The Gothic Line: Canada's Month of Hell in World War II Italy

by Mark Zuehlke

Overview

Like an armor-toothed belt across Italy’s upper thigh, the Gothic Line was the most fortified and fiercely defended position the German army had yet thrown in the path of the Allied forces. On August 25, 1944, it fell to I Canadian Corps to spearhead the famed Eighth Army’s major offensive, intended to rip through it.

The 1st Infantry and 5th Armored Divisions advanced into a killing ground covered by thousands of machine-gun, antitank gun positions, and pillboxes expertly sited behind minefields and dense thickets of barbed wire. Never had the Germans in Italy brought so much artillery to bear or deployed such a great number of tanks.

For 28 days, the battle raged as the Allied troops slugged an ever deeper hole into the German defences. The Metauro River, the Foglia River, Point 204, Tomba Di Pesaro, Coriano Ridge, San Martino, and San Fortunato became place names seared into the memories of those who fought there.

They fought in a dust-choked land under a searing sun which by battle's end was reduced to a guagmire by rain. But they prevailed and on September 22 won the ground overlooking the Po River Valley, opening the way for the next phase of the Allied advance.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781926685816
Publisher:	D & M Publishers
Publication date:	07/01/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	551
Sales rank:	759,980
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Mark Zuehlke has dedicated his career to writing about military history and the influence of the nation’s war experiences on Canadian society. He is the author of The Liri Valley: Canada’s World War II Breakthrough to Rome; The Canadian Military Atlas: The Nation’s Battlefields from the French and Indian Wars to Kosovo; The Gallant Cause: Canadians in the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939; and Scoundrels, Dreamers, and Second Sons: British Remittance Men in the Canadian West. He is frequently sought out for comment about military matters from Canada’s major media. He lives in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Table of Contents

Preface, 1
Acknowledgements, 4
Maps, 6

Introduction: The Long March to the Gothic Line, 11

Part One: Return to the Adriatic, 19
1. Sojourn in Florence, 21
2. A Very Happy Family, 31
3. Inevitable Wrangles, 49
4. With the Greatest Energy, 59
5. Under the Boot Heel, 71
6. A Tremendous Nut to Crack, 80

Part Two: Drive to the Gothic Line, 93
7. We Begin the Last Lap, 95
8. Ah, Cannon!, 109
9. Quite an Affair, 124
10. A Gallant Do, 135
11. Most Difficult and Unpleasant, 149
12. Something Radically Wrong, 163

Part Three: The Gatecrash, 175
13. Go Down, Boys, 177
14. A Definite Breach, 192
15. A Bitter Day, 208
16. Pure Bloody Murder, 226
17. A Greater Sorrow, 239
18. Absolute Bedlam, 254
19. A Long Chance, 267

Part Four: The Dog Fight, 285
20. All This Unpleasantness, 287
21. A Sure-Thing Gallop, 299
22. It Was Useless, 315
23. A Hard Row To Hoe, 330
24. Five Minutes To Twelve, 340

Part Five: The Ridges, 353
25. This Is Our House, 355
26. A Carefully Coordinated Plan, 366
27. Little Reason For It, 377
28. To the Last Man, 392
29. Going to Bleed You, 409
30. We'll All Be Heroes, 422
31. The Gallant Attackers, 440
32. Well Done, Canada, 453

Epilogue: The Gothic Line in Memory, 464

Appendix A: Eighth Army Order of Battle, 469
Appendix B: Canadians at the Gothic Line, 470
Appendix C: Canadian Infantry Battalion (Typical Organization), 473
Appendix D: Canadian Military Order of Rank, 474
Appendix E: German Military Order of Rank, 475
Appendix F: The Decorations, 477

Glossary of Common Military Terms and Weaponry, 478

Notes, 484
Bibliography, 526
General Index, 537
Index of Formations, Units and Corps, 547

About the Author, 551

Editorial Reviews

"Mark Zuehlke is to be commended for doing his part to bring this piece of brave and tragic history to life with his three-part series on Canada's battles in what Churchill incorrectly described as 'the soft underbelly of Europe.'"

Calgary Sun

"Zuehlke is quickly becoming the Pierre Berton of Canadian Military history."

Globe & Mail