Battle of Bologna

Battle of Bologna
	Part of the Spring 1945 offensive in Italy during World War II
	; Map of the battle
Date	9–21 April 1945
Location	Bologna, Italy44°29′38.000″N 11°20′34.001″E / 44.49388889°N 11.34277806°E
Result	Allied victory
Belligerents
Poland; United Kingdom; United States; Italy; Brazil (aviation)	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Władysław Anders; Zygmunt Bohusz-Szyszko	Richard Heidrich
Units involved
II Corps; V Corps (Elements); II Corps (Elements); Brazilian Expeditionary Force	XIV Panzer Corps (Elements)
Casualties and losses
234 dead & 1,228 wounded; 84 killed, 159 wounded, 15 missing	Unknown, but heavy
	class=notpageimage\| Location within Italy Battle of Bologna (Europe)

The Battle of Bologna was fought in

Polish II Corps

and supporting Allied units capturing the city on 21 April.

Background

Allied Spring Offensive: Italy 1945, 9 April – 2 May. This map shows the advance of the Polish II Corps on Bologna

Po valley

, April 1945 (this map shows operations in the Bologna region, 14–21 April 1945, but does not seem to show any operations of non-US troops in the region)

In March 1945 the Allies were preparing a new offensive,

I Parachute Corps.^[2] German defenses in that region were part of the Army Group C,^[4]^[5] defending the Paula Line.^[6]

The morale of the Polish forces was weakened by the outcome of the

Harold Alexander—requested Anders that the Polish units remain in their positions, as they had no troops to replace them. Anders eventually decided to keep the Polish units engaged.^[7]^[9]

Order of battle

Allies

US 5th Army

II Corps

South African 6th Armoured Division

United States Army Air Forces

62d Fighter Wing

Brazilian 1st Fighter Squadron

British 8th Army

V Corps

Polish II Corps

Major-General Zygmunt Bohusz-Szyszko (acting commander)

Corps Troops
- Army Group Polish Artillery
- 54th Super Heavy Regiment Royal Artillery (one battery)
- British 7th Armoured Brigade (under command)
- 43rd Gurkha Lorried Infantry Brigade (under command)
- 14th/20th Hussars (Kangaroo armoured personnel carriers
  ) (under command)

Polish 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division (Major-General Bolesław Bronisław Duch
)
- 1st Carpathian Rifle Brigade
- 2nd Carpathian Rifle Brigade
- 3rd Carpathian Rifle Brigade

Polish 5th Kresowa Infantry Division (Major-General

Nikodem Sulik

)

5th Wilenska Infantry Brigade
6th Lwowska Infantry Brigade
4th Wolwyn Infantry Brigade

Bronislaw Rakowski

)

Germans

XIV Panzer Corps

German 26th Panzer Division

German 65th Infantry Division

I Parachute Corps (Richard Heidrich commanding^[10]

)

1st Parachute Division

4th Parachute Division

Battle

The offensive on Bologna started on 9 April at 4:00 am local time, with a major air and artillery bombardment of 400 guns firing on German positions, followed by an advance of ground forces the same evening.

Sillaro River and the Medicina Canal.^[2] On 17 April, the commander of the Eighth Army ordered the Polish forces to continue their push towards Bologna from the east. The city was to be taken initially by the American troops of the Fifth Army advancing from the south.^[2]^[14]

On 21 April the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Brigade of the

Italian partisans and the "Friuli" division of the Italian Co-belligerent Army.^[14]

Aftermath

The Battle of Bologna was the last battle of the Polish II Corps, which was taken out of the front line on 22 April.

Po River and the German forces in Italy capitulated on 29 April.^[2]^[14] The Polish II Corps, commanded by General Zygmunt Bohusz-Szyszko, suffered 234 dead and 1,228 wounded out of 55,780 front line personnel.^[7]^[14]

German divisions were left in disarray, and as the end of the war neared, many splintered into small groups in order to retreat across the Po and try to reach the passes into Germany. The 65th Infantry Division lost its commander, Generalmajor Hellmuth Pfeifer in the last days of the war as he tried to make his way north with the remnants of divisional headquarters.^[16]

Notes

^ "Friuli"
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Zbigniew Wawer, Zdobycie Bolonii, p.9
ISBN 978-1-78151-379-8
.

ISBN 978-1-136-28881-4
.

ISBN 978-0-521-35196-6
.

ISBN 978-1-134-64787-3
.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Zbigniew Wawer, Zdobycie Bolonii, p.8

ISBN 0-85045-417-4, Google Print, p.20

^
ISBN 9780813124377, Google Print, p.37

ISBN 978-1-85501-603-3
.

^ Eyewitness account, G.Z. Tabona, Royal Malta Artillery, 1999

^
ISBN 978-1-84603-365-0.^{[permanent dead link}
]

ISBN 978-0-674-06816-2
.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Zbigniew Wawer, Zdobycie Bolonii, p.13

ISBN 978-1-291-18746-5
.

^ Velten, Wilhelm Vom Kugelbaum zur Hangranate: Die Gesichte der 65. Infanterie Division

References

(in Polish) Zbigniew Wawer, Zdobycie Bolonii [Capture of Bologna], Chwała Oręża Polskiego 32 (53), Rzeczpospolita, 3 March 2007 (publication contains a map of the battle).

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Bologna&oldid=1219622630"

[1] "Friuli"

[Wawer9-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Zbigniew Wawer, Zdobycie Bolonii, p.9

[recordsCave2012-3] ISBN 978-1-78151-379-8
.

[Gooch2012-4] ISBN 978-1-136-28881-4
.

[HinsleyThomas1988-5] ISBN 978-0-521-35196-6
.

[Chant2013-6] ISBN 978-1-134-64787-3
.

[Wawer8-7] Zbigniew Wawer, Zdobycie Bolonii, p.8

[8] ISBN 0-85045-417-4, Google Print, p.20

[ajj-9] 
ISBN 9780813124377, Google Print, p.37

[Matanle1994-10] ISBN 978-1-85501-603-3
.

[11] Eyewitness account, G.Z. Tabona, Royal Malta Artillery, 1999

[Koskodan2009-12] 
ISBN 978-1-84603-365-0.^{[permanent dead link}
]

[Kochanski2012-13] ISBN 978-0-674-06816-2
.

[Wawer13-14] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Zbigniew Wawer, Zdobycie Bolonii, p.13

[Kidd2013-15] ISBN 978-1-291-18746-5
.

[16] Velten, Wilhelm Vom Kugelbaum zur Hangranate: Die Gesichte der 65. Infanterie Division

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[2]

[4]

[5]

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