The division, commanded from October 1943 by Major General Ronald Penney, arrived on the Italian Front in December 1943, initially to serve under command of the Eighth Army (General Sir Bernard Montgomery) but soon became part of the US Fifth Army (Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark). Operation Shingle was an Allied amphibious landing against Axis forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno, Italy. The operation was intended to outflank German forces at the Winter Line and enable an attack on the Italian capital of Rome. The resulting combat is commonly called the Battle of Anzio. The division came under the command of the US VI Corps (Major General John P. Lucas).