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Battle of Cisterna

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The Battle of Cisterna took place during World War II, on January 30 to February 2, 1944, near Cisterna, Italy, as part of the battle of Anzio that followed Operation Shingle.

During this battle, the 1st, 3rd, and 4th US Army Ranger battalions, the 83rd Chemical Mortar Battlion, and the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, which had been brigaded as the 6615th Ranger Force (Provisional), were assigned to support the renewal of an attack by the 3rd Infantry Division, which had previously failed to take Cisterna on January 25 to 27. The 3rd Division attack was part of a large offensive by the U.S. VI Corps to break out of the Anzio beachhead before German reinforcements could arrive and concentrate for a counterattack.

Night attack

The 1st and 3rd Ranger Battalions, preceding the main attack by the 4th Ranger Battalion and the 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, attempted a night infiltration behind German lines into the town of Cisterna. Their objective was to seize the town in a surprise attack and hold it until the main attack came through. Reconnaissance had indicated that the main line of German resistance was behind Cisterna and the Rangers expected to encounter only a thinly held outpost line. However the Germans had designated Cisterna as an assembly area for its reinforcement divisions, and had begun moving units into the area unknown to the Allies.

The two battalions, totaling 767 men and supported by a platoon of 43 men of the 3rd Reconnaissance Troop , moved out at 0130 and moved in the darkness along a drainage ditch in column formation. Although they were able to bypass numerous German positions, at first light they were still short of their objective and needed to cross open ground for the final portion of the approach. At this point the Rangers were attacked by strong German forces of the 715th Motorized Infantry Division and Herman Göring Panzer Division, including at least seventeen German Panzer IV tanks. According to the Army history of the operation, the infiltration movement had apparently been discovered and an ambush prepared.

The 1st Battalion commander, Major Dobson, personally knocked out one tank by shooting the commander with his pistol, climbing atop the tank, and dropping a white phosphorus grenade down the hatch. Two other tanks were captured by Rangers, but then knocked out by other Rangers who did not know they had been captured. Despite fierce fighting, there was little chance of success once the Rangers were attacked on the open ground. German units put Ranger prisoners in front of their tanks and commanded other Rangers to surrender. After the approximately seven-hour battle, only 6 of the 767 Rangers and one member of the 3rd Recon troop returned to Allied lines, resulting in an overall loss of 803 men. The exact number of killed, wounded and captured is unknown, although historian Carlo D'Este estimated well over 400 Rangers became POWs. German casualties reached a similar level.

Attempted relief of the Rangers

The main assault also jumped off, now attempting to rescue the trapped battalions. Led by the 4th Ranger Battalion, it encountered serious opposition and failed to break through. However the overall attack, which also included an attack by the 7th Infantry Regiment and 504th Parachute Infantry Regiments, did push forward the Allied lines three miles on a seven-mile wide front on January 31 and February 1, although failing to achieve the desired breakthrough. Subsequent German counterattacks on February 1-2, conducted by the Herman Göring Panzer and 71st Infantry Divisions, failed to recapture any of the ground from the Allies and suffered severe casualties.

Cisterna, however, remained in German hands until May 1944, and the Ranger forces within Italy were subsequently disbanded. Ranger units continued to serve in northern Europe (spearheading D-Day) and in the Pacific theatre of operations.

William O. Darby had commanded the American Ranger Force during the battle. When the 179th Infantry Regiment of the 45th Infantry Division was nearly overrun on February 18 during the major German attempt to take the beachhead, Darby was sent to take command and hold the ground. Dartby later was Assistant Division commander of the 10th Mountain Division. He was killed in action on April 30, 1945, and was the only US officer of WW2 honored with a posthumous promotion to General.

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