The Anzio Landing - Target Rome

Ulisse - The Pleasure of Discovery – Season 15

Alberto Angela recounts what has been called the "Italian Normandy"; the arrival of Allied troops on the beaches of Anzio, near Rome. On January 22, 1944, when 40,000 men landed on the coast of Lazio, a few hours' drive from Rome, the German army was caught by surprise. The road to Rome seemed clear. But the man in command of the army, General John Porter Lucas, was instead convinced he was heading for a crushing defeat. The objective of all was the city of Rome, the main prize of the Italian Campaign. Would Rome become the first European capital liberated from Nazism? How long would it take to crush the resistance of the German army? And what price would the population pay?