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Title
On To Florence
Description
During July the German Fourteenth Army's stubborn withdrawal up the Italian peninsular slowed. The intention of the German command was to keep the Allies out of the valley of the River Arno and give their reserve divisions time to prepare the Gothic Line, which ran from the Gulf of …
Publisher
Date
1944-07-22
Scenario#
J099
Scenario Description
During July the German Fourteenth Army's stubborn withdrawal up the Italian peninsular slowed. The intention of the German command was to keep the Allies out of the valley of the River Arno and give their reserve divisions time to prepare the Gothic Line, which ran from the Gulf of Genoa across Italy north of Florence to Pesaro on the Adriatic. The New Zealand Division slowly fought its way northward. On the morning of 22 July, B Company of the 23rd Battalion launched an attack on the village of San Martino. After gaining a foothold in the village the battalion 'had to withdraw after two hours' terrific battle'. At midday, A Company moved up and renewed the assault supported by elements of the Divisional Cavalry and the Battalion Field Company.
Location
San Martino, Italy
Battle Name
Battle Narrative
The Gothic Line was a German defensive line of the Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence along the summits of the northern part of the Apennine Mountains during the fighting retreat of the German forces in Italy against the Allied Armies in Italy, commanded by General Sir Harold Alexander. Adolf Hitler had concerns about the state of preparation of the Gothic Line: he feared the Allies would use amphibious landings to outflank its defences. To downgrade its importance in the eyes of both friend and foe, he ordered the name, with its historic connotations, changed, reasoning that if the Allies managed to break through they would not be able to use the more impressive name to magnify their victory claims. In response to this order, Kesselring renamed it the "Green Line" (Grüne Linie) in June 1944. Using more than 15,000 slave labourers, the Germans created more than 2,000 well-fortified machine gun nests, casemates, bunkers, observation posts and artillery fighting positions to repel any attempt to breach the Gothic Line. Initially this line was breached during Operation Olive (also sometimes known as the Battle of Rimini), but Kesselring's forces were consistently able to retire in good order. This continued to be the case up to March 1945, with the Gothic Line being breached but with no decisive breakthrough; this would not take place until April 1945 during the final Allied offensive of the Italian Campaign.
Narrative Source
Combatants
New Zealand
German
Additional Information
Scenario Type = Standard

Geolocation