All Roads Lead to Rome

After the Italians announced an armistice with the Allies, the Germans put into place plans to capture Rome and disarm the Italians. That evening, German paratroopers headed towards Rome, encountering resistance from the Granatieri di Sardegna Division. After taking the fuel depot at Mezzocamino, the paratroopers’ next goal …

1943-09-09

AP027

After the Italians announced an armistice with the Allies, the Germans put into place plans to capture Rome and disarm the Italians. That evening, German paratroopers headed towards Rome, encountering resistance from the Granatieri di Sardegna Division. After taking the fuel depot at Mezzocamino, the paratroopers’ next goal was the key bridge across the Tiber River at Magliana, south of Rome, which they took in a firefight late that night. The next morning, the Granatieri, supported by the Montebello Lancers, counterattacked.

Magliana, Italy

Operation Achse, originally called Operation Alaric, was the codename for the German operation to forcibly disarm the Italian armed forces after Italy's armistice with the Allies on 3 September 1943. The Germans disarmed over a million Italian troops within a matter of days, annihilating the Italian military and state. Several German divisions had entered Italy after the fall of Benito Mussolini in July 1943, while Italy was officially still an ally of Germany, despite the protests of the new Italian government under Pietro Badoglio. The Armistice of Cassibile was made public on 8 September. German forces moved rapidly to take over the Italian zones of occupation in the Balkans and southern France, and to disarm Italian forces in Italy.

Italian

German

Scenario Type = Standard