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 bigpigeon.us webpage  WWII Germany > The MTO > Naples to Cassino/Anzio, © 2025 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 24 Oct 2025
Big Pigeon's Naples to Cassino/Anzio subpages cover combat on the Italian Peninsula from early October 1943, just after the occupation of Naples, until early May 1944, the eve of the Allies' Operation Diadem, which finally led to the collapse of German defensive lines.
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Two Allied armies comprising the 15th Army Group were involved during the Italian mainland campaign:
  • left sector: the US Fifth Army, led by General Mark Clark until December 1944.
  • right sector: the British Eighth Army, led by General Bernard Montgomery until December 1943.
​During September 1943, the Allies had advanced northward through much of southern Italy. The Eighth Army occupied the Foggia airfield complex near the Adriatic Sea while the Fifth Army liberated the major port of Naples. 
​From early October 1943, through the brutal winter of 1943–44 and into early June 1944, the Allies advanced northward through stubborn German resistance.

Beginning in late summer 1943, Germany conscripted Italian laborers to begin constructing a defense in depth in mountainous terrain north of Naples.

This series of defensive lines is shown on the following map. Allied progress during these eight months was painfully slow due to these  hastily-constructed German defensive lines.
The Naples to Rome Battleground
The Naples to Rome Battleground, October 1943–June 1944
Central to the German defensive network was the Gustav Line, which in the Cassino area guarded the entrance to the Liri Valley, where Route 6 led north to Rome. Allied forces would not arrive near Cassino until mid-January 1944 and then would not penetrate the Gustav Line in the Cassino area until mid-May. 

​The word line in this context is misleading. German defenses were not continuous, but rather consisted of zones of strategically placed strongpoints on high ground which commanded the generally-mountainous surrounding area.

The area around Cassino east of the Gustav Line and extending through the Bernhardt line is often referred to as the Winter Line. The US Fifth Army fought through this area from November 1943 to mid-January 1944.
 The Italian Campaign - Defensive Lines in Southern ItalyThe Italian Campaign - The German Defensive Lines in Southern Italy.



Scalable Map

           ██  Sources for Big Pigeon's WWII Germany > The MTO > Italy > Naples to Rome webpage  ██Wikipedia's campaign webpages:US Army Center for Military History campaign brochures for WWII campaigns in Italy:​​​​US Army Center for Military History histories of WWII in Italy:Italian campaign maps:​Other maps:Other sources:
  • https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/1agzlz7/benedictine_abbey_in_monte_cassino_italy/#lightbox​