The Battle of Anzio, Italy 1944 | Fischfang: Aprilia-Gegenoffensive | Easy Red 2

Fischfang: Aprilia-Gegenoffensive

The Aprilia-Gegenoffensive (“Aprilia counteroffensive”) was a critical component of Operation Fischfang, the massive German effort in February 1944 to annihilate the Allied beachhead at Anzio. Centered on the shattered town of Aprilia, known to Allied troops as “The Factory” for its distinctive prewar agricultural buildings, this counterattack aimed to reclaim the area and drive a wedge between the British 1st Infantry Division and the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division. German forces, including elements of the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division, 715th Infantry Division, and Hermann Göring Panzer Division, concentrated their assault along the Albano Road corridor. The offensive began with a devastating artillery barrage followed by waves of infantry and armor pressing through the ruins of Aprilia and the surrounding farmland.

Initially, the Aprilia-Gegenoffensive achieved striking success. German tanks and assault guns punched through the forward Allied lines, retaking Aprilia and forcing the British and Americans to fall back toward Carroceto and the Buonriposo Ridge. The fighting was intense and often at point-blank range, as both sides battled amid the rubble of the town and the smoldering wreckage of vehicles. For several days, it appeared the Germans might succeed in splitting the beachhead and reaching the sea. However, determined Allied resistance, reinforced by artillery and air strikes, gradually blunted the attack. By February 20–22, the German drive had stalled, with their units suffering severe losses in men and armor. The Aprilia-Gegenoffensive marked the high-water point of the German effort at Anzio—though it failed to crush the Allies, it inflicted heavy casualties and cemented the stalemate that would last until the Allied breakout in May 1944.