American infantrymen in an assault boat haul themselves across the Volturno River (Italy) in mid-October 1943 during the first major river crossing in Europe by Allied troops. By moving quickly on a broad front, and by leaving the main roads to infiltrate around enemy strongpoints, Allied forces advanced thirty-five miles past Naples before rain and stiffening German resistance slowed the pace.


Assault boat

A U.S. infantryman takes aim at a sniper during street fighting in Saint-Malo, France on August 8, 1944. 

Street fighting

A U.S. soldier north of the Volturno river disables a mine, which has been discovered by the engineer holding his metal detector. “All roads lead to Rome,” quipped General Harold Alexander, the commander-in-chief of Allied forces in Italy, “but all the roads are mined.”
