CAMOUFLAGED FOXHOLES AND ARTILLERY POSITIONS along the Mussolini Canal. On 2 February 1944, after the unsuccessful attempt to extend the beachhead, the Anzio force received orders to dig in and prepare for defense. By this date casualties totaled 6,487. Allied troops were on the defensive in Italy for the first time since the invasion at Salerno.] [Illustration: ITALY LAYING AN ANTITANK MINE. The man at left is arming the mine by pulling the safety fork. This type of mine contained 6 pounds of cast TNT and had a total weight of 10⅔ pounds. The pressure of a man stepping on the mine would not detonate it, but any vehicle hitting it would set it off. Mines were generally laid at night or on foggy days behind a smoke screen. The task of laying mine fields at night in the open, almost featureless terrain resulted at first in many improperly marked fields causing accidents. The practice was finally adopted of first marking a field, then recording it, and only then laying the mines. (Antitank mine M1A1.)] [Illustration: ITALY LONG TOM FIRING AT GERMAN POSITIONS. On 3 February 1944 the enemy started a series of counterattacks to wipe out the beachhead. There were three main attacks: 3–12 February, 16–20 February, and 28 February–4 March. The stalemate began on the latter date and lasted until the offensive to break out of the beachhead got under way on 23 May 1944. Enemy prisoners taken during the February fighting always commented on the heavy artillery fire, which caused numerous casualties, shattered nerves, and demoralized many enemy units.] [Illustration: ITALY SIGNAL CORPS MEN working in the main frame room of headquarters switchboard installation. The beach area at Anzio-Nettuno was on a slightly higher level than the rest of the beachhead area and was honeycombed with tunnels and caves so far underground that they were bombproof. Wherever possible the installations along the shore were put underground.] [Illustration: ITALY RADAR SET IN OPERATION. By 24 February 1944 the first sets of this type were in position on the Anzio beachhead. They were brought in to cope with enemy jamming techniques and “window” (small strips of metallic paper dropped from attacking planes) which had reduced the effectiveness of earlier types of radar. During the night of 24 February a flight of twelve bombers approached in close formation, using the “window” method of jamming. Forty-eight 90-mm. guns directed by radar of the improved type caught them at extreme range over enemy territory and brought down five with the first salvo. The remainder of the formation jettisoned their bombs and fled. (Radar SCR 584.)] [Illustration: ITALY