Winter Line
The
Winter Line was a series of
German military fortifications in
Italy, constructed during
World War II by
Organisation Todt. It ran across Italy from just north of where the
Garigliano River flows into the
Tyrrhenian Sea in the west, through the
Apennine Mountains to the mouth of the
Sangro River on the
Adriatic Sea in the east. The centre of the line, where it crossed the main route north (Highway 6), was based on the mountain
Monte Cassino and the old abbey that sat atop it. The line was fortified with\ngun pits, concrete bunkers, turreted machine-gun emplacements,\nbarbed-wire and minefields. It was the strongest of the German defensive lines south of Rome. The western part of the line, centred around Monte Cassino, was called the
Gustav Line, and was protected by the
Bernhardt Line a few miles to the south.
Following the
Allied invasion of Italy in September
1943, the\nItalian government had surrendered, but the German Army\ncontinued to fight. The Allied armies succeeded in conquering the\nsouthern part of Italy, and the Germans retreated to a prepared\ndefensive position called the Winter Line. About 15 German divisions were employed in the defence.
The Allies immediate objective was the liberation of Rome. The most\nobvious approach to Rome was the Liri Valley (just north of Monte Cassino), and the Winter Line would prevent the Allies advancing to there.
The German forces were commanded by Field Marshal
Albrecht Kesselring. The defence of the line itself was commanded by
General Heinrich von Vietinghoff of the 10th Armee.
The plan
The plan called for the US Fifth Army to smash though the line at Monte Cassino and into the Liri Valley. It also called for amphibious landings (Operation Shingle) at Anzio, behind the Gustav Line, so as to bypass it and either draw troops away from the line or make a quick assault on Rome.
The assault
In January 1944 The Allied forces began to close on the Gustav\nLine. General Harold Alexander commanded, Eisenhower having been recalled\nto Britain to prepare the invasion of\nNormandy. The armies involved are the US Fifth Army, commanded by General Mark W. Clark, consisting of both\nUS and British units, and the British Eighth Army now commanded by\nGeneral Oliver Leese as General Bernard Montgomery had also been recalled to Britain to prepare for Normandy. The Fifth Army occupied the left (western) flank and the Eighth Army the right.
Throughout January the U.S. 34th Division of the Fifth Army attempted to\nestabish a bridgehead over \nthe Rapido river in the region of Monte Cassino. Generalfeldmarschall Kesselring reinforced the Gustav Line with the 29th and 90th Panzergrenadier divisions (which had been in Rome). Although the Allies\nmanaged to cross the Rapido several times, determined counterattacks forced them\nback each time. They finally succeeded on January 30th, reaching to within a\nfew hundred yards of the monastery walls, but were unable to capture\nit. On February 12th the exhausted Americans at Monte Cassino were\nreplaced by fresh New Zealand and Indian divisions. These new divisions \nmade further assaults but also suffered heavy casualties and are unable to capture the monastery. Withdrawing these divisions in turn the Allies halted the attacks and spent a month regrouping.
The Allied forces around Anzio came under constant and heavy counterattack by Kesselring who realised that if he drove the Allies off the beach there he could reinforce the Gustav line. The Allies held their ground, but were unable to advance out of the beachheads. On May 11 the Allies renewed the frontal assault on the\nGustav Line, with twelve fresh divisions against the\ndefenders 6. Progress was made everywhere except around Monte Cassino,\nand the French broke through into the valley of the Austente River. The\nGermans fell back to their next defensive position, which the Allies\nrushed to reach before the line can be established. \nHowever General Clark ordered his units to switch their objective to\nRome. This ensured its early liberation (on June 5th\n1944) and is a major publicity coup, but allowed Kesselring time to\nset up his next line of defence, the Gothic Line. Monte Cassino was\nfinally captured on May 18 by the Polish II Corps.
\nSee also:
External links
\n*Map of German defensive lines
Category:World War II defensive lines
