Italian Campaign (World War II)

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Italian Campaign
Part of the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II
Luccaitaly1944.png
American soldiers of the U.S. 92nd Infantry Division fire a bazooka at a German
machine gun nest, Lucca 1944.
Date 10 July 1943 2 May 1945
(1 year, 10 months and 22 days)
Location Italy
Result
Allied victory;
Collapse of Fascist Italy
Surrender of Army Group C
Belligerents
Allies:
United Kingdom
India
Mandatory Palestine
United States
Italian Resistance
Kingdom of Italy Italian Royal Army (from September 1943)
Canada
Free France
Union of South Africa South Africa
Poland Poland
Australia
Brazil Brazil
New Zealand
Greece Kingdom of Greece
Belgium
Syria
Czechoslovakia
Axis:
Germany
Flag of Bohmen und Mahren.svg Bohemia and Moravia
Kingdom of Italy
(until 8 September 1943)
Italian Social Republic Italian Social Republic
(from 18 September 1943)
Commanders and leaders
C-in-C Allied Forces Headquarters:
United States Dwight D. Eisenhower (until January 1944)
United Kingdom Henry Maitland Wilson (January to December 1944)
United Kingdom Harold Alexander
(from December 1944) C-in-C Army Group C:
Nazi Germany Albert Kesselring
Nazi Germany Heinrich von Vietinghoff (POW) (Oct 44 to Jan 45 and March 45 onwards)
Kingdom of Italy Vittorio Ambrosio
Italian Social Republic Rodolfo Graziani (POW)
Strength
1,333,856 (1945)[1] Nazi Germany 1,000,000 (1944)[2]
1,621 aircraft (average)[3]
Italian Social Republic 52,000 (1944)[4]
Flag of Bohmen und Mahren.svg 5,002
Casualties and losses
Sicily: 22,000 casualties[5]
Italian mainland: ~305,000[nb 1][nb 2] 313,495 casualties[nb 3]
8,011 aircraft[10]

Total: 327,000335,495
15,197 killed Sicily: 165,000 casualties (of whom 30,000 were Germans)[11]
Italian mainland: 336,650 casualties[nb 4]580,630 [nb 5][13][14]
4,500+ aircraft lost[15]
Surrender of Caserta: 1,000,000 captured[16]
Total: 1,501,6501,745,630+
Italian Social Republic 13,021 killed
Flag of Bohmen und Mahren.svg 10 killed, 15 wounded and 800 defected
~152,940 civilians dead
v t e
Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre
Adriatic North Africa East Africa Mediterranean Sea Gibraltar Malta Bahrain Balkans
Yugoslavia Iraq Syria-Lebanon Palestine Iran Sicily Italian mainland Dodecanese
Corsica Dragoon
v t e
Italian Campaign
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 60,00070,000
Allied and 60,000150,000 German soldiers died in Italy.[6][17][nb 6] Overall
Allied casualties during the campaign totaled about 320,000[nb 7] and the
corresponding German figure (excluding those involved in the final surrender) was
well over 600,000.[6] 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.[19] Besides them, over 150,000 Italian civilians died, as
did 15,197 anti-Fascist partisans and 13,021 troops of the Italian Social Republic.
[20]
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.
[21] 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.
Contents
1 Strategic background
2 Campaign
2.1 Invasion of Sicily
2.2 Invasion of Continental Italy
2.3 Allied advance to Rome
2.4 Allied advance into Northern Italy
2.5 Casualties
3 See also
4 Notes
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External links
Strategic background[edit]
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.[citation
needed] 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.[22]
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.[citation needed]
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.[23]
It was hoped that an invasion might knock Italy out of the conflict,[24] or at
least increase the pressure on it and weaken it.[25][26] 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.[26][27] 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.[28][29]
Campaign[edit]
Invasion of Sicily[edit]
Main article: Allied invasion of Sicily

British infantry marching through the town of Noto, Sicily, 11 July 1943.
A combined Allied invasion of Sicily began on 10 July 1943 with both amphibious and
airborne landings at the Gulf of Gela. The land forces involved were the U.S.
Seventh Army, under Lieutenant General George S. Patton, and the British Eighth
Army, under General Bernard 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 the 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. The
Allied forces gained experience in opposed amphibious operations, coalition warfare
and mass airborne drops.
Invasion of Continental Italy[edit]
Main articles: Allied invasion of Italy, Armistice of Cassibile, and Operation
Achse

Artillery being landed during the invasion of mainland Italy at Salerno, September
1943.
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 General 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 Royal Italian Army.
On 9 September, forces of the U.S. Fifth Army, under Lieutenant General Mark W.
Clark, 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, the
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 Clark. The main Allied effort in the west initially centred 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.[30]
Allied advance to Rome[edit]
Main articles: Bernhardt Line, Moro River Campaign, Battle of Monte Cassino, and
Battle of Anzio

The situation south of Rome showing German prepared defensive lines.

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.[31]

Canadian sniper at the Battle of Ortona.

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).[32]

Canadian soldiers inspect a captured German MG34 machine gun.

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 to the
indecisiveness of the American commander (Major General John P. Lucas), and the
Anzio forces became bottled up in their beachhead. Lucas was replaced by Major
General Lucian Truscott.

German Tiger I tank in front of the Altare della Patria in Rome in 1944.
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 Clark disobeyed his
orders and sent his U.S. forces to enter the vacant Rome instead.[33] Rome had been
declared an open city by the German Army so no resistance was encountered.

The ruined town of Pontecorvo, 26 May 1944.

The American forces took possession of Rome on 4 June 1944.[34] 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. 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[edit]
Main articles: Gothic Line and Spring 1945 offensive in Italy

Private Paul Oglesby of the U.S. 30th Infantry Regiment before the altar in a
damaged church in Acerno.
After the capture of Rome, and the Allied invasion of Normandy in June, the U.S. VI
Corps and the French Expeditionary Corps (CEF), which together amounted to seven
divisions, were pulled out of Italy during the summer of 1944 to participate in
Operation Dragoon, codename for the Allied invasion of Southern France. The sudden
removal of these experienced units from the Italian front was only partially
compensated for by the gradual arrival of three divisions, the Brazilian 1st
Infantry Division, the U.S. 92nd Infantry Division, both in the second half of
1944, and the U.S. 10th Mountain Division in January 1945.[34]
In the period from June to August 1944, the Allies advanced beyond Rome, taking
Florence and closing up on the Gothic Line.[35] 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.

British infantry moving cautiously through the ruined streets of Imprunetta, 3

August 1944.
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 Fifth
and Eighth Army fronts; but, there was no decisive breakthrough. Churchill, the
British Prime Minister, 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.[34]
In October Lieutenant General Sir Richard McCreery succeeded Lieutenant General Sir
Oliver Leese as commander of the Eighth Army. In December, Lieutenant General Mark
Clark, the Fifth Army commander, was appointed to command the 15th Army Group,
thereby succeeding British General Sir Harold Alexander as commander of all Allied
ground troops in Italy, after Alexander succeeded Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson as
the Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean theatre. Clark was succeeded in
command of the Fifth Army by Lieutenant General Lucian K. Truscott, Jr.. In the
winter and spring of 194445, 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.

Brazilian troops arrive in the city of Massarosa, Italy, September 1944.

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,[36][37] the need to transfer some British
troops to Greece (as well as the need to withdraw the British 5th Infantry 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.

An Italian soldier on the Gothic Line, late 1944.

In late February-early March 1945, Operation Encore saw elements of the U.S. 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 the U.S. II Corps on their right.[38] 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.[39][40][41] 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.[42] 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 U.S. IV Corps advancing from the Apennines in Central Italy and to trap
the remaining defenders of Bologna.[34] On 21 April, Bologna was entered by the 3rd
Carpathian Division, the Italian Friuli Group (both from the Eighth Army) and the
U.S. 34th Infantry Division (from the Fifth Army).[43] The U.S. 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.
[44]
By 25 April, the Italian Partisans' Committee of Liberation declared a general
uprising,[45] 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 Fifth 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 GermanItalian Army of Liguria by
surprise, causing its collapse.[40]

Brazilian soldiers cross Sassomore towards Vornetti home to take to the observation
point of the Coda, April 1945.

Stretcher bearers pass Sherman tanks in Portomaggiore, 19 April 1945.

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.[40] 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.[46]
Casualties[edit]
Comparison of Casualties from major Italian Campaign battles
Battle Dates Allies Axis Outcome
Allied invasion of Sicily 9 July 17 August 1943 25,121
(2,267 POWs) 173,939
(124,430 POWs) Allied victory
Allied invasion of Italy 3 16 September 1943 12,560 3,500 Allied
victory
Battle of Monte Cassino 17 January 18 May 1944 55,000 20,000 Allied
victory
Battle of Anzio 22 January 5 June 1944 43,000 40,000 Allied
victory
Gothic Line Late August 1944 Early March 1945 34,500 42,000 Inconclusive
Spring 1945 offensive in Italy 6 April 1945 2 May 1945 16,258 32,000
German surrender in Italy
Total casualties 1943 1945 186,000 311,000
Atlas of the world battle fronts
1943-07-01GerWW2BattlefrontAtlas.jpg
1 July 1943 1943-11-01GerWW2BattlefrontAtlas.jpg]
1 November 1943
1944-07-01GerWW2BattlefrontAtlas.jpg]
1 July 1944 1944-09-01GerWW2BattlefrontAtlas.jpg]
1 September 1944
1944-12-15GerWW2BattlefrontAtlas.jpg
1 December 1944 1945-05-01GerWW2BattlefrontAtlas.jpg
1 May 1945
See also[edit]
World War II portal
Military history of Italy during World War II
Italian Co-Belligerent Army
Italian Co-Belligerent Navy
Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force
Italian Social Republic
Italian resistance movement
Italian Civil War
Notes[edit]
Footnotes
^ Ellis provides the following information on Allied losses for the campaign, but
includes no dates. American: 29,560 killed and missing, 82,180 wounded, 7,410
captured; British: 89,440 killed, wounded, or missing, no information is provided
on those captured; Indian: 4,720 killed or missing, 17,310 wounded, and 46
captured; Canadian: 5,400 killed or missing, 19,490 wounded, and 1,000 captured;
Pole: 2,460 killed or missing, 8,460 wounded, no information is provided for those
captured; South African: 710 killed or missing, 2,670 wounded, and 160 captured;
French: 8,600 killed or missing, 23,510 wounded, no information is provided on
those captured; Brazilian: 510 killed or missing, 1,900 wounded, no information is
provided on those captured; New Zealand: no information is provided for the
campaign.[6]
^ United States: 114,000 casualties;[7] British Commonwealth: 198,000 casualties;
[8] Total Allied casualties: 59,151 killed,[9] 30,849 missing and 230,000 wounded.
^ American: 119,279 casualties; Brazilian: 2,211 casualties; British: 89,436
casualties; British Colonial troops: 448 casualties; Canadian: 25,889 casualties;
French: 27,625 casualties; Greeks: 452 casualties; Indian, 19,373 casualties;
Italian: 4,729 casualties; New Zealand; 8,668 casualties; Polish: 11,217
casualties; South African: 4,168 casualties.[10]
^ Between 1 September 1943 10 May 1944: 87,579 casualties. Between 11 May 1944
31 January 1945: 194,330 casualties. Between February and March 1945: 13,741
casualties. British estimates for 122 April 1945: 41,000 casualties. This total
excludes Axis forces that surrendered at the end of the campaign[12]
^ Ellis states that from various sources, between September 1939 and 31 December
1944, the German Armed Forces (including the Waffen SS and foreign volunteers) lost
59,940 killed, 163,600 wounded, and 357,090 captured within Italy. He notes that
other sources, for only the army, losses between June 1941 and 10 April 1945 amount
to 46,800 killed, 208,240 captured, and 168,570 wounded.[6]
^ In Alexander's Generals Blaxland quotes 59,151 Allied deaths between 3 September
1943 and 2 May 1945 as recorded at AFHQ and gives the breakdown between 20
nationalities: United States 20,442; United Kingdom, 18,737; France, Morocco,
Algeria, Tunisia, Senegal and Belgium 5,241; Canada, 4,798; India, Pakistan, Nepal
4,078; Poland 2,028; New Zealand 1,688; Italy (excluding irregulars) 917; South
Africa 800; Brazil 275; Greece 115; Jewish volunteers from the British Mandate in
Palestine 32. In addition 35 soldiers were killed by enemy action while serving
with pioneer units from Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Seychelles, Mauritius, Sri
Lanka, Lebanon, Cyprus and the West Indies[9]
^ Field Marshal Sir Harold Alexander after the war used a figure of 312,000[18] but
later historians generally arrive at a slightly higher figure.
Citations
^ Jackson, p. 230
^ Horst Boog, Gerhard Krebs, Detlef Vogel: "Germany and the Second World War:
Volume VII", Clarendon Press, May 4, 2006, page 522. Quoting Alfred Jodl's
"Strategic situation in spring 1944" presentation. The total given for German
forces in Italy in May 1944 is 961,000 personnel. 1,000,000 German soldiers were
present for the Surrender of Caserta in May 1945.
^ Don Caldwell. "Luftwaffe Aircraft Losses By Theater, September 1943-October
1944". The Air Force Historical Foundation. Retrieved March 1, 2016. Average
strength from September 1943 to October 1944 alone.
^ Blaxland, p. 243.
^ Shaw, p. 120.
^ a b c d Ellis, p. 255
^ "European Theater". Worldwar2history.info. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
^ "The Italian Campaign". Webcitation.org. Archived from the original on October
26, 2009. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
^ a b Blaxland (1979), p. 11
^ a b Jackson, p. 335
^ Hosch 2009, page 122.
^ Jackson, p. 400
^ Rdiger Overmans, Deutsche militrische Verluste im Zweiten Weltkrieg. Oldenbourg
2000. ISBN 3-486-56531-1,P. 336 and P.174. Overmans lists the total death toll of
German troops in Italy (including Sicily) as 150,660.
^ George C Marshall, Biennial reports of the Chief of Staff of the United States
Army to the Secretary of War : 1 July 1939-30 June 1945. Washington, DC : Center of
Military History, 1996. Page 202. The US military estimated 91,000 German dead in
the Italian campaign, thereof 5,000 in Sicily and 86,000 on the Italian mainland,
and 364,189 captured prior to the surrender of Army Group C, thereof 7,100 in
Sicily and 357,086 on the Italian mainland. This is a total of 455,189 losses. The
document does not provide an estimate for wounded; using Ellis's 168,570 figure,
German casualties would total 623,759.
^ Don Caldwell. "Luftwaffe Aircraft Losses By Theater, September 1943-October
1944". The Air Force Historical Foundation. Retrieved March 1, 2016. 4,468
operational losses are given from the brief period of September 1943 to October
1944 alone.
^ Daily Telegraph Story of the War fifth volume page 153
^ Rdiger Overmans, Deutsche militrische Verluste im Zweiten Weltkrieg. Oldenbourg
2000. ISBN 3-486-56531-1,P. 336 and P.174. Overmans lists the total death toll of
German troops in Italy (including Sicily) as 150,660. However, Overmans' figures,
which are extrapolations from a statistical sample (see German casualties in World
War II#Statistical study by Rdiger Overmans) may be much too high (see Western
Allied invasion of Germany#cite note-13). The US military estimated 91,000 German
and Italian military dead in the Italian campaign, thereof 5,000 in Sicily and
86,000 on the Italian mainland (see German casualties in World War II#United States
Army Figures for German and Italian Losses).
^ Blaxland, p. 284.
^ Le Operazioni in Sicilia e in Calabria (Luglio-Settembre 1943), Alberto Santoni,
p.401, Stato maggiore dell'Esercito, Ufficio storico, 1989
^ Updated studies (2010) by the Ufficio dell'Albo d'Oro of the Italian Ministry of
Defence, p. 4
^ Keegan, John "The Second World War" Penguin Books 2005 ISBN 0143035738 p.368
^ "Batista's Boost", TIME, January 18, 1943, Retrieved March 2, 2010
^ Carver, pp4 & 59
^ Blumenson 1969, p. 7.
^ Weinberg 1994, pp. 588 & 591.
^ a b Liddell Hart 1970, p. 457.
^ Keegan 2005, p. 287.
^ Weinberg 1994, p. 591.
^ Churchill 1959, p. 669.
^ Phillips (1957), p. 20
^ Orgill, The Gothic Line, p5
^ Carver, p. 195
^ Katz, The Battle for Rome
^ a b c d Clark, Calculated Risk
^ Video: Allies Liberate Florence etc. Universal Newsreel. 1944. Retrieved February
21, 2012.
^ Keegan, p367
^ R.Brooks, The War North of Rome, Chps XIX-XX spec.p254
^ Brooks 2003, Chapters XX to XXII
^ Moraes, "The Brazilian Expeditionary Force By Its Commander" Chapter V (The IV
Corps Offensive); Sections Monte Castello & Castelnuovo
^ a b c Bohmler, Rudolf, Monte Cassino, Chapter XI
^ Clark, (2007) [1950], p.608 View on Google Books
^ Blaxland, pp.254255
^ Blaxland, p.271
^ Blaxland, pp. 272273
^ Blaxland, p.275
^ Blaxland, p. 277
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Harpur, Brian (1981). The Impossible Victory. Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-518-3.
Hosch, William L. (2009). World War II: People, Politics, and Power. New York:
Britannica Educational Publishing/The Rosen Publishing Group. ISBN 1-61530-046-5.
Jackson, General W.G.F. & with Gleave, Group Captain T.P. (2004) [1st. pub. HMSO
1988]. Butler, J.R.M., ed. The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume VI: Part III
November 1944 to May 1945. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military
Series. Uckfield, UK: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 1-84574-072-6.
Katz, Robert (2003). The Battle for Rome. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-1642-5.
Keegan, John (2005) [1989]. The Second World War. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-303573-2.
Liddell Hart, Basil (1992) [1970]. History of the Second World War. London:
Papermac. ISBN 0333582624.
Moraes, Mascarenhas (1966). The Brazilian Expeditionary Force By Its Commander. US
Government Printing Office. ASIN: B000PIBXCG.
Montemaggi, Amedeo (2002). LINEA GOTICA 1944. La battaglia di Rimini e lo sbarco in
Grecia decisivi per l'Europa sud-orientale e il Mediterraneo. Rimini: Museo
dell'Aviazione.
Montemaggi, Amedeo (2006). LINEA GOTICA 1944: scontro di civilt. Rimini: Museo
dell'Aviazione.
Montemaggi, Amedeo (2008). CLAUSEWITZ SULLA LINEA GOTICA. Imola: Angelini Editore.
Montemaggi, Amedeo (2010). ITINERARI DELLA LINEA GOTICA 1944. Guida storico
iconografica ai campi di battaglia. Rimini: Museo dell'Aviazione.
Orgill, Douglas (1967). The Gothic Line (The Autumn Campaign in Italy 1944).
London: Heinemann.
Weinberg, Gerhard L. (1994). A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521443173.
Further reading[edit]
Mavrogordato, Ralph S. (2000) [1960]. "Chapter 12: Hitler's Decision on the Defense
of Italy". In Kent Roberts Greenfield. Command Decisions. United States Army Center
of Military History. CMH Pub 70-7.
Matthews, Sidney T. (2000) [1960]. "Chapter 14: General Clark's Decision to Drive
to Rome". In Kent Roberts Greenfield. Command Decisions. United States Army Center
of Military History. CMH Pub 70-7.
Brown, Shaun R. G. (1986). The Loyal Edmonton Regiment at War, 19431945 (MA,
Wilfrid Laurier University, 1984). Ottawa: National Library of Canada. ISBN 978-0-
31519-038-2. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Italian Campaign (World War II).
"Gothic Line". Retrieved 2011-07-03.
Winter Line Stories Original stories from the front lines of the Italian Campaign
by US Army Liaison Officer Major Ralph R. Hotchkiss
World War II
Ortona and the Italian Campaign 65th Anniversary
Canadians in Italy, 19431945 Lots of media and photos and info on Canadians in the
Italian theatre.
Brazilian WWII Veterans website (in Portuguese)
Brazilian Expeditionary Force Website (in Portuguese) with histories, biographies,
photos, videos on Italian Campaign.
New Zealand Official War History Italy volume I: From The Sangro to Cassino, Italy
Volume II: From Cassino to Trieste
Memoirs of Lt-Col Donald, NZEF (Italy, Chapters 815)
Dal Volturno a Cassino, website (in Italian) covering the autumn /winter of 1943
44
World War II propaganda leaflets use in Italy: A website about airdropped,
artillery-delivered or rocket-fired propaganda leaflets. Italian campaign.
BBC's flash video of the Italian Campaign
Canadian Newspapers and the Second World War The Sicilian and Italian Campaigns,
19431945
Liberatori: A website on the Po river breakout and the liberation of the small town
of Cornuda.
Royal Engineers Museum Royal Engineers and Second World War (Italian Campaign)
CBC Digital Archives The Italian Campaign
(in Italian) La Citt Invisibile Collection of signs, stories and memories during
the Gothic Line age.
(in Italian) Italian Partisan Collection of stories and memories from Italian
partisan.
Italy Volume I, The Sangro to Cassino the New Zealand Official War History
Italy Volume II, From Cassino to Trieste the New Zealand Official War History
v t e
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