Invasion of Italy
52-746: Winter Line Gothic Line 1945 Spring Offensive The Volturno Line (also known as the Viktor Line ; German : Volturno-Linie, Viktor-Linie , Italian : Linea del Volturno ) was a German defensive position in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II . The line ran from Termoli in the east, along the Biferno River through the Apennine Mountains to the Volturno River in
104-518: A crossing at dawn on 11 April. The Poles had also closed on the Santerno by the night of 11 April. By late morning of 12 April, after an all-night assault, the 8th Indian Infantry Division was established on the far side of the Santerno and the 78th Infantry Division started their pass through to make the assault on Argenta. In the meantime, the 24th Guards Brigade , part of the 56th (London) Infantry Division, had launched an amphibious flanking attack from
156-692: A dual thrust, one towards Budrio parallel to the Bologna road, Route 9 (the Via Emilia) and the other northwest along Route 16, the Via Adriatica , towards Bastia and the Argenta Gap which was a narrow strip of dry terrain through the flooded land west of Lake Comacchio. An amphibious operation across the lake and parachute drop would bring pressure to bear on the flank and help to break the Argenta position. Depending on
208-543: A fighting withdrawal to the next line north (the Barbara Line ) which the Allies reached by 2 November. Winter Line Invasion of Italy Winter Line Gothic Line 1945 Spring Offensive The Winter Line was a series of German and Italian military fortifications in Italy , constructed during World War II by Organisation Todt and commanded by Albert Kesselring . The series of three lines
260-512: A spring offensive in 1945. When Field Marshal Sir John Dill , the head of the British Mission in Washington, D.C. , died on 5 November, Field Marshal Sir Henry Maitland Wilson was appointed his replacement. General Harold Alexander , having been promoted to Field Marshal, replaced Wilson as Allied Supreme Commander Mediterranean on 12 December. Clark succeeded Alexander as commander of
312-992: The 139th Brigade of the British 46th Infantry Division . The rest of the division followed in December along with the 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade . In early January 1945, the British 1st Infantry Division was sent to Palestine and at the end of the month the I Canadian Corps and the British 5th Infantry Division were ordered to the North West Europe Campaign . This reduced the Eighth Army, now commanded by Lieutenant-General Richard McCreery , to seven divisions. Two other British divisions were to follow them to North-Western Europe, but Alexander kept them in Italy. The U.S. Fifth Army had been reinforced between September and November 1944 with
364-587: The 16th Panzer Division to switch to the Adriatic front. Elements of the British 78th Infantry Division 's 11th Brigade infantry crossed the Biferno at dawn on 3 October 1943 following an amphibious landing at Termoli by British Commandos at 02:15. By late morning, the two elements had linked up and that night 78th Division's 36th Brigade were able to be landed by sea at Termoli . However, logistical problems had prevented
416-683: The 1st Brazilian Division , and in January 1945, with the specialist U.S. 10th Mountain Division . Allied strength amounted to 17 divisions and eight independent brigades (including 4 Italian groups of volunteers from the Italian Co-Belligerent Army which were equipped and trained by the British), equivalent to just under 20 divisions. The 15th Army Group ration strength was 1,334,000 men, the Eighth Army having an effective strength of 632,980 men, and
468-681: The Allied advance for months between December 1943 and June 1944. Major battles in the assault on the Winter Line at Monte Cassino and Anzio alone resulted in 98,000 Allied casualties and 60,000 Axis casualties. The Gustav Line stretched across the Italian Peninsula and barred the way to Rome for the two Allied armies in Italy: the U.S. Fifth Army in the west and the British Eighth Army in
520-658: The Allied forces in Italy (renamed 15th Army Group ), but without promotion. Lieutenant General Lucian Truscott , the commander of the U.S. VI Corps from the Battle of Anzio and the capture of Rome to Alsace , landed in the South of France during Operation Dragoon and returned to Italy to assume command of the Fifth Army. On 23 March, Albert Kesselring was appointed Commander-in-Chief West , replacing General-Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt . Heinrich von Vietinghoff returned from
572-490: The Allies building a heavy duty bridge across the Biferno and when the bulldozed fords were made unusable after 5 tanks had crossed, there was no way to get more tanks across the river to support the infantry. A lighter weight FBE bridge was built to allow artillery, reconnaissance, and other vehicles to cross. The move east of 16th Panzer Division presented a major and unforeseen threat to the unsupported Allied infantry. As news of
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#1732852832185624-524: The Italian Co-belligerent Army advancing up the line of Route 9, followed two hours later by II US Corps from the south. On 24 April, Parma and Reggio Emilia were liberated by the partisans. IV Corps had continued its northwards advance and reached the Po river at San Benedetto on 22 April. The river was crossed the next day and they advanced north to Verona which they entered on 26 April. To
676-461: The 15th Army Group headquarters until the morning of 2 May. It emerged that Kesselring had his authority as Commander of the West extended to include Italy and had replaced Vietinghoff with General Friedrich Schulz from Army Group G on hearing of the plans. After a period of confusion, during which the news of Hitler's death arrived, Schulz obtained Kesselring's agreement to the surrender and Vietinghoff
728-652: The Baltic to take over from Kesselring and Traugott Herr , the experienced commander of the LXXVI Panzer Corps , took over the 10th Army . Joachim Lemelsen , who had temporarily commanded the 10th Army, returned to command the 14th Army . Allied manpower shortages continued in October 1944. The 4th Indian Infantry Division had been sent to Greece and the British 4th Infantry Division had followed them in November along with
780-561: The Bernhardt Line was launched on December 1, 1943, as part of Operation Raincoat . British and American troops took the terrain around Monte Camino and the Mignano Gap within a week and a half of launching the assault but German operations persisted in the area for months. Some authorities define the Bernhardt Line as crossing Italy from coast to coast following not just the western defensive positions described above but incorporating also
832-491: The Eighth Army was to drive northwest to capture Ferrara and Bondeno, blocking routes of potential retreat across the Po. The U.S. Fifth Army was to push past Bologna, north to link with Eighth Army in the Bondeno region, to complete an encirclement of German forces south of the Po. The Fifth Army was to make a secondary thrust further west towards Ostiglia, the crossing point on the Po of the main route to Verona. Phase III involved
884-594: The Fifth Army 266,883. As of 9 April, the Axis in Italy had 21 much weaker German divisions and four Italian National Republican Army (ENR) divisions, with about 349,000 German and 45,000 Italian troops. There were another 91,000 German troops on the lines of communication, and Germans commanded about 100,000 Italian police. Three of the Italian divisions were allocated to the Ligurian Army under Rodolfo Graziani which guarded
936-534: The German armour's arrival came in on 4 October, 78th Division's commander— Major-General Vyvyan Evelegh —demanded priority from British Eighth Army , under General Bernard Montgomery , for bridging equipment. As more German armour arrived, the Allied troops across the Biferno were forced onto the defensive. By the afternoon of 5 October, they had been squeezed back to within .5 mi (0.80 km) of Termoli. However, at
988-526: The German defense continued to be strong and effective, but Bondeno was captured on 23 April. The 6th Armoured Division linked with the 10th Mountain Division the next day at Finale some 5 mi (8.0 km) upstream along the river Panaro from Bondeno. Bologna was entered in the morning of 21 April by the 3rd Carpathian Infantry Division of the II Polish Corps and the Friuli Combat Group of
1040-843: The Germans and Western Allies had taken place in Switzerland ( Operation Crossword ) in March, but had resulted only in protests from the Soviets that the Western Allies were attempting to negotiate a separate peace. On 28 April, Vietinghoff sent emissaries to the Allied Army headquarters. On 29 April, they signed an instrument of surrender at the Royal Palace of Caserta stating that hostilities would formally end on 2 May. Confirmation from Vietinghoff, did not reach
1092-582: The Germans had started to fall back to the next prepared defences on the River Trigno , the Barbara Line . On the other coast, the U.S. Fifth Army , commanded by Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark , attacked across the Volturno on the night of 12 October. The Germans, using rearguard tactics, succeeded in slowing the American advance. They skillfully utilized the terrain, which was favourable for defence, to conduct
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#17328528321851144-532: The Senio defenses. In the early afternoon of 9 April 825 heavy bombers dropped fragmentation bombs on the support zone behind the Senio followed by medium and fighter bombers. From 15:20 to 19:10, five heavy artillery barrages were fired each lasting 30 minutes, interspersed with fighter bomber attacks. In support of the New Zealand operations, 28 Churchill Crocodiles and 127 Wasp flamethrower vehicles were deployed along
1196-413: The army front and to draw German reserves away from Route 65. II Corps would then attack along Route 65 towards Bologna. The weight of the attack would then switch westward again to break into the Po valley skirting Bologna. In the first week of April, diversionary attacks were launched on the extreme right and left of the Allied front to draw German reserves away from the main assaults. Operation Roast
1248-560: The coastal plain of the Adriatic and the U.S. Fifth Army ( Lieutenant General Mark Clark ) attacking through the central Apennine Mountains . Although they managed to breach the formidable Gothic Line defenses, the Allies failed to break into the Po Valley before the winter weather made further attempts impossible. The Allied forward formations spent the rest of the winter of 1944 in inhospitable conditions while preparations were being made for
1300-656: The departure of General Montgomery, all put a halt to Allied plans until the spring of 1944. The Gustav Line thus fulfilled the wishes of Field Marshal Kesselring , the commander of German forces in Italy, of keeping the Allies south of the so-called Winter Line. On the western side of the Apennines were two subsidiary lines, the Bernhardt Line in front of the main Gustav positions, and the Hitler Line some 8 kilometres (5 mi) to
1352-571: The east. The Allies' grand strategy in the autumn of 1943 was for the Eighth Army to advance through the Sangro River defences, then hook south at Avezzano and enter Rome from the rear while the Fifth Army approached from the south. The center of the Gustav Line crossed the main route north to Rome at strategically crucial Highway 6. It followed the Liri valley and was anchored around the mountains behind
1404-517: The east. The two subsidiary lines, the Bernhardt Line and the Hitler Line , ran much shorter distances from the Tyrrehnian Sea to just northeast of Cassino where they would merge into the Gustav Line. Relative to the Gustav Line, the Hitler Line stood to the northwest and the Bernhardt Line to the southeast of the primary defenses. Before being ultimately broken, the Gustav Line effectively slowed
1456-535: The eastern defences of the Gustav Line. Other authorities use the Winter Line name interchangeably with the Gustav Line . Spring 1945 offensive in Italy Allied victory [REDACTED] United Kingdom [REDACTED] 15th Army Group [REDACTED] Army Group C Total: 585,000 Invasion of Italy Winter Line Gothic Line 1945 Spring Offensive The Spring 1945 offensive in Italy , codenamed Operation Grapeshot ,
1508-409: The establishment of bridgeheads across the Po and exploitation north. The Eighth Army plan ( Operation Buckland ) had to deal with the difficult task of getting across the Senio, with its raised artificial banks varying between 6 m (20 ft) and 12 m (40 ft) in height and honeycombed with tunnels and bunkers front and rear. V Corps was ordered to make an attack on the salient formed by
1560-458: The front further by attacking across the Senio towards Bologna. The Poles had been desperately under strength in the autumn of 1944, but had received 11,000 reinforcements during the early months of 1945, mainly from Polish conscripts in the German Army taken prisoner in the Battle of Normandy . Once across the Senio, the assault divisions were to advance to cross the Santerno. Once the Santerno
1612-481: The front. The 8th Indian Infantry Division, 2nd New Zealand Division, and 3rd Carpathian Division (on the Polish Corps front at Route 9) attacked at dusk. In the fight there were two Victoria Crosses won by the 8th Indian Infantry Division. They had reached the Santerno, 5.6 km (3.5 mi) beyond, by dawn on 11 April. The New Zealanders had reached the Santerno at nightfall on 10 April and succeeded in making
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1664-525: The left by a marshland. At the same time, the British 56th (London) Infantry Division would launch the amphibious flank attack along Lake Comacchio. On the left flank of V Corps , the New Zealand Division would advance to the left of the marshland on the west side of Argenta while the 8th Indian Infantry Division would pass in army reserve. The Fifth Army plan (Operation Craftsman) envisaged an initial thrust by IV Corps along Route 64 to straighten
1716-424: The left. This was followed on the night of 15 April by II Corps attacking with 6th South African Armoured Division and the 88th Infantry Division advancing towards Bologna between Highway 64 and 65 and the 91st and 34th Infantry Divisions along Highway 65. Progress against a determined German defense was slow, but ultimately the superior Allied firepower and lack of German reserves allowed the Allies to break through
1768-536: The line of Highway 9 towards Piacenza and across the Po to seal possible escape routes into Austria and Switzerland via Lake Garda . On 27 April, the 1st Armored Division entered Milan which had been liberated by the partisans on 25 April and the IV Corps commander Willis D. Crittenberger entered the city on 30 April. Turin was also liberated by partisan forces on 25 April, after five days of fighting. On 27 April, General Günther Meinhold surrendered his 14,000 troops to
1820-728: The line of the river Reno to Bondeno and link up with the Fifth Army to complete the encirclement of the German armies defending Bologna. On the same day, the Italian National Liberation Committee for Northern Italy , in command of the Italian resistance movement , ordered a general insurrection; in the following days, fighting between Italian partisan and the German and RSI forces broke out in Turin and Genoa (as well as in many other towns across Northern Italy), while German forces prepared to withdraw from Milan . On all fronts,
1872-516: The mountain defenses and reach the plains of the Po valley. The 10th Mountain Division was directed to bypass Bologna on the right and push north leaving II Corps to deal with Bologna, along with Eighth Army units advancing from their right. By 19 April, on the Eighth Army front, the Argenta Gap had been forced and the 6th Armoured Division was released through the left wing of the advancing 78th Infantry Division to swing left to race northwest along
1924-619: The partisans in Genoa. To the south of Milan, at Collecchio-Fornovo , the Brazilian Division bottled up the remaining German and RSI units, taking 13,500 prisoners on 28 April. On the Allied far right flank, V Corps, met by lessened resistance, traversed the Venetian Line and entered Padua in the early hours of 29 April to find that partisans had locked up the German garrison of 5,000. Secret surrender negotiations between representatives of
1976-458: The rear. The Winter Line was fortified with gun pits, concrete bunkers, turreted machine-gun emplacements, barbed wire and minefields. It was the strongest of the German defensive lines south of Rome. About 15 German divisions were employed in the defence. It took the Allies from mid-November 1943 to June 1944 to fight through all the various elements of the Winter Line, including the well-known battles at Monte Cassino and Anzio . The offensive on
2028-509: The relative success of these actions, a decision would be made on whether the Eighth Army's prime objective would become Ferrara on the Via Adriatica or remain Budrio. The U.S. Fifth Army was to launch the Army Group's main effort at 24 hours notice from two days after the Eighth Army attack, and break into the Po valley. The capture of Bologna was looked upon as a secondary task. In Phase II ,
2080-490: The right of Fifth Army on Eighth Army's left wing, XIII Corps crossed the Po at Ficarolo on 22 April, while V Corps were crossing the Po by 25 April, heading towards the Venetian Line , a defensive line built behind the line of the river Adige . As Allied forces pushed across the Po, on the left flank, the Brazilian Division, 34th Infantry Division, and 1st Armored Division of IV Corps were pushed west and northwest along
2132-530: The river into the Allied line at Cotignola. On the right of the river's salient was 8th Indian Infantry Division , reprising the role they played crossing the Rapido in the final Battle of Monte Cassino . To the left of the 8th Indian Division, on the left of the salient, the 2nd New Zealand Division would attack across the river to form a pincer. To the left of V Corps, on Route 9, the II Polish Corps would widen
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2184-430: The same time frantic round the clock efforts by engineers had resulted in a heavyweight Bailey bridge being completed, allowing Canadian and British armour to cross the Biferno. That evening, 78th Division's 38th (Irish) Brigade arrived by sea at Termoli and the German attack the following morning was narrowly repulsed in desperate fighting. By late morning on 6 October, the Allies were on the attack and by late afternoon
2236-464: The town of Cassino . Above it stood the ancient Benedictine sanctuary of Monte Cassino , which dominated the valley entrance, and Monte Cassino, which gave the defenders clear observation of potential attackers advancing towards the valley mouth. The U.S. 5th Army was held up in front of these positions through the winter of 1943-44. They attempted to flank the position by the landings at Anzio but bogged down quickly there. A bloody and protracted battle
2288-552: The water to the right of the Argenta Gap. Although they gained a foothold, they were still held up at positions on the Fossa Marina on the night of 14 April. The 78th Infantry Division was also held up that same day on the Reno River at Bastia. The Fifth Army began its assault on 14 April after a bombardment by 2,000 heavy bombers and 2,000 guns along with attacks by IV Corps (1st Brazilian, 10th Mountain and 1st Armored Divisions ) on
2340-543: The west. Following the Allied invasion of Italy in September 1943 the German forces set up a series of defensive lines across Italy, intended to delay the Allied advance. The Volturno Line was the southernmost of these. As a response to the increasing Allied pressure on the Adriatic front, on October 1 the German supreme commander in Italy— Generalfeldmarshall Albert Kesselring —ordered
2392-446: The western flank facing France. Finally, the fourth division was with the 14th Army in a sector thought less likely to be attacked. On 18 March, Clark set out his battle plan. Its objective was "to destroy the maximum number of enemy forces south of the Po, force crossings of the Po and capture Verona". In Phase I , the Eighth Army would cross the Senio and Santerno rivers and then make
2444-459: Was an assault by 2nd Commando Brigade and tanks to capture the seaward isthmus of land bordering Lake Comacchio and seize Port Garibaldi on the lake's north side. Damage to other transport infrastructure forced Axis forces to use sea, canal, and river routes for supply. During this time, Axis shipping was being attacked in bombing raids such as Operation Bowler . The build-up to the main assault started on 6 April with heavy artillery bombardment of
2496-405: Was crossed, the British 78th Infantry Division would reprise their Cassino role and pass through the bridgehead established by the Indians and New Zealanders and drive for Bastia and the Argenta gap, 23 km (14 mi) behind the Senio, where the dry land narrowed to a front of only 5 km (3 mi), bounded on the right by Lake Comacchio, a huge lagoon running to the Adriatic coast and on
2548-402: Was designed to defend a western section of Italy, focused around the town of Monte Cassino , through which ran the important Highway 6 which led uninterrupted to Rome . The primary Gustav Line ran across Italy from just north of where the Garigliano River flows into the Tyrrhenian Sea in the west, through the Apennine Mountains to the mouth of the Sangro River on the Adriatic coast in
2600-449: Was reinstated to see it through. On 1 May 1945, the Chief of Staff of the National Republican Army, Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, announced the unconditional surrender of the Italian Social Republic and ordered the forces under his command to lay down their arms. Lieutenant general Max-Josef Pemsel , Chief of General Staff of the Army Liguria , consisting of three German and three Italian divisions, followed Graziani's orders and declared in
2652-440: Was the final Allied attack during the Italian Campaign in the final stages of the Second World War . The attack in the Lombard Plain by the 15th Allied Army Group started on 6 April 1945 and ended on 2 May with the surrender of all Axis forces in Italy . The Allies had launched their last major offensive on the Gothic Line in August 1944, with the British Eighth Army ( Lieutenant-General Oliver Leese ) attacking up
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#17328528321852704-444: Was waged over the monastery, known as the Battle of Monte Cassino . The eastern end of the line was held by the coastal town of Ortona , captured by Canadian forces in the fierce Battle of Ortona in December 1943 which became known as "the little Stalingrad." Failure by the 8th Army to capture Orsogna however put an end to the Allied plans of a strong drive up the eastern coast. Rain, flooded rivers, and high casualties, as well as
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