Battle of Salerno 1943 / Part 1 - Why, Where and How

On September 9th, 1943, the Allies launched Operation Avalanche, the amphibious assault on mainland Italy, at the beaches near the coastal town of Salerno. The Germans reacted swiftly. For the next few days, the men of the 5th US Army fought a hard battle, repelling countless German counterattacks, and managed to hold on.
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Battle of Salerno - Part 2: • Battle of Salerno 1943...
#worldwartwo #militaryhistory #ww2 #italianfront
Twitter: / fbattlefields

[@johngsteel]

My father was a company commander in the Texas 36th Div. Badly wounded at Monte Casino. He knew LtGen Clark, and always refereed to him as the most incompetent officer he ever met. He, however, highly respected Gen Patton whom he knew.

[@Chiller01]

Mark Clark killed a lot of Texans at the Battle of the Rapido.

[@TrickiVicBB71]

Did anyone ever complain about his incompetentence? Try and get him removed or re-assigned some backwater place? Every online comment about him. Their granddad hated him. (And deserved hate. He really wanted glory for getting into Rome)

[@drdanilabracaglia148]

@@TrickiVicBB71 Mark Clark was reported to Congress for an investigation by Maj. Gen Fred Walker, commander of the 36th Texas Division. I found that report in the Archive of Austin a few years ago. Fred Walker sadly wrote to his veterans: "A hearing was held but not the investigation we wished. We were told that sacrifice was necessary. We reject that we were there we know better". Every Texan should remember the Rapido as they Remember the Alamo! I was amazed when I went to Texas that very few know about the courage and the sacrifice of the 36th Division in Cassino.

[@iangrantham8300]

Cant understand why he had any respect for Patton, must have been a bit mad i guess!

[@kensellers4082]

My father was in the Texas Division; he said the soldiers detested Mark Clark after he ordered the men to try and cross the heavily defended Rapido River with disastrous results. Apparently, the Texas Division commander, General Fred Walker, had witnessed seeing many German soldiers being slaughtered when they attempted to cross a heavily defended American position at a river during World War I, when General Walker was a young infantry officer. So, General Walker was vehemently against the proposed crossing at the Rapido River, but was overruled by the glory-seeking General Mark Clark. In author Rick Atkinson’s book, “The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944,” he wrote that in the victory march into Rome, Mark Clark would not permit a contingent of Polish soldiers, who were the first soldiers to reach the top of the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino after months of bitter fighting there, to march in the victory parade into Rome along with the American and British soldiers on June 5, 1945. Also, on the very next day, after the news of the successful Allied landings at Normandy, France, General Clark was “disappointed” to learn that the Allied landing in France had upstaged his victory in the Italian campaign. Talk about hubris and vainglory! PS It was the courageous General Walker, who spotted the largely undefended area around Castel Gondolfo, site of the Pope’s summer residence near Rome, during an aerial reconnaissance mission over the area. At General Walker’s suggestion US forces, including General Walker’s own Texas Division, were able to avoid crossing the two heavily defended highways into Rome and attack at Castel Gondolfo, thereby saving many Allied soldiers’ lives and hastening the the surrender of Rome to the Allied forces. General Walker was a very brave and resourceful, but largely forgotten, American hero during World War II.

[@tiptoptechno]

Just to counter another comment posted, I for one love the amount of detail provided, it is exactly what I look for. The video footage is relevant to the operation/battle, the detail of the forces involved, the planning stages, the political situation at the time. The format you have used is what a documentary should be. Please keep going exactly as you have been.

[@jeckol3200]

Its the old school way like I used to watch on the history channel and its amazing to see it done so well today.

[@robertsmith2227]

This is the last series of yours I haven't seen. Been putting it off, don't want it to end. This channel is 1 of my big 4. You guys are one of the best out there, thanks a lot.

[@FromtheBattlefields]

Thank you very much!

[@genarobarron1259]

Nice job , I love the detail . Exactly what I'm looking for . Thank you .

[@FromtheBattlefields]

Awesome, thank you!

[@LVOrtizSantini]

My take as a former armored cavalry officer, 1983-1988. This was a close call. Naval gunfire seemed be decisive for the Allies, and there is little mention of close air support by british or american air forces. We seemed to be outgunned on the ground, with inferior armor to counter the kampfgruppen's Stugs and anti-aircraft guns. Rangers at Maori were not engaged at all it seems. It would be interesting to know how any after action analysis informed changes to the Normandy invasion just six months later.

[@SODAK2276]

My Uncle was killed in a night mission at Salerno.

[@rupertmcnaughtdavis3649]

Robot voice? Next!

[@intermenater]

What makes it worse is it ISN'T computer generated. I just found a better one to watch on the same subject.

[@manuelrodriguez1575]

yo no entendí bien la película, ¿La policia sabia que asuntos internos les tendia una trampa?

[@mariamery7025]

Somos itslianos ese dia mi abuela perdio su familia en el bombardeo LOS ODIOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@davidc5191]

At 7:35 German General Hermann Balck, not Black.

[@FromtheBattlefields]

Thanks, someone has already pointed this out. These things happen.

[@personnelente]

You forgot to compare it to Stalingrad…

[@jaydenritchie1992]

the germans were already withdrawing through Italy from Tunisia, so they took up defensive position in the hills to defend their ally who was working against them because they only know how to fight with sword spear and shield not actual modern warfare and their armaments show this

[@paulwallis7586]

"General Black?" I think you'll find it's "Balck".

[@FromtheBattlefields]

Damn, the autocorrect. I'll be more careful next time, thanks.

[@paulwallis7586]

@@FromtheBattlefields :)

[@jaydenritchie1992]

you should show the macci fighter plane not the germans, even though the germans were protecting their useless ally

[@PacoOtis]

Dude! There is too much detail for someone trying to learn about what happened in a general sense. Best of luck, but this format appears not likely to work!

[@FromtheBattlefields]

That is the point. The details make the difference. You can find at least 50 videos on this platform with general information about this or any other topic. Anyhow, thank you for your comment.

[@kidmohair8151]

dude...get an attention span longer than a squirrel's

[@robertsmith2227]

Dude ... Stop making coffee come out of my nostrils, I'm trying to watch this