6615th Ranger Force

The 6615th Ranger Force was a regiment of the United States Army, raised for service in World War II. It served in the Italian Campaign and lost two whole battalions at the Battle of Cisterna, part of the Battle of Anzio in early 1944.

The 6615th Ranger Force was formed specially for use in the Anzio landings (codenamed Operation Shingle). The 1st, 3rd, and 4th Ranger Battalions, the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, and several other units were molded into a temporary regiment given the name "6615th Ranger Force." Colonel William Orlando Darby, the former commanding officer (CO) of the famous 1st Ranger Battalion, became the regimental commanding officer. Lieutenant Colonel Hermann Dammer served as the regimental executive officer (XO).

6615th Ranger Force-Colonel William O. Darby, C.O.

The 6615th landed at Peter Beach in the port of Anzio, on January 22, 1944. It suffered very few casualties and moved into the city itself. After the U.S. VI Corps occupied Anzio, the corps commander, Major General John P. Lucas and the 3rd Division commander, Major General Lucian Truscott, met with Colonel Darby and decided to have the Rangers sneak behind the German lines and capture the town of Cisterna. The corps and division intelligence officers thought that there was a gap in the German lines. However, the German commanders, Field Marshal Albert von Kesselring and General Eberhard von Mackensen suspected an American attack in the vicinity of Cisterna and sent a large force of crack troops, armored units, and artillery to cut off the Rangers.

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