as well as northern Africa from their vile, genocidal fascist clutches.

[@gregway70]

Great show!

[@american_cosmic]

Regarding the short average stature of the D-Day soldiers... these were children of the Great Depression. A lot of them grew up very poor and malnourishment was rampant. Their families literally had to tighten their belts, and fifteen years later their kids were storming beaches in Europe and the Pacific.

[@WW2TV]

Absolutely

[@Pam_N]

This is a significant comment as it explains a lot about the topic and aids my understanding. Thank you!

[@KevinJones-yh2jb]

A brilliant presentation by Alex, such knowledge on a subject I knew very about ie the Allied Italian campaign, thank you Alex and Paul

[@davidk7324]

What a treat, thoroughly engaging. Thank you both.

[@WW2TV]

Our pleasure!

[@johnlucas8479]

Great presentation

[@jumpmastermp21]

My father was with the U.S. 36th Engineer Regiment at Anzio. That was them at the 00:25 point of the video waiting to board LSTs.

[@robertbush6652]

They were small in those days. I found this out through visiting the Air bases round Norfolk and Suffolk and I commented on how small their uniforms where. I mean how small were the ball turret men!

[@merdiolu]

Excellent episode , shame I missed it due to time difference and work schedule. Italian Campaign is actually one of my most studied and researched area in my personal interest. I am more intewrested in Italian Campaign than more popular campaigns like Midway , Stalingrad , Normandy. It is a pity it is ignored in popular WWII historty and so little of it was recognised because it was not popularised by PR and media during wartime and post war because it lacked the glamour of fast moving blitzkrieg manuever warfare and decisive victory aura so it does not have triumphalist look of absolute victory till 1945 when Allies destroyerd German Army Group C in Italy by then Germany was already collapsing everywhere. It was slower and grinding warfare but in reaching North Italy snd Austria , diverting two full German armies to defend Italian peninsula from either France before and during D-Day or from Eastern Front when Red Army bagan its march at Ukraine and Belarussia , securing Mediterranean Sea routes and acquiring airbases to strike Germany from air from south , it was vital.

[@jonrettich-ff4gj]

I believe the Alban Hills about 20 miles from the coast if seized quickly, as they could have been would have secured a road net and guaranteed dominance over the terrain. Its value was recognized by the allies, Lucas exercised crippling caution, otherwise this might have gone as hoped. He stated his reservations and might have been replaced in a timely way. I also believed as the U.S. airborne were considered elite and possibly due to politics decorations for them were rarer than for the regular army

[@zainmudassir2964]

True. Never leave high ground to the enemy. Maybe the British should have commanded it since it was their idea and half the landing force was British

[@lmorandini]

Nice that someone remembers Cisterna (I grew up there). The town was razed to the ground, but mercifullty all the civilian population was evacuated beforehand (that day is still celebrated each year). I played with "pineapple" hand granades, german (steel) 20mm cartridges and US (brass) rifle cartrdiges. Undersatndably, my primary school was rife with tall stories of german weapons stashed in someone's cellar. BTW, "Cisterna" is pronunced with the "C" of "Chin", not with the "C" of "CInnamon".

[@billyshakespeare17]

Brilliant episode. Although I believe I heard P47 Mustang?

[@WW2TV]

Possibly

[@colincooke6320]

you did

[@davidk7324]

Was a verbal typo, I'm certain.