The allied powers turned the momentum of the war against the Axis in 1943, but their slow, methodical approach gave the Germans ample time to dig in and prepare. Like in Normandy, France, the German defensive lines in Italy were built to withstand heavy assaults. Dissatisfied with the slow and painful progress in Italy, Allied leaders conceived of a plan to outflank the fortifications and make a daring amphibious landing to establish a beachhead near Rome.

On this day, January 22, 1944 the American and British troops landed on the beach at Anzio, less than 50 miles from Rome. Their charge several miles inland was likewise virtually unopposed: a diversionary offensive by the Allied armies to the south drew away German troops. If the Allied general in charge of the landing force was more bold, he could have reached Rome within a day.

Instead, caution by the army leaders bogged down the offensive, and Germany brought reinforcements. One of the more notable presences on the beach was “Anzio Annie,” a rail gun — in essence a giant artillery piece on tracks — some 19 miles away. Hidden away in a tunnel, Anzio Annie and her partner, another railway gun dubbed “Robert” harassed Allied positions, destroying supply dumps and damaging nearby ships. When Allied soldiers finally took the tunnels where the guns were hidden, they formed lines to take pictures with their now tamed nemesis.