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Advance to the Gothic Line

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseImmediately after the capture of Rome, Italy on 4 Jun 1944, the Allies pushed north, with US VI Corps advancing along Highway 1, US II Corps advancing toward Viterbo, British XIII Corps advancing toward Terni and Perugia, and British V Corps advancing up the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Meanwhile, German troops executed a successful delay action campaign, falling back to the Trasimene Line, which was to serve as a temporary defensive line while the main Gothic Line further north was being strengthened. Troops of German 10th Army under Heinrich von Vietinghoff and German 14th Army under Joachim Lemelsen held the positions on the Trasimene Line. During the northward advance, the four Allied corps, already exhausted from continuous action, were substituted by US IV Corps, French Expeditionary Corps, British X Corps, and Polish II Corps, in the same order as previously stated. Although this brought fresh troops to the front, this large substitution that took place throughout the month of Jun 1944 caused some delay in the progress. Most of the strongpoints on this line were either lost or given up by the Germans by early Jul 1944.

ww2dbaseAs soon as Allied troops broke through on the eastern end of the Trasimene Line, Polish II Corps under Wladyslaw Anders was given the task of capturing the port city of Ancona on the eastern coast of Italy in an effort to ease the logistic situation for the troops on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. British troops were assigned under Anders to serve in supporting roles. Polish troops reached the Chienti River on 21 Jun 1944 and were immediately involved in heavy fighting for the remainder of the month. They reached Ancona in mid-Jul 1944, and the after two days of fighting, Polish and British troops outflanked the German defensive positions, and the city was captured on 18 Jul.

ww2dbaseAlso during the month of Jul 1944, on the western coast of Italy, Allied troops penetrated the Arno Line which ran along the Arno River from the coast to the Arezzo area. Like the Trasimene Line, it was meant to give the Germans more time to fortify the Gothic Line, which, by this time, had been renamed the Green Line.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia

Last Major Update: Mar 2013

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