bigpigeon.us webpage WW II - Germany > MTO > Italy > The Po Valley, updated by RAC 7 Oct 2020.
The Po Valley Campaign officially began on 5 Apr 1945 and ended with the German surrender in Italy on 2 May 1945. This was the final Allied operation in Italy in WW II.
The Po Valley Campaign officially began on 5 Apr 1945 and ended with the German surrender in Italy on 2 May 1945. This was the final Allied operation in Italy in WW II.
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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
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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 date.
- 8 May 1945 - World War II in Europe ends.
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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
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Sources for the The Po Valley webpage:
Pottawattamie County, Iowa area WW II Dead - The Po Valley Campaign:
† Hildebrand, Gilbert Dean, SN 37-126-329, US Army, Pott. Co.
- The webpage header photo, Italy-Austria Border, 4 May '45 by Irving Leibowitz is courtesy of the personal collection of General Charles D. Palmer.
- The Northern Italy map is courtesy of Free Maps Library.
Pottawattamie County, Iowa area WW II Dead - The Po Valley Campaign:
- Taken from the bigpigeon.us WW II Dead webarea.
† Hildebrand, Gilbert Dean, SN 37-126-329, US Army, Pott. Co.
- Troop E, 81st Cav. Recon. Sqdn., 8th Armored Div.; KIA 25 Apr 1945, Colorno, NE of Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy; Italian Mainland > Po Valley Campaign.
- Co. A, 14th Armored Inf. Bn., 1st Armored Div.; WIA & DOW 25 Apr 1945 near Parma, Emilia-Romanga, Italy, shrapnel; Italian Mainland > Po Valley Campaign.
- Co. E, 363rd Inf. Regt., 91st Inf. Div.; KIA 17 Apr 1945 S of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy; Italian Mainland > Po Valley Campaign.