Mountains.

This is coolbert:

From a comment to my blog entry of January 6, 2006:

"True! I'm a vet of the Winter Line and Anzio with the 45th infantry division. Remember [I] publicity-mad Clark with his PR brown noses announcing in November 43 he was going to give Rome to his wife as a Christmas present. Not until June of 44 did we break out of Anzio and take Rome, and then only because of the Normandy landings. And he was under direct orders to bypass Rome, swing east and cut off the German retreat from the Cassino line."

The January 2005 National Geographic contains an article that is germane to this blog entry about Mark Clark and the Italian campaign of World War Two. A hard slog if there ever was one.

The terrain of Italy did lend itself to a successful German defense. Defense, as Clausewitz said, IS the stronger form of combat. Easier to do and achieves more with less. The allied forces were up against a tough enemy with time to prepare, good troops, with good commanders. NOT an easy task.

Historically NOT an easy task. HOW much historically? Well, according to this Geographic article, 2300 years historically to be approximately right.

It seems that the Romans, during their efforts to subjugate the Italian boot, encountered resistance from a whole variety of Italic peoples. To include the Etruscans, Faliscans, the Umbrians, and the Samnites.

It is the latter, the Samnites, who gave the Romans the MOST resistance. A warrior people, the Samnites were also hill-people. Mountain dwellers who used the mountainous Apennine range to their advantage.

"Higher in the Apennines - - Italy's mountainous spine - - the Samnites, Marsians, and other Italic s found security among steep slopes that frustrated roving invaders and Romans unschooled at first, in mountain warfare."

"All the Italic people were skilled at warfare, but the Samnite men were legendary even in their day, guerilla fighters capable of sudden attacks so violent that their enemy had no time to organize an effective resistance"

"'the Samnites taught the Romans a lot about how to fight' . . . the Samnites used a checkerboard formation, which was ideal for mountainous terrain, their weapons were short stabbing swords, spears, and round shields. Some experts surmise that after the first disastrous encounters, the Romans switched from their standard phalanx formation, which was no good on hills and adopted both the checkerboard formation and the weapons."

The Romans were a patient and adaptable people. Studied their campaigns that were not victories and learned from them. Adapted to the mountainous terrain and defeated the Samnites.

Mark Clark did not have the luxury of time as did the ancient Roman commanders.

coolbert.