| A German soldier leads Allied prisoners of war past a knocked-out M4 Sherman tank. Another German looks on. The column appears to be comprised of both American and British soldiers. These are probably from the United States Army 1st and 3rd Ranger Battalions and United Kingdom Royal Army 1st Infantry Division, captured in the failed operation at Cisterna di Laterna. The M4 Sherman of the United States Army 1st Armored Division is an early model with the small mantlet for the gun shield, and the riveted final drive. At the end of January, Major General John P. Lucas (January 14, 1890 – December 24, 1949), commanding the United States Army VI Corps, set in motion an attempt to break out of the beachhead and designated the 1st and 3rd Ranger Battalions along with a platoon of the 3rd Reconnaissance Troop to seize and hold the town in advance of the main thrust that would come to their relief. The Battle of Cisterna occurred January 30 – February 2, 1944, and resulted in the deaths of 311 Rangers while 450 were taken prisoner. These losses represented just over 99 percent of an original force numbering 767 men. Only 6 Ranger survivors and 1 member of the 3rd Recon Troop were able to extricate themselves from the debacle and return to American lines. The Rangers, under the command of Colonel William O. Darby (February 8, 1911 – April 30, 1945), moved out under cover of darkness at 0130 Hours on the night of January 30-31. Moving in column along a drainage ditch, they approached the German positions, bypassing several, until they reached open ground. Coming under heavy fire, they were assaulted by elements of the Nazi German Hermann Goering Panzer Division and the 715th Infantry Division supported by at least 17 tanks. Apparently, they had run into a well-planned ambush. For the next 7 hours, the Rangers fought for their lives. Major John W. “Jack” Dobson (October 4, 1913 – December 2, 1998), commanding the 1st Battalion, personally shot the commander of 1 panzer and dropped a white phosphorous grenade down its hatch. 2 other panzers were captured but later destroyed by Ranger bazooka teams that did not realize the German armored vehicles had been taken. When the Rangers were caught in the open, the overwhelming numbers of German armor and infantry attacks spelled their doom. When the main American attack jumped off hours later, initial gains were made; however, efforts to relieve the trapped Rangers at Cisterna ended in failure. The town remained in German hands until the breakout at the end of May. In the aftermath of the terrible defeat, the Ranger units in Italy were disbanded, and as many as 400 men were parceled out to other units, including the 1st Special Service Force. Darby went on to serve as assistant commander of the 10th Mountain Division and was killed in action, the only American officer posthumously promoted to general rank during World War II. Later analysis of the abortive Cisterna action concluded that the Rangers had disrupted German plans for a counterattack against the beachhead. Still, among other criticisms of Lucas’s performance at Anzio (he was subsequently relieved), the general’s decision to spearhead his offensive with the lightly armed Rangers has been seriously questioned. At Anzio, only 7 days after the successful Allied landings, the initiative had passed to the Nazi Germans. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1820.jpg |
| Image Size | 756.86 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 3500 x 2336 |
| Photographer | Vack |
| Photographer Title | Propaganda Kompanie 699 |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | February 2, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | Cisterna |
| State or Province | Lazio |
| Country | Italy |
| Archive | Archiwa Państwowe |
| Record Number | Feb-00 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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