Battle of Rimini (1944)
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (April 2010) |
Battle of Rimini | |||||||
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Part of the Gothic Line Offensive during the Italian campaign of World War II | |||||||
German trucks driving through muddy, flooded and unpaved roads near Rimini; typical terrain encountered during the offensive. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Canada Greece New Zealand | Germany | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
E. L. M. Burns Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos | Traugott Herr | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
1st Infantry Division 2nd Infantry Division 3rd Mountain Brigade |
The Battle of Rimini took place between 13 and 21 September 1944 during Operation Olive, the main
Rimini, which had been hit previously by 373 air raids, had 1,470,000 rounds fired against it by Allied land forces; by the end of the battle, only 2% of all buildings in the city escaped damage.[1]
Background
Rimini during the Second World War
Rimini is located in a militarily strategic position, at the southern tip of the Po Valley, at a narrow passage along the Adriatic coast where the plains of northern Italy meet the mountainous terrain of central Italy.[2]
Before the Battle of Rimini, Rimini had suffered sustained Allied aerial bombardment since November 1943. Many refugees from Northern Italy had fled to Rimini between November 1942 and February 1943, only to flee again with the bombings.[3] Of 40,000 inhabitants, only 3,000 remained, and the city centre was deserted.[2][3] Around 55,000 refugees fled to the north, to the hinterland, and to the independent Republic of San Marino,[2][3] where they sheltered in the country's railway tunnels.[4][5] As the Allied frontline approached the city, naval bombardment followed,[3] and remaining citizens hid in makeshift shelters or in the caves by the Covignano hill.[3][6] Partisan resistance was also notable in Rimini, with official reports of 400 young people involved in resistance cells. On 16 August 1944, three partisans were hanged in Rimini's central square, which would later be renamed in their honour.[2]
Between November 1943 and September 1944, the total number of air, naval, and land bombings in the city numbered 396,[7] destroying 82% of all buildings, the highest figure among Italian cities with over 50,000 inhabitants.[2][7]
The Gothic Line
On 23 August 1944 the Eighth Army launched Operation Olive, attacking on a three Corps front up the eastern flank of Italy into the Gothic Line defences. By the first week in September, the offensive had broken through the forward defences of the Gothic Line and the defensive positions of the Green I line and United States Fifth Army entered the offensive in central Italy attacking towards Bologna.[8]
In the Eighth Army's centre, the 1st Canadian Division had broken through Green II on the right of its front advancing to pinch out the Polish Corps on the very right of the army (and allowing the latter to be withdrawn to army reserve) but inland in the hills, the Corps' advance had been held up by stubborn defence at Coriano and V Corps on the army's left flank had been halted at Croce and Gemmano. A new attack to clear the Green II positions in the hills and destroy the Rimini Line running from the port of Rimini inland to San Marino was scheduled to start on 12 September.[8]
Prelude
Arrival of the front in Riccione
In Riccione, a sizeable town southeast of Rimini, from the evening of 2 September, the Germans retreated to a defensive line at the Rio Melo, defended by a single tank, allowing forces of the 1st Canadian Division to enter the town. The area between Viale Ceccarini, Riccione's principal high street, and the Rio Melo, a river lined with a port, became a no man's land until the Battle of Rimini had finished.[9] The Hotel Adria, no longer extant, was requisitioned for soldiers engaged in the Battle of Rimini to take four days' leave on the beach.[10]
Behind the Canadian Division was the 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade (Greek: ΙΙΙ Ελληνική Ορεινή Ταξιαρχία). On 8 and 10 September, near the village of Cattolica, the Greeks pushed back two German attacks.
3–12 September: Battle of San Lorenzo in Strada
To Riccione's northwest, the ancient town of San Lorenzo in Strada was heavily fortified by General
On 3 September, the 1st Parachute Division engaged the Canadians, who had reached Riccione's southern outskirt of Abyssinia. The battle in San Lorenzo, which included sword-fighting in the church, claimed 31 soldiers and 124 wounded or missing, with the Canadians reduced to 18 men before they suspended their attack on 6 September.[12]
By 12 September, the Greeks had joined the Canadians in Riccione, with orders to lead the right flank during the Canadians' offensive on Rimini.[2][13] The Greeks were notorious for their poor behaviour towards locals and consequently ordered not to pass underneath the railway that bisected Riccione.[9] On the night of 12–13 September, a second attack on San Lorenzo, supported by the 3rd Greek Battalion and the 20th New Zealand Armoured Regiment, claimed the church after four and a half hours.[12] The church was destroyed.[14][15]
Battle
13–14 September: Battle of Monaldini and Monticelli
On 13 September, the 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade, supported by the combined armour and infantry of the B squadron of the 20th New Zealand Armoured Regiment and the 22 New Zealand Motor Battalion from the 2nd New Zealand Division, launched an attack to take Rimini. Supporting the brigade were infantry, mortars and machine guns from the Canadian Saskatoon Light Infantry, and 33 17pdr guns from New Zealand.
Initially, the Greeks attacked Monaldini and Monticelli, two small agricultural hamlets about 500 metres (1,600 feet) southwest of San Lorenzo. The settlements were defended by the
During the night of 13–14 September, the 1st Canadian Brigade gathered on the southern bank of the Marano Stream, north of San Lorenzo in Strada. The Greeks launched a night attack at 02:00, supported by the 3rd Canadian Brigade, followed by the 1st Canadian Brigade at 06:30.[13]
On 14 September, 7 and 8 troops of the B Squadron were added to the attack on Monaldini. Soon after, a platoon from
15–17 September: Battle of Rimini Airfield
On 15 September, the Greeks launched an assault on
At 10:00, the 1st Greek Battalion crossed the Marano Stream at the southern end of the airfield, and immediately came under intense fire from German positions around the airfield. The Greeks halted to reorganise themselves for an attack. C Squadron of the 18th New Zealand Armoured Regiment relieved B Squadron 20th Armoured Regiment in the line supporting the Greeks.[18] After requesting air support, Allied fighter and bomber planes attacked the western side of the airfield, and the Greeks attacked shortly afterwards.
The 1st Greek Battalion, which attacked the airfield, was heavily resisted. Fire from the airfield inflicted heavy casualties on the advancing Greeks; however, support from the New Zealand tanks and infantry was well-coordinated as one of the New Zealand officers spoke Greek. The tanks fired on each house lining the south of the airfield to ensure that they were not occupied. As the Greeks and New Zealanders approached the defensive positions, they came under fire from infantry,
Separately, the 2nd Greek Battalion, to the right of the 1st Greek Battalion, attacked up the Via Flaminia, but became separated from their supporting New Zealand tanks. The Greeks were halted by mines and heavy defensive fire from the eastern side of the airfield and nearby houses.
On the left flank, the 3rd Greek Battalion attacked the hamlet of Casalecchio, a crossroads with a few houses and a church, supported by New Zealand tanks and infantry. The Greeks quickly cleared the houses, but the church was defeneded with paratroops. A combined attack by Greek and New Zealand infantry and tanks drove the paratroopers out. Heavy machine-gun and mortar fire from the airfield halted any further advance.
On 16 September, the Greeks continued to mop up around the airfield, most of which they held, though one Panther turret was still in operation. The 3rd Greek Battalion advanced up the left through the hedges and ditches beyond Casalecchio until they came level with the 1st Greek Battalion in the centre. They were under constant fire and had to clear several landmines. On the right flank, the 2nd Greek Battalion advanced. Anti-tank fire was lighter than the previous day.
On 17 September, the three Greek battalions continued their advance. Several attempts were made to knock out the remaining Panther turret with aircraft and artillery, but it finally fell to one of the New Zealand Shermans working around its flank. It fired several anti-tank rounds into the turret before the crew eventually evacuated.[19] With the airfield was taken, the 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade turned its attention towards Rimini itself.
18–20 September: Approaching Rimini
With the airfield captured, the offensive to retake Rimini began in earnest on 18 September.[20] The 2nd and 3rd Battalions pushed towards Rimini from the southeast. Supported by the New Zealand regiments, they encountered heavy resistance once again from the German paratroops. Meanwhile, to the southwest, the 1st Canadian Division was contesting the area of San Fortunato, on the Covignano hill overlooking Rimini,[20][21] with over a million artillery strikes on the hill alone.[20][21] The Canadian attack, which had broken the German defence by the morning of 20 September,[20] threatened the defending forces with being outflanked.[22] Despite the Queen's Bays' armoured column being destroyed at Montecieco, the German troops were forced to retreat to Vergiano and the Marecchia river, chased also by the Indian divisions returning from the Battle of San Marino.[20]
By 16:30 on 20 September, the battalions were in the southern outskirts of Rimini, with the 2nd Greek Battalion having captured the
21 September: Liberation of Rimini
On the morning of 21 September, the 2nd Greek Battalion advanced towards the bridge over the Ausa in front of Rimini's city gates.[20][21] There they met two New Zealand officers scouting for access routes.[20] The battalion passed through the Arch of Augustus into Rimini's city centre. Informed by two inhabitants that the Germans had abandoned the city,[20][21] they called for New Zealand's tanks to enter the city through Piazza Malatesta and then Piazza Cavour.[20] The Canadians, attacking from the west, reached the Bridge of Tiberius before the Greeks.[20][21] Rimini was effectively a ghost town, with few inhabitants remaining.[6][20][21]
The Greeks raised the flag on the balcony of the city hall. At 7:45 of 21 September, the mayor unconditionally surrendered the city to the 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade with an official protocol written in Greek, English, and Italian.[22] A ceremony was held in the afternoon, in the presence of the participating allied brigades.[13] By the evening, the Canadian flag joined the Greek flag over the city hall.[6]
Legacy
After the war, the 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade was called by the honorific title "Rimini Brigade" ("Ταξιαρχία Ρίμινι").[15] 114 Greek soldiers are buried in a cemetery in Riccione's Fontanelle area, along the Via Flaminia.[15][13][27] Gothic Line historian Amedeo Montemaggi suggested that the Allied command had assigned the Battle of Rimini to the provisional Greek government, who had asked for a prestigious military result, because of its feasibility and the city's proximity to the Rubicon, made famous by Julius Caesar's crossing, lending the battle a historical-cultural importance.[13] In local memory, neither the Greeks nor the Canadians were remembered fondly for their treatment of the local population,[9][13][6] with a local Romagnol saying: i n’era tendri (they weren't tender).[13]
On 16 January 1961, Giovanni Gronchi, President of Italy, gave the city of Rimini the Gold Medal for Civil Valour by presidential decree, with the following motivation:[7]
Faithful to its most noble traditions, [Rimini] suffered stoically the most serious destructions of the war, and took a very valid part in the liberation struggle, attesting, with the sacrifice of numerous of her children, her most pure faith in a better, free, and democratic Italy.
References
- ^ Enciclopedia Treccani
- ^ a b c d e f "La Linea Gotica" [The Gothic Line]. La Città Invisibile (in Italian). Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ ISSN 2283-6837. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ "12 giugno 1932 - Viene inaugurata la ferrovia Rimini - San Marino" [12 June 1932: The Rimini–San Marino railway was opened]. Chiamami Città (in Italian). 12 June 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
- ^ Giuliani-Balestrino, Maria Clotilde (2005). "La superstrada Rimini-San Marino" [The Rimini-San Marino railway] (PDF). Studi e Ricerche di Geografia (in Italian). 29 (1): 1–4.
- ^ a b c d e "21 settembre 1944 - Rimini liberata" [21 September 1944 – Rimini liberated]. Chiamamicitta (in Italian). 20 September 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Gambetti, Nicola (20 June 2023). "Monumenti sopravvissuti: l'Arco d'Augusto" [Surviving monuments: The Arch of Augustus]. Rimini Sparita (in Italian). Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- ^ a b Jackson, p.274.
- ^ a b c Galli, Fabio Glauco. "La Città Invisibile - La Guerra a Riccione" [The invisible city: The war in Riccione]. La Città Invisibile (in Italian). Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ a b Zaghini, Paolo (7 February 2021). "Quei ragazzi venuti dall'altro capo del mondo per liberare Riccione" [Those guys who came from the other side of the world to liberate Riccione]. Chiamami Città (in Italian). Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ Galli, Fabio Glauco. "La Città Invisibile - La Guerra a Riccione" [The invisible city: The war in Riccione]. La Città Invisibile (in Italian). Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d "La battaglia di San Lorenzo nell'assalto alla Linea Gotica" [The battle of San Lorenzo in the assault on the Gothic Line]. Famija Arciunesa (in Italian). 11 December 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Cicchetti, Stefano (21 September 2021). "Chi erano i Greci che liberarono Rimini" [Who were the Greeks who liberated Rimini?]. Chiamamicitta (in Italian). Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ Masini, Manlio (18 October 2022). "San Lorenzo in Strada ritrova la sua amata chiesa parrocchiale" [San Lorenzo in Strada finds its beloved parish church again]. Corriere Romagna (in Italian). Retrieved 28 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "I Cimiteri di Guerra tra Romagna e Marche" [The War Cemeteries between Romagna and the Marche]. La Città Invisibile (in Italian). Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ a b c Santini, Simone (24 September 2020). "Quando i neozelandesi liberarono Rimini" [When the New Zealanders liberated Rimini]. Il Ponte (in Italian). Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ Malizia, Nicola (2011). "La nascita del "Giannetto Vassura"" [The birth of the "Giannetto Vassura"] (PDF). Ariminum. January–February 2011 (in Italian) (1). Rimini: Rimini Rotary Club: 10–12.
- ^ Kay (1967), p. 222
- ^ Kay (1967), p. 223
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Montemaggi, Andrea (2014). "L'offensiva della Linea Gotica" [The offensive of the Gothic Line] (PDF). Ariminum. September–October 2014 (in Italian). Rimini Rotary Club: 8–11. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Montemaggi, Andrea. "Gli alleati conquistano Rimini" [The Allies conquer Rimini] (PDF). Ariminum. September–October 2014 (in Italian). Rotary Club Rimini: 6–7.
- ^ a b Kay (1967), p. 225
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Montemaggi, Andrea (22 April 2021). "Il diavolo aveva un ponte, quello di Tiberio". Il Resto del Carlino (in Italian). Retrieved 31 January 2024.
- ^ "History". Rimini Turismo. 21 April 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Gambetti, Nicola (21 June 2023). "Monumenti sopravvissuti: il Ponte di Tiberio". Rimini Sparita (in Italian). Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ "Ponte di Tiberio a Rimini: curiosità, storia e leggenda" [Ponte di Tiberio in Rimini: Curiosity, history, and legend]. Lemurinviaggio (in Italian). 24 June 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Riccione. Seconda guerra mondiale, commemorazione dei militari greci morti per liberare il Riminese" [Riccione, Second World War: Commemoration of the Greek soldiers who died to liberate the Rimini area]. La Piazza (in Italian). 17 September 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ISBN 978-1-62157-543-6.
- ^ "Cimitero di guerra inglese" [English War Cemetery]. Terre di Coriano (in Italian). Retrieved 8 March 2024.
- Commonwealth War Graves. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
- Jackson, General Sir William & Gleave, Group Captain T.P. (2004) [1st. pub. ISBN 1-84574-071-8.
- Kay, Robin (1967). "Chapter 5, Section IV: The Rimini Corridor and Section V: The Capture of Rimini". Italy Volume II: From Cassino to Trieste. Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939-1945. Wellington, N.Z.: Historical Publications Branch, Department of Internal Affairs New Zealand.
- Montemaggi, Amedeo (2002). LINEA GOTICA 1944. La battaglia di Rimini e lo sbarco in Grecia decisivi per l'Europa sud-orientale e il Mediterraneo. Rimini: Museo dell'Aviazione.
- Montemaggi, Amedeo (2006). LINEA GOTICA 1944: scontro di civiltà. Rimini: Museo dell'Aviazione.
- Montemaggi, Amedeo (2008). CLAUSEWITZ SULLA LINEA GOTICA. Imola: Angelini Editore.
- Montemaggi, Amedeo (2010). ITINERARI DELLA LINEA GOTICA 1944. Guida storico iconografica ai campi di battaglia. Rimini: Museo dell'Aviazione.
External links
- Montemaggi, Amedeo (2002). "Battle of Rimini". Gothic Line website. Archived from the original on 2008-10-08. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
- Italy Volume II : From Cassino to Trieste