The attack of the Gothic Line on the Giogo Pass
The Allies break through the Gothic Line at the Yoke
752nd American Tank Battalion blocked towards Monte Altuzzo
The tanks of Company B, of the 752nd Tank Battalion, abandon the main road towards the Giogo Pass on 18 September 1944 due to a gigantic crater in the road. In the distance you can glimpse Monte Altuzzo. The crater was located a few meters from the memorial monument after the Omomorto, climbing to the right towards the Giogo Pass.
The German defenses on the Gothic Line
This documentary from the “Dirty Secrets of WW2” series tells about the Gothic Line fortifications built in Italy. More than 15,000 forced workers built more than 2,000 fortified structures on the Apennines, casemates, bunkers, transfer and recovery stations, medical treatment areas, laying barbed wire and minefields along a front of over 300 km, from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Adriatic. An enormous work made possible thanks to the Todt Organization commissioned by Hitler to create the German defensive infrastructures in Europe.
September 1944. Firenzuola destroyed by Allied bombing
1944, from Metauro to Foglia
In September 1944 the Gothic area of the Marche was the scene of important events. The Allied objective was to pass from the Metauro valley to the Foglia valley. Polish, Canadian, English and Indian soldiers advanced, but suffered numerous losses. The second attack took place on 12 September at the Giogo Pass, thanks to the action of the 5th Army. In the meantime, the Marche locations along the Gothic Line were reached and liberated. This documentary was produced in the 1980s by ANPI-Pesaro, the Regional Institute of the Liberation Movement in the Marche, in collaboration with Antenna Tre Marche starting from unpublished footage and images.
The offensive on the Gothic Line and the Liberation of Rimini
The Gothic Line offensive and the liberation of Rimini are significant events of the Second World War. On the night of 12 September the Allies moved along the entire front, preceded by a violent air, land and naval bombardment. The final objective was the conquest of Rimini and Bologna. The operation went down in history under various names, including “Summer Offensive”, “Battle of Rimini”, “Operation Olive”, and “Gothic Line Offensive”. Rimini was a strategically important hub, as it represented the gateway from the narrow Adriatic coast to the Po Valley. The liberation of Rimini took place in September 1944 in conjunction with the American breakthrough on the Giogo Pass.
«Allies Break Through the German Gothic Line»
1963 documentary part of the television series “The Big Picture”. It covers the Gothic Line, renamed the Green Line in June 1944, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defense along the peaks of the northern part of the Apennines. The film focuses on the 10th US Army Mountain Division. Describes the arrival of the Division in Italy, the movement to the front, the capture of Riva Ridge and Monte Belvedere on 13 April 1945; and then show the end of the campaign on Lake Garda. The documentary includes interviews with American and German veterans, as well as Italian partisans.
92th 92nd Infantry Division fights in Lucca
The 92ndth American Infantry Division, also known as “Buffalo Soldiers”, played a significant role in Italy. Under the command of Maj. Gen. Edward M. Almond, the division began combat training in October 1942 and went into action in Italy during the summer of 1944. Despite being defined as a black unit, the 92ndth it had both black enlisted men and junior officers, while its senior officers were white. In the spring of 1944 the unit arrived in Italy. On September 7, 1944, just three miles north of the city of Lucca, these brave soldiers engaged the Germans with honor and emerged victorious from the fighting.
Tanks destroyed during the advance into Tuscany
In the battles in Tuscany and Chianti in July 1944, the use of tanks as centers of fire in support of the retreating German troops constituted an important strategic factor in the tough battles that from Siena to Impruneta on the one hand, and to San Michele a Torri behind Scandicci on the other, they anticipated the Liberation of Florence in August and the subsequent attack on the Gothic Line in September.
The Liberation of Florence
Short film from 1944 on the events that marked the victory of the partisans in the Battle of Florence, declared an "open city" and spared the troops' fighting; with the fighting between the patriots of the CLN - National Liberation Committee, the German and Italian soldiers of the Social Republic of Salò.
The Liberation of Rome
[National Archives and Records Administration THE LIBERATION OF ROME Department of Defense. Department of the Army. Office of the Chief Signal Officer. (09/18/1947 – 02/28/1964). ARC Identifier 24348 / Local Identifier 111-CR-1]. On 4 June 1944, the day of the liberation of Rome, the population stormed the German Embassy - located in Via Tasso 145, near the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano - freeing the prisoners who had not been taken away and subsequently murdered by the SS retreating.
The Battle of Anzio, Operation Shingle
Lasting from 22 January to 5 June 1944, 50,000 Allied soldiers were held in check by the Germans in a theater of war 50 km from the capital, in an effort to bypass the strong German defenses of the Gustav Line. The Battle of Anzio, also known as Operation Shingle, would have allowed the enemy defenses to be circumvented and forced the adversaries to divert large forces from the Cassino front, thus favoring the breakthrough of General Mark Clark's 5th Army along the Tyrrhenian sector of the Gustav.
The battle of San Pietro Infine, before Montecassino
It was a major clash of 8–17 December 1943 in the Italian campaign of World War II, involving Allied forces attacking from the south against the heavily fortified positions of the German "Winter Line", south of Montecassino, halfway between Naples and Rome. The battle is also remembered as the first in which the troops of the Royal Army fought as co-belligerents of the Allies after the Armistice with Italy. The original settlement of San Pietro Infine was destroyed in the battle.
The Battle of Ortona
In a bloody week from 20 to 28 December 1943, the Allied troops of the 1stth Canadian Division commanded by General Vokes and the Germans of the 3rd Parachute Regiment (3. Fallschirmjäger Regiment). It was a fight to the last man, by Hitler's explicit order, given the strategic importance of the city and the port on the Adriatic facing the Dalmatian coast.
The Battle of Salerno, Operation Avalanche
This film – originally titled “Battle of Salerno” – is a short documentary produced by the US Army about the Allied invasion of Italy during World War II. It depicts the Avalanche operation, the landing of the allies in Salerno on 9 September 1943 and the following battles of the 5thth American Army commanded by General Mark Clark against the Axis soldiers commanded by Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) Albert Kesselring.
The Battle of Salerno, Operation Avalanche
[Department of Defense 1948. PIN 20341] The landing in Sicily constituted one of the largest amphibious operations of the Second World War. Two large Allied units took part: the 7th US Army under the command of General George Smith Patton and the 8th British Army under the command of General Bernard Law Montgomery, united in the 15th Army Group under the responsibility of the British General Harold Alexander. The opponents consisted of the Axis forces, grouped in the 6th Italian Army, commanded by General Alfredo Guzzoni.
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