The Hitler Line was a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
defensive line in central
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
. The strong points of the line were at Piedmonte, Pontecorvo and Aquino. In May 1944, the line was renamed the Senger Line, after
General von Senger und Etterlin, one of the generals commanding
Axis forces in the area. This was done at
Hitler's insistence, in order to minimize any propaganda significance should the line be penetrated.
The line was a so-called "
switch line", joining the
Gustav Line at Monte Cairo and providing a fall-back position behind the Gustav Line. The line was breached on 24 May 1944 on the
British Eighth Army
The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Force ...
's front by the
1st Canadian Infantry Division and
5th Canadian Armoured Division
Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five.
Fifth or The Fifth may refer to:
* Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth"
* Fifth column, a political term
* Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...
, attacking with
II Polish Corps on their right. First to breach the line, at Pontecorvo was 1st Canadian Division's 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards. The Polish Corps captured Piedimonte on 25 May and the line collapsed. The next German line was the
Caesar C line.
External links
The Italian Campaign: Breaking the Hitler line– ''CBC Digital Archives'' – ''Medium''-Radio/''Program''-CBC Radio News/ ''Broadcast Date''-May 23, 1944
* https://web.archive.org/web/20060721024900/http://www.yorkshirevolunteers.org.uk/51RTR.htm
Italian campaign (World War II)
German World War II defensive lines
World War II sites in Italy
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