Italian Campaigns in World War 2 510 USN 715 RN Axis submarines had fewer successes than the attacking aircraft in and around Sicily. Two British cruisers were damaged, but in return 12 of their number were lost over the next four weeks into early August: 11th - "FLUTTO" off the southern end of the Strait of Messina in a running battle with MTBs 640, 651 and 670. 12th - "U-561" torpedoed in the Strait of Messina by MTB-81; Italian "BRONZO" captured off Syracuse by minesweepers "Boston", "Cromarty", "Poole" and "Seaham"; "U-409" sunk off Algeria by escorting destroyer "Inconstant" as she attacked a returning empty convoy. 13th - Italian "NEREIDE" was lost off Augusta to destroyers "Echo" and "llex"; and north of the Strait of Messina "ACCIAIO" was torpedoed by patrolling submarine "Unruly".

15th - Transport submarine "REMO" on passage through the Gulf of Taranto during the invasion was lost to submarine "United". 16th - Cruiser "Cleopatra" was torpedoed and badly damaged off Sicily by submarine "Dandolo". 18th - "Remo's" sister-boat "ROMOLO" was sunk off Augusta by the RAF. 23rd - Cruiser "Newfoundland" was damaged off Syracuse by a torpedo from "U-407", and as Italian "ASCIANGHI" attacked a cruiser force off the south coast of Sicily she was sunk by destroyers "Eclipse" and "Laforey". 29th - "PIETRO MICCA" was torpedoed by submarine "Trooper" at the entrance to the Adriatic in the Strait of Otranto. 30th - "U-375" was lost off southern Sicily to an American sub-chaser.

AUGUST 1943 Sicily - As the Germans and Italians prepared to evacuate Sicily across the Strait of Messina, the Allies started the final push - US Seventh Army along the north coast aided by three small amphibious hops and Eighth Army up the east side from Catania with one small landing. Gen Patton's men entered Messina just before Gen Montgomery's on the 17th. Sicily was now in Allied hands but 100,000 Axis troops managed to escape without any serious interference. SEPTEMBER 1943 Italy - Surrender and Invasion The Italian surrender was signed in Sicily on the 3rd, but not announced until the 8th to coincide with the main Allied landing at Salerno, and in the forlorn hope of preventing the Germans from taking over the country. Before long they controlled north and central Italy, were fighting a delaying action in the south, had occupied Rome, regrouping their main forces near Naples, and disarmed - often bloodily - Italian forces in the Dodecanese islands and Greece. Meanwhile the invasion and occupation of southern Italy got underway.

A start was made on the 3rd when British and Canadian troops of Gen Montgomery's Eighth Army crossed over the Strait of Messina from Sicily in 300 ships and landing craft (Operation 'Baytown') and pushed north through Calabria, eventually joining up with forces landed at Salerno. Early on the 9th, in conjunction with these landings, the Eighth Army's 1st Airborne Division was carried into Taranto by mainly British warships (Operation 'Slapstick'). Shortly afterwards the Adriatic ports of Brindisi and Bari were in Allied hands. 9th - Around midnight in Taranto harbour, cruiser-minelayer "ABDIEL", loaded with 1st Airborne troops, detonated one of the magnetic mines dropped by E-boats "S-54" and "S-61" as they escaped, and sank with heavy loss of life. Off the west coast of Italy, the Germans decide to evacuate the more southerly island of Sardinia by way of Corsica starting on the 10th. French troops landed in Corsica in mid-month, but by early October the Germans had gone. Both islands were now in Allied hands.

Following the announcement of the Italian surrender, the bulk of the Italian fleet sailed for Malta - three battleships, cruisers and destroyers from Spezia and Genoa, and three more battleships and other vessels from Taranto and the Adriatic. As the first group came south, battleship "ROMA" was sunk by a FX1400 radio-controlled bomb (unpropelled unlike the Hs293 rocket-boosted, glider-bomb), but next day the remaining ships were escorted into Malta by battleships "Warspite" and "Valiant". Over 30 submarines headed for Allied ports. On the 11th, Adm A B Cunningham fittingly had the honour of signalling to the Admiralty the arrival of the Italian battlefleet in Malta. On the 12th the arrested Benito Mussolini was rescued from his Italian captors in the Abruzzi Mountains by German Col Otto Skorzeny's paratroops and flown to Germany. Later in the month he proclaimed the establishment of the Italian Social Republic.

9th September - Salerno Landings, Operation 'Avalanche' Landing Areas: Landing Ships and Craft (major only) 333 In addition to the grand total of 586 Allied naval units directly engaged in the landings, most of which were in their respective British or American sectors, Adm Cunningham as C-in-C provided a strong Royal Navy cover force and carrier support group. The cover force was again Force H under Adm Willis with battleships "Nelson", "Rodney", Warspite", "Valiant" and carriers "Formidable" and "Illustrious". Rear-Adm Vian commanded the support carriers with light carrier "Unicorn", escort carriers "Attacker", Battler", "Hunter" and "Stalker", three cruisers and destroyers. Most of the troops were carried to Salerno via Sicily in the landing ships and craft, and, early on the 9th, without any preliminary air or naval bombardment, landed in the face of strong German resistance. By the end of the day, with the support of the covering warships and carrier aircraft, both the British and Americans had established bridgeheads but with a gap in between.

Over the next few days the Germans counter-attacked and on the 13th and 14th came dangerously close to breaking through the Allied lines and reaching the beaches. They were held, and much of the credit went to the supporting warships, especially "Warspite" and "Valiant" which arrived on the 15th. On the 16th, the threat of dislodgement was over. 13th - All this time German Do127 aircraft using both types of guided bombs were attacking Allied shipping laying off the beaches. On the 13th, cruiser "Uganda" was damaged as she provided supporting gunfire. 16th - On the 16th, after "Warspite" had done her most valuable work, she was hit and near-missed by three or four guided bombs. Damaged, she had to be towed to Malta. On the 16th the German troops started pulling back from Salerno towards the line of the Volturno River, north of Naples. That same day, units of Fifth Army from Salerno and Eighth Army coming up through Calabria made contact to the east of the landing area.

They both headed slowly north - Fifth Army on the west side of Italy and Eighth on the east. At the end of the month the Allies approached Naples. OCTOBER 1943 Italy - British units of the US Fifth Army entered Naples on the 1st as the Germans fell back, ready to make the Allies fight long and hard for every gain over the next eight months. They were holding the line of the Volturno River in the west and the Biferno River in the east. Meanwhile, they prepared their main defences - the Gustav Line - along the Garigliano and Rapido rivers below Monte Cassino, and on to Ortona on the Adriatic coast. On the west, Gen Mark Clark's Fifth Army managed to fight its way across the Volturno by mid-month and then came up against the formidable defences in front of the main Gustav Line. On the east, Gen Montgomery's Eighth Army had to cross a number of well-defended rivers before reaching the Line. By the end of the month he was over the Biferno and starting to cross the Trigno. While the struggle continued, Italy declared war on Germany on the 13th.

NOVEMBER 1943 Italy - In the west, Fifth Army struggled to make progress towards the main Gustav Line but was still short of the Garigliano River and Cassino. To the east, Eighth Army was over the Trigno and preparing to attack new German positions behind the Sangro River. A major offensive was launched on the 28th led by British and New Zealand troops with the aim of breaking through the East End of the Gustav Line and taking Ortona. Luftwaffe Field Marshal Kesselring was given command of all German forces in Italy. Right through until the end of 1944 he was responsible for the stubborn and skilful defence of the country against strong Allied attacks DECEMBER 1943 Italy - Fifth Army continued its bloody struggle in the west of the country towards the Gustav Line, but had only just reached the Garigliano River and was still short of Cassino and the Rapido River. Meanwhile Eighth Army had breached the Line in the east and the Canadians had taken Ortona, where the Allies remained until June 1944. Gen Montgomery, Eighth Army commander now returned to England to prepare for his part in the Normandy invasion.

Gen Eisenhower also headed for England and Gen Sir Henry Maitland Wilson succeeded him as Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean. Later, in November 1944, Field Marshal Alexander took over this post. War at Sea - With the surrender of the Italian fleet, the big ships of the Royal Navy were released for the Eastern Fleet and to prepare for the landings in Normandy. The remaining smaller vessels continued to escort the convoys needed to supply the Allied forces in Italy, and to support both Fifth and Eighth armies on their seaward flanks. The RN also went over to the offensive against Germany supply traffic down the west coast of Italy and also from the northeast through the Adriatic to Yugoslavia. From bases such as Corsica and Bari, light and coastal forces struck regularly at shipping, and also at land targets along the coast of Yugoslavia in support of Tito's partisan armies. A major disaster marred these successes on the 2nd when an air raid on Bari blew up an ammunition ship, with 16 more merchantmen lost in the resulting fires.

1944 JANUARY 1944 Italy - Four months after the Salerno landings the Allies had only moved a further 70 miles north and were still well short of Rome. Both Fifth and Eighth Armies had suffered badly and, in an attempt to break the deadlock, the decision was made to go ahead with landings at Anzio to coincide with fresh attacks on the Gustav Line and Monte Cassino. As the landings got underway, British units of Fifth Army in the west managed to get across parts of the Garigliano River and the French over the Rapido, but in the centre in the First Battle of Cassino, US troops were badly mauled. The Germans held all attacks. 22nd January - Anzio Landings, Operation 'Shingle' Landing Areas: Grand Total 369 The British and US warships were not strictly allocated to their own sectors and two Royal Navy submarines provided the usual navigational markers. Landings took place early on the 22nd and were virtually unopposed.

By next day the beachheads were secured, but by the time Sixth Corps was ready to move out on the 30th, powerful German reinforcements were ready to stop it in its tracks. For over a month until early March the Allies were hard pushed to hold on to their gains. Supporting warships were heavily attacked from the air: 23rd - On patrol off the beaches, destroyer "JANUS" was torpedoed and sunk by a He111 bomber. 29th - Six days later, cruiser "SPARTAN" was hit by a Hs293 glider bomb and capsized with many casualties. FEBRUARY 1944 Italy - Before the Second Battle of Cassino, the decision was taken to bomb the monastery of Monte Cassino on the 15th, but the only result was to provide the Germans with even better defensive positions. This time it was the attacking Indian and New Zealand troops that took heavy losses for zero gains. Throughout the month the Germans launched more attacks at Anzio to prevent the Allies breaking out of the beachhead. By early March they had exhausted themselves and move over to the defensive.

Royal Navy ships continued to suffer casualties during the Battle for Anzio: 18th - Returning to Naples, the seemingly indestructible cruiser "PENELOPE" (HMS 'Pepperpot') was torpedoed and sunk by "U-410". 25th - A week later destroyer "INGLEFIELD" was hit off the beaches by a Hs293 glider bomb and went down. MARCH 1944 Italy - In the middle of the month the Third Battle of Cassino was fought again by the Indians and New Zealanders of Fifth Army. Once more they lost badly. The Germans still held stubbornly on to Monte Cassino. Now there was a lull as Eighth Army was brought across from the east to add its weight to the struggle. 10th - In operations against Allied shipping bound for Italy, three U-boats were lost together with one Royal Navy destroyer. On the 10th off Anzio, 'Hunts' "Blankney", "Blencathra", "Brecon" and "Exmoor" and US destroyer "Madison", sank "U-450".

The same day south of Sardinia, anti-submarine trawler "Mull" sank "U-343". The destroyer and third U-boat were sunk at the end of the month 30th - In support of Allied shipping bound for Italy, destroyers "Laforey", "Tumult" and 'Hunts' "Blencathra" and "Hambledon" located a U-boat north of Sicily. As the search proceeded, "LAFOREY" was torpedoed and sunk, but the remaining ships found and finished off "U-223". MAY 1944 Italy - With the help of Eighth Army, the Allies at last pierced the Gustav Line with an offensive starting on the 11th. British, Indian and Polish troops of Eighth Army went in around the Cassino area, followed up by the Canadians. Nearer the sea, both US and French divisions of US Fifth Army attacked. It was the French in the centre who made the first decisive push, but it fell to the Poles to finally take the heights of Monte Cassino on the 18th.

US Sixth Corps started its breakout from the Anzio bridgehead on the 23rd and met up with the advancing Fifth Army two days later. The Germans first retreated to a line south of Rome, but as the Allies headed towards the city, they fell back to the north of the capital. 21st - U-boats gain their last success of the war in the Mediterranean. East of Sicily "U-453" attacked Taranto/Augusta convoy HA43 and its Italian escort and sank one merchant ship. Destroyers "Termagant", "Tenacious" and the 'Hunt' "Liddlesdale" were brought up and sent her to the bottom. JUNE 1944 Italy - On the 4th, units of Gen Mark Clark's US Fifth Army entered Rome. The Germans now withdrew, fighting as they went, to the Gothic Line running north of Florence and across the Apennine mountains to the Adriatic, and with its forward defences along the River Arno in the west. They reached there by mid-July as the Allies came up and prepared for their main attack at the end of August.

On 17 June, Royal Navy and US warships landed French troops on the island of Elba. 18th - Destroyer "QUAIL", damaged by a mine in the southern Adriatic seven months earlier in November 1943, foundered off south-eastern Italy on tow from Bari around to Taranto. AUGUST 1944 Italy - On the eastern, Adriatic side of Italy, the Allies launched the first part of an offensive against the Gothic Line on the 25th, with Eighth Army attacking towards Rimini. By the end of the month they were breaking through the Line, while to the west, US Fifth Army was crossing the Arno. SEPTEMBER 1944 Italy - To the east, Eighth Army crossed the Gothic Line but was coming up against increasing German resistance south of Rimini, which was captured by the Canadians on the 21st. However, the Allies still had to cross a whole series of rivers before reaching the River Po, after which they could break out into northern Italy. To the west, Fifth Army was across the River Arno and had broken through its end of the Gothic Line, but was stopped from reaching Bologna by the German defences.

OCTOBER 1944 Italy - Fifth Army's attack in the centre towards Bologna ground to a halt in the wintry mountains, but over the next three months Eighth Army to the east continued to push its way slowly and painfully to the southern edge of Lake Comacchio. Although fighting carried on through to March 1945 the Allies would not start their final offensive of the Italian campaign until the better weather in April. 12th - Returning from bombarding shore targets on the northeast coast of Italy, destroyer "LOYAL" was mined in the Adriatic and not repaired. DECEMBER 1944 Strategic Situation - Mediterranean - All the Mediterranean except the Ligurian Sea to the north of Corsica, the northern part of the Adriatic and some of the Greek islands were now under Allied maritime control 1945 JANUARY 1945 Italy - Eighth Army continued to push slowly forward on the east near Lake Comacchio in preparation for the Spring offensive.

FEBRUARY 1945 17th - Italian battleship "CONTE DI CAVOUR", sunk in the 1940 Fleet Air Arm attack on Taranto and salvaged but not recommissioned, was finally destroyed in RAF raids on Trieste MARCH 1945 18th - Two ex-Italian torpedo boats and a destroyer minelaying off the Gulf of Genoa were engaged by destroyers "Meteor" and "Lookout". In the last Royal Navy destroyer action of the Mediterranean, torpedo boats "TA-24" and "TA-29" were sunk. APRIL 1945 Italy - The last and decisive Allied offensive aimed at clearing the Germans from Italy got underway with commando assaults near Lake Comacchio on the 1st. In these operations the Royal Marines won their only VC of the war. + Cpl Thomas Hunter, 43 Commando, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry in action against German forces on the 2nd. Eighth Army started towards the Argenta Gap on the 9th, and by the 18th was through.

US Fifth Army moved on Bologna on the 14th and a week later captured the city. British, Brazilian, Indian, New Zealand, Polish, South African and US divisions of Fifth and Eighth Armies then reached the River Po and raced across the north of Italy. By the end of the month, Spezia, Genoa and Venice had been liberated. Death of Mussolini - Throughout the campaign Italian partisans waged a bloody war behind German lines. Near Lake Como on the 28th, Benito Mussolini and his mistress were captured and executed. German Surrender in Italy - Since February senior German officers had secretly negotiated with the Allies to end the war in Italy. On the 29th April and without reference to Berlin, a document of unconditional surrender was signed to take effect from 2nd May. MAY 1945 Italy - Conclusion - As agreed, the cease-fire took place on the 2nd just as the Allies reached Trieste near the Yugoslavian border. On the 6th they arrived at the Brenner Pass into Austria in time to meet units of the US Seventh Army coming from the north through Germany.

The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy , from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe . Joint Allied Forces Headquarters (AFHQ) was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre , and it planned and commanded the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, followed shortly thereafter in September by the invasion of the Italian mainland and the campaign on Italian soil until the surrender of the German Armed Forces in Italy in May 1945. It is estimated that between September 1943 and April 1945, some 60,000-70,000 Allied and 60,000-150,000 German soldiers died in Italy. Overall Allied casualties during the campaign totaled about 320,000 and the corresponding German figure (excluding those involved in the final surrender) was well over 600,000. Fascist Italy, prior to its collapse, suffered about 200,000 casualties, mostly POWs taken in the Allied invasion of Sicily , including more than 40,000 killed or missing.

Besides them, over 150,000 Italian civilians died, as did 15,197 anti-Fascist partisans and 13,021 troops of the Italian Social Republic. [5] In the West, no other campaign cost more than Italy in terms of lives lost and wounds suffered by infantry forces of both sides, during bitter small-scale fighting around strongpoints at Winter positions , Anzio girth and the Gothic Line . The campaign ended when Army Group C surrendered unconditionally to the Allies on May 2, 1945, one week before the formal German Instrument of Surrender . The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican , both surrounded by Italian territory, also suffered damage during the campaign. Strategic background Even prior to victory in the North African Campaign in May 1943, there was disagreement between the Allies on the best strategy to defeat the Axis . The British, especially the Prime Minister , Winston Churchill , advocated their traditional naval-based peripheral strategy. Even with a large army , but greater naval power, the traditional British answer against a continental enemy was to fight as part of a coalition and mount small peripheral operations designed to gradually weaken the enemy.

The United States, with an even larger army , favoured a more direct method of fighting the main force of the German Army in Northern Europe . The ability to launch such a campaign depended on first winning the Battle of the Atlantic . The strategic disagreement was fierce, with the U.S. service chiefs arguing for an invasion of France as early as possible, while their British counterparts advocated a policy centred on operations in the Mediterranean . There was even pressure from some Latin American countries to stage an invasion of Spain , which under Francisco Franco was friendly to the Axis nations, although not a participant in the war. [6] The American staff believed that a full-scale invasion of France at the earliest possible time was required to end the war in Europe, and that no operations should be undertaken that might delay that effort. The British argued that the presence of large numbers of troops trained for amphibious landings in the Mediterranean made a limited-scale invasion possible and useful. Eventually the U.S. and British political leadership reached a compromise in which both would commit most of their forces to an invasion of France in early 1944, but also launch a relatively small scale Italian campaign. A contributing factor was Franklin D.

Roosevelt 's desire to keep US troops active in the European theatre during 1943 and his attraction to the idea of eliminating Italy from the war. It was hoped that an invasion might knock Italy out of the conflict, or at least increase the pressure on them and weaken them further. The elimination of Italy would enable Allied naval forces, principally the Royal Navy , to dominate the Mediterranean Sea, securing the lines of communications with Egypt , the Far East , the Middle East and India . Italian divisions on occupation and coastal defence duties in the Balkans and France would be withdrawn to defend Italy, while the Germans would have to transfer troops from the Eastern Front to defend Italy and the entire southern coast of France, thus aiding the Soviets . Campaign Invasion of Sicily A combined British-Canadian-Indian-American invasion of Sicily began on 10 July 1943 with both amphibious and airborne landings at the Gulf of Gela ( U.S. Seventh Army , Patton ) and north of Syracuse ( British Eighth Army , Montgomery ). The original plan contemplated a strong advance by the British northwards along the east coast to Messina , with the Americans in a supporting role along their left flank.

When the Eighth Army were held up by stubborn defences in the rugged hills south of Mount Etna , Patton amplified the American role by a wide advance northwest toward Palermo and then directly north to cut the northern coastal road. This was followed by an eastward advance north of Etna towards Messina, supported by a series of amphibious landings on the north coast, that propelled Patton's troops into Messina shortly before the first elements of Eighth Army. The defending German and Italian forces were unable to prevent the Allied capture of the island, but succeeded in evacuating most of their troops to the mainland, the last leaving on 17 August 1943. Allied forces gained experience in opposed amphibious operations, coalition warfare and mass airborne drops. Invasion of Continental Italy Forces of the British Eighth Army , still under Montgomery, landed in the 'toe' of Italy on 3 September 1943 in Operation Baytown , the day the Italian government agreed to an armistice with the Allies. The armistice was publicly announced on 8 September by two broadcasts, first by Eisenhower and then by a proclamation by Marshal Badoglio .

Although the German forces prepared to defend without Italian assistance, only two of their divisions opposite the Eighth Army and one at Salerno were not tied up disarming the Italian Army . On 9 September, forces of the U.S. Fifth Army , expecting little resistance, landed against heavy German resistance at Salerno in Operation Avalanche ; in addition, British forces landed at Taranto in Operation Slapstick , which was almost unopposed. There had been a hope that, with the surrender of the Italian government, the Germans would withdraw to the north, since at the time Adolf Hitler had been persuaded that Southern Italy was strategically unimportant. However, this was not to be; although, for a while, Eighth Army was able to make relatively easy progress up the eastern coast, capturing the port of Bari and the important airfields around Foggia . Although none of the northern reserves were made available to the German 10th Army , it nevertheless came close to repelling the Salerno landing, due mainly to the cautious command of Lieutenant General Mark Clark , the Fifth Army's commanding general .

The main Allied effort in the west initially centered on the port of Naples : that city was selected because it was the northernmost port that could receive Allied air support by fighter aircraft operating from Sicily. As the Allies advanced, they encountered increasingly difficult terrain: the Apennine Mountains form a spine along the Italian peninsula offset somewhat to the east. In the most mountainous areas of Abruzzo , more than half the width of the peninsula comprises crests and peaks over 3,000 feet (910 m) that are relatively easy to defend; and the spurs and re-entrants to the spine confronted the Allies with a succession of ridges and rivers across their line of advance. The rivers were subject to sudden and unexpected flooding, which constantly thwarted the Allied commanders' plans. [7] Allied advance to Rome In early October 1943, Hitler was persuaded by his Army Group Commander in Southern Italy , Field Marshal Albert Kesselring , that the defence of Italy should be conducted as far away from Germany as possible. This would make the most of the natural defensive geography of Central Italy , whilst denying the Allies the easy capture of a succession of airfields; each one being ever closer to Germany.

Hitler was also convinced that yielding southern Italy would provide the Allies with a springboard for an invasion of the Balkans with its vital resources of oil, bauxite and copper. Kesselring was given command of the whole of Italy and immediately ordered the preparation of a series of defensive lines across Italy, south of Rome . Two lines, the Volturno and the Barbara , were used to delay the Allied advance so as to buy time to prepare the most formidable defensive positions, which formed the Winter Line - the collective name for the Gustav Line and two associated defensive lines on the west of the Apennine Mountains, the Bernhardt and Hitler lines (the latter had been renamed the Senger Line by 23 May 1944). The Winter Line proved a major obstacle to the Allies at the end of 1943, halting the Fifth Army's advance on the western side of Italy. Although the Gustav Line was penetrated on the Eighth Army's Adriatic front, and Ortona captured, blizzards, drifting snow and zero visibility at the end of December caused the advance to grind to a halt.

The Allies' focus then turned to the western front, where an attack through the Liri valley was considered to have the best chance of a breakthrough towards the Italian capital. Landings at Anzio during Operation Shingle, advocated by the British Prime Minister , Winston Churchill , behind the line were intended to destabilise the German Gustav line defences, but the early thrust inland to cut off the German defences did not occur, thanks again to the indecisiveness of the American commander ( Major General John P. Lucas ), and the Anzio forces became bottled up in their beachhead. It took four major offensives between January and May 1944 before the line was eventually broken by a combined assault of the Fifth and Eighth Armies (including British, American, French, Polish and Canadian Corps) concentrated along a twenty-mile front between Monte Cassino and the western seaboard. In a concurrent action, American General Mark Clark was ordered to break out of the stagnant position at Anzio and cash-in on the opportunity to cut off and destroy a large part of the German 10th Army retreating from the Gustav Line between them and the Canadians.

But this opportunity was lost on the brink of success, when General Clark disobeyed his orders and sent his U.S. Forces to enter the vacant Rome instead. Rome had been declared an open city by the German Army so no resistance was encountered. The American forces took possession of Rome on 4 June 1944. The German Tenth Army were allowed to get away and, in the next few weeks, were responsible for doubling the Allied casualties in the next few months. General Clark was hailed as a hero in the United States. The Canadians were sent through the City without stopping at 3:00AM the next morning. Allied advance into Northern Italy After the capture of Rome, and the invasion of Normandy in June, the US VI Corps and the French Expeditionary Corps , which together amounted to seven divisions, were pulled out of Italy during the summer of 1944 to participate in Operation Dragoon , the Allied invasion of Southern France . The sudden removal of these experienced units on the Italian front was just partially compensated by the gradual arrival of three divisions, the Brazilian 1st Infantry Division , the U.S.

92nd Infantry Division , both along in the second half of 1944, and the U.S. 10th Mountain Division in January 1945. In the period from June to August 1944, the Allies advanced beyond Rome, taking Florence and closing up on the Gothic Line. [8] This last major defensive line ran from the coast some 30 miles (48 km) north of Pisa , along the jagged Apennine Mountains chain between Florence and Bologna to the Adriatic coast , just south of Rimini . In order to shorten the Allied lines of communication for the advance into Northern Italy, the Polish II Corps advanced towards the port of Ancona and, after a month-long battle , succeeded in capturing it on 18 July. During Operation Olive, the major Allied offensive in the autumn of 1944, which commenced on 25 August, the Gothic Line defences were penetrated on both the Eighth Army and Fifth Army fronts; but, there was no decisive breakthrough.

Churchill had hoped that a major advance in the autumn of 1944 would open the way for the Allied armies to advance north eastwards through the 'Ljubljana Gap' (the area between Venice and Vienna , modern Slovenia ) to Vienna and Hungary to forestall the Russians advancing into Eastern Europe . Churchill's proposal had been strongly opposed by the U.S. Chiefs of Staff who, understanding its importance to British post-war interests in the region, did not feel it aligned with prevailing overall Allied war priorities. In December 1944, Fifth Army commander Mark Wayne Clark was appointed to command the 15th Army Group , thereby succeeding British Army General Harold Alexander as commander of all Allied ground troops in Italy. In the winter and spring of 1944–45, extensive partisan activity in Northern Italy took place. As there were two Italian governments during this period, (one on each side of the war), the struggle took on some characteristics of a civil war .

The poor winter weather, which made armoured manoeuvre and the exploitation of overwhelming air superiority impossible, coupled with the massive losses suffered to its ranks during the autumn fighting, the need to transfer some British troops to Greece (as well as the need to withdraw the British 5th Division and I Canadian Corps to northwest Europe ) made it impractical for the Allies to continue their offensive in early 1945. Instead, the Allies adopted a strategy of "offensive defence" while preparing for a final attack when better weather and ground conditions arrived in the spring. In late February-early March 1945, Operation Encore saw elements of US IV Corps (1st Brazilian Division and the newly arrived U.S. 10th Mountain Division) battling forward across minefields in the Apennines to align their front with that of U.S. II Corps on their right. They pushed the German defenders from the commanding high point of Monte Castello and the adjacent Monte Belvedere and Castelnuovo, depriving them of artillery positions that had been commanding the approaches to Bologna since the narrowly failed Allied attempt to take the city in the autumn.

[9] Meanwhile, damage to other transport infrastructure forced Axis forces to use sea, canal and river routes for re-supply, leading to Operation Bowler against shipping in Venice harbour on 21 March 1945. The Allies' final offensive commenced with massive aerial and artillery bombardments on 9 April 1945. By 18 April, Eighth Army forces in the east had broken through the Argenta Gap and sent armour racing forward in an encircling move to meet the US IV Corps advancing from the Apennines in Central Italy and to trap the remaining defenders of Bologna. On 21 April, Bologna was entered by the 3rd Carpathian Division , the Italian Friuli Group (both from Eighth Army) and the U.S. 34th Infantry Division (from Fifth Army). 10th Mountain Division, which had bypassed Bologna, reached the River Po on 22 April; the 8th Indian Infantry Division , on the Eighth Army front, reached the river on 23 April.

By 25 April, the Italian Partisans' Committee of Liberation declared a general uprising, and on the same day, having crossed the Po on the right flank, forces of Eighth Army advanced north northeast towards Venice and Trieste . On the U.S. Fifth Army front, elements drove north toward Austria and north west to Milan . On the army's left flank, the U.S. 92nd Infantry Division (the "Buffalo Soldiers Division") went along the coast to Genoa ; and a rapid advance towards Turin , by the Brazilian division on their right, took the German–Italian Army of Liguria by surprise, causing its collapse. As April came to an end, Army Group C, the Axis forces in Italy, retreating on all fronts and having lost most of its fighting strength, was left with little option but surrender. General Heinrich von Vietinghoff , who had taken command of Army Group C after Kesselring had been transferred to become Commander-in-Chief of the Western Front ( OB West ) in March 1945, signed the instrument of surrender on behalf of the German armies in Italy on 29 April, formally bringing hostilities to an end on 2 May 1945.

Comparison of Casualties from major Italian Campaign battles Battle The Regiments in World War II | Lancashire Infantry Museum The Regiments in World War II 1860 17th Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps (LRVC) forms at Burnley We are funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions. Please help by clicking the buttons below. The Regiments in World War II A Lancashire Infantry Museum Narrative History THE REGIMENTS IN WORLD WAR II by John Downham Shortly after the outbreak of war with Germany the 1st South Lancashires and 1st Loyals crossed to France with, respectively, the 4th and 1st Divisions of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). By early October 1939 both battalions were in position on the Belgian frontier, where they were joined in April 1940 by the 1st and 4th East Lancashires, both of 42nd Division. On 10th May 1940 the ‘Phoney War’ came to an abrupt end when Germany invaded Belgium and Holland.

The BEF advanced into Belgium but the Allied front rapidly collapsed before the German ‘blitzkrieg’ and the British force, with its flanks exposed and its rear increasingly threatened, was obliged to make a succession of withdrawals. Ordered back from one defensive line to the next, amid scenes of growing chaos, the four Lancashire battalions fought a number of delaying actions, most notably at Tournai on the Escaut, at Lannoy and at Rousbrugge, before reaching Dunkirk. DUNKIRK 1940 All three of the 1st Battalions then took up defensive positions to cover the evacuation of the BEF. The South Lancashires held the far left of the British line, west of Nieuport, the Loyals occupied the fortified town of Bergues on the right, while the East Lancashires plugged a gap in the centre of the line along the Bergues Canal. All three units held their positions, under constant attack, until ordered to withdraw.

On 1st June a determined enemy attack on the Dunkirk perimeter was halted by the gallant stand of B Company, 1st East Lancashires, for which Captain Marcus Ervine-Andrews was awarded the Victoria Cross (the only one at Dunkirk), assisted by a counter-attack by the Loyals. The three Lancashire battalions were among the last British troops to embark on the night 2nd/3rd June. B Company 1st East Lancashires holding the Dunkirk perimeter as their barn burns around them. Captain Marcus Ervine-Andrews (top deck, firing Bren Gun) won the East Lancashire Regiment’s only VC of World War II, and the only one to be awarded for Dunkirk. HOME DEFENCE After Dunkirk, Britain was in imminent danger of invasion and all available battalions, Regular, TA and newly-raised Service units, were at first tasked with coastal defence. After the Battle of Britain in September 1940 the threat of invasion receded and the battalions were able to start training for offensive operations.

A number of Lancashire battalions were converted to units of other Arms: 7th East Lancashires – 103rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment 8th East Lancashires – 144th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps 2/4th South Lancashires – 13th Battalion Parachute Regiment 5th South Lancashires – 61st Searchlight Regiment 4th Loyals – 62nd Searchlight Regiment 5th Loyals – 18th Battalion Reconnaissance Regiment 6th Loyals – 2nd Battalion Reconnaissance Regiment 7th Loyals – 92nd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment 8th Loyals – 93rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment 9th Loyals – 148th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps RAIDS AND RESISTANCE In the dark days when Europe was overrun by the Axis powers and Britain was still building her strength, many gallant officers and men of our predecessor Regiments, impatient for action, volunteered for service with the Army Commandos and took the war to the enemy from the Arctic to the Mediterranean, while others operated with resistance fighters from France to Poland.

SINGAPORE Taken less than 2 months before Japan attacked, this War Office publicity photograph shows the 2nd Loyals training with their Bren Gun carriers in Malaya, probably Singapore, in October 1941 The 2nd Loyals were in garrison at Singapore when on 8th December 1941, without warning or declaration of war, Japan launched attacks on British and American bases throughout the Pacific theatre. Within a month northern Malaya was overrun by Japanese forces, who were also masters at sea and in the air. On 12th January 1942 the Loyals were hurried forward from fortress reserve at Singapore to aid the hard-pressed Indian and Australian troops who were falling back through Johore, and over the next fortnight they fought several desperate rearguard actions, notably north of Batu Pahat, to assist in the Allied withdrawal from the mainland. Many Loyals were cut of in the fighting but managed to evade the enemy and rejoin the Battalion. Back on Singapore Island, 2nd Loyals held the reserved demolition on the causeway until it was blown on 31st January.

Reinforcements were still arriving at Singapore, the very last unit being the 18th Reconnaissance Battalion (late 5th Loyals, Bolton’s TA battalion) aboard the Empress of Asia. Ten miles out from Singapore, the ship was attacked on 4th February by Japanese dive-bombers and set ablaze. 18th Recce were ordered to abandon ship, losing all their arms and equipment. On 8th February the Japanese landed on Singapore Island. Some counter-attacks were attempted, including one made at Bukit Timah on 11th February by the re-equipped 18th Recce, but in general the invaders were allowed to retain the initiative as the garrison fell back towards the suburbs of Singapore city. 2nd Loyals defended positions on Reformatory Road before starting, on the 12th, a series of withdrawals which took them to Gillman Barracks, their former peacetime base. A further two days of heavy pressure resulted, on 15th February, in a final withdrawal to Mount Washington where the surviving Loyals were ordered to lay down their arms. They had fought to the last with courage, tenacity and devotion.

Over the next three and a half years the survivors of both battalions suffered severe privations and many deaths at the hands of their brutal captors. 2nd Loyals were sent to Keijo, in Korea, while the men of 18th Recce were taken to Thailand to construct the notorious Burma Railway. The two photographs shown below may be the only ones ever taken showing the 2nd Loyals while in captivity in Changi. They are part of a set of eight historically-priceless photographs taken in Changi Gaol, Singapore, by Army Chaplain the Rev. Lewis Headley, using a Leica camera and film which he buried for safety at the time of the surrender, and retrieved eight months later. He processed the film in an X-Ray developer, and then hid the negatives throughout the rest of his time in captivity. They survived his forced transfer to the Siamese jungle, and escaped detection by numerous searches. They were hidden in socks, in hollow bamboo and finally in the centre of a ball of mending wool. Discovery would have entailed the most severe punishment by his captors. Reproduced from photographs held in the Royal Army Chaplains Department Museum Collection and used with the permission of the RAChD Museum Trustees.

Changi Gaol was built before the war to house 600 prisoners. The Japanese crammed 5,000, and eventually 12,000, men,women and children into it. The Loyals were imprisoned there for several months before their transfer to Korea. Men of the 2nd Loyals queing for their evening rice while Prisoners of War in Changi Gaol, Singapore,October 1942. These possibly-unique photographs may be the only ones ever taken showing the Loyals in captivity. Men of the 2nd Loyals “enjoying” their rice stew and “Douvers” while Prisoners of War in Changi Gaol, Singapore,October 1942. One of the possibly-unique and historically priceless photographs taken by the Reverend Lewis Headley. MADAGASCAR In June 1940 the 2nd Battalions East Lancashires and South Lancashires left India in convoy for England, where they joined 29th Infantry Brigade and, in April 1940, began training for amphibious operations.

The following March they embarked on a secret expedition to capture the Vichy French island of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Both battalions took part in the assault landing on 5th May 1942 and pressed on rapidly towards the French naval base at Diego Garcia. That night the South Lancashires infiltrated behind the enemy lines. Heavy and confused fighting followed and, although the South Lancashires’ success was not immediately exploited, their daring operation persuaded the French that they were beaten and the port was captured the next day. In August both battalions re-embarked for Mombasa to prepare for the next phase. Over the next two months they cooperated in the capture by assault of the ports of Majunga and Tamatave and the rapid clearance of the remainder of the island. NORTH AFRICA 1943 Djebel Kesskiss. On 9th March 1943 the 1st Loyals, again part of 1st Division, landed at Algiers to take part in the Tunisian campaign. By the end of the month the Loyals were in contact with the Afrika Korps in the area of Banana Ridge and the Medjez Plain.

On 22nd April the Battalion’s stout defence and counter-attack were largely responsible for breaking an attack by German tanks and infantry at Djebel Kesskiss. Gueriat el Atach Ridge. The following day the Loyals suffered heavy casualties in a hard-fought battle for the heavily fortified Gueriat el Atach feature. The Commanding Officer was killed and Lieutenant Sandys-Clarke earned a posthumous Victoria Cross. Gab Gab Gap. On 28th-29th April the Battalion was closely engaged in a desperate but finally successful defensive battle against enemy armour in the Gab Gab Gap. In one week of hard fighting 1st Loyals had lost 22 officers and 446 men, of whom eleven officers and 45 men were killed. On 5th May the Battalion supported an attack on the key Djebel Bou Aoukaz feature, and the following day the German front crumbled. The Loyals moved forward to take part in mopping up operations in the Tunis area where, on 20th May, they were represented at the Victory Parade. ITALY 1943-45 Pantelleria.

The battle for North Africa was over, but 1st Loyals were soon training for combined operations in preparation for Allied landings on Sicily and the Italian mainland. As a preliminary to these operations, the 1st Division was tasked with the capture of the heavily fortified island of Pantelleria. 1st Loyals landed in the first wave of the assault but met with no opposition from the Italian garrison of 10,000 men, who surrendered without firing a shot. ANZIO Following the Allied invasion of southern Italy, 1st Loyals landed in December 1943 at Taranto. As frontal attacks on the Gustav Line were proving costly, it was decided to turn the German’s flank by landing at Anzio, 60 miles behind the front and 30 miles south of Rome. The British 1st Division and an American division were selected for this enterprise, landing on 22nd January with no opposition. Unfortunately the Allied command failed to exploit their initial advantage of surprise. Within days the Germans had deployed substantial reinforcements and by the end of January the Allies were on the defensive.

Repeated German counter-attacks culminated on 16th February in a massive thrust by three divisions down the Rome-Anzio road with the object of splitting the beach-head and driving its defenders into the sea. In the direct path of this assault, 1st Loyals occupied the final line of defence around the vital Fly-over Bridge and along Wigan Street. On the 18th and 19th February the enemy launched repeated and heavy assaults on this position, but despite mounting casualties the Loyals fought back valiantly and held their ground until, on the afternoon of the 19th, they were able to mount a successful counter-attack. This was the turning-point of the battle and, although there was much hard fighting over the next few weeks, by the end of May 1st Loyals were advancing on Rome, which was captured on 4th June. The Battle of the Fly-Over, showing the ground over which the 1st Loyals fought. In the foreground is a Bren-gun team from 2nd North Staffordshires comprising Reg Grocott and his No.2 Fred Mason, the artist who painted the picture.

In 2004 Fred, from Walsall, presented the picture to the Anzio town military museum, where it was discovered some years later during a visit by the Friends of the Lancashire Infantry Museum. It is reproduced here in tribute to all who fought at Anzio, by kind permission of Mr Fred Mason. Fiesole. The Allies followed the retreating enemy and on 15th August the 1st Loyals occupied Florence. Having cleared the city, the Battalion had a fierce action on 24th August with the German rearguard on the steep slopes leading up to Fiesole. ‘Fiesole’ is a unique Regimental battle honour. The Gothic Line. Early in September the enemy withdrew to their main Gothic Line positions astride the Apennines. Later that month and during October this line was penetrated, the Loyals fighting smart actions at Poggio dei Ronchi and Monte Carnevale, being involved in the capture of Monte Gamberaldi, and successfully defending the summit of Monte Ceco against a German counter-attack. Monte Grande.

In November the 1st Loyals were moved to the massive Monte Grande feature where for the next two months, under difficult winter conditions, they resisted a series of determined enemy attacks. In April 1945 the resuscitated 2nd Loyals (formerly the 10th), who had arrived in theatre in December 1944, also defended Monte Grande before the final collapse of the German forces in Italy. NORTH WEST EUROPE 1944-1945 NORMANDY 1944 Normandy Landing. On D Day, 6th June 1944, the 1st South Lancashires were one of the two leading assault battalions of the 3rd Division. The Battalion landed on Queen White Beach at 7.20 a.m. and, despite losing the Commanding Officer and well over one hundred other casualties, made good progress through the well-prepared German beach defences and pressed inland to capture Hermanville by 9 a.m.

Over the next days the South Lancashires captured the villages of Plumetot, Cresserons and La Deliverande, and the enemy strongpoint known as ‘Trout’, and secured the famous Pegasus Bridge across the Orne. Caen. The 1st South Lancashires were then heavily engaged in the initial British thrust towards Caen, with particularly heavy fighting and many casualties on 22nd-23rd and 26th June against strong enemy positions around Le Londel. By the end of June the 1st and 5th East Lancashires were also in Normandy, with the 53rd and 59th Divisions respectively. On 8th July the 5th East Lancashires took part in a renewed advance on Caen, during which their B Company fought an action at St Contest. The Bocage. Both East Lancashire battalions then deployed into the close bocage country west of Caen. While the 1st Battalion held a succession of defensive positions in an exposed salient, at Cheux, Grainville and Bougy, the 5th Battalion were involved in offensive action 2-3 miles further west.

On 16th July (‘Black Sunday’) the 5th East Lancashires suffered some two hundred casualties in an attack at Fontenay-le-Pesnil. On 29th July the same Battalion made another costly attack, though this time with more success, and by 8th August they had advanced to the River Orne bridgehead at Grimbosq, where the 1st Battalion also crossed. On 13th August, due to an acute shortage of infantry battle casualty replacements, the 59th Division, including 5th East Lancashires, was disbanded. Operation Goodwood. The 1st South Lancashires were next engaged on the left flank of Operation Goodwood, the major British offensive on the Bourguebus Ridge designed to draw in the German reserves prior to the Allied break-out from the Normandy beach-head. The Battalion was in action 17th-27th July around the villages of Touffreville and Sannerville and the infamous ‘Black Orchard’, where they lost their third Commanding Officer since D Day, earning the battle honour Troarn. Falaise.

The break-out was now under way and a large part of the German army in Normandy was trapped in a pocket west of Falaise On 11th August the 1st South Lancashires led an advance into this pocket down the Vire-Tinchebray road, on the extreme left of the British front. Meanwhile the 1st East Lancashires, advancing south from the Orne against the neck of the pocket, captured the little town of Bois Halbout in a spirited quick attack on 12th August, then exploited to just west of Falaise. On 19th August, when the encirclement of German forces in the Falaise pocket was completed, the battle for Normandy was effectively over. BELGIUM AND HOLLAND 1944-45 Antwerp. The 1st East Lancashires joined in the pursuit across France, fighting several actions against enemy rearguards north of St Pol, 4th-6th September, before taking part in the clearance of the vital Antwerp docks, 9th-13th September. Operation Market Garden.

The British 2nd Army was now closing up to the Dutch border where the Meuse-Escaut Canal was the first of a succession of water obstacles. On 17th September the Allies attempted to force these obstacles by landing airborne forces on the Maas, Waal and Rhine bridges in conjunction with an armoured thrust on a narrow front. Both Lancashire battalions took part in this Nederrijn battle on the flanks of the main axis. On the night of the 16th/17th the East Lancashires carried out a difficult opposed assault crossing of the Meuse-Escaut Canal at Lommel, mopping up its parachutist defenders the following day before moving forward against determined resistance to capture the little town of Bladel, near Eindhoven, on the 22nd. On the right flank of the advance, The South Lancashires were in action around Weert. Overloon.The partial success of Market Garden put the Allies in possession of a wedge of Holland with its point at Nijmegan, and the immediate object, which again involved both Lancashire battalions, was now to clear remaining enemy from west of the Maas.

On the southern flank of the wedge, the South Lancashires took part in some of the bitterest fighting of the campaign around Overloon and Venraij 12th-18th October. The anti-tank platoon of the 1st South Lancashires, in their Universal Carrier and towing their anti-tank gun, negotiating the mud near Overloon, Autumn 1944 s’Hertogenbosch. Meanwhile, the East Lancashires were initially tasked to hold a section of the corridor to Nijmegan, defending an area near St Oedenrode. The 53rd Division was then ordered north to capture the important route centre of s’Hertogenbosch on the Lower Maas. The East Lancashires played a particularly distinguished part in this battle, leading a daring night infiltration attack on the 23rd/24th and then participating in four days of heavy street fighting before the town was cleared. Both battalions subsequently held defensive positions west of the Maas. An actual combat photograph of the 1st East Lancashire’s anti-tank platoon in action in S’Hertogensbosch, Netherlands, in October 1944.

The platoon has exposed itself and its gun while the attention of a German tank, out of sight to the left, is distracted. The platoon has seconds in which to set up and get their gun into action before the tank can target them. The NCO in charge (2nd from right) was awarded the Military Medal for this action The Ardennes. On 19th December the German launched a counter-offensive and broke through the American front in the Ardennes. 53rd Division was withdrawn to cover Brussels and then, as the battle stabilised, committed to the Allied counter-attack on the Ourthe. On 7th January 1945, after five days of hard fighting in the woods in severe arctic conditions, and without armoured support, the East Lancashires assaulted and captured the village of Grimbiemont. The position was strongly-held by German tanks and infantry, and casualties were heavy, eleven officers and 232 men. GERMANY 1945 The Rhineland. The Allies now crossed the Maas into Germany and began to clear the enemy from between that river and the Rhine.

The East Lancashires had considerable success in ten days very heavy fighting, 8th-17th February, in the Reichswald Forest, being singled out for congratulation by Montgomery. There was much close combat, including at least one bayonet charge, and many prisoners were taken. The South Lancashires had a grim struggle in the Hochwald, near Goch, on the 27th, when they fought their way slowly forward against stubborn opposition and took many casualties. The following day the East Lancashires moved through to take up the advance, clearing an area east of Weeze against fanatical opposition, particularly at Bussenhof and Trupphof, to reach Geldern, where they were the first British infantry to link up with a converging American attack. From the Rhine to the Elbe. At the end of March both Lancashire battalions crossed the Rhine and began the final advance across the North German Plain. 1st East Lancashires first took an active part in the battle for Bocholt, 28-29 March, then, like the South Lancashires, moved through the eastern border areas of Holland, mopping up enemy stragglers.

German defences were based on water obstacles, and the East Lancashires then took part in fighting on the Ems-Weser Canal near Ibbenburen, 6th-7th April, and at the assault crossing of the River Aller on the 12th, with another heavy engagement at Kirchlinteln on the 16th, before occupying Hamburg on 4th May. Meanwhile, on 5th April the South Lancashires were engaged at Lingen, on the Dortmund-Ems Canal, and mounted a successful attack at Delmenhorst during the operation to capture Bremen, which fell on 26th April. On May 8th 1945, ‘VE Day’, German capitulation ended the war in Europe. BURMA 1943-45 The fall of Singapore in February 1942 was followed by Japanese invasion of Burma, and the small British and Indian force in that country was obliged to make an exhausting and hard fought withdrawal through the jungle and mountains to the Indian frontier, where in May they turned to face the enemy and, under General Bill Slim, prepared for their return to Burma.

The 2nd Battalions of the East and South Lancashires, who had spent over a year in India after the Madagascar campaign, joined the 36th Indian Division of Slim’s 14thArmy. Two further Lancashire battalions were also present at this time; the 2nd Battalion Reconnaissance Regiment (formerly 6th Loyals) was in the 2nd Infantry Division, while the 7th South Lancashires were stationed in India from October 1943 to the end of the war, employed as a training battalion. The Arakan In February 1944 Slim launched an attack in the Arakan, an advance which coincided with a Japanese offensive in the same area. The two Lancashire battalions deployed initially to the Bawli area ofNorth Arakan, where they saw no action. A few days later, however, the Japanese gave up their offensive and both battalions moved up to the Mayu Ridge, where they had their first contact with the enemy. During early March the South Lancashires dealt successfully with an enemy penetration of the area; they then handed over theNgakyedaukPass to theEast Lancashires and moved further along the ridge.

Ten days later the South Lancashires attacked the heavily defended Point 1301, near the Maya Tunnels, but after a great deal of hard fighting the attempt was called off when the companies were held up within yards of their objectives, which were later taken only after considerable air and artillery bombardment. Kohima To the north of the Arakan the Japanese offensive had had some success and British garrisons of Kohima and Imphal were surrounded. Both 2nd Battalions were moved north to help counter this: the South Lancashires, now in the 7th Indian Division, to Kohima in May and the East to Shillong in June. Kohima was relieved after two weeks. On 1st June theSouth Lancashires joined in the work of clearing the enemy from the area and then advanced toward Imphal against minor but often determined opposition. The battalion’s attack on Kidema was however over very difficult ground and against a large and well-sited enemy who were only dislodged after six days of artillery fire and patrol action. The road to Imphal was opened on the 22nd June.

The tide had been turned and in Burma the first main objective was to be Mandalay. B Company 2nd East Lancashires crossing a chaung in Burma, October 1944 Pinwe Early in August the East Lancashires left Shillong and were flown into Myitkyina where the 36th Indian Division joined the, mainly Chinese, Northern Area Combat Command under the American General ‘Vinegar Joe’ Stillwell. The battalion then started to advance onMandalay first encountering a stubborn but confused defence in the approach to Ingyingon. During October they advanced 75 miles through thick Jungle in twelve days taking numerous Japanese positions. In November the battalion had four days hard fighting for thevillage of Okshitkon, near Pinwe, and then defended it for a further nine days whilst sending out long range patrols through the Japanese forward positions. By mid-December the battalion was in the Indaw area. In December the East Lancashires crossed theIrrawaddy and advanced to Twinnge, and then in late February after some sharp encounters near the Kin Chuang, the battalion headed for Mongmit. By then however the Japanese had moved south to help with their main defence near Meiktila.

Nyaungu Bridgehead While Stilwell was bearing down from the north, Slim was pushing east from Imphal. Having advanced to and crossed the River Chindwin his next obstacle was the Irrawaddy. The plan was for the main crossing to be near Mandalay with a second surprise one much further south near Meiktila, which was intended to cut the Japanese withdrawal route. The South Lancashires, who were to lead the crossing at the southern most point in this the longest opposed river crossing of the war, left Kohima in December and arrived at their crossing point near Nyangu early in February 1945. The assault started silently in the early hours of the 14th but the strength of the 2,000-yard wide river and the poor quality and damaged craft prevented the battalion putting more than one company across successfully under cover of darkness. At dawn on St Valentine’s Day the second wave was caught in mid-stream and suffered heavy casualties from accurate enemy fire. A foothold had been established however and during the morning an Indian battalion completed the task with considerable artillery support.

Letse Having occupied Nyaungu, the 2nd South Lancashires helped to clear the enemy from theMountPopa area. Then, as the battle for Meiktila came to an end they were moved back over theIrrawaddy and took part in the defence of the Letse Box against an advance from the south. On the 1st April the battalion attacked the heavily defended Point 534 feature which dominated the ‘box’ and which only fell after twenty-four hours very difficult fighting. ‘Letse’ is an unique Battle Honour. The race for Rangoon was now on. In this the 2nd East Lancashires, by now back under British command, moved to Meiktila, then cleared the enemy from the road to Kalaw. In mid-May the battalion was flown back to India. The South Lancashires first helped to cut off the Japanese retreating from the Arakan then joined in the advance on Rangoon, during which they met a strong rear guard defence. Rangoon was entered on the 7th May and as a result large numbers of Japanese attempted to retreat eastwards through the mountains of Pegu Yoma.

The 2nd South Lancashires spent a month during the monsoon harassing the enemy in the mountains, before sailing for India at the end of July. The next step was to be the invasion of Malaya, but on the 6th August an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and nine days later the Japanese surrendered. The deadliest and most wide-spread war in human history was over. At least 50 million, and perhaps as many as 70 million, people were dead; over 100 million had served in military units; and the vast majority of the world’s nations, including all the major powers, had been involved.

Question: What was the name given to the line of German defences that ran across Italy from east to west just north of Florence?
Answer: Gothic Line