Trasimene Line
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The Trasimene Line (so-named for
Lake Trasimene Lake Trasimeno ( , also ; it, Lago Trasimeno ; la, Trasumennus; ett, Tarśmina), also referred to as Trasimene ( ) or Thrasimene in English, is a lake in the province of Perugia, in the Umbria region of Italy on the border with Tuscany. Th ...
, the site of a major battle of the
Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...
in 217 BC) 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 **Ger ...
defensive line during the Italian Campaign of
World War II 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 opposin ...
. It was sometimes known as the Albert Line. The German Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C), '' Generalfeldmarschall'' Albert Kesselring, used the line to delay the
Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
northward advance in Italy in mid June 1944 to buy time to withdraw troops to the
Gothic Line The Gothic Line (german: Gotenstellung; it, Linea Gotica) was a German Defense line, defensive line of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Generalfeldmarschall, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's la ...
and finalise the preparation of its defenses.


Background

After the Allied capture of the Italian capital of
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
on 4 June 1944 following the successful breakthrough at Monte Cassino and
Anzio Anzio (, also , ) is a town and ''comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a Port, fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine I ...
during
Operation Diadem Operation Diadem, also referred to as the Fourth Battle of Monte Cassino or, in Canada, the Battle of the Liri Valley, was an offensive operation undertaken by the Allies of World War II (U.S. Fifth Army and British Eighth Army) in May 1944, as p ...
in May 1944, the German
14th 14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 (number), 13 and preceding 15 (number), 15. In relation to the word "four" (4), 14 is spelled "fourteen". In mathematics * 14 is a composite number. * 14 is a square pyramidal number. * 14 is a s ...
and 10th Armies fell back: the 14th along the Tyrrhenian front and the 10th through central Italy and the Adriatic coast. The 10th escaped because General Mark W. Clark ordered Lucian Truscott to choose ''Operation Turtle'' towards Rome rather than ''Operation Buffalo'' as ordered by Sir Harold R. L. G. Alexander, which would have cut Route 6 at Valmonte. There was a huge gap between the armies and with the Allies advancing some 10 km per day, the flanks of both armies were exposed and encirclement was threatened.Muhm, ''German Tactics in the Italian Campaign'' Two days after Rome fell, General Alexander, Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Allied Armies in Italy (AAI), received orders from his superior, General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, the Allied Supreme Commander in the
Mediterranean Theater of Operations The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army (MTOUSA), originally called the North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), was a military formation of the United States Army that supervised all U.S. Army forc ...
(MTO), to push the retreating
German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
north to a line running from
Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...
to Rimini (i.e. the
Gothic Line The Gothic Line (german: Gotenstellung; it, Linea Gotica) was a German Defense line, defensive line of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Generalfeldmarschall, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's la ...
) as quickly as possible to prevent the establishment of any sort of coherent enemy defense in central Italy.


Battle

On
Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Mark W. Clark's
U.S. Fifth Army The United States Army North (ARNORTH) is a formation of the United States Army. An Army Service Component Command (ASCC) subordinate to United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM), ARNORTH is the joint force land component of NORTHCOM.
front, the
U.S. VI Corps The VI Corps was activated as VI Army Corps in August 1918 at Neufchâteau, France, serving in the Lorraine Campaign. Constituted in the Organized Reserves in 1921, it was allotted to the Regular Army in 1933 and activated on 1 August 1940 at ...
, under
Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Lucian Truscott, was pushed up the coast along highway 1 and
U.S. II Corps The II Corps was a corps-sized formation of the United States Army that was active in both World War I and World War II. It was originally formed and fought on the Western Front during World War I and was also the first American formation of ...
, under Major General
Geoffrey Keyes Lieutenant General Geoffrey Keyes (October 30, 1888 – September 17, 1967) was a highly decorated senior United States Army officer who served with distinction in Sicily and Italy during World War II. Early life Keyes was born on October 30, ...
, along highway 2 towards
Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...
. To their right the XIII Corps, under
Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Sidney Kirkman General Sir Sidney Chevalier Kirkman, (29 July 1895 – 29 October 1982) was a British Army officer, who served in both the First World War and Second World War. During the latter he commanded the artillery of the Eighth Army during the Second B ...
, part of 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 Forces, ...
under Lieutenant General Sir Oliver Leese, headed up highway 3 towards
Terni Terni ( , ; lat, Interamna (Nahars)) is a city in the southern portion of the region of Umbria in central Italy. It is near the border with Lazio. The city is the capital of the province of Terni, located in the plain of the Nera river. It is ...
and
Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...
whilst
V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army ...
, under Lieutenant General
Charles Walter Allfrey Lieutenant General Sir Charles Walter Allfrey, (24 October 1895 – 2 November 1964) was a senior British Army officer who served in both the world wars, most notably during the Second World War as General Officer Commanding of V Corps in Nort ...
, advanced up the Adriatic coast. Between 4 June and 16 June, whilst maintaining contact with the advancing Allies, Kesselring executed a remarkable and unorthodox maneuver with his depleted divisions, resulting in his two armies aligning and uniting their wings on the defensive positions on the Trasimene Line. Remarkable though this was, he was probably helped by the confusion caused in the Allied advance by the relieving of the U.S. II and VI Corps (substituted by Major General
Willis D. Crittenberger Lieutenant General Willis Dale Crittenberger (December 2, 1890 – August 4, 1980) was a senior officer of the United States Army. He was a career soldier who served with distinction during the Italian campaign of World War II Early life and mi ...
's U.S. IV Corps and
Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Alphonse Juin's
French Expeditionary Corps There have been several French Expeditionary Corps (French ''Corps expéditionnaire'' 'français'': * Expeditionary Corps of the Orient 'Corps expéditionnaire d'Orient'', CEO(1915), during World War I * Expeditionary Corps of the Dardanelles 'Co ...
). The British X Corps, under Lieutenant General Richard McCreery, had also been brought into the line on XIII Corps' right whilst V Corps had been relieved by the
Polish II Corps The Polish II Corps ( pl, Drugi Korpus Wojska Polskiego), 1943–1947, was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and fought wit ...
, under Lieutenant General
Władysław Anders ) , birth_name = Władysław Albert Anders , birth_date = , birth_place = Krośniewice-Błonie, Warsaw Governorate, Congress Poland, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = London, England, United Kingdom , serviceyears ...
. By the last week of June the Allies were facing the Trasimene positions. Joachim Lemelsen's 14th Army had
Frido von Senger und Etterlin Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin (4 September 1891 – 9 January 1963) was a general in the army of Nazi Germany during World War II. Biography Fridolin Rudolph von Senger und Etterlin was born on 4 September 1891, in Waldshut near the Swiss bo ...
's
XIV Panzer Corps XIV Panzer Corps (also: XIV Army Corps or XIV. ''Armeekorps'') was a corps-level formation of the German Army which fought on both the Eastern Front and in the Italian Campaign. History The XIV Panzer Corps was originally formed as the XIV Moto ...
facing the U.S. IV Corps on the west coast and Alfred von Schlemm's 1st Parachute Corps facing the French Expeditionary Corps beside them. On 22 June, a U.S. armored attack near Massa Marittima was defeated by a German tank platoon under ''Oberfähnrich'' Oskar Röhrig from Heavy Tank Battalion 504. The German
Tiger I The Tiger I () was a German heavy tank of World War II that operated beginning in 1942 in Africa and in the Soviet Union, usually in independent heavy tank battalions. It gave the German Army its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted ...
's knocked out 11
Sherman tank } The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It w ...
s, while the terrified American tank crews abandoned another 12. The Germans suffered no losses. Röhrig was awarded the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...
for this action. Four Shermans were knocked out by two Tigers from 508th Heavy Panzer Battalion on 12 July near
Collesalvetti Collesalvetti is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Livorno in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southwest of Florence, northeast of Livorno and only south from Pisa. Geography Collesalvetti borders the following municipalit ...
. Heinrich von Vietinghoff's 10th Army had
Traugott Herr Traugott Herr (16 September 1890 – 13 April 1976) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 14th Army and the 10th Army of the Wehrmacht. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. ...
's
LXXVI Panzer Corps The LXXVI Panzer Corps (''LXXVI Panzerkorps'', 76th Armoured Corps) was a panzer corps of Nazi Germany during World War II. The headquarters were formed in France under Army Group D on 29 June 1943 as LXXVI Army Corps but renamed a month later. I ...
facing XIII and X Corps and Valentin Feurstein's LI Mountain Corps facing the Polish II Corps on the Adriatic. The toughest defenses were around the lake itself with XIII Corps' British 78th Infantry Division experiencing fierce fighting on 17 June at
Città della Pieve Città della Pieve is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Perugia in the Italian region Umbria, located in Valdichiana a few kilometres from the border between Umbria and Tuscany, and about southwest of Perugia and southeast of Chiusi ...
and 21 June at San Fatucchio. By 24 June they had worked their way round to the north shore and linked with X Corps'
4th Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
and
10th Indian Infantry Division The 10th Indian Infantry Division was a war formed infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II. In four years, the division travelled over from Tehran to Trieste, fought three small wars, and fought two great campaigns: the ...
s as the German defenders withdrew towards
Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...
. On 8 July, the 2nd Company of the German 508th Heavy Panzer Battalion knocked out four British Shermans near
Tavarnelle Val di Pesa Tavarnelle Val di Pesa is a former ''comune'' (municipality) and since 2019 a ''frazione'' of Barberino Tavarnelle in the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany. It is located about south of Florence. Sights The main attract ...
southwest of Florence. The U.S. IV Corps also found progress slow but by 1 July had crossed the river
Cecina Cecina may refer to: * Cecina (meat), a Spanish and Mexican culinary specialty made of beef * ''Cecina'' (gastropod), a genus of freshwater snails in the family Pomatiopsidae * Cecina, Tuscany, Italy * Caecinia gens, an ancient Roman family * Far ...
and were within of
Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
. Meanwhile, the French Corps had been held up on the river
Orcia The Val d'Orcia or Valdorcia () is a region of Tuscany, central Italy, which extends from the hills south of Siena to Monte Amiata. Its gentle, cultivated hills are occasionally broken by gullies and by picturesque towns and villages such as Pie ...
west of Lake Trasimene until the parachutist defenders withdrew on 27 June allowing them to enter
Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
on 3 July.Carver, p. 217


Footnotes


References

* * * *


External links


Battle of Lake Trasimeno. An account of the Irish Brigade attack on Sanfatucchio Ridge on 21-25 June 1944.
{{coord missing, Italy German World War II defensive lines World War II sites in Italy Italian campaign (World War II) World War II operations and battles of the Italian Campaign