The Gothic Line (German: Gotenstellung; Italian: Linea Gotica) formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence in the final stages of World War II along the summits of the Apennines during the fighting retreat of German 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 out-flank its defenses. So, 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.
The Gothic Line was breached on both the Adriatic and the central Apennine fronts during Operation Olive (also sometimes known as the Battle of Rimini) during the autumn of 1944, but Kesselring's forces were consistently able to retire in good order, and no decisive breakthrough was achieved. This did not take place until the renewed offensive in the spring of 1945.
Operation Olive has been described as the biggest battle of materials ever fought in Italy. Over 1,200,000 men participated in the battle. The battle took the form of a pincer manoeuvre, carried out by the British 8th Army and U.S. 5th Army against the German 10th Army (10. Armee) and German 14th Army (14. Armee). Rimini, a city which had been hit previously by air raids, had 1,470,000 rounds fired against it by allied land forces. According to Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver Leese, commander of the 8th Army:
| “ | The battle of Rimini was one of the hardest battles of Eighth Army. The fighting was comparable to El Alamein, Mareth and the Gustav Line (Monte-Cassino). | ” |
Read more about Gothic Line: Background, Time Runs Out For The Allies
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