Line to the River Arno, July and early August 1944
Alexander’s battle plan for the Gothic Line, August 1944
Eighth Army’s attack on the Gothic Line, August to September 1944
Fifth Army’s assault on the Gothic Line, 10–18 September 1944
The German attack on Monte Sole
Fifth Army’s attempt to break through the Apennines, 1–15 October 1944
The final offensive, April to May 1945
Italy showing German defensive lines
Cassino front, 11 May 1944, and Alexander’s battle plan for DIADEM and the destruction of AOK 10 south of Rome
The Monte Sole massif
Operational zone of the 8th Garibaldi Brigade of Partisans, also showing the river network Eighth Army had to cross (Sept. 1944–April 1945)
The Val d’Orcia
Northern Italy, Lake Como and Lake Garda
Main Italian rail network and ports
Allied Control Commission Organisation of Italy, 1 Sept. 1944
The Winter Line, January 1945
One of the difficulties faced when writing about different armies of different nationalities is that many units have similar names. Furthermore, many American servicemen also have Germanic-sounding names. So in an effort to avoid any confusion, I have used the German spellings for the names of military units and ranks. For example, the German name for an army was Armeeoberkommando, or AOK as it was known; paratroopers were called Fallschirmjäger; armoured divisions were called panzer divisions. I have also included as an appendix to the book a comparison of military ranks.
On the other hand, I have translated Italian ranks, but have kept certain Italian words in their true form where there is no appropriate translation, such as contadini, who were Italian peasant farmers, and rastrellamento, the word to describe a military operation to clear an area of partisans.
Traditionally, army numbers are spelled out, and corps numbers given in Roman numerals. However, I have used numerical figures to describe German corps, purely because LXXVI Panzer Corps seems unnecessarily long-winded. I hope readers will accept these inconsistencies and anomalies in the spirit in which they were intended.
PRINCIPAL PERSONALITIES (ranks as at end of war)
Cosimo Arrichiello Italian former soldier with Fourth Someggiata Field Battery; agricultural labourer hiding in the Stura Valley south of Turin
John Barton British officer and agent with SOE, Italy
Sam Bradshaw British reconnaissance trooper with 6 Royal Tank Regiment, 7th Armoured Brigade
Kendall Brooke South African subaltern with A Coy, Royal Natal Carbineers, 6th SA Armoured Division
Friedrich Büchner German trainee artillery officer with 98th Infantry Division
Albert Burke American master sergeant with Divisional HQ, 92nd ‘Buffalo’ Infantry Division
Ion Calvocoressi British senior aide-de-camp to General Sir Oliver Leese, Tactical HQ, Eighth Army
Carla Capponi Italian civilian and member of Rome-based resistance movement GAP Central
Eugenio Corti Italian lieutenant with 184th Artillery Regiment, Nembo Division, CIL, later Folgore Combat Group
Carla Costa Italian civilian spy with German Intelligence Service (Abwehr)
William Cremonini Italian sergeant with Bir el Gobi Company, Alessandro Pavolini’s personal bodyguard
Antonio Cucciati Italian teenager paratrooper with Nuotati e Paracadutisti Battalion, Flottiglia Decima MAS
Elena Curti Italian civilian and illegitimate daughter of Benito Mussolini, working for government of the RSI
Charles Dills American fighter pilot with 522nd Squadron, 27th Fighter Bomber Group
Group Captain Hugh ‘Cocky’ Dundas British airman serving as wing commander, HQ Desert Air Force, 244 Wing; commanding officer, 244 Wing, RAF
Clara Duse Italian civilian living in Trieste
Tom Finney British trooper with 9th Queen’s Royal Lancers, 78th Division
Dick Frost South African lance corporal with D Squadron, Royal Natal Carbineers, 12th Motor Infantry Brigade, 6th SA Armoured Division
Martha Gellhorn American freelance journalist and war correspondent with Collier’s Magazine. Estranged wife of the writer Ernest Hemingway
Tini Glover Maori sergeant with 28th Maori Battalion, 2nd New Zealand Division
Hans Golda German commanding officer serving with 8th Battery, Werfer Regiment 71
Reg Harris British sergeant with 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards
Stephen Hastings British liaison officer with No 1 Special Force, SOE in Piacenza
Willi Holtfreter German fighter pilot with fighter group III/JG 53
Hamilton Howze American commander, 13th Armored
