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ANZIO BEACHHEAD

Allied troops dug in along the Mussolini Canal on Feb 14, 1944. Battle plans had called for a rapid advance to the Alban Hills a week after the landing, followed by a drive to Rome about 40 miles away. VI Corps' Commander John Lucas delayed taking that initiative in order to build the strength of his forces on the beachhead. This tactic has been debated ever since as the "failure at Anzio".