Gothic Line

The Gothic Line (German: Gotenstellung; Italian: Linea Gotica) was a German and Italian 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 Axis 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. By the end of August, the Tenth Army's sector, spanning from just north of Vicchio to Pesaro in the east, displayed a formidable array of defenses. It included 2,375 machine-gun posts, 479 positions for anti-tank guns, mortars, and assault guns, and 3,604 dugouts and shelters, among them 27 caves. Additionally, there were 16,006 riflemen’s positions, featuring embrasures made from fallen trees and branches. The Germans had also laid 72,517 Teller anti-tank mines and 23,172 S-mines, alongside 73 miles of wire obstacles and 9,780 yards of anti-tank ditches. However, only four Panzerturms had been completed, with 18 more under construction and seven others planned. Out of 46 smaller tank gun turrets intended to mount...