Gothic Line
고딕선
The Gothic Line was a German defensive system built along the northern Apennine ridges during the Second World War's Italian Campaign. It delayed the Allied offensives in autumn 1944, but was finally broken during the last Allied offensive in April 1945.
In depth
Construction and fighting
Under Kesselring's command, German authorities used Italian workers and forced labourers to build a deep defensive network from south of La Spezia to the Adriatic. Machine-gun nests, artillery and anti-tank positions, bunkers, trenches, wire and mines were fitted into the mountain terrain. Although the Germans renamed it the Green Line in June 1944, the Allied and historical name Gothic Line endured.
Allied offensives
The British Eighth Army and US Fifth Army attacked from the east and centre in Operation Olive in August 1944. The Allies penetrated parts of the position, but German forces withdrew in good order and rebuilt their defence; mountain terrain and supply problems constrained the offensive. Italian partisan activity also disrupted German movement and construction behind the front.
The Allied spring offensive resumed in April 1945, collapsing the defensive system, while the National Liberation Committee for Northern Italy ordered a general uprising on 25 April. The German surrender in Italy was signed on 29 April and took effect on 2 May.