At the beginning of 1944, Allied Armies in Italy (AAI) fighting on the Italian Front were bogged down south of Rome in front of the German Gustav Line. This chain of strong defensive positions in mountainous terrain was anchored in the middle at Monte Cassino. Operation Shingle, Clark's plan for a surprise end run to outflank the German Winter Line, called for Allied landings at Anzio on Italy's west coast thirty miles south of Rome. On 7 January 1944, just days after he had become Wilson's deputy, Devers attended a conference in Marrakesh to discuss Shingle. In attendance was Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, General Wilson, General Sir Harold Alexander, Commander-in-Chief of the AAI, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Andrew Cunningham and Major General Walter Bedell Smith. Devers wondered why such a high-level conference was required for what he saw as a simple military decision, but noted in his diary that "the individuals present all favored an amphibious operation at Anzio."