Hard fighting to the end
If the capture of Rome was a valuable propaganda coup, it did not alter the harsh texture of the fighting in the Italian campaign. Kesselring fell back to the Gothic Line, running from Pisa to Rimini, and although the Allies broke this in mid-September, they made slow progress amid the autumn rains.
They were not helped by the fact that the campaign in north-west Europe was now the main Allied effort, and many experienced units were pulled out of Italy to fight there. Despite this, the final Allied offensive in Italy began in April 1945, and on 2 May German emissaries presented themselves at Alexander's headquarters at Caserta to surrender.
'... the campaign in north-west Europe was now the main Allied effort ...'
The military commentator Major General JFC Fuller affirmed that the Italian campaign was one 'which for lack of strategic sense and tactical imagination is unique in military history', and Montgomery complained that he was never quite sure what its strategic purpose really was.
Published: 2004-05-10
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