The
88th Infantry Division
in Italy
It began with a plea and a promise.
On 15 July 1942, John S. Quigley, President of the 88th
Division Veterans Association, challenged a group of
new soldiers gathered around the main flagpole of Camp
Gruber, Oklahoma, to "take up the job we didn't get
done" in World War I. In response, MG John E. Sloan
promised: "The glory of the colors will never be sullied,
as long as one man of the 88th still lives." With those
words, MG Sloan reactivated the 88th Infantry Division.
Comprised of mostly draftees, many of the newly conscripted
men came from New England and the Mid-Atlantic States.
Young and inexperienced, the men began formal training
3 August 1942. It was a drastic change in climate for
most, and a more drastic change in lifestyle. In the
first few weeks, the draftees had to learn how to make
a bed, sweep and mop a floor, police an area, what the
letters "K.P." meant, how to stand at attention, how
to march, field sanitation, basic first aid, military
organization, close-order drill, courtesy, discipline
and the difference between stripes and bars. Most importantly,
they learned it was best never to volunteer for anything.
They found themselves completing obstacle courses, going
on night compass marches, dealing with gas mask drills,
and learning how to fire rifles and other small arms.
Combat experienced men came from North Africa to offer
tips and battle methods to the new soldiers. Upon inspection
of the division, all were satisfied and impressed with
the progress made by the men of the 88th. MG Sloan was
a strict disciplinarian and a stickler for minute details,
but in the end he got the results he desired. Even residents
of cities and towns near Camp Gruber held the new outfit
in high esteem. To almost all, these men were well-trained,
well-behaved, and very well-received.
The only people who were not originally confident in
the 88th were the soldiers themselves. For some reason,
the men thought they were overrated and going nowhere.
To many, 88th was still just a number. That feeling
followed the men from Camp Gruber to the Louisiana Maneuver
Area on 16 June, and to Fort Sam Houston, Texas, in
August 1943, as the men completed their training, and
even into November 1943 at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia,
as they waited for deployment overseas.
On 2 November 1943, an advance party of ten officers
left Camp Patrick Henry for North Africa. BG Paul Kendall,
who led the expedition, was the first member of the
88th to set foot on foreign soil. While he and his advance
party members were busy preparing to receive the division,
the 351st Infantry Regiment began its slow voyage across
the ocean to North Africa. Aboard a Liberty ship, the
trans-Atlantic voyage was no easy feat. The ship was
overcrowded and many of the men battled seasickness.
It was a relief when the ships docked in Casablanca.
The 350th Infantry Regiment and the 349th Infantry Regiment
soon followed, and the entire 88th was assembled in
North Africa by 27 December 1943. Not one man was lost
during any of the crossings.
The 88th Division arrived overseas with about 14,000
men. Sixty percent were infantry and the rest were artillerymen,
medics, ordnancemen, signalmen, reconnaissance troops,
quartermasters, and engineers. Upon landing, the men
were assigned to Camp Passage. They were there primarily
to recover from the voyage, have a few decent meals,
see a few recent movies, and enjoy a quick sample of
life in Casablanca. All too soon, however, the 88th
was on the move again. This time they were headed by
train to Oran. The division reassembled, but MG Sloan
was unhappy with what he saw. In all its travels the
division had gotten sloppy, so Sloan ordered more training
in the Atlas Mountains. The training paid off - not
only was the 88th back in top form, but also better
prepared by the wintry terrain of the Atlas Mountains
for what lay ahead in Italy.
An advanced party of officers and men flew to Italy
in late December 1943 under the command of BG Kendall.
Late in the night on 3 January 1944, the first members
of the 88th went into the line with the Fifth Army.
The division's first battle casualty came that very
same day, when SGT William A. Streuli was killed by
enemy air attack two miles west of Venafro.
On 1 February 1944, the rest of the 88th Division began
their trip to Italy. The last units came ashore by 21
February, and the entire division was reunited in Naples.
Upon arrival in Naples, the 88th became the first draftee
division to enter a combat zone in World War II.
The arrival of the 88th was a much-needed respite for
the Fifth Army. Tired and battle worn, many in the Fifth
Army had been fighting since Salerno, Sicily, or even
as far back as North Africa. The 88th was the first
fresh division to arrive in the Mediterranean since
Salerno. It was cold and wet in Naples, weather many
of the men were not expecting. They were also exposed
for the first time to the sights and sounds of war:
the gunfire, rubble, and the physical destruction of
the Italian countryside. Still in a rear assembly area,
the waiting was almost worse than the actual fighting.
Rumors flew about where the units would be assigned.
At night they could see faint flashes over the mountains
behind Piedmonte d'Alfie which suggested the front lines
were located in what the soldiers called "Purple Heart
Valley" and Cassino. The soldiers began to wonder when,
and if, they would ever see the front. Fifth Army Headquarters
had orginally planned to break up the 88th Division
and deploy them as needed, but MG Sloan did not want
to see his division broken up. He met with LTG Mark
Clark, commander of the Fifth Army, and Clark agreed
to keep the 88th intact.
The 34th and 36th Infantry Divisions withdrew from the
front for much needed rest and reorganization. A corps
from New Zealand and one from France took over the American
sector of the line. Most of the French corps was still
enroute from North Africa and therefore were spread
too thin. MG Sloan saw an opportunity, and sent the
2d Battalion, 351st Infantry, into the line with the
French. The battalion arrived at the front on 27 February.
That same day, the 88th was ordered to relieve the British
5th Infantry Division in the Minturno section of the
Fifth Army line. Done in secret, the 88th took command
of the British sector 4 March 1944. To fool any enemy
observers, the American soldiers wore British helmets
while the switch took place. The ruse worked, and the
relief went smoothly.
The Fifth Army was trying to get to Cassino in hopes
of gaining a hold on the central Italian highway to
Rome, thus forcing a German retreat on both ends of
the line. Although the principal mission for the 88th
was a holding and harassing action, ground troops were
used mostly for reconnaissance. In the opinion of correspondents
and those still stationed in the rear, the action taking
place at Cassino was not as exciting as it had been
in Salerno, Naples, and Volturno. Although none of these
people truly knew what was happening at the front it
was because of them that this portion of the Italian
campaign was called "the quiet war." Although it was
relatively quiet, the 88th was getting a taste of what
it was like on the front lines.
The days passed, and by mid-April, both the Germans
and the Allies had twenty-two divisions in Italy. Whereas
the Allies were supplementing their lines with fresh
troops, the Germans were pulling troops from the Eastern
front to beef up their divisions. The Germans were trying
to keep the Allies as far south as possible to avoid
having them get anywhere close to Germany itself. The
Allies, however, were torn: an invasion of France was
being planned and they did not know how best to use
all their troops. As the debate continued, Allied commanders
in Italy decided to go forward with their original plans
to break out of the Anzio beachhead and smash the Gustav
Line. On 11 May 1944, the 350th Infantry attacked enemy
lines at Mount Diamano, Hill 316, Mount Ceracoli, and
Mount Rotondo, while the 351st was ordered to seize
Santa Maria Infante, then open the way into the Austene
Valley. The 349th was held in reserve.
Although the Germans put up a fierce fight, Mount Diamano
fell to the 350th Infantry in less than an hour. By
dawn of 13 May, the 350th also held Hill 316. Soon after
they won Mount Ceracoli, and soon after that they captured
Mount Rotondo. The Gustav line had been cracked.
The 351st, however, did not fare as well as its counterpart.
Attacking the major strong point of the Gustav Line,
the soldiers there found it very difficult to capture
the hill town of Santa Maria Infante. Company F was
destroyed, with all of its men either killed or captured.
The Germans staunchly defended the town. Fighting continued
through 14 May, when the 1st Battalion moved on the
town from the right and the 3d Battalion pushed upwards.
The 88th finally captured Santa Maria Infante by 1300.
The division was so fierce in battle that German prisoners
supposedly remarked that the troops of the 88th fought
"like devils." As a result, the division eventually
adopted the nickname the "Blue Devils" in reference
to their blue shoulder patches.
The 349th Infantry came behind the 350th and 351st and
led the division's advance across the Ausonia Valley.
On 15 May 1944, the 88th pushed through undefended Spigno.
By this time, mountain fighting had begun to take its
toll on the soldiers. The weather was often wet and
cold; the terrain was muddy and hilly; and the men were
always sore and tired. It was difficult to get supplies
to the troops and evacuate the wounded. There was ever-present
radio interference, making communications almost impossible.
Yet they still trudged on, determined to make it to
Rome.
The 351st faced heavy fire on 18 May 1944 in its attempt
to take Monte Grande, while the 349th and 350th advanced
from Roccasecca to the Amaseno Valley, which they cleared
on 28 May. After breaking out of the mountains, the
88th Division was thrust right back into combat. They
were headed towards the Eternal City.
The 88th attacked to the northwest, with their orders
being to cut Highway 6 then head eastward towards Rome.
Highway 6 was cut on 2 June, and by 3 June, the Blue
Devils were just 4,000 yards from their objective. There
was a brutal battle on the outskirts of the city as
the soldiers of the 88th ran into strong German resistance.
Still, on 4 June, the Eternal City fell to the Allies.
Everyone wanted to be first into Rome, but at 1530,
on 4 June, the all-draftee 88th became the first division
to enter the city. Although overshadowed by the Normandy
invasion two days later, the capture of Rome was a significant
victory for the Allies and a welcome event for the Romans.
The happiness and celebration that followed the entry
into the capital city soon gave way to the reality of
war. The 88th received its new orders: follow the Germans
north. They were involved in some brief but intense
fighting at Monterosi, battling German tanks and hoping
to buy time for the main body of troops who were blasting
Nazi soldiers fleeing north by Highway 2. After 100
straight days at the front, the Blue Devils were finally
granted some much needed rest and relaxation. The respite
was short, however, because MG Sloan did not want his
men to lose their fighting edge. After only a few short
days, he launched another training regimen. Sloan was
tough, but the toughness paid off -- total casualties
in the division only numbered 134 officers and 1,844
enlisted men after 100 days of heavy fighting.
On 5 and 6 July 1944, the 88th was once again back at
the front. The confident, heavily armed Germans were
waiting. The 88th was ordered to seize the ancient Etruscan
fortress town of Volterra, location of a large German
garrison. The 349th flanked the town on the right, the
350th flanked from the left, and the two met in the
middle. By 2200 on 8 July, the town was in American
hands. Four days later the 351st came out of division
reserve and took the town of Laiatico. It was during
this battle that the 3d Battalion, 351st Infantry, earned
a Distinguished Unit Citation.
Villamanga fell to the 349th on 13 July, and the 351st
took Monte Foscoli. On 19 July the Allies dug in at
San Miniato, where they soon experienced the brutality
of the Nazis. All civilian areas were heavily mined
and booby trapped, including houses and streets. The
citizens of the town were herded into a church so they
could not warn the Allies of what lay ahead, and then
were mercilessly shot by German tanks. The Germans obviously
did not plan to give up easily.
The 91st Infantry Division relieved the 88th so they
could once again take time for refitting and training.
This time they geared up to cross rivers, as the upcoming
assault crossing of the Arno was not going to be easy.
The trip from Volterra to the north bank of the Arno
was accomplished, but not without high cost: the division
lost 142 officers and 2, 257 enlisted men killed, wounded,
or missing.
After the crossing, the men were once again relieved
from the front lines and sent back for seven weeks of
refitting and training. MG Sloan was forced to retire
in August of 1944 due to his worsening dermatitis. His
replacement was his deputy, BG Paul Kendall. He was
the obvious replacement, since he had been with the
division since Camp Gruber, but it was upsetting to
many of the soldiers to see MG Sloan go. Many thought
BG Kendall was not of the same caliber as MG Sloan.
By the end of August, the 88th could sense it was once
again to go into combat. True to their prediction, the
Blue Devils attacked towards the Gothic Line on 10 September
1944. It was once again rainy, cold, and miserable at
the front. Soldiers on both sides had to trudge around
the mountains in deep mud and water. Trying to break
through the Gothic Line, the 88th encountered some ofthe
heaviest fighting in the fall of 1944. While studying
the Allies to figure out where to launch his main attacks,
Field Marshall Albert Kesslering, the German commander,
held his reserves in preparation for a surprise counter-attack.
That attack occured 28 September when elements of four
German divisions assaulted the 350th Infantry atop Mount
Battaglia. For seven bloody days, the Blue Devils threw
back every assault and held the critical position. They
had won the battle, but not without great cost -- approximately
fifty percent of the 350th were killed, wounded, or
missing. For its heroic part in the ferocious fighting
at Mount Battaglia, the 2d Battalion, 350th Infantry,
earned a Distinguished Unit Citation.
While the 350th battled atop Mount Battaglia, the 349th
Regiment was busy attacking the village of Belvedere
enroute to their destination of Mount Grande. They blasted
the Germans out of the village and without stopping,
captured Sassaleone and cut the road to Castel del Rio.
By 10 October, the 351st had pushed past the 349th,
and faced German flamethrowers in a battle at Gesso.
All three regiments were involved in intense fighting,
and all three were beginning to lose their drive. The
units were losing men faster then they could be replaced,
but orders remained unchanged: the 88th Division was
to keep going. There were no more reserves, but the
North Appenines campaign had to continue.
Fighting not only the Germans but the treacherous terrain
as well, the 88th was exhausted. In fourty-four days
of fighting, the 88th had lost more than 6,000 men killed,
wounded, or missing. By November, there was nothing
more they could do in the drive through the Appenines.
Orders came in to hold and dig in where they were. Finally
the Blue Devils were going to get the rest they needed
so desperately.
After resting in Montecatini, the 88th was once again
headed back to the front on 24 January 1945. They were
to relieve the 91st Infantry Division near Loiana and
Livergnano. They did little more there than heavy patrolling
and maintaining defensive positions, and were once again
pulled out of line for further rehabilitaion. This time
they went through special training to prepare for the
impending spring offensive.
The offensive began in April. The Germans had spent
six months digging themselves into caves, wrecked buildings,
and rocky ridges. Machine guns, mortars, and artillery
were well hidden and placed everywhere. The 88th Units
were shuttled up and down the front in the hope of confusing
the enemy. The Germans were not fooled and built their
strongest defensive position south of Bologna and right
in front of the Blue Devils. That turned out to be a
big mistake: when the Germans tried to pull themselves
out of a trap placed by the 10th Mountain Division,
the 88th Division's flanking manuever held them in place.
The Germans were caught, and the Fifth Army broke through
into the Po Valley.
Once the past the Po Valley, the 88th headed to the
Alps. On 25 April, the Blue Devils became the first
Allied troops to enter Verona. Vicenza fell three days
later. The effort of the Allies paid off. At 1600 on
2 May, German forces surrendered. The war in Italy.
On 4 May 1945, the 88th Division joined the 103d Infantry
Division, another draftee division, driving south through
Brenner Pass from Innsbruck. On 7 May, it was announced
the Germans had surrendered unconditionally. For those
fighting in the European Theater, World War II was over.
The men in the 88th did not celebrate wildly, but instead
refelcted a quiet joy. Many thought it was too good
to be true. Many mourned the men that did not make it
to see the end. All the soldiers cared about now was
wrapping the job up and going home.
The Blue Devils moved into Bolanzo, the city that had
once been the headquarters of the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe.
On 31 May, the 88th gave Bolanzo over to the Allied
Italian troops, but since tensions were so high between
the Italians and the Germans, the 349th Infantry stayed
to prevent trouble. The rest of the division was sent
to Lake Garda, where they were given the assignment
of guarding 300,000 POWs. Some of the soldiers had enough
points to ship out during the summer, while others were
moved to Trieste for occupation in the fall. Many of
them remained in Italy for the next two years. The division
was finally inactivated on 24 October 1947 in Italy.
Today the 88th's lineage lives on as the 88th Regional
Support Command, U.S. Army Reserve, with headquarters
at Fort Snelling, Minnesota.
In 344 days of combat, the 88th Infantry Division lost
2,298 men killed in action and 9,225 men wounded. The
Blue Devils proved that with rigorous training, teamwork,
competent leadership, and fierce determination, an all-draftee
division was more than capable of fighting well against
a well-trained, well-equipped, and battle-hardended
enemy. Even under the worst circumstances, the men of
the 88th gave their all and wound up playing and integral
part in the defeat of the German Army in Italy. The
Blue Devils saw to it that MG Sloan was good on his
word: the 88th Infantry Division had well finished the
job it had started long before in World War I.
For more reading on the 88th Infantry Division in WWII,
please see: Draftee Division: The 88th Infantry
Division in WWII, by John Sloan Brown, The
Blue Devils in Italy, by John P. Delaney, and Salerno
to the Alps: A History of the Fifth Army 1943-1945,
edited by LTC Chester G. Starr.
Written
by Jami Bryan (Managing Editor of On
Point)
Copyright © 2003 Jami Bryan |
