Northern Apennines
Fall 1944
Northern Apennines:    North Apennines - Fall 1944    North Apennines - Winter 1944–45
bigpigeon.us webpage WWII Germany  > The MTO > Italy > North Apennines - 1944, © 2024 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 3 Jul 2024.

Overview of Allied Operations in late 1944 in the Apennine Mountains

15th Army Group staff developed a plan, code-named Operation Olive, for advancing through the Northern Apennine Mountains into the Po Valley of northern Italy.
  • In the east on a narrow front along the Adriatic Sea, the British Eighth Army would advance into the Romanga Plain southeast of the Po Valley, and then advance to the northwest towards Bologna.
  • In the center, also on a narrow front, major elements of the US Fifth Army would advance to the north towards Bologna.
The Operation Olive Plan
Operation Olive - the Allied plan for penetrating the Northern Apennines
To repel the Allied advance, the German Army had built hundreds of fortified positions in a west to east strip through the Northern Apennines. This fortified area, known as the Gothic Line, was analogous to the Gustav Line that had stymied the Allies between Naples and Rome early in 1944.
In a series of local offensives, both the Eighth and Fifth Armies penetrated the Gothic line in the early fall of 1944. However, both lacked the strength to achieve a breakout into the Po Valley.
  • In the east, the Canadian Corps spearheaded much of the British Eighth Army drive up the Adriatic coast, through the Gothic Line, and onto the Romanga Plain, eventually capturing Ravenna. Eighth Army attacks stalled due to German river defenses and heavy fall rains.
  • In the center north of Florence, the US Fifth Army's II Corps penetrated the Gothic Line but in mid-October stalled in front of the northernmost German positions in the Apennine Mountains.
Combat subsided during the winter as the Allies replenished and waited for the final spring offensive.
Fall 1944 Advances on the Gothic Line
Northern Italy, Fall 1944

North Apennines Timeline Fall 1944 (incomplete)

US Fifth Army, on the western sector:

​

  • 10 September - Fifth Army begins advancing into the Apennines.
  • 12 September - US II Corps advances towards towards Futa Pass on highway 65, the main highway north to Bologna.
  • 18 September - German withdrawal to next defensive line, after Futa Pass defenses outflanked with fall of Giogo Pass to the southeast.
British Eighth Army, on the eastern sector:
  • ​25 August - British V Corps and Canadian I Corps attack through the Polish II Corps near the Adriatic Sea.

​
  • 12 September - Eighth Army resumes advance, taking Rimini, the gateway to the Romagna Plain, on 21 September.
Theater-Wide Timeline:​
  • 27 October - General Wilson, Allied commander in the Mediterranean, orders a temporary stop to ground offensives in Italy. Although other attacks, both by the Eighth and Fifth Armies, are launched later in the fall, only the Eighth Armies capture of the Faenza and Ravenna areas appear to have been successful.
The US Fifth Army began combat operations in the northern Apennines with the advance northwards shown on the accompanying map.
  • IV Corps in the middle advanced towards Futa and Il Gioto Passes.
  • Flanks were protected by elements of IV Corps and British XIII Corps.
  • The 88th Infantry Division was in II Corps reserve.

US success at Il Gioto Pass neutralized German defenses around Futa Pass, through which Highway 65 passes. The German defenders fell back, and II Corps advanced towards the next line of German defenses above Raticosa Pass.
II Corps Initial Advance into the Apennines
II Corp's Initial Advance into the Apennines
After the initial penetration by II Corps into the Gothic Line, the 88th Infantry Division advanced northeastward along Route 6528 towards Imola.

German defense strengthened and II Corps called off this attack. In early October, defense of this sector was turned over to British XIII Corps.
The Initial Advance Towards Imola
The Initial Advance Towards Imola on Route 6528
As II Corps resumed advancing northward from Futa Pass, the next Highway 65 chokepoint was Raticosa Pass, protected by positions on Monte Bastione, Monte Oggioli, and Monte Canda. 

Positions on these mountains were assaulted respectively by II Corps' 34th, 91st, and 85th Infantry Divisions.

German strength on these mountains had been lessened, as units were transferred to meet the 88th Division's attack northeast along Route 6528. On 28 September, the German Army abandoned these mountains and II Corps occupied Raticosa Pass.
Raticosa Pass Area
Raticosa Pass, 12 kilometers north of Futa Pass, is just north of the village of Pietramala.
The next major battle was for possession of the escarpment above the town of Livergnano.
II Corps' Attack on the Livergnano Escarpment
II Corps' Attack on the Livergnano Escarpment
In the latter part of October, II Corps assaulted a trio of mountains (Belmonte, ???) which may have constituted the last barrier before the city of Bologna and the Po Valley.

     ██  Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - WWII Germany > The MTO > Italy > North Apennines 1944  ██
  • Taken from the bigpigeon.us WWII Dead module.
02-02 - WWII Germany > The MTO > Italy > North Apennines 1944 (one dead, updated 8 Aug 2023)
† Wood, Edgar George, SN 37-548-106, US Army, Harrison Co. & Valley Co., ID
  • 349th Inf. Regt., 88th Inf. Div., II Corps, Fifth Army; KIA 8 Oct 1944 near Sasseleone, Emilia-Romanga, Italy; The MTO > Italy > Northern Apennines.


​https://www.abmc.gov/sites/default/files/2021-04/AABEWWII_new%20size.pdf

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Gothic_Line_-_Concept_of_OperationOlive_1944.png
http://www.88thinfantrydivisionarchive.com/349th-infantryregiment/4410-01-88th-id-349th-ir-historicalnarratives-19pgs.pdf
​https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-MTO-Cassino/maps/USA-MTO-Cassino-XII.jpg
​https://whatismyelevation.com/peaks?lat=44.5004&lng=11.34&title=Bologna,%2520Emilia%2520Romagna,%2520Italy
​https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-MTO-Cassino/maps/USA-MTO-Cassino-XIII.jpg