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MAYO
bombarding beach at Salerno against German counterattack.
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Official Navy statistics reveal that the USS
Mayo fired 60% of all expended 5" artillery at Salerno.
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War Cruise-- USS MAYO
DD422 | |
Battle of Salerno, Italy
Salerno was another step in the strategy to penetrate the
soft underbelly of Europe. The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS)
increasingly wanted to give its priority to a cross channel invasion
of western Europe. Prime Minister Churchill wanted to demonstrate
the vulnerability any defender of Central Europe would have in
attacks from the south, originating from Italy eastward. He had
taken this route in WW I campaigns and though defeated then,
anticipated that the WW II Allies could accomplish decisive war
objectives with the appropriate disposition of Mediterranean-based
forces.
Prime Minister Churchill was not opposed to the
cross channel invasion but it was not a 1943 priority for him.
Increasingly, U.S. commanders got the impression that it might not
even be a 1944 priority for the PM. Moving up the Italian peninsula,
therefore, fit Churchill's idea of the strategy that should be
employed. Interestingly, the Southern France invasion of August 1944
found the U.S. and England switching sides on the importance of the
Mediterranean. The south of France did not fit Churchill's soft
underbelly focus but it did fit the U.S. concept of leverage once
the cross channel invasion of France had begun.
From a naval
perspective, a British-American naval force was to land the Fifth
Army of Lt. General Mark Clark, where these troops were to secure
Salerno and then head to Naples. The code name for this attack was
Operation AVALANCHE.
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MAYO seen supporting the landings of the
Fifth Army as a minesweeper lays
smoke.
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Admiral
Cunningham, RN, as Commander-In-Chief- of the Mediterranean, headed
up the overall naval forces structure. Admiral Hewitt, in a fully
equipped flagship, USS Ancon, had the responsibility for all
amphibious forces and for Royal Navy covering forces; the big ships
further offshore. The Northern Attack Force was led by British
Commodore Oliver RN and the Southern Attack Force aimed at its
assigned beaches at Paestum was led by U.S. Rear Admiral Hall.
Aboard Ancon was General Mark Clark, commanding the newly
designated U.S. 5th Army. This Army was to be put ashore in the U.S.
sector, which was southeast of the British sector. An important new
U.S. Army division, the 36th was in the assault wave. Clark had been
picked by Eisenhower and reported directly to him once established
ashore. The British X Corps for the Northern sector was commanded by
LGEN McCreery who had replaced a British General wounded in a
Bizerte air raid just a few days earlier. Major General Dawley USA
led U.S. troops in the Southern sector.
Montgomery's British
8th Army would be fighting northward to make a juncture with the
Fifth Army. Their progress was not fast enough to bring them into
position to interfere with the German decision to make an all-out
defense at the beachhead in Salerno. Composition of the Southern
attack force was USS WOOLSEY DD437, USS BRISTOL DD453, USS EDISON
DD439, USS LUDLOW DD438, USS NICHOLSON DD442, USS TRIPPE, USS RHIND,
USS SAVANNAH, and USS PHILADELPHIA.
The Northern task force
consisted of four British escort carriers, a monitor, a AA ship, 18
destroyers, 40 minecraft, and over 300 landing craft. The American
destroyers were USS MAYO, USS PLUNKETT DD431, USS NIBLACK DD424, USS
BENSON DD421, USS GLEAVES DD423, USS WAINWRIGHT, USS ROWAN, USS
KNIGHT, USS DALLAS, USS COLE, and USS BERNADOU.
By September
8, 1943, the great invasion armada was off the Gulf of SALERNO
having left their bases at Oran, Tripoli, Sicily, and other ports.
D-day was set for the morning of 9 September at dawn as the Allied
fleet entered a deceptively calm and peaceful waterway. The Germans
were ready as Field Marshal Albert Von Kesselring rushed
reinforcements and installed heavy artillery in the area. The waters
were heavily mined to stop the invading forces and German tank units
lied in wait.
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"Thank God for the fire of the Navy
ships. Probably could not have stuck it out at Blue and Yellow
beaches. Please tell them so."
General Lange, 5th Army to Adm
Davidson
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By
dawn, the first waves of troops moved ashore followed by the second
wave. They met minimal resistance as the third wave of troops headed
to the beach. Just when everything seemed to be going according to
plan, the Germans launched a terrible display of firepower against
the troops on the beachhead and in the approaching landing crafts.
Hidden pillboxes, tanks, and artillery open up on the hapless troops
creating a crossfire of bullets on the beach. The invasion troops
were literally being pushed back into the sea as mid-morning
approached.
Held up by mines, the fire support ships took
station at 1000 hours and seeing the critical situation, tried to
get in touch with their fire-control parties on the beach. However,
due to confusion, death, and loss of equipment, only three ships
could radio their spotters. Despite this, the support group
unleashed a massive shelling of German positions totally wiping out
tanks, artillery, and even a railroad gun. This intense display of
fire power plus the regrouping of troops on the beach resulted in
the Germans being pushed back by the evening of the ninth.
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USS SAVANNAH seen shortly after being
hit by German Radio bomb. A Gleaves class destroyer stands
nearby to render assistance.
Naval Historical
Center |
Day or
night, the German Luftwaffe was attacking the shipping and
beachhead. Mayo escorted the badly damaged USS SAVANNAH , that was
hit by a radio guided bomb on 11 Sept., to Malta only to return
early on the 13th to find a British hospital ship, NEWFOUNDLAND,
burning and bombed as she steamed fully lighted. MAYO and PLUNKETT
immediately went to the rescue and Mayo sent a rescue party aboard
the ship. After four hours of fighting her fires and searching for
survivors, the ship was declared beyond salvage by the area salvage
officer and was sunk by gunfire from PLUNKETT.
Back at the
front, the assault forces were gaining ground on the morning of 10
September, although the Germans unleashed intense air raids. The
Naval Support force again helped by providing fire support and by 11
September, the situation looked well in hand. As such, 11 American
destroyers were assigned to escort a convoy to Oran. So on 12
September, 1943, Hewitt's flagship, USS ANCON, entered Salerno Bay
and General Mark Clark went ashore.
However, by 12 September
General Vietinghoff, the local German commander, had built his
forces at Salerno to 3 divisions with over 600 tanks and mobile
guns, where he adamantly proposed to push the Fifth Army into the
sea. The German's recaptured most of their lost ground and planned
tank attacks on the beachhead on the 13th and 14th. During evening
twilight on the 13th, German reinforcements stormed the area,
including a large number of Tiger tanks. Again the United States VI
Corp was excessively punished and nearly dislodged from the
beachhead. By this time, USS MAYO DD422 and Light Cruiser BROOKLYN
were on the scene.
The MAYO and the BROOKLYN were the first
to respond to the counter attack and were on call for fire support
through 15 September. Nazi machine-gun emplacements were wiped out,
artillery pieces clobbered, and tanks were stopped dead in their
tracks. It is estimated that the MAYO, with her small draft, moved
to within 500 yards of the beachhead, allowing for point blank
shooting. It was here that she received her reputation as a " Tank
Buster", as the remains of a German Panzer unit would testify. The
Mayo took on the tank unit with the help of a Army spotter plane.
The spotter wanted the Mayo to set her guns to rapid fire since her
range was so accurate. This resulted in the Mayo firing a shell
every 4 seconds at this point during the battle. The USS Mayo and
USS Brooklyn were credited with destroying 46 tanks and other
artillery pieces in one day. The Mayo's gun barrels were so hot,
that the paint and gun boots were scorched and burnt. All her gun
barrels had to be replaced after this engagement. Official Navy
statistics also reveal that the USS Mayo fired 60% of all 5"
artillery at Salerno.
The local German commander, General
Vietinghoff reported on the 14th that " This attack this morning...
had to endure naval gunfire... With astonishing precision and
freedom of manuever, these ships shot at every recognized target
with overwhelming effect." The Naval Fire support group provided
fire almost continuously through the 15th of September when German
forces made a general retirement from the coast. Finally, the
beachhead was secured.
For her participation off Salerno,
the Mayo received her first well-earned battle star and a Legion of
Merit for Commander Habecker.
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On 16 September, in order to evade the effective
shelling from warships, I authorized a disengagement on
the coastal front....." |
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Field Marshal Albert Von
Kesselring | |
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