Italy-Austria Border, 4 May '45
Italy-Austria Border, 4 May '45
bigpigeon.us webpage WWII-Germany > The MTO > Italy > The Po Valley, © 2023 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 16 Aug 2023.
​The Po Valley Campaign, the final WWII Allied campaign in Italy, officially began on 5 Apr 1945 and ended with the German surrender in Italy on 2 May 1945.
The Po River Valley lies between the northern Apennines and the Italian Alps. Once the Allies broke through the remaining Gothic Line defenses, they advanced quickly across the Po Valley and into portions of the Italian Alps.

As the War with Germany wound down, US Fifth Army troops in northern Italy and Seventh Army troops in Bavaria made contact at Brenner Pass on the German-Italian border between Innsbruck and Bolzano on the accompanying map.
Northern Italy
Northern Italy
Timeline:​
  • Apr - May 1945 - Allies break out of Gothic Line and advance across the Po River valley.
  • 28 Apr 1945 - Mussolini captured and executed in northern Italy while attempting to flee to Switzerland.
  • 2 May 1945 - German military forces in Italy surrender.
  • 8 May 1945 -  World War II in Europe ends.​
In April 1945, the Allies advanced from the Gothic Line through the Po Valley in northern Italy. 

The long and bloody Italian Campaign ended with the surrender of German forces in Italy on April 29, effective on May 2. 

Surrendering units included the German 10th and 14th Armies and the First Ligurian Army Group, composed of German troops and Italians loyal to Benito Mussolini.
Northern Italy - The Po Valley
Northern Italy - The Po Valley (sources below has link to scalable version)
Sources for Big Pigeon's The MTO > Italy > The Po Valley webpage:
General Sources (CMH = US Army Center for Military History, these sources generally contain good maps): Other Sources (C/O = Courtesy of):
​Pottawattamie Area WW II Dead - The MTO > Italy > The Po Valley: ​​​02-02 - The MTO > Italy > The Po Valley: (seven dead, updated 4 Oct 2023)
† Dryer, Arthur L., SN 37-112-204, US Army, Page Co. & Howell Co., MO (WWII-DryerArthurL)
  • 755th Tank Bn., Fifth Army; KIA 13 Apr 1945 near Po River, Italy in Argenta, Provincia di Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna; The MTO > Italy > The Po Valley.
† ​Erickson, Gordon Dale, SN 37-698-140, US Army, Audubon Co.
  • Co. E, 87th Mtn. Inf. Regt., 10th Mtn. Div.; KIA 20 Apr 1945 Mt. Avezzano, Italy W of Bologna; hit by machine gun fire while crossing from the west to north slope of Mt. Avezzano; The MTO > Italy > The Po Valley.
† Hildebrand, Gilbert Dean, SN 37-126-329, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • Troop E, 81st Cavalry Recon. Sqdn., 1st Armored Div., IV Corps, Fifth Army; KIA 25 Apr 1945, Colorno, NE of Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy; The MTO > Italy > The Po Valley.
† Lewis, Harold Joseph, SN 37-698-156, US Army, Audubon Co.
  • Co. E, 85th Mountain Inf. Regt., 10th Inf. Div.; KIA 15 Apr 1945 near Castel d’Aiano, 25 miles S of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy; The MTO > Italy > The Po Valley.
  • Notes: Killed during the Fifth Army breakout from the northern Apennine Mountains into the Po River Valley; Bob Dole, later senator from Kansas and also from the 85th Inf. Regt., was seriously wounded the previous day.
† Kyhnn, George Russell, SN 37-698-181, US Army, Audubon & Marshall Cos.
  • Co. B, 473rd Inf. Regt., 92nd Inf. Div., IV Corps, Fifth Army; KIA 13 Apr 1945 Hill 366, near Carrara, Tuscany, Italy; Operation Second Wind - The MTO > Italy > The Po Valley.
† Moore, Walter Arthur, SN 37-467-084, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • Co. A, 14th Armored Inf. Bn., 1st Armored Div., IV Corps, Fifth Army; WIA & DOW 25 Apr 1945 near Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, shrapnel; The MTO > Italy > The Po Valley.
† Shaffer, Leo Ellison, SN 37-446-441, US Army, Harrison Co.
  • Co. E, 363rd Inf. Regt., 91st Inf. Div., II Corps, Fifth Army; KIA 17 Apr 1945 S of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy; The MTO > Italy > The Po Valley.