Lucas, a graduate of West Point, class of 1911, originally was in the cavalry, but transferred to field artillery. He served as a battalion commander during World War I, and was wounded.

He spent a year at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff School in Leavenworth, Kansas, and graduated in 1924, he finished 78th out of 247 in his class.

On January 22, 1944, from the deck of the cruiser USS Biscayne, Lucas oversaw Operation Shingle, the amphibious landing at Anzio. Lucas was highly critical of the plans for the Anzio battle, believing his force was not strong enough to accomplish its mission. His confidence was not reinforced when the mission was scaled back by last-minute orders and advice from his commander, Clark, who told him not to "stick his neck out". Lucas was criticized both for leadership faults and tactical errors. His leadership was faulted for never visiting the front line, and for living in an underground bunker throughout the battle. He made no attempt to understand British methods, and was not respected by any of his subordinate Division commanders. In terms of tactics, Lucas erred in not taking the Factory and Cisterna early in the assault phase when these two towns could easily have been taken and held. Instead, they had to be taken later, at great cost. Lucas was replaced by General Lucian Truscott as the commander at Anzio; Truscott immediately improved morale by visiting every unit in the beachhead within 24 hours.

Winston Churchill summarized Operation Shingle by remarking: "I had hoped we were hurling a wildcat on the shore, but all we got was a stranded whale." This was disingenuous at best, since he played a major part in the planning of the campaign, against much military advice.

In the movie Anzio the character of the over-cautious "General Lesley" is based on John P. Lucas.

References

Further reading

• Blumenson, Martin. Anzio, The Gamble that Failed. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. 1963. ISBN 0313200939
• Roger W. Sassman Operation SHINGLE and Major General John P. Lucas. Army War College, U.S. Army. Report A357363.
• Anzio Beachhead (22 January-25 May 1944). American Forces in Action Series. Historical Division, War Department. (1947). Retrieved on 2006-12-19..