I think the Anzio Annie hid in a railway tunnel between firing but did the allied try to bomb it and how close to success it was? Anyone know?
Well- based on seeing Anzio Annie herself (giving a gun a sex... heh) at the Aberdeen Proving grounds- unless they did some *major* refurbishing, I can say that no bombs made any direct hits on the gun. It's in superb condition, I couldn't see any evidence of damage. And I seem to remember reading that the allies tried to find and bomb the railway gun, but only succeeded in FINDING the gun once they had basically overran the area- and hence the gun itself was no longer in action, abandoned by the crew. Which would also explain the pristine condition. I've got a couple books at home that have some decent bits of info on the railway guns, I'll try and poke around a bit tonight. but I've also got a bottle of Sam Adams 2005 limited edition Imperial Pilsner- brewed with the first 2005 crop of bavarian Hollertau hops- in the fridge, so I'm not making any promises!
As much as I like posting while "at work" - this is why it helps to check sources that actually know what they're talking about. Apparently- Anzio Annie- aka Leopold- WAS in fact damaged extensively- but not by allied attacks. There were actually two 28cm K5 guns firing on the allied beachhead at Anzio, Leopold and Robert. One of the guns was kept in the tunnel it fired out of when not firing, while the other was kept in a similar tunnel to the north. Apparently the germans could have used both guns at once, as the tunnels had dual tracks, but chose to only use one at a time. And while the allies came close to taking the guns out with both air strikes and naval bombardment, the tunnels and camoflage kept the guns safe. Here's where it sounds like my first post was wrong- when the allies cut of the Gustav line and took Casino, it cut off the railroads that would have provided the guns an escape route. Apparently, the germans DID in fact sabotage/blow up both the guns. But the allies found them as they headed north from the beachhead- and were able to salvage enough from the remains of the two guns to reconstruct the "Leopold" K5 that is on display at Aberdeen. So the short answer to Kai's question- the allies never hit the guns with their air strikes or naval guns, but the germans DID attempt to destroy the guns as they retreated, leaving enough to recreat only one K5. As a side note- it's worth the trip to Aberdeen alone just to see the K5. 'Course, all the other specimens of WW2 armor, despite their poor condition, are pretty damn worthwhile too! Now, on to that Sam Adams!
A very interesting and well-researched article about 'Anzio Annie' can be found in 'After The Battle' magazine #78.....
Thanx Guys! Just always when you read about Anzio the allied soldiers remember the "Anzio Annie" and wondered if they ever got close to destroying it by any sort of attack. I mean at least they should have because it was such a pain in the neck.
Martin- I checked on the ATB website on the contents for issue #78- and it reads: "28cm Railway Gun at Calais - Terry Gander describes the preservation of a K5 and its installation at the Batterie Todt Museum near Calais. " Is this on the Leopold/Anzio Annie gun, or the Calais gun? I'd imagine the contents might well not list everything in each issue... And... heh, thanks for the unintentional reminder! The After the Battle books/magazines are on of those series I tend to forget about, in spite of their stellar quality and info. I've seen a few in a couple stores near me, and have always been thoroughly impressed. Yet another thing to add to "the list"
Aargh - sorry Crazy ; my bad, must have got the number wrong.... ATB most definitely did a good article on 'AA' but my collection is buried deep under other books - will have to get a shovel out
No worries- (unfortunately) I won't be making an ATB purchase anytime soon, so definitely don't go on some special "digging through the collection expedition" on my account. I did a quick search on their website- in the area with the collected tables of contents from all the magazine issues- and nothing came up for anzio annie or keyword Leopold- so I'm guessing it wasn't one of the "headline" articles, but a smaller piece. Not to mention, with all the stuff I've accumulated on railway arty, I've probably got close to what ATB would have anyway. And- - I can see the gun itself anytime I visit the in-laws... which kinda trumps any article! So ha! now if only I had some in-laws near Bovington... or Kubinka...
