The Race to Rome

June 1944 was a watershed month for the Allies in World War II. The 6 June 1944 D-Day landing in Normandy to spearhead the assault on Fortress Europe has received the lion’s share of attention by military historians overshadowing the seizure of Rome, Italy, on 4 June 1944. The Allied offensive, Operation DIADEM, which covered the breakout from Anzio and a general attack along the southern Italian front in May 1944, ended an eight-month stalemate of bitter fighting in the Italian mountains, south of Rome. Suddenly, the German lines broke and the race for the Italian capital was on. In Lieutenant General Mark Clark’s Fifth Army it seemed as if every unit commander from corps down to company level and platoon leaders wanted to be the first into Rome.1

Leading part of the assault into Rome from the Anzio beachhead was the U.S.-Canadian First Special Service Force (FSSF). The Fifth Army effort included two corps consisting of six infantry and one armored division, all with the goal to capture the capital city.2 However, the distinction of being the first unit into Rome goes to a special patrol composed of handpicked soldiers led by an officer from the First Special Service Force, Captain T. Mark Radcliffe (see sidebar).3

Given only four hours to clear Fort Benning, Georgia, T. Mark Radcliffe joined the FSSF as one of its first officers (a second lieutenant) at Fort William Henry Harrison, near Helena, Montana, on 18 July 1942.4 Outstanding performance in the Aleutian campaign and in Italy caused him to be selected to command 3rd Company, 3rd Regiment. After bitter fighting in Italy, which included daring mountain assaults on Monte La Difensa, Majo, and La Remetana, the casualty-ridden FSSF was thrown into the Anzio defense on 1 February 1944. Despite having a strength of only 1,300 combat troops (down from the original 2,300), the Force was to defend a thirteen-kilometer front, one-fourth of the Anzio perimeter. To put this in perspective, the 10,000 man 3rd Infantry Division had a seven-kilometer front).5

On 14 March 1944, while leading a five-man reconnaissance patrol in front of the FSSF sector, Radcliffe was captured. Bound and gagged, the Germans took him to Littoria for interrogation. After being hit on the left side of his throat with a rubber club, Radcliffe escaped and made his way back to the Anzio perimeter. A patrol from his own company found him and brought him back through the lines. (See “Prisoner for a Day: A First Special Service Force Soldier’s Short-lived POW Experience”.) Wounded while evading, Radcliffe was initially taken to the regimental aid station. Field hospital doctors on the Anzio beach felt that the shrapnel wounds in his foot and left leg were beyond their expertise and shipped him to the 36th Combat Hospital near Naples. Radcliffe had been recuperating for almost a month after a successful operation to his foot, when he heard that recovered wounded soldiers were being sent to the replacement depot for reassignment. Most did not return to their original units.6

For those soldiers assigned to elite units like the FSSF and the Ranger battalions, being reassigned to another unit was considered a “slap in the face” rejection. The veteran would lose the camaraderie and friendship developed in training, hardened in the Aleutians, and proven during the Southern Italy campaign. Rather then run the risk of being reassigned elsewhere, Captain Radcliffe sneaked away from the hospital to rejoin his unit. This proved to be his second escape and evasion in less than a month, albeit this time from the Americans. However, once in the city of Naples, getting to Anzio posed a problem: he had no access to official transportation. By chance, Radcliffe ran into a friend from Salt Lake City, Utah, in Naples. This friend was a Piper Cub liaison/spotter plane (probably an L-4 aircraft) pilot that flew into the Anzio beachhead as part of a courier service.7 Every flight was dangerous because German artillery fire bracketed the beachhead. Small planes could only land and take off at dawn and dusk. Radcliffe convinced his friend to take him along, but fearful of a courts martial for carrying an unauthorized passenger, they effected a plan. Once the plane landed and turned to taxi to the parking area, Radcliffe was to roll out of the plane in the dust cloud thrown up by the engine. He then simply walked to the road and hitched a ride to the 3rd Regiment headquarters. Shortly after being greeted by Colonel Edwin Walker, Radcliffe was summoned to the First Special Service Force headquarters.8

Brigadier General Robert Frederick rewarded Radcliffe by assigning him a special mission. “Welcome back!” he said, “I’m sorry, but I can’t send you back to your company, there is too much at stake. We are going to be pushing off at this place in about two days. I figured that I would put you on a special mission. Report to General Keyes, the II Corps commander, at his headquarters.”9

The II Corps special mission was to lead an advance patrol into Rome. The force consisted of sixty handpicked men from II Corps units, including three from the FSSF. They were to “… in any way possible get into Rome ahead of other Allied forces, send back the enemy situation within the City, and at the same time post II Corps route signs along prominent streets and in public squares.”10 Mounted in eighteen jeeps and two M-8 armored cars, the advance force would rush ahead into Rome for the liberation. The ad hoc assault force needed little training because all were combat veterans; each had been handpicked for his outstanding performances in combat and his personal courage.11 The three FSSF soldiers selected for the assault force were Sergeant Thomas W. Philips (Seguin, Texas, assigned to 1st Regiment), Staff Sergeant K.R.S. Mieklejohn (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, assigned to 2nd Regiment), and Sergeant J.E. Brannon (Princeton, New Jersey, from 3rd Regiment). To document this success at being first into Rome the force had “…one movie camera man, two still camera men, and a news reporter, attached for media coverage.”12

Operation BUFFALO, the initial breakout from the Anzio beachhead, was preceded by a tremendous artillery barrage and naval gunfire at 0545 on 23 May.13 In the breakout, the FSSF mission was to screen the right flank of VI Corps as it moved north toward Valmontone and Highway 7. To accomplish the screening mission, the FSSF had several heavy units: the 645th Tank Destroyer Battalion (-) and two companies of M-4 Sherman tanks from the 191st Tank Battalion were attached.14 The 463rd Parachute Field Artillery Battalion’s 75mm howitzers provided direct-fire support.15 As the FSSF moved northward, the Japanese-American 100th Battalion screened its far right flank.16 Ten days after the breakout, the FSSF was transferred from VI Corps to II Corps for the final push to Rome. When the reinforced FSSF began its final attack toward Rome, CPT Radcliffe was preparing his force for its mission.

Even though he had a force of experienced veteran soldiers, CPT Radcliffe took time to plan and rehearse actions since none of the soldiers had worked together. His primary concern was immediate reaction to German ambushes and roadblocks. In case of enemy contact he wanted to make sure that the force reacted as a whole, not sixty individual soldiers. Their main strategy was to eliminate or bypass the enemy as quickly as possible and continue to race for Rome. If the enemy were too strong they would call for armor and bypass the obstacle letting the heavier armed units take care of the problem.18

The advance patrol departed II Corps headquarters at 1400 on 3 June 1944. Tucked into CPT Radcliffe’s pocket was a pass issued by Major General Geoffrey Keyes giving his element top priority on all roads in the II Corps sector. As he prepared to leave the headquarters area, CPT Radcliffe was handed some signs that read “Follow the Blue to Speedy Two!” The signs had two purposes: first, to guide II Corps units to Rome; second, perhaps more importantly, they were designed to needle the VI Corps commander, Major General Lucian Truscott, whose forces were also racing toward the Italian capital.19

Part of Radcliffe’s mission was to link up with an armored column, Task Force Howze, under the command of Colonel Hamilton Howze, who was to spearhead the II Corps drive to Rome.20 The combined arms task force composed of M-4 Sherman tanks, tank destroyers, and armored infantry would protect the lightly armed advance patrol enabling Radcliffe to dash into Rome.21 When Radcliffe’s group reached Frascati, he was told by the 2nd Battalion, 338th Infantry (85th Infantry Division), that an armored task force had already passed by an hour earlier. “So much for a coordinated effort,” thought Radcliffe. In the rush to catch up with Task Force Howze his group passed an unidentified armored column, seemingly stalled on the side of the road. As they went by, CPT Radcliffe noticed a perplexed look on the lead tank commander’s face.22

Giving it little thought, Radcliffe concentrated on his mission and future actions. Only a few miles down the road, they ran into a German roadblock. The veteran fighters easily eliminated the roadblock. Temporarily halted by the roadblock, the armor task force caught up with Radcliffe. The first words of the captain in the lead tank were, “What in the hell are you doing here? Are you crazy or lost?”23 It was then that Radcliffe realized that his lightly armed patrol had inadvertently become the point of Task Force Ellis (91st Reconnaissance Squadron), a rival of Task Force Howze. Task Force Ellis was advancing up Via Tuscolana, parallel and to the left to the of Task Force Howze’s advance on Highway 6. All along the Fifth Army front similar task forces were leading their divisions in the quest to be the first unit into Rome.24

Undaunted, Radcliffe’s group continued to press toward its objective–Rome. By nightfall, the group was within sight of the city, but some German tanks near a series of radio towers blocked its way. After a short, but fierce fight, the Germans withdrew under cover of darkness. This enabled Radcliffe to quarter his patrol for the night in a movie studio complex off Via Tuscolana in the Appio Latino section of Rome. The soldiers discovered afterwards that they had camped in the “Hollywood of Italy,” the Cinecitta movie studio, built in the late 1930s. While Radcliffe’s force rested, lead elements of Task Force Howze continued to attack.25 By dawn, the tanks and tank destroyers of Task Force Howze had opened a route into Rome.26

Thus, just before dawn, as Radcliffe’s patrol raced along Via Tuscolana toward Rome, the First Special Service Force was spearheading the primary II Corps assault along Highway 6 (Via Casilina) supported by elements of Task Force Howze. One of the key missions of the Force was to prevent the Germans from blowing six of the northern bridges across the Tiber River. Without the bridges Rome would be divided and more defensible. At 0100 on 4 June, Major General Keyes told Brigadier General Frederick, “Secure the bridges over the Tiber River above Sixty-eight Northing (a map reference indicating the six Tiber River bridges north of the Vatican City) within the City of Rome.”27 General Frederick drove Colonel Alfred C. Marshall’s 1st Regiment down Via Casilina toward Rome and the six bridges.

As Frederick and Marshall forged ahead to capture the Tiber River bridges, Radcliffe’s assault group, operating independently, was searching for the best and fastest way into the city. Just outside the city limits it came across a railway overpass prepared for demolition. The group’s rapid advance had apparently caught the enemy by surprise. The scouts quickly cut the demolition charge wires and slipped into Rome at 0600 4 June 1944 using the Porta San Giovanni (the San Giovanni gate) on Via Tuscolana, part of the ancient Roman city wall. As they did so, the cameramen documented the event on film. They were the first Americans (and Canadian) to enter Rome.28 In the midst of filming the historic moment, a group of German defenders surprised them, stopping the photo shoot.29

The patrol was hit by intense machine gun and rifle fire, forcing it to withdraw to the railway overpass. The soldiers had just gotten into a defensive position when some tanks and tank destroyers from Task Force Howze joined in the fight. The firefight lasted from 0600 to 1100. During a short lull in the firing, CPT Radcliffe rallied his element to make another attempt into the city30

The patrol passed through the Porta San Giovanni for a second time. Five hundred meters into the city, some friendly Italian civilians stopped the patrol to warn them of German tanks ahead. Radcliffe’s scouts confirmed one Tiger tank, but as the main force turned to pull back, a second Tiger tank suddenly blocked its withdrawal. The soldiers were trapped, caught like a baseball runner between home plate and third base in a squeeze play! With no anti-tank weapons capable of knocking out a Tiger tank, their only defense was to use the tight urban terrain to mask the tank fire. They did have a twelve-foot high wall to their rear and an embankment to the front which limited tank movement. The soldiers scattered to hide in the buildings. Whenever the vehicles attempted to move, the two Tiger tanks fired their 88mm cannon and machine guns at the lightly armed vehicles.31

To make matters worse, two platoons of German infantry arrived to root out Radcliffe’s patrol. They were easily driven off by concentrated machine gun and small arms fire. The tanks, however, were not so easily diverted. One of the M-8 armored cars positioned itself at a corner in a desperate attempt to hit one of the tanks with its 37mm cannon. In Radcliffe’s words, “This would have been … like a bee against an elephant.”32 Then for some unknown reason, two tank crewmen lifted their hatches and climbed out (perhaps for a reconnaissance) and the patrol cut them down. The remaining tank crewmen retaliated with random cannon and machine gun fire. But the embankment and wall provided sufficient cover; the shells flew ineffectively over their heads. Radcliffe’s radio calls for tank support only produced two more M-8 armored cars.33

The patrol spent most of 4 June trying to break contact. Some Italian partisans even joined in the fight. As luck would have it, the partisans saved the day. When Radcliffe saw another tank joining the fray, he alerted his men to abandon their vehicles and then evade the enemy through the labyrinth of houses and walled yards of the city. But that tank stopped short of the patrol next to a three-story house. Just as the German tank commander opened his hatch to get a better view, a third floor window opened above him and a hand slowly emerged clutching a hand grenade. Unseen by the German tank commander below, an Italian partisan leaned out of the window and dropped the grenade right into the tank’s open hatch. A muffled explosion followed shortly and smoke rose from the tank hatch. Seizing the opportunity, the jeeps and armored cars broke out of the trap. During the patrol’s hasty withdrawal, the remaining tank scored a direct hit on one jeep killing the soldiers and three Italian partisans who had joined in the fight.34 CPT Radcliffe radioed the location of the German elements to Task Force Howze and returned to the movie studio to rest and refit after the daylong firefight. They needed a few hours of sleep before trying to enter the city again.

In the meantime, the FSSF was speeding toward the Rome bridges on the Tiber River. The 2nd and 3rd Regiments, advancing up Highway 6 (Via Casilina), reached the Roman suburb of Tor Sapienza by 0530 on 4 June.35 Twenty-five minutes after Radcliffe’s patrol first entered the city, a FSSF scouting patrol entered the Pietralata railroad yard aboard the tanks of Task Force Howze.36 During the day of fighting on 4 June, Brigadier General Frederick, leading from the front in his inimitable style, was wounded three times. His third wound came as the Force seized the Margherita Bridge.37 By 2300 that night, all six of the bridges assigned to the FSSF were secured. Radcliffe’s ad hoc unit got credit for being the first Allied soldiers to enter Rome from the south while the FSSF and Task Force Howze seized the northern part of the city.38

Rapidly the situation in the city changed as the Germans and Italian Fascists fled northward. After the initial hard day’s fighting into the Italian capital, the FSSF soldiers were then greeted by crowds of Romans cheering them as liberators. A FSSF soldier, seeing the ancient Colosseum for the first time commented, “The Germans sure blew the hell out of that place!”39

After capturing Rome, the battle for Italy was over for the FSSF, but not for the Allies. They would fight another ten months to drive the Germans from the northern mountains.40 On 7 June 1944 the FSSF was relieved of front line duty and sent to Lake Albano, south of Rome, near the Pope’s summer residence. There, they enjoyed three weeks of rest and recuperation.41 When CPT Radcliffe returned to the FSSF after his special assignment, he was promoted to Major and made the executive officer of 1st Battalion, 3rd Regiment; the rewards for a determined effort.42

Much of the Italian campaign was focused on the capture of the capital and assumed that with its fall, the war in the peninsula would end. This was not the case. The campaign was far from over. Tough fighting continued all the way up the Italian boot until the Germans surrendered on 2 May 1945.43 The frenzied quest to capture Rome was repeated by the Eighth U.S. Army units when they charged past the 38th parallel to capture the North Korean capital, P’yongyang, in October 1950. Fifty-nine years later in Iraq, in the effort to topple the regime of Sadaam Hussein, the 3rd Infantry Division and the 1st Marine Division raced to capture Baghdad, bypassing large areas of resistance in March–April 2003 during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. In all three cases the capture of an enemy capital did not end a campaign or war, merely protracted it. Still, it was an important part of the offensive strategy. Winning “bragging rights” drove the efforts.

This article would not have been possible without the support of Colonel (Retired) T. Mark Radcliffe.