But over the next ten days, the tide turned in Kesselring's favour. The Allied landings at Anzio on January 22 had failed to attract units from the Cassino sector. On the contrary, the situation at Anzio was such that German units could now be moved to the Cassino sector - and the first that arrived in time to save the 44th Div. were Heidrich's paratroopers.
Kesselring had expected an Allied amphibious operation in his rear, but when it came on January 22 (in coordination with the Rapido attack) he found himself in trouble. His strength, however, lay in his usual quick reaction, and this time he was aided by excessive Allied circumspection.
To deal with the threat from Anzio, Kesselring brought in all the units that were available in central Italy from the Bn slate. to that of the Sn. - infantry, artillery, AA battalions (with or without their guns), artillery detachments rented reconnaissance units, special service
units for guarding or defending headquarters - and constituted Gpts. ad hoc combat missions intended to liquidate the Anzio bridgehead.
Among these troops, there was a Gpt. combat unit of the Div. Para (Schulz group), as well as another (Gericke group) from a new Div. Para that only existed for less than a month.
The 4th Div. Para, commanded by Major General Heinz Trettner, was formed in January 1944, largely influenced by the successes of the 1st Div. Para. Its numbers were drawn from Luftwaffe divisions, ground organizations and surviving veterans from Holland, Belgium and Crete.
Four days before Anzio, Lieutenant-Colonel Walter Gericke received the order to keep three of his best battalions ready for possible blockages and, thanks to this precaution, the e Div. Para was in position on the 26th on the western flank of the bridgehead.
She took part in the furious attempts to drive the assailants back into the sea, which began on February 3 and continued until March 1, when Kesselring recognized that with the motley collection of troops at his disposal he could not achieve and accordingly went on the defensive.
But, even before the counter-attack at Anzio had been launched, the situation there seemed so secure and that at Cassino, on the other hand, so desperate that the Schulz group was withdrawn from Anzio and thrown into the battle for the heights of Cassino.