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Breaking the Hitler line

Broadcast Date: May 23, 1944

Allied troops continue their march toward Rome. They have successfully broken the Gustav line. Now they must breach the Hitler line, a final obstacle lying between the Allies and the Italian capital. Today it will be assaulted. Canadian troops have been given the toughest part to crack; a barricade of steel, concrete and barbed wire 20 feet thick. The roar of 800 Allied guns has lasted more than an hour. Peering through a shell hole in an old farmhouse, Peter Stursberg describes the battle scene.

Breaking the Hitler line

• The Adolf Hitler line was a German fallback position a few kilometres north of the Gustav line. Its strong points were at Aquino and Piedimonte. If attackers got through the minefields and barbed wire, they faced fortified pillbox machine gun emplacements and crossfire from tanks, artillery and mortars.

• Soldiers from Canada's Van Doos, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, Seaforth Highlanders and Carleton and York regiment successfully attacked the line on May 23, 1944, supported by a stupendous artillery barrage. Tanks from the Canadian Fifth Armoured Division then poured through to attack the waiting German Panther tanks. The line fell, and after taking Ceprano and Forsinone the Canadian troops were given two months of rest.

Breaking the Hitler line

Medium: Radio

Program: CBC Radio News

Broadcast Date: May 23, 1944

Guest(s):

Reporter: Peter Stursberg

Duration: 4:26

Photo: Strathy Smith / Canada. Dept. of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada / PA-140208

Last updated:
Nov. 30, 2004