It was on a cool September morning in 1943, that the Allies had begun the riskiest amphibious operation of the entire Second World War. The landing craft approached a little known sea town south of Naples called Salerno. Before the assault craft were even in shallow water, German firepower began to rain in heavily. The landings came as no surprise to the German Wehrmacht and Field Marshal Kesselring. Salerno was one of few possible landing sites, and purposely the 26th Panzer Division was deployed right in the vicinity to defend the Salerno coast.

German defensive fire was particularly effective with 88mm, quad 20mm, and 50, and 75mm antitank gun fire. In the American half of the landings, the target was a flat area at the ancient Greco-Roman ruins of Paestum. This assault force consisted of the green, but well trained 36th Texas National Guard Infantry Division. The initial assault waves met heavy fire. So heavy, some landing craft had to abandon their coordinated landing spots for safer approaches to land their infantry. Axis air power had made its most spectacular appearance since North Africa, and in their strafing had claimed heavy damage or sinking of at least 3 Allied ships. 18 P-38 Lightning fighters alone were downed by Axis fighters at Salerno.

The 36th Infantry bled heavy from fighting an enemy who possessed a plethora of support weapons, and machine guns firing at a rate of over 1,000 rounds a minute from dominating elevated terrain. Reguardless, the 36th Infantry Div. managed to clear some enmy positions to create a small enclave for follow on forces. A toehold had been secured in Italy, but a shaky one. The problem would come later in the next days in the form of Panzer IV counterattacks. The Panzers wreaked havoc among the 36th, taking a serious toll in American lives. The U.S. Army Bazookas could not penetrate the Panzers'  80mm frontal armor. And the infantry were paying for it dearly.

Where were the fighters? Allied air power was indecisive because it was at the edge of its range. they were being flown from air bases in Sicily. They only had some 30 minutes fly time over the beachead.

The American forces were able to establish a foothold in the first couple of days. Though day one's objectives were far from reached, American infantry continued to fight inland. Casualties were mounting, particularly from German artillery and mortars posessing perfect observation. Supplies and artillery were able to get ashore and were deploying, along with the reinforcing 45th Infantry Division. The beachead was expanded, the 36th Division on the right, and the 45th on the left. It seemed they would achieve their mission and advance into the mountains surrounding the flat landing areas, but the enemy had other ideas.

The Germans had amassed the 3rd, 26th, and 15th Panzergrenadier Divisions, Herman Georing, 16th Panzer Divisions, and the 76th Corps coming from  of Calabria in the south. On September 13, the American sector was hit by a concentrated combined arms assault focused on the town of Altavilla, and its prevalent Hill 424 defended by the 36th Inf. Div.. Despite a brave attempt to endure enemy fire, accurate German artillery pounded and disorganized the defending infantry. The Germans attacked with tanks and panzergrenadiers, and after a sharp and bloody fight, the Americans were routed, fleeing for their lives. The retreating groups of men were rallied at the rear and dug in. Naval 6 inch (152mm) gunfire from the U.S. Navy cruisers Savannah, Philadelphia and Boise rained in and stopped the murderous Panzer advance. Throughout the beachead the British and American troops were assailed by an absolutely potent enemy who posessed the most advantageous terrain and obsevation possible seeing every move. They used these advantages to maximize the effectiveness of the long 75mm, 88mm, 10.5cm and 15.0cm guns with the accuracy of giant sniper weapons. A town in the northern British sector called Battipaglia was the scene of just this, and what may have been the battles's most intense street fighting. Here both sides used their mass artillery to devastating effect. The town changed hands several times a day, with great loss of life, and finally becoming a German posession.

On September 15th, the most intense Panzer attack came in the center of the beachead parallel to the Sele River. Here the American VI Corps in the south, and the British X Corps to the north were poorly joined. Due to the attrition of the battle, neither Allies could afford to stretch their battalions for the security of this critical seam. The commanding German General, Vietinghoff, saw this weak point and concentrated his panzers and infantry right into the vulnerable opening. The sector was defended by the veteran 45th Infantry Division. The Division had a regiment defending the town of Persano, which was about to be in the path of the most powerful Wehrmacht assault of the entire battle. For the American Infantry battalions at Persano, it was a virtual slaughter.

This attack was no Japanese Banzai charge. This was a fully coordinated, powerful, and speedy tactical manuever of combined arms forces. Multiple battalions of German armored vehicles and tanks came streaming into the perimeter letting loose with devastating fire preceded by a severe German artillery bombardment. The American infantry were stunned, and shattered. Survivors came trickling back with cries of desperation, and horror stories. General Clark saw this pending disaster and made a great effort to scrape togethor any troops to hold the dike. He even made sure that the band traded their instruments for weapons and took positions at the front. In fact the line at Persano had been broken, and the only thing between the panzers and the beach were two American artillery battalions, the 189th, and the 158th. In frantic desperation 105mm pieces lowered their guns and fired direct fire missions at the Panzers, and their supporting infantry. round after round was fired with effect causing the enemy to halt their advance, and back away. A truly heoric action by the artillery units.

Clark ordered the parachute drop of over 2,000 Paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division inside the beachead. The Paratroopers hit the ground and went into the combat line immediately. They brought with them new energy and strength to the fight, and they were a nasty surprise for the German Wehrmacht. Relentlessly, the Panzers still came. Kesselring knew he needed a victory fast, or the Allied naval and air power would eventually grind his forces to dust.Throughought the American XI Corps sector the situation became precarious especially on the 15th of September.  Contingency plans were drawn up by General Mark Clark for the evacuation of VI Corps and its redeployment in the British X Corps perimeter. But the arrival of the immense firepower of the British battleships Warspite and Valiant made the difference with their massive 15 inch guns.

Attrition was decimating all German units.The Allied air and naval power was allowing no further penetrations for the enemy, and on September 17th, Field Marshall Kesselring called off all German attacks. The Allied beachead was saved, and the Wehrmacht began withdrawing north to the Volturno River line. The British and Americans had held the beachead, and moving reinforcing divisions inland. They had taken over 13,700 casualties in 11 days of brutal combat. They lost 3 cruisers, and a number of transports. The intensity of the Salerno Battle is often overlooked, and is a monumentous victory often unappreciated.