Why Did Clark Send the 36th Division Across a River Everyone Knew Was a Death Trap скачать в хорошем качестве

Why Did Clark Send the 36th Division Across a River Everyone Knew Was a Death Trap

In January 1944, Lieutenant General Mark Clark ordered the 36th Infantry Division to cross the Rapido River in a frontal assault against the strongest point of the German Gustav Line. The division commander, Major General Fred Walker, protested five times. He wrote in his diary that he did not see how they could succeed. Clark ordered it anyway. Then, when the first crossing failed, he ordered it done again. In 48 hours, the 36th Division suffered between 1,681 and 2,100 casualties. The Germans lost 243. No bridgehead was established. No armor crossed. The crossing achieved nothing. After the war, the veterans of the 36th Division demanded a Congressional investigation, calling it "one of the most colossal blunders of the Second World War." Clark was exonerated. The men who survived never forgave him. This is the full story. — SOURCES: Rick Atkinson, "The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943–1944" (Henry Holt, 2007) Martin Blumenson, "Bloody River: The Real Tragedy of the Rapido" (Texas A&M University Press, 1970) Martin Blumenson, "Salerno to Cassino: United States Army in World War II, Mediterranean Theater of Operations" (Center of Military History, 1969) Carlo D'Este, "Fatal Decision: Anzio and the Battle for Rome" (HarperCollins, 1991) Fred L. Walker, "From Texas to Rome: Fighting World War II and the Italian Campaign with the 36th Infantry Division" (Taylor Trade Publishing, 2014; originally published from Walker's wartime diary) Mark W. Clark, "Calculated Risk" (Harper & Brothers, 1950) U.S. Army Center of Military History, "Salerno to Cassino," Chapter XIX: The Rapido River Crossings — available at ibiblio.org/hyperwar Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC), "Battle Analysis: Rapido River Crossing" (ADA165905) Duane Schultz, "Crossing the Rapido: A Tragedy of World War II" (Westholme Publishing, 2011) U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Military Affairs, Hearings on the Rapido River Crossing, March 18–19, 1946 High Command WW2 — Deep, research-driven stories about American generals in World War II. Their decisions. Their failures. Their legacies. If you found this valuable, subscribing helps the algorithm show this kind of content to more people.