Mediterranean
1943–1945: The Italian campaign
September 1943 – May 1945 · 4 battles
After taking Sicily the Allies carried the war to the Italian mainland. Italy’s surrender in September 1943 did not hand them the country without a fight: the Germans disarmed the Italian army, occupied Rome and the north, and Field Marshal Kesselring built line after line of defences across the narrow, mountainous peninsula. British, American, Canadian, Polish, French, New Zealand, Indian and other troops advanced northwards slowly and at the cost of heavy losses – through Salerno, across the Volturno and the Sangro, at Monte Cassino and Anzio, towards the Gothic Line and the Po valley. Rome fell in June 1944, and the German forces in Italy did not capitulate until 2 May 1945. The campaign tied down dozens of German divisions, but for the soldiers of both sides it was one of the hardest in the West.
- 9–16 September 1943Key battleBattle of SalernoFrom 9 to 16 September 1943 Clark's Fifth Army held the Salerno beachhead. German counter-attacks almost drove the Allies into the sea, but it held.
- 17 January – 18 May 1944Key battleBattle of Monte CassinoFrom 17 January to 18 May 1944 the Allies made four assaults on the Gustav Line at Cassino. On 18 May the Polish II Corps took the ruins of the abbey.
- 22 January – 5 June 1944Battle of AnzioFrom 22 January to 5 June 1944 VI Corps held the Anzio–Nettuno beachhead. Meant to open the road to Rome, the landing turned into a four-month siege.
- 5 April – 2 May 1945Key battleThe spring 1945 offensive in Italy5 April – 2 May 1945. The Allies broke through on the Senio and in the Apennines, took Bologna and crossed the Po. The Caserta surrender ended the war in Italy.