The Caesar Line was the last
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
line of defence in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
before
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
during the
Italian Campaign of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. It extended from the west coast near
Ostia, over the Alban Hills south of Rome, from
Valmontone
Valmontone is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome.
Geography
The historic part of the town is situated on a tuffaceous h ...
to
Avezzano
Avezzano ( ; ) is a city and comune in the Abruzzo region, province of L'Aquila, Italy. It is the second most populous municipality in the province and the sixth in the region. It is the main commercial, industrial and agricultural centre of the ...
and then to
Pescara
Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...
on the
Adriatic
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
coast. Behind the western half of the line was a subsidiary line, the
Roman switch line
The Roman switch line was a German line of defense during World War II in Italy branching off the Caesar C line and running north of Rome towards coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The next line was Trasimene Line in central Italy which was intended ...
which took a path north of Rome.
When the Caesar C Line defences, manned by the
German 14th Army, were breached by the
U.S. Fifth Army on 30 May 1944, following the
breakout from Anzio, the road to Rome was finally opened. The Germans retreated to their next line of defence, the
Trasimene Line
The Trasimene Line (so-named for Lake Trasimene, the site of a major battle of the Second Punic War in 217 BC) was a German defensive line during the Italian Campaign of World War II. It was sometimes known as the Albert Line. The German Com ...
where the 14th Army re-aligned with the
German 10th Army before withdrawing to the formidable defences of the
Gothic Line
The Gothic Line (; ) was a German and Italian defensive line of the Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence along the summits of the northern part of the Apennine Mountains du ...
.
See also
*
Battle of Anzio
The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II that commenced January 22, 1944. The battle began with the Allies of World War II, Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle, an ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caesar C Line
German World War II defensive lines
Italian campaign (World War II)
World War II sites in Italy
Rome in World War II