This edition is published by PICKLE PARTNERS PUBLISHINGwww.picklepartnerspublishing.com
To join our mailing list for new titles or for issues with our books picklepublishing@gmail.com
Or on Facebook
Text originally published in 1946 under the same title.
Pickle Partners Publishing 2013, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.
Publishers Note
Although in most cases we have retained the Authors original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern readers benefit.
We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.
American Forces in Action Series
FROM THE VOLTURNO TO THE WINTER LINE
6 October - 15 November 1943
CHARTS
1.Simplified Command and Planning Organization for European Operations as of May 1942
2.German Chain of Command in the West, May 1944
3.Luftwaffe Command in the West
4.German Naval Command in the West
ILLUSTRATIONS
Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark
Royal Palace at Caserta
A Bridge Near Montesarchio
Montesarchio, on Highway 7
The Volturno Valley
Hairpin Loop
South of Amorosi
From Mount San Leucio
Bulldozers Ferried Tanks Across the River
Mount Mesarinolo
The Ridge North of Triflisco Gap
The VI Corps Bridge at Triflisco Gap
An American Patrol Follows a Stone-paved Trail
Cisterna, Liberi, and Majorano
The Town of Villa
North of Caiazzo
Infantrymen March Through Dragoni
The Highway Bridge Across the Volturno
Hill 235
Pratella, With Hill 325
Infantrymen of the 3d Division
Autumn in Italy
Mount Santa Croce and Mount Corno
One of Our Platoons
An Observer of the 100th Battalion
This German Dugout
Ruined Buildings in Mignano
155-mm Howitzers
In the Hills Northwest of Mignano
A German Pillbox
In Venafro
White Phosphorus Shells
Trucks Try To Ford the Volturno
Mount Camino, 6-10 November 1943
The Mount Camino Hill Mass
Insignia
MAPS
1Advance in Italy, 3 September-6 October 1943
2Allied Line, 6 October 1943
3Battle Area of the Volturno Crossings
4Fifth Army Advance to the Volturno, 2-9 October 1943
53d and 34th Division Objectives
645th Division Advances to the West, 9-12 October 1943
7Plan of Attack First Crossing of the Volturno
83d Division Crosses the Volturno, 13-14 October 1943
97th Infantry Reaches M. Majulo, 13 October 1943
10Attack of 15th Infantry, 13 October 1943
1130th Infantry at Triflisco Gap, 13-14 October 1943
1234th Division Crosses the Volturno, 13-14 October 1943
13168th Infantry Takes Caiazzo, 13-14 October 1943
14Crossing on the Right by 135th Infantry, 13-14 October 1943
1545th Division on the Right Flank, 13-15 October 1943
16Fifth Army Bridgehead, 13-14 October 1943
17VI Corps Change of Plans, 14 October 1943
183d Division Advance to Villa, 14-16 October 1943
19Drive Toward Dragoni, 17-18 October 1943
2034th Division Advance to Dragoni, 15-19 October 1943
21Second Crossing of the Volturno by 34th Division, 18-20 October 1943
22133d Drives to S. Angelo d'Alife, 20-24 October 1943
23Hill 235, 25-28 October 1943
243d and 34th Divisions, 29 October-3 November 1943
2545th Division Crosses the Volturno, 2-5 November 1943
26Third Crossing of the Volturno by 34th Division, 3-5 November 1943
27Mignano Gap, 5-15 November 1943
2834th and 45th Divisions, 6-13 November 1943
29Allied Gains, 6 October-15 November 1943
30Summary of Fifth Army Operations, 12 October-15 November 1943
FOREWORD
In the thick of battle, the soldier is busy doing his job. He has the knowledge and confidence that his Job is part of a unified plan to defeat the enemy, but he does not have time to survey a campaign from a fox hole. If he should be wounded and removed behind the lines, he may have even less opportunity to learn what place he and his unit had in the larger fight.
AMERICAN FORCES IN ACTION is a series prepared by the War Department especially for the information of wounded men. It will show these soldiers, who have served their country so well, the part they and their comrades played in achievements which do honor to the record of the United States Army.
s/G. C. Marshall
G. C. MARSHALL Chief of Staff
WAR DEPARTMENT
Military Intelligence Division
Washington 25, D. C.
11 December 1944
From the Volturno to the Winter Line is a sequel to Salerno: American Operations from the Beaches to the Volturno . After Fifth Army, commanded by Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark, had established the Salerno beachhead and captured Naples, it pushed the Germans northward across the Volturno River and into the mountain defenses of the Winter Line. The actions of the American VI Corps, which served as right flank of Fifth Army during the six weeks of this advance, are here narrated in detail. Closely related actions of the British 10 Corps, Fifth Army's left flank, and of the British Eighth Army, operating on the Adriatic coast, are summarized briefly.
This study is the fourth of a series called AMERICAN FORCES IN ACTION, designed exclusively for military personnel and primarily for wounded soldiers in hospitals to tell them the military story of the campaigns and battles in which they served. No part of this narrative may be republished without the consent of the A. C. of S., G-2, War Department, Washington 25, D.C.
Volturno is based on the best military records available. The manuscript, terrain photographs (pp. 12, 29, 35, 37, 63, 67, 77, 78, 86), and one painting (p. 15) were prepared in the field by the Fifth Army Historical Section. The aerial photographs are by the U. S. Army Air Forces (pp. 17, 23, 62); all others are by the U. S. Army Signal Corps. Readers are urged to send directly to the Historical Branch, G-2, War Department, Washington 25, D. C., comments, criticisms, and additional information which may be of value in the preparation of a complete and definitive history of the Volturno crossings.
