Gulf of
Venice
A d r i a t i c S e a
Lig
ur
ia
n
S
e
a
Lake
Garda
Lake
Como
Po
Arno
C
o
r
s
i
c
a
A
l
p
SWITZ s
ERL
AND
A p
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LIECHTENSTEIN
I
T
A
L
Y
G
R E A T E R
G
E R M A N Y Y U G O S
L A
V I
A
Civitavecchia
San
Marino
Villach
Innsbruck
Salzburg
Florence
Pistoia
Ravenna
Imola Lugo
Argenta
Forlì
Modena
San Remo
Bologna
Marzabotto
Brenner
Pass
Bregenz
Kempten
Terni
Fermo
Fano
Pesaro
Rimini
Grosseto
Viterbo
Zürich
Gaeta
Cassino
Terracina
Livorno
Geneva
Ancona
Novara
Mondovì
Pescara
Treviso
Ferrara
Mezzegra
Perugia
Verona
Brescia
Salò
Arezzo
Trieste
Trento
Genoa
Pavia
Venice
Ostiglia
Como
Parma
Piacenza
Alessandria
Vercelli
Vaduz
Rome
Anzio
Udine
Fiume
Bastia
Milan
Turin
Siena
Volterra
Cecina
Pula
Pisa
Carrara
Barga
Sant’Anna
di Stazzema
Piombino
La Spezia
Padua
Rovigo
Argenta
Gap
British 8th Army
Sep 13–24, 1944
Dec 5, 1944
Aug 4,
1944
15th Army
Group
US 5th
Army
T
y
r
r
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i
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S
e
a
Sep 26, 1944 Italian partisans
operating with US troops
temporarily seize Monte Battaglia,
north of the Gothic Line.
Mar 21, 1945 Allied air
forces launch Operation
Bowler against Axis
shipping in the port
of Venice.
Apr 21, 1945
Polish forces
help secure
Bologna.
Aug 12, 1944 Nazi
troops massacre 560
people in Sant’Anna
di Stazzema village in
an anti-partisan
operation.
Dec 26–28, 1944
Axis forces
temporarily take
control of the hill
town of Barga.
Sep 29–Oct 5, 1944 Some 770
residents of the village of Marzabotto
are massacred by Nazi troops in
reprisals for aiding partisans.
Nov 25, 1944 Brazilian
forces fighting with the
Allies begin a three-
month battle to take
Monte Castello, a
German stronghold in
the northern Apennines.
△ US forces in Bologna
An M24 Chaffee light tank of the US 1st Armored Division
drives along a war-ravaged street near Bologna, after
the city’s liberation by Polish and other Allied forces
on April 21, 1945.
Apr 27, 1945 Allied
forces begin their
occupation of Austria.
THE FATE OF MUSSOLINI
APRIL 25–28, 1945
Following his overthrow, arrest, and subsequent
rescue by German commandos in 1943, Mussolini
had at Hitler’s behest run a puppet regime—
known as the Republic of Salò—in Axis-controlled
northern Italy. Forced to flee by advancing Allied
forces, he headed for Switzerland disguised as a
German soldier, but was captured. He and his
mistress Clara Petacci were executed by partisans.
5
Remaining Republic of Salò territory
by Apr 9, 1945
Base of puppet regime in Salò
Site of Mussolini’s execution, Apr 28, 1945
THE FINAL OFFENSIVE APRIL 9–MAY 2, 1945
On April 9, Allied troops launched a major push in
the east from Ravenna toward Ferrara through
the Argenta Gap. Bologna fell to US and Polish
forces on April 21. Driven north beyond the Po
River, German commanders realized their position
was untenable and sued for peace. On April 29,
they signed a surrender that came into effect three
days later. The long Italian campaign was over.
4
Allied advances, Apr–May 1945
Battle
FINAL STRUGGLES IN ITALY 241
Apr 25, 1945 After years of underground
resistance, Italy’s partisan organization, the
Committee of National Liberation, announces
a general uprising against the Nazi occupation.
US_240-241_Finale_of_war_in_Italy.indd 241 22/03/19 12:14 PM