The area was the site of several hard-fought battles in the Spring of 1945, during the last phases of World War II in Europe. The Allied crossing of the River Senio was one of the last hurdles that needed to be overcome in order to capture the great Po Valley basin and so complete the campaign in Italy. The German defenders were mostly elite parachute units and, in the very last days of war in Europe, the British 8th Army took many casualties in effecting this defended river-crossing operation.