| Original caption: “Bound for Anzio, a platoon of Americans meets on shipboard to study reconnaissance photos of the Italan beach it is preparing to storm.” Rangers of the 1st Battalion, 6615th Ranger Force, on the deck of HMS Princess Beatrix, a United Kingdom Royal Navy Landing Craft Infantry (LCI), on January 21, 1944, the day before landing on Yellow Beach at Nettuno, near Anzio. Illustrated and LIFE Magazine photographer Robert Capa (October 22, 1913 – May 25, 1954) was suffering from battle fatigue after weeks on the front lines and desired to remain away from combat for some time. In December 1943, Capa was wounded in 3 places by Nazi German shrapnel in Venafro, Italy, while photographing the 45th Infantry Division. His combat images from Italy were just appearing in the United States and shocking the public. Instead of the rest he desperately needed, he was assigned to the Anzio invasion. With William Stoneman (May 15, 1904 – April 11, 1987) of the Chicago Daily News, he was assigned to Colonel William O. Darby’s (February 8, 1911 – April 30, 1945) Ranger Regiment. Stoneman recalled that he and Capa were “scared to death” when they learned of their assignment. “Capa’s first reaction,” he later remembered, “was to contact the madam of a Hungarian whorehouse in Naples and arrange to buy a case of Spanish brandy [on the black marker for a hundred and fifty dollars] to supply a little extra courage for the trip.” The bottles broke and soaked Capa’s extra clothes. Since it was a British LCI, scotch was available for officers and Capa to purchase at inexpensive rates. Besides HMS Princess Beatrix, 6615th Ranger Force was transported in HMS Royal Ulsterman and HMS Ulster Monarch. The landing was set for 0200 Hours to give the Rangers the element of surprise in taking the town of Anzio. HMS LCT-147, carrying almost 800 rocket tubes, was intended to smother the beach, as another similar craft did for the United States Army 3rd Infantry Division’s landing beach. But for some reason, HMS LCT-147 failed to fire. The Rangers actually thought that may have saved lives, as they successfully occupied the town within a matter of hours. Only 13 of 36,000 Allied personnel were killed on the 1st day of the invasion. Capa photographed dead Nazi Germans, the unloading of amphibious DUKW “Duck” 6 by 6 trucks, and air raids by the Luftwaffe (“Nazi German Air Force”). But the good fortune would not hold. Capa and the other reporters, crowded into a villa on the beach, took shelter in the basement by D plus 5, unable to go outside due to the constant shelling. By the 1st week of February, Capa realized the Anzio front would be stalemated for some time. He left aboard a packed hospital ship, the only unwounded passenger. On February 2, 1944, some 700 Rangers of 1st Battalion, cut off and compelled to surrender at the Battle of Cisterna. Much of the 6615th Ranger Force was destroyed, and the survivors were folded into the 1st Special Service Force (FSSF). | |
| Image Filename | wwii0654.jpg |
| Image Size | 774.37 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2900 x 3079 |
| Photographer | Robert Capa |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | January 21, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | Anzio |
| State or Province | Lazio |
| Country | Italy |
| Archive | International Center for Photography |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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