Anzio

The Italian town of Anzio, located on the Mediterranean Sea, was the birthplace of Roman Emperors Caligula and Nero. A tranquil agricultural area in the fall of 1943, it would become the site of one of the longest and bloodiest battles of World War II. From January to May 1944, the seemingly unbreakable German line that blocked all roads to Rome.

At Anzio young men lost their limbs, their lives and their innocence. Hand-to-hand combat, living in water filled trenches, and deadly artillery barrages were just part of the daily routine. The enemy could be and usually was anywhere and everywhere. Each time the Allies made some progress it seemed that German Field Marshall Albert Kesselring came right back and inflicted more punishment and devastation on the Allied troops. By its end, the Allied casualties would exceed 60,000.

This episode of “War Stories with Oliver North” brings you the personal memories of the men who lived through the Italian campaign of 1944. Their stories are of resilience and epic bravery and of triumph in the face of defeat during the bloodiest stalemate of World War II, the battle of Anzio.