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'ON THIS SITE THOUSANDS OF MEN FOUGHT AND DIED' |
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Anzio Tours recalls the aftermath of Allied amphibious landings south of Rome in 1944, remembering those who lost their lives in the beachhead between January 22nd and May 25th. Rome was liberated on June 4th. Our battlefield tour can be adjusted to include visits to the Anzio Beachhead Cemetery (Villa Claudia), Anzio Commonwealth War Cemetery (Anzio), American Beachhead Military Cemetery (Nettuno), Museo di Piana delle Orme in Latina and Museo dello Sbarco di Anzio, but memorial sites are not our focus. Commercial tour operators offer excursions which relate solely to how it all looks now, not what it might have been like to live through in early 1944. We visit the important Anzio beachhead battlefields, and engage in open discussion about military tactics and personal sacrifice. |
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Both Allied and German forces withstood tens of thousands of combat casualties. Anzio was described as 'an abscess' by Hitler and 'worse than Stalingrad' by veterans who had to fight there too in 1942-1943. Memorial boards erected in 1979 (top right) flanked Via Nettunense (Anziate) beneath 'The Flyover' at Campo di Carne. They have been taken down and replaced in recent years with smaller, less visible signs but their message remains the same. A precious and priceless reminder to all. |
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It is our vocation to lead our guests through the detritus of war in order to remember those who were involved. |
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Anzio Tours has been created to initiate and finance a project of Local Awareness and we are hoping to win the support of Comune di Anzio. They have the means and authority to signpost what is now predominantly rural land between the Tyrrhenian sea and Aprilia. We aim to educate generations of local residents and visitors alike about the conflict south of Rome, it's influence and legacy, still very recent history, and one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. |
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The aerial photograph below was taken between the end of January and early March 1944. It shows 'The Flyover' at Campo Di Carne, known to men who had to fight there as 'The Gate to Hell'. The railway station still exists (Roma Termini - Nettuno route) and Campo di Carne today is an agricultural settlement. There is no immediate sign of the carnage that took place in 1944. That Campo di Carne translates as 'Field of Meat' (animals were slaughtered there at the turn of the last century), is sad irony in that so many young men died in the most appalling conditions. The Campo di Carne battlefield is included in our tour. |
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Anzio Tours © 2008-2010 | Last updated: August 31st 2010 |
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