大象传媒

I was serving on board the destroyer HMS Inglefield on 22nd January 1944, and whilst we did not see what was happening ashore on that fateful day of Operation "Shingle", as the landoings at Anzio were codenamed, my ship, HMS Inglefield led HMS Kempenfelt, the Free French destroyer, Le Fantasque, and the cruiser HMS Dido, to carry out a diversionary bombardment of the port of Civitavechia, just north of the River Tiber. Usin dummy landing craft our task was to divert attention from the actual landings on the beaches of Anzio toi the south.
Commodore Troubridge in Naples had briefed us that we would be giving close support to the troops ashore at Anzio. On the three days following D-day we came in and out of range to bombard the coast road from Formia to Terracina, whilst on 28 January in comopany with the cruiser HMS Mauritius we provoded nearly continous support for the army ashore during daylight with only slight opposition from the enemy shore batteries.
Ashore, however, we learned that all was not well. The foirst waves of troops,due to the overcautious leadership of General john Lucas had failed to extend the bridgehead, so our next task was to bring the Ground Forces Commander, in Italy, General Sir Harold Alexander to inspect the position.
"If we have to withdraw it will be pretty costly" General Alexander told our Captin, Commander Bill Churchill, as they watched from offshore. Alexander however landed on the beachead, and in the event replaced the timid General Lucas with General Truscott. Back on board Inglefield at the end of the month A;exander put a brave face on matters, especailly in front of junior officers, but they all felt privileged to share his thoughts.
"Earlier in the war we might have been pushed back into the sea" he told our Captain, "but now the Gremans have lost tgheir zip and the beached will hold, It did - Just.
As we destroyers had to act as artillery support we neede plenty of ammunition, so on 15 Fenruary, Commander churchill took Inglefield back down to Naples and on this trip we carried the remains of one of the new Greman Glider bombs, which had been recovered almost intact from the beachead. It was someting of an onem for what was to happen ten days later. We returned to Anzio as escort for an ammunition ship. Another trip down to Naples enabled us to restock our own dwindling supply of ammunuition, and return for a further spel, off the beaches - and our finale!
The Germans were not unaware of the effective destroyer artillery support of the ground troops, so with determined and ingenious use of air support they made life very difficult for us offshore boats by theu use of Luftwaffe Unit II/KG100 which had been specailly equipped with radio controlled glider bombs. Carried in Dornier 217 bombers, the special Hs293 gliders each carrying a 1,000 pound bomb were released out of range of the AA guns on to the anchorage. The Dornier steered the bomb by radio signals directly on to its target. The attackes came every night just on dusk and on 25 February Inglefield was hit just three miles off Anzio lighthouse. There was an extremely strong sirocco wind blowing at the time with a very heavy sea. We abandoned ship into these extreme conditions and of the ship's company of 192, 35 shipmates were lost that night.Minesweepers and other destroyers rescued many of our survivors, and in particular the American USS LCI12, equpiied as a slavage vessel manged to pull 23 of us from the water.
The LCI put us aslore in Anzio harbour, and we were sent to what was euphemistically called"Navy House". Fr two days we had a taste if what it was like to be under foie on the beachhead. "Anzio Annie", as the troops caled the big German gun in the Alban hills overlooking the beachhead kept up a steady fire on the town, and we were not sorry to say goodbye to our temporary quarters when we boarded a landing craft in the harbour bound for Naples. From their I went on the destroyer Laforey to Malta and eventually on to the cruiser Mauritius, which, coincidentally, was our comrade off the Anzio beaches.
Many ships were lost off those fateful beaches, including the fully illuminated hospital ship the St David, but we had tremendous admiration for the dogged valour of the Britishj and American infantrymen and gunners of Vi Coprs who repelled formidable counter attacks. This was their battle and their vistory of which we in the Navy were proud to say:
"We helped you and we too suffered at Anzio Beachead

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