Po Valley

American troops fighting Germans in the Po Valley Spring 1945

National Archives at College Park, Still Picture Records Section, Special Media Archives Services Di

Quick Facts

Location:

World War II

After the liberation of Rome, German forces retreated further north along the Italian peninsula, establishing new defensive lines similar to those used earlier in the campaign. 

The subsequent Po Valley Campaign involved fewer Allied troops than previous engagements, as many units were diverted to support Operation Dragoon—the August 1944 invasion of southern France—and the Western Front became the Allies' primary focus. 

As the Allies advanced, cities like Florence were liberated, and Italian partisans intensified their resistance against German occupation. In response, the Germans fortified their final major defensive position in Italy, the Gothic Line, which stalled the Allied advance from August 1944 until March 1945. 

The Allies launched their final offensive in April 1945, culminating in the unconditional surrender of German and Axis forces in Italy on May 2, 1945.