The plaque is located on the outside fence post of the old Anzio Casino, “Paradiso sul Mare” which is incorrected addressed as #11 Riviera Zanardelli.

A small white framed metal plaque (about 18”x12”).

Located on the old Anzio Casino where Colonel William O Darby established his headquarters, during the Anzio Landings and “Operation Shingle”.  Colonel Darby commanded the 6615 Ranger Force which consisted of three Ranger Battalions (1^st, 3^rd and 4^th); 509^th Parachute Infantry Regiment; 319th Field Artillery; 83^rd Chemical Mortar Battalion and, a company of the 36^th Combat Engineer Battalion.  The Ranger force participated in the landings (22 January 1944) and the Battle of Cisterna (30 Jan-2 Feb 1944). 

The command Historian for Special Operations Command describes the battles as such:  

Anzio Landings:  Attached to Major General John Lucas’ VI Corps, the first employment of the 6615th Ranger Force was as the spearhead of the surprise night landings at Anzio. Operation SHINGLE was meant to be an end run around the tough German defenses of the Winter Line and open the way to Rome, but, as at Salerno, it became a defensive stalemate. In this case, a lack of aggression on the part of the Allies allowed the Germans to bottle up the VI Corps.

The mission was a classic Ranger operation: seize the port facilities, destroy gun batteries, and secure the beachhead. The 6615th Ranger Force landed at Anzio before dawn on 22 January 1944. The landing was the smoothest of any in which the Rangers had taken part. They landed successfully and with no opposition. Only two undermanned German battalions defended the area and offered little opposition for the twenty-seven battalions of the Allied force coming ashore. The German troops, who had come to Anzio from the Winter Line for rest and rehabilitation, were quickly overrun. By midnight, VI Corps had landed over 36,000 men and 3,200 vehicles and had taken 227 prisoners at a cost of 13 killed, 97 wounded, and 44 missing. The landing was an unqualified success.

Battle of Cisterna: The Rangers fought a difficult, yet valiant unsuccessful battle at Cisterna (di Latina) from January 30- February 2, 1944.  See this Website, Cisterna-Isolabella for more on this battle). 

The text on the plaque is written and English And in Italian.  The English version reads:

(Unit Insignia of the 1^st, 3^rd and 4^th Ranger Battalions)

IN MEMORY OF RANGERS WHO FELL

IN OPERATION “SHINGLE”

JANUARY 22, 1944 DARBY’S RANGERS  LANDED HERE AND

FOR 7 DAYS, FOUGHT TO EXTEND AND HOLD THE FRONT.

JANUARY 30, THE 1^ST AND 3^RD BNS. INFILTRATED ENEMY LINES

SEEKING TO OCCUPY CISTERNA, WHILE THE 4^TH FOUGHT AT 

CONCA – CISTERNA ROAD. AFTER DAWN, THE 1^ST AND 3^RD WERE 

RINGED BY TWO DIVISIONS RUSHED EARLIER THAT NIGHT TO 

BOTH SIDES OF THEIR LINE OF MARCH. RANGERS FOUGHT 

FIERCELY AGAINST GREAT ODDS, BUT WERE OVERWHELMED.

ABOUT 300 RANGERS DIED.

RANGER CARL H. LEHMAN

ANZIO BEACHHEAD RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION CENTRE

ANZIO BEACHHEAD MUSEUM