Battle of Ancona
| Battle of Ancona | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Italian Campaign of World War II | |||||||
 German defensive positions in Northern Italy 1944. Polish II Corps advance and taking on Ancona showed on the map. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Italian Resistance |
 Germany | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Władysław Anders Klemens Rudnicki |
Harry Hoppe | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| ~50,000 | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
496 killed 1,789 wounded 139 missing[1] |
800 killed[2] 2,500 captured[3] | ||||||
The Battle of Ancona was fought between forces from
Polish 2nd Corps, tasked with capture of the city on 16 June 1944, accomplishing the objective a month later on 18 July 1944. The Battle of Ancona was the only battle of the Western Front that was carried out entirely by the Polish military.[3]
Background
The
Italian theatre.[1]
Battle
The first obstacle to cross was the
Chiaravalle, and armored troops reached the sea, cutting the German defenders of Ancona from the north-west.[1] The Germans were falling back towards the sea, and Polish troops encountered little resistance entering Ancona at 14:30 on 18 July.[1]
Aftermath
Taking Ancona was the only independent operation of the Polish II Corps.[1] Afterward, the Corps took part in the breaking of the Gothic Line and the Allied spring 1945 offensive which resulted in the surrender of the Axis forces in Italy.
For their action in the battle while seconded to the Polish corps, the British 7th Queen's Own Hussars received the battle honour "Ancona".[4]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Zbigniew Wawer, Zdobycie Bolonii, p.4
- ^ Olgierd Terlecki, Beryl Arct, Poles in the Italian campaign, 1943-1945, Interpress for the Council for Protection of Monuments of Struggle and Martyrdom, 1972, p. 101
- ^ a b Marino, James I. "The Polish II Corps in Italy". Warfare History Network.
- ^ "Maid of Warsaw". Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
References
- (in Polish) Zbigniew Wawer, Zdobycie Bolonii [Capture of Bologna], Chwała Oręża Polskiego 32 (53), Rzeczpospolita, 3 March 2007.
- Coltrinari, Massimo (2014). Il Corpo Italiano di Liberazione e Ancona (in Italian). Rome: Edizioni Nuova Cultura. ISBN 978-88-6812-322-2.
- Rickard, J. (19 November 2018). "Battle of Ancona, 17-18 July 1944". historyofwar.org.