Meldola War Cemetery

• Country Italy
• Total identified casualties 145 Find these casualties
• Identified casualties from Second World War
• GPS Coordinates Latitude: 44.14368, Longitude: 12.06785

Location information

Meldola War Cemetery lies in the Commune of Meldola, in the Province of Forli. It is located south of the SS9 from Bologna to Rimini, 10 km south of Ronco, itself equidistant between Forli and Forimpopoli. If travelling by train, the nearest station is Forli, where a taxi service is available. Cemetery address: Via Gualchiera 1A - 47014 Meldola (FC) Emilia Romagna. GPS Co-ordinates: Latitude: 44.143634, Longitude: 12.06776.

Visiting information

ARRIVAL

All routes to the cemetery are signposted.

PARKING

There is a parking area at the front of the cemetery, close to the main entrance.

There is space for approximately 3 vehicles.

The surface of the car park is gravel, the ground is flat.

ACCESS, LAYOUT AND MAIN ENTRANCE

The cemetery is rectangular shaped.

There is a compacted gravel area, approximately 3 metres, between the road and the main entrance gate. Two latched gates, approximately 1 metre wide each open inwards into a paved area leading into the cemetery.

The Cross of Sacrifice is located directly opposite the main entrance.

A shelter building is located on the right approximately 20 metres from the main entrance gates, surrounded by flat paving. Two steps lead up into the shelter, with the Register Box located in the centre, and stone benches on either side.

The internal area of the cemetery is grass, and the ground is flat.

ALTERNATIVE ACCESS

There is no alternative entrance into the cemetery.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The cemetery is permanently open.

History information

On 3 September 1943 the Allies invaded the Italian mainland, the invasion coinciding with an armistice made with the Italians who then re-entered the war on the Allied side.

Following the fall of Rome to the Allies in June 1944, the German retreat became ordered and successive stands were made on a series of defensive lines. In the northern Appenine mountains the last of these, the Gothic Line, was breached by the Allies during the Autumn campaign and the front inched forward as far as Ravenna in the Adratic sector, but with divisions transferred to support the new offensive in France, and the Germans dug in to a number of key defensive positions, the advance stalled as winter set in.

Meldola War Cemetery was originally a battlefield cemetery of the 46th Division, into which a few burials were concentrated; they all date from the last week of October and the month of November 1944. Meldola itself was taken on 30 October, and in the ensuing month the 46th and 4th Divisions advanced to the Lamone River.

Meldola War Cemetery contains 145 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War.