The first Allied landings on the beach occurred on 9 September, with two regiments of Middleton's 45th Infantry Division, the 157th and 179th Infantry, landing the following day. The other regiment of the division, the 180th, would land at a different point and be held in reserve by Clark. Middleton was responsible for ten miles of beachhead between the British X Corps and the U.S. 36th Infantry Division. The German defensive positions pounded the Allies, who gained little ground in the first few days of the operation. Lieutenant General Clark, the Fifth Army commander, faltered and sent around a confidential memo indicating that he was contemplating taking the troops back off the beaches. Middleton, telling his staff that they were not leaving, spread around the word to his troops that it was a good time to do some hard fighting. On the morning of 14 September units of the 45th did some particularly hard fighting at a large tobacco factory, consisting of five imposing stone buildings in a somewhat circular pattern. The Germans were dug in here, and repulsed the Americans initially, but with the aid of some naval gun fire, the Germans were eventually pushed back. Clark visited the front later that day, and was convinced that his army was going to stay.