John Radzilowski
In 2024, we continue to mark the 80th anniversaries of some of the most critical events in Polish history during World War II. In May we remembered the epic struggle of the Polish Second Corps under the command of General Władysław Anders to capture Monte Cassino and break Germany’s formidable Gustav Line (https://polishweekly.com/the-poles-at-monte-cassino-1944-2024/).
Although Monte Cassino was the most dramatic and best remembered battle of the Polish Second Corps, it was not their biggest or even the most successful battle. After victory at the Monte Cassino and the capture of Rome, it is easy to forget that the war in Italy and the story of the Polish soldiers there was by no means over.
After a few weeks of rest and refitting in the wake of the Battle of Monte Cassino, General Anders’ men were ready to go back to the front. Now, however, they were not a fresh, untested unit and the Poles and their commander had won the respect of the Allied Command in Italy. In June, General Anders was given command of the Adriatic Coast sector of the Allied front, located on the eastern side of the Italian peninsula.
During the June and July, the Allies were pushing hard against the German defenses. In north central Italy, Nazi commanders were preparing a new line of fortifications to halt Allied armies in the mountains and prevent them from reaching the flat open ground of Italy’s Po River valley where Allied tanks and airpower would have an overwhelming advantage. To do this they needed to delay the Allied advance and complete their preparations. The Allies, for their part needed to capture as much ground as they could before the start of winter when bad weather would allow the enemy to use Italy’s rough terrain and poor infrastructure to their best advantage. The Allies were hindered by the fact that central Italy had few good ports. Most Allied supplies and reinforcements were coming from the port of Naples well south of Rome and then trucked north over Italy’s poor roads made worse by the Germans’ systematic campaign to destroy every road and bridge as they retreated north. To have any chance of winning the race against time, the Allies needed to capture not only territory but ports.
The city of Ancona was one of the only major ports on the Italy’s eastern coast. Its capture would help relieve the Allied supply situation and perhaps allow Allied forces to reach the Po Valley before winter. General Anders and the men of the Second Corps now set their sights on Ancona. It was a measure of the trust the Allies placed in Anders that he was not only allowed to plan the battle but was given command of other Allied troops to support the Polish efforts. These soldiers included the British armored forces of 7th Queen’s Own Hussars and the IX Assault Unit of the Italian Co-Belligerent Army. (The latter were under the free Italian government that sought to liberate their homeland from the Germans as well as Mussolini’s fascist forces.)
Anders’ Plan
At Monte Cassino, the Poles had little choice but to attack into the teeth of well-prepared German defenses, suffering heavy losses to finally break through. This time, General Anders planned to use movement and deception to capture Ancona, which could not only reduce his losses but hopefully capture the city without widespread destruction which would make using the port even harder.
Opposing Anders were German forces amounting to nearly two divisions under the command of Gen. Henry Hoppe, a veteran officer who had fought the Poles before in 1939. Many of his men were veteran soldiers and the German high command reinforced Hoppe’s force with additional tanks and artillery. By the time the Poles attacked, the Germans had created a new fortified line around Ancona.
Anders had two options, to attack up the coast, taking advantage of the flatter ground but also allowing the Germans clear fields of fire. The other option would be to outflank the German forces, but this would require Anders’ men to cross rough terrain. In both cases, the Germans were ready with reserves able to shift in either direction to contain any attack Anders might launch. The key to victory, Anders knew, was to deceive the enemy about where the blow would fall.
The Miracle at Loreto
In late June 1944, Polish forces supported by Italian troops began to move against the Germans south of Ancona who were trying to delay the Allied advance as long as possible. By the first week of July, the Poles secured the important town of Loreto, just south of Ancona. Loreto is the site of the Holy House, the dwelling of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is a relic incorporated into the city’s cathedral and an important pilgrimage site for Catholics for centuries.
On July 6, the German artillery began to target the town, now occupied by Polish forces. Enemy shells rained down on the cathedral and in a short time, the ancient church was engulfed in flames. Then, soldiers of the Second Corps rushed into action, not with weapons this time but with ladders and buckets of water, braving the flames and smoke to save the cathedral and its precious relics. Many Poles were injured pulling burning debris from the building, but several minutes and hundreds of buckets of water later the raging flames suddenly died away. Many of the townspeople who witnessed this believed it was a miracle since their precious church had appeared to be completely lost to the fire.
The Cathedral of Loreto contains chapels to pilgrims of many nations and after the war when the damaged caused the by shelling was repaired, the grateful residents commissioned a new stained-glass window for the Polish chapel showing the soldiers with buckets and ladders putting out the fire, which can be seen by visitors yet today.
The Battle of Ancona
To keep the German commanders guessing, Anders’ men began a series of actions to hide their real plans. Units would move during the day and then return to their original positions at night. Sounds made by the movement of tanks and heavy vehicles were masked by artillery fire. Dummy vehicles and artillery positions were created to deceive German observers. Polish commandos attached to Anders’ command conducted nighttime raids on German advance positions, causing enemy casualties and capturing prisoners in order to further suggest where a preliminary attack might take place.
By July 17, Anders was ready. German reserves were concentrated nearer to the coastal sector of the line. Here, Anders positioned the 3d Carpathian Rifles Division under Gen. Bronisław Duch. Inland, his strike force would be the 5th Kresowa (Borderland) Rifle Division commanded by Gen. Nikodem Sulik which would be closely supported by the 2d Armoured Brigade assisted by the British armored regiment.
At 0630 hours, Polish artillery and American fighter bombers commenced bombardment of German positions. Behind the bombardment came the 5th Kresowa, breaking through the German defenses. Polish tanks followed the infantry and exploited the initial gains. The Polish Shermans ran amok, trampling German trenches and artillery positions. Enemy troops retreated or surrendered. Along the coast, the 3d Carpathian Division also stepped up the pressure, pinning down the Germans’ reserves and preventing them from stemming the Polish advance further inland.
Nightfall brought no relief for the Germans. Polish armor cars and tanks continued to press their advantage in spite of the darkness, capturing the town of Agugliano overlooking the road north of Ancona and the Germans’ only escape route. By morning on July 18, Polish and British tanks supported by teams of Polish infantry, cleared German defenders from the small villages west of Ancona and began driving toward the Adriatic Sea.
German forces now fled north to avoid being completely cut off. By midafternoon, the 3d Carpathian Division entered Ancona, capturing the town and the remaining German defenses with hardly a shot. The Germans lost 800 dead and over 3000 captured (many of them wounded). Additionally, the Poles captured 25 tanks and considerable haul of artillery and supplies. Polish losses were 498 dead and 1789 wounded.
Although General Anders and the Polish Second Corps will always be remembered for their capture of Monte Cassino, Ancona was perhaps their greatest victory, won through superior generalship, tactical skill, and deception that overcame powerful German defenses, captured a key port, and minimized Allied losses.
Dr. John Radzilowski is a historian and Director of the Polish Institute of Culture and Research, Orchard Lake, Michigan.
2nd Polish Corps in the Battle of Ancona – crossing the Musone River. Pictures come from the National Digital Archives, Polska
Pictures of the window and Polish chapel at Loreto by Stefan Wisniewski.
