 |
| 01/01/1944 |
General Mark Clark takes over the
U.S. Seventh Army in addition to the command of the U.S. Fifth
Army. |
| 03/01/1944 |
The US Fifth Army begins
an offensive against the German forces in Italy who are entrenched
in the Gustav Line along the Rapido river, with its centre
at Cassino. |
| 08/01/1944 |
The trial of Count Ciano and 18 other
Fascists responsible for Mussolini’s downfall opens at
Castel Vecchio, in Verona. |
|
| 09/01/1944 |
Countess Ciano escapes to Switzerland
and is interned. |
|
| 10/01/1944 |
All but one of the Fascist ex-ministers
on trial are sentenced to death at Castel Vecchio. |
|
| 11/01/1944 |
Ciano and 17 others are shot by firing
squad. |
|
| 15/01/1944 |
The U.S. Fifth Army gains Monte Trocchio,
overlooking Rapido River as the Germans withdraw across it.
French troops under General Juin capture Monte Santa Croce. |
| 20/01/1944 |
U.S. troops are thrown back on the
Rapido. |
| 22/01/1944 |
The U.S. Fifth Army lands two divisions
(36,034 men and 3,069 vehicles) under Major-Gen. John P. Lucas
at Anzio, 30 miles South of Rome. |
|
| 23/01/1944 |
A Royal Navy destroyer, Janus is
lost as the fighting rages around the Anzio beachhead. |
|
| 24/01/1944 |
Hitler orders that German troops in
Italy hold the ‘Gustav Line’ at all costs. The
French attack to the North of Cassino. Allied patrols from
Anzio beachhead are halted but the Germans. |
|
| 27/01/1944 |
The Germans counter-attack the French
at Cassino. |
|
| 30/01/1944 |
A U.S. Ranger battalion is wiped out
at Anzio. |
|
| 31/01/1944 |
The U.S. 34th Division crosses the
Rapido. |
|
| |
|
 |
|
| 03/02/1944 |
An attempt to breakout
of the Anzio Beachhead ends after an advance of just three
miles in three days. The German begin their first counterattacks
against Anzio. |
| 05/02/1944 |
U.S. troops reach the outskirts of
Cassino, but are repulsed. |
| 07/02/1944 |
The Germans begin a full-scale counter-attack
against the Anzio Beachhead. |
| 09/02/1944 |
The Germans capture Aprilia in the
Anzio beachhead. |
|
| 10/02/1944 |
The allies announce that southern
Italy is to be handed over to Italian government jurisdiction. |
|
| 11/02/1944 |
Americans troops at Cassino are relieved
by Indian and New Zealand forces. The allies are pushed back
to final defence line at Anzio. |
|
| 13/02/1944 |
The allies halt the German attack
around Cassino. The Italians in Cassino Monastery are warned
that it will be bombed. |
|
| 15/02/1944 |
Monte Cassino is devastated by 422
tons of bombs as the Indian and New Zealanders begin their
offensive to capture the monastery which is now occupied and
defended by paratroopers (the Green Devils) of 1st Fallschirmjäger
Division. |
|
| 16/02/1944 |
Kesselring launches seven divisions
in a second major attack against the US 5th Army's bridgehead
at Anzio. |
|
| 18/02/1944 |
Renewed allied attacks at Cassino
are broken off. The Germans make further gains at Anzio but
are repulsed by allied artillery and warships. |
|
| 23/02/1944 |
General Lucas is sacked from the Anzio
command and is replaced by Major General Truscott. German counter-attacks
drives the Anzio beachhead back further. |
|
| 29/02/1944 |
The Germans launch their third major
offensive at Anzio. |
|
| |
|
 |
|
03/03/1944
|
German attacks cease at
Anzio after loss of 3,500 men and 30 Panzer's in four days. |
|
| 15/03/1944 |
The allies pound Cassino, dropping
1,250 tons of bombs dropped and firing 195,969 in 7 and a half
hours, but the troops make slow headway. |
|
| 16/03/1944 |
The British Eighth Army continues
to batter itself against Monte Cassino. |
|
| 17/03/1944 |
New Zealand troops take Cassino railway
station. |
|
| 18/03/1944 |
A New Zealand tank attack on Monte
Cassino is repulsed, with the loss of all 17 tanks. |
|
| 19/03/1944 |
The RAF launch Operation Strangle,
aimed at German communications in Italy. |
|
| 22/03/1944 |
Alexander halts the frontal attacks
on Cassino. |
|
| 24/03/1944 |
The US Fifth Army's bridgehead at
Anzio is bombarded by German heavy long-range guns and Luftwaffe
aircraft using guided bombs, causing severe casualties in men,
ships and equipment. Persistent US and British attacks against
the Gustav Line at Cassino are repulsed by the German defenders.
In response to the killing of 35 German soldiers in Rome by
the Italian resistance, SS Colonel Herbert Kappler orders the
execution of 335 Italians, at least 255 of whom are civilians
in reprisal. All are shot by German troops in the Fosse Ardeantine
caves outside of Rome. |
|
| |
|
 |
|
| 22/04/1944 |
Tito’s Partisans
storm the Adriatic Island of Korcula, capturing 800 Germans. |
|
| 26/04/1944 |
The Greek PM resigns and George Papandreou
forms a new government. |
|
| |
|
 |
|
| 11/05/1944 |
The British Eighth and
U.S. Fifth Armies begin an attack on Gustav Line in central
Italy with a 2,200-gun bombardment. |
|
| 12/05/1944 |
Fierce German counter-attacks are
put in by the German defenders at Monte Cassino. |
|
| 13/05/1944 |
The allies take Sant’ Angelo
and Castelforte, thereby opening the way to Rome. |
|
| 14/05/1944 |
French troops in Italy break through
the Gustav Line. |
|
| 15/05/1944 |
The Germans begin a withdrawal from
the Gustav Line to new positions, called the Adolf Hitler or
Dora Line, some 30 miles to the South of Rome. |
|
| 17/05/1944 |
Kesselring orders the evacuation of
Cassino. The French breakthrough is now 25 miles deep. |
|
| 18/05/1944 |
Polish troops finally capture the
town of Cassino. |
|
| 19/05/1944 |
British troops capture Aquino airfield
in the Liri valley, to the South East of Rome. |
|
| 20/05/1944 |
The U.S. Fifth Army captures Gaeta
to the South of Rome. |
|
| 23/05/1944 |
The U.S. Fifth Army begins an offensive
from the Anzio bridgehead toward Rome. Canadian troops breach
the Adolf Hitler Line to the South West of Monte Cassino. |
|
| 24/05/1944 |
U.S. troops take Terracina in Italy.
The retreating Germans are subjected to heavy air-attacks. |
|
| 25/05/1944 |
The U.S. Fifth Army make first contact
with troops from the Anzio beachhead. German airborne troops
attack Tito's Partisan HQ at Drvar in Bosnia on Tito’s
52nd birthday. Tito and Churchill’s son Randolph, both
manage to escape in to the mountains. |
|
| 26/05/1944 |
U.S. troops from Anzio take Cori,
22 miles inland. Mark Clark makes a decision to direct four
divisions on Rome, but only one to Valmontone on Highway 6
to cut German retreat. |
|
| 29/05/1944 |
The British reach ‘the factory’,
10 miles North of Anzio. |
|
| 30/05/1944 |
The Eighth Army captures Arce, 15
miles Northwest of Cassino, en route to Rome. |
|
| |
|
 |
|
| 01/06/1944 |
The British Eighth Army
captures Frosinone to the South East of Rome. |
|
| 02/06/1944 |
U.S. troops are now only 20 miles
from Rome. The Bulgarian government seeks terms of surrender
from the western allies. |
|
| 03/06/1944 |
Hitler allows Kesselring to withdraw
from Rome, which has now been declared an 'Open City'. |
|
| 04/06/1944 |
The U.S. Fifth Army enters Rome. |
|
| 06/06/1944 |
The French take Tivoli in Italy. |
|
| 07/06/1944 |
The Americans take Civitavecchia on
the western coast of Italy. |
|
| 08/06/1944 |
The U.S. Fifth Army continues its
drive North in Italy, taking Civita Castellana. |
|
| 09/06/1944 |
The U.S. Fifth Army is now 50 miles
Northwest of Rome. |
|
| 14/06/1944 |
The allies take Orvieto, 65 miles
Northwest of Rome. |
|
| 16/06/1944 |
The Eighth Army captures Foligno and
Spoleto, east of Orvieto and approach Perugia. |
|
| 17/06/1944 |
German troops evacuate the island
of Elba off the west coast of Italy. |
|
| 18/06/1944 |
The Eighth Army take Assisi. |
|
| 20/06/1944 |
Eighth Army take Perugia as its advance
North continues. |
|
| |
|
 |
|
| 02/07/1944 |
German troops evacuate
Siena. |
|
| 03/07/1944 |
French troops take Siena, only 30
miles South of Florence. |
|
| 06/07/1944 |
The British Eighth Army captures Osimo
20 miles South of Ancona. |
|
| 16/07/1944 |
The Eighth Army captures Arezzo and
reaches the Arno river. |
|
| 18/07/1944 |
The Polish II Corps takes Antona in
Italy. |
|
| 19/07/1944 |
The U.S. 34th Division captures Livorno
on the Italian coast. |
|
| 20/07/1944 |
French troops begin their withdrawal
from the Italian front, ready for the invasion of Southern
France. |
|
| 23/07/1944 |
The U.S. 34th Division takes Pisa. |
|
| |
|
 |
|
| 04/08/1944 |
Florence is evacuated
by German forces. |
|
| 26/08/1944 |
Hitler orders a withdrawal from Greece.
Bulgaria, Germany's ally, withdraws from the war against Russia
and declares its neutrality. |
|
| 27/08/1944 |
The British 8th Army renews its offensive
North on Italy's eastern coast. Slowed by rain and mud, the
British attack toward the Gothic Line at Pesaro, just north
of the Foglia river. |
|
| 30/08/1944 |
Canadian Armoured forces with the
British 8th Army attack west of Pesaro. Without supporting
artillery, they are beaten back by the Germans, who destroy
or badly damage 32 of the 50 tanks engaged in the attack. German
troops withdraw from Bulgaria. |
|
| 31/08/1944 |
The U.S. Fifth Army crosses
the Arno while the Eighth Army attacks the Gothic Line in Italy. |
|
| |
|
 |
|
| 01/09/1944 |
Gurkha units from the
British Eighth Army storm Tavoleto. |
|
| 02/09/1944 |
The Germans begin to evacuate the
Aegean Islands. |
|
| 04/09/1944 |
Allied air forces start operation
'Ratweek' to hinder the German retreat from Balkans. |
|
| 05/09/1944 |
The Russians declare war on Bulgaria. |
|
| 08/09/1944 |
The U.S. Fifth Army launches an assault
against the Gothic Line. |
|
| 10/09/1944 |
The British make am unopposed landing
on the Greek Island of Kythera off the Peloponnese. The Russians
enter Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. |
|
| 12/09/1944 |
German troops evacuate Rhodes and
other Greek islands in the eastern Mediterranean. |
|
| 13/09/1944 |
The Canadians take Coriano Ridge in
the Gothic Line. |
|
| 16/09/1944 |
The British make am unopposed landing
on the Greek Island of Kythera off the Peloponnese. The Russians
enter Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. |
|
| 17/09/1944 |
Monte Altuzzo finally falls to the
U.S. 85th Division. |
|
| 19/09/1944 |
The Eighth Army occupies the Republic
of San Marino, in Italy. |
|
| 20/09/1944 |
A British tank breakout attempt through
the Gothic Line is defeated by the tenacious defence. |
|
| 21/09/1944 |
The Eighth Army’s Greek Mountain
Brigade take Rimini on the Adriatic coast. German forces of
Army Group E evacuates the Peloponnes peninsula in Greece. |
|
| 24/09/1944 |
The British XIII Corps captures Marradi
in Italy. |
|
| 26/09/1944 |
The Eighth Army crosses the Rubicon
in north-eastern Italy. |
|
| 27/09/1944 |
German forces of Army Group E evacuate
western Greece. |
|
| 28/09/1944 |
An agreement between Tito and Stalin
is reached in Moscow, which allows the Red Army to be enter
Yugoslavia. |
|
| |
|
 |
|
| 01/10/1944 |
Monte Battaglia in the
Gothic Line is captured by the U.S. Fifth Army after a 4-day
battle. The Red Army crosses the Danube into Yugoslavia. |
|
| 04/10/1944 |
The British launch Operation 'Manna',
and intervene in Greece, with 2nd Airborne Brigade landing
at Patras. Other landings take on Crete and other Islands in
the Aegean. The Russian 46th Army is within 10 miles of Belgrade. |
|
| 07/10/1944 |
The Eighth Army resumes its attacks
on the Gothic Line. The British reach Corinth, land at Nauplion
and take the island of Samos. |
|
| 09/10/1944 |
The 1st Bulgarian Army attacks towards
Nis in Yugoslavia. |
|
| 10/10/1944 |
The British take Corinth as Army Group
E begins its final retreat from Greece. The Red Army breaks
through the German lines in Serbia as it moves towards Belgrade. |
|
| 12/10/1944 |
The Germans evacuate Athens. |
|
| 14/10/1944 |
The British liberate Athens and Piraeus
and also land on Corfu. Russian troops and Yugoslav Partisans
force their way in to Belgrade. |
|
| 19/10/1944 |
The Germans evacuate Belgrade. |
|
| 20/10/1944 |
The Red Army captures Belgrade, while
Yugoslav partisans capture Dubrovnik. |
|
| 28/10/1944 |
The Germans begin to evacuate Albania. |
|
| 31/10/1944 |
On the orders of Prime Minister Churchill,
British troops occupy Salonika in Greece to assist the new
government in its efforts to prevent a take-over by Communist
insurgents in the wake of the recent withdrawal of German troops
from Greece. |
|
| |
|
 |
|
| 02/11/1944 |
German forces manage to stop the Russians
at Kraisevo, enabling the Second Panzer Army to establish a
firm line west of Belgrade. |
|
| 05/11/1944 |
British forces land at Salonika, in
Greece. |
|
| 06/11/1944 |
Tito’s forces take Monastir
in southern Yugoslavia and now control the whole border with
Greece. |
|
| 13/11/1944 |
German troops evacuate Skopje in Yugoslavia. |
|
| 19/11/1944 |
The RAF's destruction of Drina bridge
at Visegrad, causes an 85-mile German traffic jam in Yugoslavia. |
|
| 21/11/1944 |
Albanian patriots free the capital,
Tirana. |
|
| 23/11/1944 |
The allies declare Macedonia
on Greek Yugoslav border, free of Germans. |
|
| |
|
 |
|
| 04/12/1944 |
Athens is now under martial law. |
| 05/12/1944 |
The British Eighth Army
takes Ravenna in and cuts the rail link to Bologna. |
