The Spring 1945 offensive in Italy, codenamed Operation Grapeshot, was the final
Allied attack during the
Italian Campaign in the final stages 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 ...
. The attack in the
Lombard Plain by the
15th Allied Army Group started on 6 April 1945 and ended on 2 May with the
surrender of all Axis forces in Italy.
Background
The
Allies had launched their last major offensive on 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 ...
in August 1944, with the British
Eighth Army (
Lieutenant-General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was normall ...
Oliver Leese) attacking up the coastal plain of 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 ...
and the U.S.
Fifth Army (
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...
Mark Clark) attacking through the central
Apennine Mountains
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which would be segmented ''Apenn-inus'', often used with nouns s ...
. Although they managed to breach the formidable Gothic Line defenses, the Allies failed to break into the
Po Valley
The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain (, , or ) is a major geographical feature of northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetian Plain, Venetic extension not actu ...
before the winter weather made further attempts impossible. The Allied forward formations spent the rest of the winter of 1944 in inhospitable conditions while preparations were being made for a spring offensive in 1945.
Command changes
When
Field Marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...
Sir John Dill, the head of the British Mission in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, died on 5 November, Field Marshal Sir
Henry Maitland Wilson
Field Marshal Henry Maitland Wilson, 1st Baron Wilson, (5 September 1881 – 31 December 1964), also known as Jumbo Wilson, was a senior British Army officer of the 20th century. He saw active service in the Second Boer War and then during the ...
was appointed his replacement.
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
Harold Alexander, having been promoted to Field Marshal, replaced Wilson as Allied Supreme Commander Mediterranean on 12 December. Clark succeeded Alexander as commander of the
Allied forces in Italy (renamed
15th Army Group), but without promotion. Lieutenant General
Lucian Truscott
General (United States), General Lucian King Truscott Jr. (9 January 1895 – 12 September 1965) was a highly decorated senior United States Army Officer (armed forces), officer, who saw distinguished Active duty, active service during World War ...
, the commander of the U.S.
VI Corps from the
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 ...
and the capture of
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, ...
to
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
, landed in the South of France during
Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil), known as Débarquement de Provence in French ("Provence Landing"), was the code name for the landing operation of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15Augu ...
and returned to Italy to assume command of the Fifth Army.
On 23 March,
Albert Kesselring
Albert Kesselring (30 November 1885 – 16 July 1960) was a German military officer and convicted war crime, war criminal who served in the ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. In a career which spanned both world wars, Kesselring reached the ra ...
was appointed
Commander-in-Chief West, replacing General-Field Marshal
Gerd von Rundstedt
Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt (12 December 1875 – 24 February 1953) was a German ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) in the ''German Army (1935–1945), Heer'' (Army) of Nazi Germany and OB West, ''Oberbefehlshaber West'' (Commande ...
.
Heinrich von Vietinghoff returned from the Baltic to take over from Kesselring and
Traugott Herr, the experienced commander of the
LXXVI Panzer Corps, took over the
10th Army.
Joachim Lemelsen
Joachim Lemelsen (28 September 1888 – 30 March 1954) was a German general during World War II who rose to army-level command.
During Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, troops of the XLVII Motorized Corps under hi ...
, who had temporarily commanded the 10th Army, returned to command the
14th Army.
Orders of battle
Allied manpower shortages continued in October 1944. The
4th Indian Infantry Division had been sent to
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
and the British
4th Infantry Division had followed them in November along with the
139th Brigade of the British
46th Infantry Division. The rest of the division followed in December along with the
3rd Greek Mountain Brigade. In early January 1945, the British
1st Infantry Division was sent to
Palestine
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
and at the end of the month the
I Canadian Corps and the British
5th Infantry Division were ordered to the
North West Europe Campaign. This reduced the Eighth Army, now commanded by Lieutenant-General
Richard McCreery, to seven divisions. Two other British divisions were to follow them to North-Western Europe, but Alexander kept them in Italy.
The U.S. Fifth Army had been reinforced between September and November 1944 with the
1st Brazilian Division, and in January 1945, with the specialist U.S.
10th Mountain Division
The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division (military), division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in ...
. Allied strength amounted to 17 divisions and eight independent brigades (including 4 Italian groups of volunteers from the
Italian Co-Belligerent Army which were equipped and trained by the British), equivalent to just under 20 divisions. The 15th Army Group ration strength was 1,334,000 men, the Eighth Army having an effective strength of 632,980 men, and the Fifth Army 266,883.
[Jackson, p. 223.]
As of 9 April, the Axis in Italy had 21 much weaker German divisions and four Italian
National Republican Army
The National Republican Army (; abbreviated ENR), colloquially known as the Army of the North ( Italian: ''Esercito del Nord'') was the army of the Italian Social Republic (, or RSI) from 1943 to 1945, fighting on the side of Nazi Germany durin ...
(ENR) divisions, with about 349,000 German and 45,000 Italian troops. There were another 91,000 German troops on the lines of communication, and Germans commanded about 100,000 Italian police.
Three of the Italian divisions were allocated to the Ligurian Army under
Rodolfo Graziani
Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli ( , ; 11 August 1882 – 11 January 1955), was an Italian military officer in the Kingdom of Italy's Royal Italian Army, Royal Army, primarily noted for his campaigns in Africa before and during World Wa ...
which guarded the western flank facing France. Finally, the fourth division was with the 14th Army in a sector thought less likely to be attacked.
Plan of attack

On 18 March, Clark set out his battle plan. Its objective was "to destroy the maximum number of enemy forces south of the Po, force crossings of the Po and capture Verona".
[Jackson, p. 203.] In ''Phase I'', the Eighth Army would cross the
Senio and
Santerno rivers and then make a dual thrust, one towards Budrio parallel to the Bologna road, Route 9 (the Via Emilia) and the other northwest along Route 16, the , towards Bastia and the Argenta Gap which was a narrow strip of dry terrain through the flooded land west of Lake Comacchio.
An amphibious operation across the lake and parachute drop would bring pressure to bear on the flank and help to break the Argenta position. Depending on the relative success of these actions, a decision would be made on whether the Eighth Army's prime objective would become Ferrara on the or remain Budrio. The U.S. Fifth Army was to launch the Army Group's main effort at 24 hours notice from two days after the Eighth Army attack, and break into the Po valley. The capture of Bologna was looked upon as a secondary task.
In ''Phase II'', the Eighth Army was to drive northwest to capture Ferrara and Bondeno, blocking routes of potential retreat across the Po. The U.S. Fifth Army was to push past Bologna, north to link with Eighth Army in the Bondeno region, to complete an encirclement of German forces south of the Po. The Fifth Army was to make a secondary thrust further west towards Ostiglia, the crossing point on the Po of the main route to Verona.
[Jackson, p. 204.] ''Phase III'' involved the establishment of bridgeheads across the Po and exploitation north.
The Eighth Army plan (
Operation Buckland) had to deal with the difficult task of getting across the Senio, with its raised artificial banks varying between and in height and honeycombed with tunnels and bunkers front and rear. V Corps was ordered to make an attack on the salient formed by the river into the Allied line at Cotignola. On the right of the river's salient was
8th Indian Infantry Division, reprising the role they played crossing the Rapido in the final
Battle of Monte Cassino
The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome, was a series of four military assaults by the Allies of World War II, Allies against Nazi Germany, German forces in Kingdom of Italy, Italy during the Italian Campaign (World War ...
. To the left of the 8th Indian Division, on the left of the salient, the
2nd New Zealand Division would attack across the river to form a pincer. To the left of V Corps, on Route 9, the
II Polish Corps would widen the front further by attacking across the Senio towards Bologna. The Poles had been desperately under strength in the autumn of 1944, but had received 11,000 reinforcements during the early months of 1945, mainly from Polish conscripts in the German Army taken prisoner in the
Battle of Normandy
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the N ...
.
Once across the Senio, the assault divisions were to advance to cross the Santerno. Once the Santerno was crossed, the British
78th Infantry Division would reprise their Cassino role and pass through the bridgehead established by the Indians and New Zealanders and drive for Bastia and the Argenta gap, behind the Senio, where the dry land narrowed to a front of only , bounded on the right by
Lake Comacchio, a huge lagoon running to the Adriatic coast and on the left by a marshland. At the same time, the British
56th (London) Infantry Division
The 56th (London) Infantry Division was a Territorial Army infantry division of the British Army, which served under several different titles and designations. The division served in the trenches of the Western Front during the First World Wa ...
would launch the amphibious flank attack along Lake Comacchio. On the left flank of
V Corps, the New Zealand Division would advance to the left of the marshland on the west side of Argenta while the 8th Indian Infantry Division would pass in army reserve.
[Jackson, p. 225.]
The Fifth Army plan (
Operation Craftsman) envisaged an initial thrust by
IV Corps along to straighten the army front and to draw German reserves away from .
II Corps would then attack along Strada statale 65 towards Bologna. The weight of the attack would then switch westward again to break into the Po valley skirting Bologna.
[Jackson, p. 228.]
Battle

In the first week of April, diversionary attacks were launched on the extreme right and left of the Allied front to draw German reserves away from the main assaults.
Operation Roast was an assault by
2nd Commando Brigade and tanks to capture the seaward isthmus of land bordering Lake Comacchio and seize Port Garibaldi on the lake's north side. Damage to other transport infrastructure forced Axis forces to use sea, canal, and river routes for supply. During this time, Axis shipping was being attacked in bombing raids such as
Operation Bowler.
The build-up to the main assault started on 6 April with heavy artillery bombardment of the Senio defenses. In the early afternoon of 9 April 825 heavy bombers dropped fragmentation bombs on the support zone behind the Senio followed by medium and fighter bombers. From 15:20 to 19:10, five heavy artillery barrages were fired each lasting 30 minutes, interspersed with fighter bomber attacks. In support of the New Zealand operations, 28
Churchill Crocodiles and 127
Wasp
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...
flamethrower vehicles were deployed along the front. The 8th Indian Infantry Division, 2nd New Zealand Division, and
3rd Carpathian Division (on the Polish Corps front at Route 9) attacked at dusk. In the fight there were two
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
es won by the 8th Indian Infantry Division. They had reached the Santerno, beyond, by dawn on 11 April. The New Zealanders had reached the Santerno at nightfall on 10 April and succeeded in making a crossing at dawn on 11 April. The Poles had also closed on the Santerno by the night of 11 April.
By late morning of 12 April, after an all-night assault, the 8th Indian Infantry Division was established on the far side of the Santerno and the 78th Infantry Division started their pass through to make the assault on Argenta. In the meantime, the
24th Guards Brigade, part of the 56th (London) Infantry Division, had launched an amphibious flanking attack from the water to the right of the Argenta Gap. Although they gained a foothold, they were still held up at positions on the Fossa Marina on the night of 14 April. The 78th Infantry Division was also held up that same day on the
Reno River at Bastia.

The Fifth Army began its assault on 14 April after a bombardment by 2,000 heavy bombers and 2,000 guns along with attacks by IV Corps (1st Brazilian, 10th Mountain and
1st Armored Divisions) on the left. This was followed on the night of 15 April by II Corps attacking with 6th South African Armoured Division and the 88th Infantry Division advancing towards Bologna between Highway 64 and 65 and the 91st and 34th Infantry Divisions along Highway 65.
Progress against a determined German defense was slow, but ultimately the superior Allied firepower and lack of German reserves allowed the Allies to break through the mountain defenses and reach the plains of the Po valley. The 10th Mountain Division was directed to bypass Bologna on the right and push north leaving II Corps to deal with Bologna, along with Eighth Army units advancing from their right.
By 19 April, on the Eighth Army front, the
Argenta Gap had been forced and the
6th Armoured Division was released through the left wing of the advancing 78th Infantry Division to swing left to race northwest along the line of the river Reno to
Bondeno and link up with the Fifth Army to complete the encirclement of the German armies defending Bologna.
On the same day, the Italian
National Liberation Committee for Northern Italy, in command of the
Italian resistance movement
The Italian Resistance ( ), or simply ''La'' , consisted of all the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social Republic during the Second World War in Italy ...
, ordered a general insurrection; in the following days, fighting between Italian partisan and the German and RSI forces broke out in
Turin
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
and
Genoa
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
(as well as in many other towns across Northern Italy), while German forces prepared to withdraw from
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
.
[Basil Davidson, ''Special Operations Europe: Scenes from the Anti-Nazi War (1980)'', pp. 340, 360] On all fronts, the German defense continued to be strong and effective, but Bondeno was captured on 23 April. The 6th Armoured Division linked with the 10th Mountain Division the next day at
Finale some upstream along the river
Panaro from Bondeno.
Bologna was entered in the morning of 21 April by the 3rd Carpathian Infantry Division of the II Polish Corps and the Combat Group of the
Italian Co-belligerent Army advancing up the line of Route 9, followed two hours later by II US Corps from the south. On 24 April,
Parma
Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...
and
Reggio Emilia
Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until Unification of Italy, 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 172,51 ...
were liberated by the partisans.
IV Corps had continued its northwards advance and reached the Po river at
San Benedetto on 22 April. The river was crossed the next day and they advanced north to
Verona
Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...
which they entered on 26 April. To the right of Fifth Army on Eighth Army's left wing,
XIII Corps crossed the Po at
Ficarolo
Ficarolo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rovigo in the Italian region Veneto, located about southwest of Venice and about southwest of Rovigo.
Ficarolo borders the following municipalities: Bagnolo di Po, Bondeno, Ferrara, ...
on 22 April, while V Corps were crossing the Po by 25 April, heading towards the
Venetian Line, a defensive line built behind the line of the river
Adige
The Adige is the second-longest river in Italy, after the Po. It rises near the Reschen Pass in the Vinschgau in the province of South Tyrol, near the Italian border with Austria and Switzerland, and flows through most of northeastern Italy ...
.
As Allied forces pushed across the Po, on the left flank, the Brazilian Division, 34th Infantry Division, and 1st Armored Division of IV Corps were pushed west and northwest along the line of Highway 9 towards
Piacenza
Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...
and across the Po to seal possible escape routes into Austria and Switzerland via
Lake Garda
Lake Garda (, , or , ; ; ) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, between Brescia and Milan to the west, and Verona and Venice to the east. The lake cuts into the edge of the Eastern Alps, Italian Alp ...
. On 27 April, the 1st Armored Division entered Milan which had been liberated by the partisans on 25 April and the IV Corps commander
Willis D. Crittenberger entered the city on 30 April.
Turin was also liberated by partisan forces on 25 April, after five days of fighting. On 27 April, General Günther Meinhold surrendered his 14,000 troops to the partisans in Genoa.
To the south of Milan, at
Collecchio-Fornovo, the Brazilian Division bottled up the remaining German and RSI units, taking 13,500 prisoners on 28 April. On the Allied far right flank, V Corps, met by lessened resistance, traversed the Venetian Line and entered
Padua
Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...
in the early hours of 29 April to find that partisans had locked up the German garrison of 5,000.
[Blaxland, p. 277]
Aftermath
Secret surrender negotiations between representatives of the Germans and Western Allies had taken place in Switzerland (
Operation Crossword) in March, but had resulted only in protests from the Soviets that the Western Allies were attempting to negotiate a separate peace. On 28 April, Vietinghoff sent emissaries to the Allied Army headquarters. On 29 April, they signed an instrument of surrender at the
Royal Palace of Caserta
The Royal Palace of Caserta ( ; ) is a former royal residence in Caserta, Campania, north of Naples in southern Italy, constructed by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as their main residence as Kingdom of Naples, kings of Naples. The complex ...
stating that hostilities would formally end on 2 May.
Confirmation from Vietinghoff, did not reach the 15th Army Group headquarters until the morning of 2 May. It emerged that Kesselring had his authority as Commander of the West extended to include Italy and had replaced Vietinghoff with General
Friedrich Schulz from
Army Group G
Army Group G () fought on the Western Front of World War II and was a component of OB West.
History
Army Group G was initially deployed as an '' Armeegruppe''-type formation on 28 April 1944, but was later upgraded to ''Heeresgruppe''-type on 1 ...
on hearing of the plans. After a period of confusion, during which the news of
Hitler's death arrived, Schulz obtained Kesselring's agreement to the surrender and Vietinghoff was reinstated to see it through.
On 1 May 1945, the Chief of Staff of the National Republican Army, Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, announced the unconditional surrender of the
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic (, ; RSI; , ), known prior to December 1943 as the National Republican State of Italy (; SNRI), but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò (, ), was a List of World War II puppet states#Germany, German puppe ...
and ordered the forces under his command to lay down their arms. Lieutenant general
Max-Josef Pemsel, Chief of General Staff of the
Army Liguria, consisting of three German and three Italian divisions, followed Graziani's orders and declared in a broadcast message: "I confirm without reserve the words of my Commander, Marshal Graziani. You must obey his orders."
See also
*
Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II
The Mediterranean and Middle East theatre was a major Theater (warfare)#Theater of operations, theatre of operations during the Second World War. The vast size of the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre saw interconnected land, naval, and air ...
*
Italian campaign (World War II)
*
Surrender of Caserta
*
European Theatre of World War II
The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union and Franc ...
*
Gothic Line order of battle
Notes
References
Bibliography
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External links
* Website of the project by
Further reading
* Vito Paticchia, Luigi Arbizzani, Biblioteca comunale dell'Archiginnasio (Bologna, Italy), ''Combat photo, 1944-1945: l'amministrazione militare alleata dell'Appennino e la liberazione di Bologna nelle foto e nei documenti'' (Bologna: Grafis, 1994)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spring 1945 Offensive In Italy
Italian campaign (World War II)
World War II defensive lines
World War II operations and battles of the Italian Campaign
Battles and operations of World War II involving Germany
1945 in Italy
Conflicts in 1945
Battles of World War II involving the United States
Battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom
Battles and operations of World War II involving India
Battles and operations of World War II involving Poland
Battles and operations of World War II involving New Zealand
Battles and operations of World War II involving South Africa
Battles of World War II involving Brazil
Battles of World War II involving Italy
April 1945 in Europe
May 1945 in Europe