HOME – 36th Texas Infantry Division
This page focuses on the 36th Infantry Division (Texas) during the later phase of the Italian Campaign: the period after the Cassino battles, when Allied strategy shifted toward the decisive push out of the Anzio beachhead and into the Alban Hills. For families of veterans, this is where the story connects the brutal winter fighting to the final approach toward Rome.
Dr. Danila Bracaglia – Historian & Licensed Battlefield Guide
WhatsApp: +39 338 2458831
Email: danila.bracaglia@gmail.com
After the costly fighting around Monte Cassino and the Gustav Line, the Allied offensive required a breakthrough that would force the German withdrawal and open the road to the capital. The Anzio beachhead, held for months under heavy pressure, became the springboard for a renewed push inland. When the front finally moved, the Alban Hills and the corridors leading to Velletri became critical ground.
The terrain around Velletri is a battlefield of ridgelines, vineyards, deep-cut roads and commanding observation points overlooking the approaches to Rome. In this sector, fighting often became a close-range struggle: infantry advancing across open ground, strongpoints anchored to farms and stone buildings, and artillery duels across the slopes of the Alban Hills.
On a private tour, we reconstruct the operational logic of the battlefield: why Velletri mattered, how the landscape shaped the fighting, and what this phase meant for the men who had already endured the winter war south of Rome.
If you would like to explore the earlier and decisive winter fighting of the 36th Infantry Division at Monte Cassino, you can view the dedicated page here: