Legacy of Liberation: Reaching the Po and the end of the Second World War in Italy

Following the major clashes at Cassino and the capture of Rome, Italy was still not fully liberated from Fascist control. Discover the story of the Allies’ last Italian campaigns of the Second World War here.

Legacy of Liberation: Reaching the Po

Image: Map of German defensive positions in Northern Italy in late 1944 (Wikimedia Commons)

In the Autumn of 1944, following the bitter battles at Cassino and the liberation of Rome, Northern Italy remained in Fascist Hands.

Facing the advancing Allies was the Gothic Line: The Wehrmacht’s main defensive position in the north. 

Despite the heavy defences, the Gothic Line was broken by a two-pronged Allied assault. The British Eighth Army pushed up the Adriatic Coast. Meanwhile, the US Fifth Army fought through the central Apennine Mountains.

The Gothic Line was broken by determined Allied attacks, but German forces were able to retreat and set up new defensive weapons.

As ever in Italy, the weather had a say, with the elements affecting the speed of the Allied advance. Torrential rains, swollen rivers, and mud-swamped roads all prevented the Allies from launching a decisive knockout blow.

One final push

To bring the Italian war to a close, Allied military planners decided on an “all-out attack to destroy the maximum number of enemy forces south of the River Po.” 

Two Allied armies would hit the Germans from two different directions, pushing the Wehrmacht back towards the river.

But first, to stop the Germans from retreating over the Po, the Allies brought their fearsome aerial superiority to bear, destroying bridges, pontoons, and river crossings from the air.

An international force

Image: Indian Army personnel inspect a captured German self-propelled gun (© IWM)

The Allies had assembled a truly international fighting force for the Italian Campaign.

British Eighth Army boasted British, Indian, Canadian, and New Zealand units, and the men of the Polish Corps. The US Fifth Army featured a Brazilian Division and a South African Armoured Division.

Both army groups featured Italian combat groups made of Anti-Fascists. The Italian Army signed an armistice with the Allies following the invasion of Mainland Italy in September 1943 and re-entered the war on the Allied side.

Together, they were determined to drive the Fascist elements out of Italy once and for all.

Breaking out towards the Po

Getting out of the central plains towards the Po Valley would be no mean feat for the two Allied armies.

The Americans would have to contend with German divisions dug into strong mountain defences. Eighth Army was facing a series of deep, high-sided, fortified rivers.

To make matters worse, the German Army had flooded as much of the low-lying land in Eighth Army’s path. Only a narrow strip of land remained between the inundated fields and Lake Comacchio: The Argenta Gap.

Before the offensive began, Special Forces units and Commandos undertook small, high-impact amphibious operations to prepare the way and sow confusion among the German defenders.

This would come at a cost. No matter how well trained and motivated, special forces soldiers are not invulnerable. On the night of 8-9 April 1945, on operations at Lake Commachio, Major Anders Lassen was killed.

Major Anders Frederik Emil Victor Schau Lassen

Image: Major Anders Lassen (Public domain)

Anders Lassen was born to an upper-class family in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 22 September 1920.

Denmark fell under Nazi German occupation in 1940. Anders left his homeland around this time, coming to Britain and joining the British Army.

Anders joined the Royal Marine Commandos, highly trained and motivated special force soldiers, and was quickly commissioned as an officer. He served in Northwest Europe, North Africa, Crete, the Aegean, Mainland Greece, Yugoslavia, and Italy, earning a Military Cross for his battlefield conduct and commitment to duty.

In February 1944, Anders’ unit was folded into the Special Air Service (SAS). At this time, the Dane was promoted to Major and had earned two bars for his Military Cross.

On the night of 8-9 April 1945 at Lake Commachio, Anders won his highest military decoration: the Victoria Cross. Sadly, his medal was awarded posthumously, but Anders nonetheless showed all the determination and devotion to duty that had won him previous decorations.

His Victoria Cross citation gives the following details:

“Major Lassen was ordered to take out a patrol of one officer and seventeen other ranks to raid the north shore of Lake Comacchio. His tasks were to cause as many casualties and as much confusion as possible, to give the impression of a major landing, and to capture prisoners.

“The party found itself on a narrow road flanked on both sides by water. Preceded by two scouts, Major Lassen led his men along the road towards the town. They were challenged from a position on the side of the road. An attempt to allay suspicion failed – machine gun fire started from the sentry position and from two other blockhouses to the rear.

“Major Lassen then attacked with grenades and annihilated the first position. Ignoring the hail of bullets sweeping the road, he raced forward to engage the second position. Throwing more grenades, he silenced this. 

“Still under a heavy cone of fire Major Lassen rallied his force and brought his fire to bear on the third position. Moving forward he flung more grenades, which produced a cry of 'Kamerad'. He then went forward to take their surrender. 

“Whilst shouting to them to come out he was hit by a burst of Spandau fire and fell mortally wounded, but even whilst falling he flung a grenade, enabling his patrol to dash in and capture this final position.

“Major Lassen refused to be evacuated. By his magnificent leadership and complete disregard for his personal safety, he had, in the face of overwhelming superiority, achieved his objectives.”

Major Lassen was eventually buried in Argenta Gap War Cemetery. His headstone has the Victoria Cross carved upon it, above the words chosen by his family, taken from a Danish hymn:

Kaemp for alt
Hvad du har kaert
Do em saa det gaelder
Da er livet ej saa svaert
Doden Ikke haller

Which translated reads:

Fight for all
That is dear to you
Even if you must die
Then life is not so hard
Nor is death so hard

Operation Grapeshot

Image: The 1st/5th Mahrattas arrive at start point for attack (© IWM)

The Spring 1945 Italian Offensive was codenamed Operation Grapeshot. With this final push, it was hoped the Allies would force the final surrender of German forces in Italy.

On 9 April, as dusk fell, the first ground attacks of Operation Grapeshot went in. 

Eighth Army led the offensive as the Allied plan called for US Fifth Army to wait until Eighth Army crossed the fortified Senio and Santerno rivers and reached the Argenta Gap.

For the next five days, Eighth Army attacked alone. After a series of bitter, heavy assaults, the two rivers were forged and their defenders pushed back.

The 1st/5th Mahratta Light Infantry, an Indian regiment made up of Maratha Hindus, spearheaded the 8th Indian Division's assault across the Senio. The Mahrattas encountered heavy fire and strong defences.

The Victoria Cross citation of Sepoy Namdeo Jadhav of ‘A’ Company tells us just what the Mahrattas faced as they punched across the Sanio:

“Sepoy Namdeo Jadhav was a Company runner and when his Company crossed the river, he was with his Company Commander close behind one of the leading sections.

“When wading the river and emerging on the west bank, the party came under heavy fire from at least three German posts. The Company commander and two men were wounded and the rest, with the exception of Sepoy Namdeo Jadhav, were killed.

“This gallant Sepoy immediately carried one of the wounded men through the deep water and up the precipitous slope of the bank through the mine belt to safety.

“He then made a second trip to bring back the other wounded man. Both times under heavy fire.

“He then determined to eliminate the machine gun posts. Crossing the exposed east bank a third time, he dashed at the nearest enemy post and silenced it with his Tommy Gun.

“He was wounded in the hand and, being unable to fire his gun, threw it away and resorted to grenades.

“With these, he successively charged and wiped out two more enemy posts.

“Having silenced all machine gun fire from the east bank, he then climbed on to the top of it and, in spite of heavy mortar fire, stood in the open shouting the Mahratta war cry and waving the remainder of the Companies across the river.”

Namdeo survived, but 16 members of his battalion did not. 

Wherever possible, the army cremated those who wished to be committed to fire in accordance with their faith. They are commemorated by name on Commonwealth War Graves war memorials. 

For instance, 15 of the 1st/5th Mahrattas are named on the Cassino Memorial. 

Other Indian Army servicemen who died in April 1945 and were cremated are named on memorials in Forli Indian Army War Cemetery and Rimini Gurkha War Cemetery, alongside their comrades with graves.

Cassino Memorial

 

Image: The unveiling of the Cassino Memorial on 30 September 1956

Standing in Cassino War Cemetery, the Cassino Memorial commemorates more than 3,000 Commonwealth servicemen who took part in the Italian Campaign and have no known grave and over 900 Indian soldiers whose remains were cremated.

The rush for the Argenta Gap

Image: British Crocodile flamethrower tanks on the move in Italy (© IWM)

With the two river obstacles crossed, Eighth Army was now in a position to push towards the Argenta Gap in earnest.

Lieutenant Sidney Spence of 1st Battalion The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) wrote a post-war account of the part his unit played in trying to reach the Argenta Gap:

“That night in the field of the assembly area, the troops slept in rows under individual mosquito nets — there were plenty of insects around those marshes. Each net was supported at the head end by a wooden cross. Viewed in the moonlight, I felt that I was looking at a cemetery. The next day was to prove me right, tragically right.”

The Buffs' objective was the main bridge across a canal near Lake Commachio, over which Eighth Army units could traverse the flooded plains toward the Argenta Gap.

An amphibious assault was planned. The Buffs would reach their objective using amphibious armoured personnel carriers called Fantails of Buffaloes. Buffaloes had been successfully deployed in the capture of Walcheren Island in the Netherlands.

The Buffs embarked before dawn on 13 April.

“The journey across Lake Comacchio was not unpleasant. After the sun came up, it was a glorious spring day. Not a cloud in the sky or a breath of wind, and the only ripples on the water were those caused by the considerable commotion generated by the fleet of Fantails. What incredibly noisy, cumbersome, unwieldy vehicles they were!”

In the last 200 yards, they came under fire from machine guns and two tanks:

“A moment later we were hit. I didn't hear the bang. In fact, there seemed to be an instant of complete silence before I found myself pinned against the ramp watching the front of the Fantail rearing upwards. I thought we would capsize before it fell back and halted.”

The ramp was jammed, and fuel oil was on fire, so they had to escape from the top of the vehicle, still under machine gun fire, heading for the flood bank, but once there, a sniper began to pick them off. 

The survivors got away after dawn on 14 April, Spence and a German POW swimming out to fetch a damaged assault craft for the non-swimmers to ride in.

Serjeant John Edward Lacey Pascall 

Image: Serjeant John Pascall 

One of The Buffs who was killed was Serjeant John Pascall.

Major Donald Bennett of the Buffs wrote to John’s father on 7 May 1945. 

He had known John for about three years, “and during that time, I have never once known him fail to carry out cheerfully and well any duties that were asked of him… his tragic death has been a great blow to us all. 

“The company was called upon to do an amphibious operation on Lake Comacchio but as we were about to land the ‘Buffaloe’ in which Sgt Pascall was travelling was hit by an anti-tank shell. 

“Only one man was lost, but as the remainder jumped out into about three feet of water, machine-guns opened up and Sgt Pascall was killed instantly. I cannot stress how much he is missed by his comrades.”

John was 30. His father asked that the headstone for his only child read, “In loving memory of a dear son.”

Argenta Gap War Cemetery

Image: The immaculately kept Argenta Gap War Cemetery

Argenta Gap War Cemetery holds the largest number of British war dead from Operation Grapeshot. Over two-thirds of the burials here are British casualties of the Eighth Army.

The site was chosen by men of the 78th Division for battlefield burials during the push for the Argenta Gap. It was later expanded to accommodate burials from the surrounding combat zones.

Many Commandos involved in amphibious operations on Lake Comacchio are buried in Argenta Gap War Cemetery.

Fifth Army attacks

With Eighth Army making progress, the US Fifth Army entered the fray on 14 April 1945. Its objective was to break out of the mountains west of Bologna, on the axis of the River Reno/Highway 64. 

Within its ranks were the men of the South African 6th Armoured Division. Due to the terrain, the South Africans had to forgo using their usual tanks and armoured fighting vehicles, fighting on foot as infantry.

For them, D-Day was 15 April. Their goal was to take key high ground at Monte Sole, Monte Caprara and Monte Abelle.  

The First City/Cape Town Highlanders attacked Monte Sole first, at 10.30 p.m. on 15 April, the first men reaching the summit just before 1 am on 16 April.

With bayonets and grenades, ten machine-gun posts and the ridge were cleared. The Witwatersrand Rifles/Regiment de la Rey struggled with Monte Caprara, however.

Lance Corporal Manuel Soloman Dorfan

Image: Lance Corporal Manuel "Mannie" Dorfan (Copyright unknown)

Manuel was born on 31 August 1919, in Kinross, Mpumalanga. "Mannie" was the youngest of three brothers and had one sister. He enlisted in 1940.

Mannie was killed during the attack on Monte Caprara. His unit were hit by German artillery and mortars as they moved up to attack. 

Progress slowed, but in a final effort the South Africans charged up the steep slope with bayonets fixed, reaching the summit at 6.15 am, securing the position at 8.15 am on 16 April. 

The assault cost 24 killed and 144 wounded, while German casualties numbered 20 killed, 3 wounded and 39 prisoners. 

Mannie and his dead comrades are in Castiglione South African War Cemetery. His family requested the Star of David for his headstone but no personal inscription. Mannie was 25.

Castiglione South African War Cemetery

Image: Castiglione South African Cemetery marks the sacrifice made by so many South Africans in the liberation of Italy from the forces of fascism 

Castiglione South African Cemetery was started in October 1944 by the 6th South African Armoured Division, which had entered Castiglione at the end of September and remained in the neighbourhood until the following April. 

Many of the burials were made directly from the battlefields of the Apennines, where during that winter South African troops held positions some 8 kilometres north of Castiglione.

The majority of those buried in this cemetery were South Africans, the remainder belonging mostly to the 24th Guards Brigade, which was under command of the 6th South African Armoured Division.

In the cemetery, there is a memorial building originally erected by South African troops, which contains two tablets unveiled by Field-Marshal Smuts; they bear the inscription in English and Afrikaans:

TO SAVE MANKIND YOURSELVES YOU SCORNED TO SAVE

OM DIE MENSDOM TE DIEN HET JUL VEILIGHEID VERSMAAD

The cemetery contains 502 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War.

Corporal Wiliam George Warren

Image: Corporal William Warren (copyright unknown)

William was born on 14 April 1920 in Okoroire, South Waikato, New Zealand. He left New Zealand for overseas service in 1943.

Corporal Warren was killed in an unexpected action at Cazzano on the Idice River. With the Germans on the run, Allied armoured units were moving quickly across the plains.

The history of the 18th Armoured Regiment says his unit was moving with relative ease when "a sudden fight flared up at Cazzano'.

"Here Jerry had planted a little rear-guard - as it turned out later, one Tiger tank, one Panther and one self-propelled gun - to hold us up for the precious few hours that would let his main force slip away.

"Nos. 7 and 8 Troops ran head-on into this ambush.

"Suddenly, the joyride turned to tragedy. Within ten minutes, Sergeant Jack Elkis and Corporals Warren and Walmsley were dead, six others wounded, and four Shermans knocked out, one of them in flames."

Warren is buried in a joint grave (Joint grave VI. G. 8-9.) in Faenza War Cemetery with Corporal Ronald Henry Francis Walmsley. Faenza has the largest group of New Zealand dead for Operation Grapeshot in a single cemetery: 121.

Faenza War Cemetery

Image: Faenza War Cemetery, home to over 1,100 Commonwealth war graves

On 23 April, an armoured division from each army - the South African 6th and British 6th – fought their way to meet at the village of Finale, just south of the Po, closing the net around a large proportion of the German force in Italy. 

Huge numbers – perhaps as many as 54,000 – were taken prisoner.

As Allied units closed on the Po, all could see how constant air and artillery bombardment had "built funeral piles of burn-out and twisted vehicles at all the crossing sites and on the roads leading to them."

Some German troops made it across the Po, but they could take almost nothing with them. 

Without artillery and armour, transport and supplies, fuel and ammunition, their commanders surrendered within a week.

Lt Sidney Spence of The Buffs ended his account of his time fighting in Italy: 

“Set among the cypresses, some two miles from the scene of the action I’ve just described, the Argenta Gap Military Cemetery is now to be found. This was a battlefield cemetery started by the 78th Division, which was later extended to include UK and Commonwealth dead from the final offensive in Italy.

"From the total of [480] British Army dead who are buried here, no fewer than 50 are from the 1st Battalion, The Buffs. Final victory inevitably exacted its price. The headstones bear witness that no small contribution to that price was made by The Buffs.”

Headstones and memorials across all our beautiful cemeteries in Italy bear witness to the price of victory – a lasting Legacy of Liberation.

Discover the Legacy of Liberation

The Legacy of Liberation continues this year.

2025 marks the 80th Anniversary of VE and VJ-Day and the end of the Second World War.

Join us for events, blogs, and virtual tours that help tell the story of the final months of this world-changing conflict, and how the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission hasn’t stopped since then.