Battle of Bologna

Part of Spring 1945 offensive in Italy

Map of the battle

Date	9–21 April 1945
Location	Bologna, Italy
Result	Allied victory

Belligerents

Poland

United Kingdom

United States

Italy

Germany

Commanders and leaders

Władysław Anders

Zygmunt Bohusz-Szyszko

Richard Heidrich

Units involved

II Corps

V Corps (Elements)

II Corps (Elements)

I Parachute Corps

XIV Panzer Corps (Elements)

Casualties and losses

234 dead & 1,228 wounded

Unknown, but heavy

The Battle of Bologna was fought in Bologna, Italy from 9–21 April 1945 during the Second World War, as part of the Spring 1945 offensive in Italy. The Allied forces were victorious, with the Polish II Corps and supporting Allied units capturing the city on 21 April.

In March 1945 the Allies were preparing a new offensive, Operation Buckland, in Northern Italy. The capture of Bologna, an important regional communication hub, was set as a part of that offensive. The Allied forces tasked with this were composed of the US 5th Army (II Corps, South African 6th Armoured Division) and the British 8th Army (which for that part of the theatre, was composed of the V Corps and the Polish II Corps). The German units defending the area were composed of the German 26th Panzer Division of the XIV Panzer Corps, the 1st Parachute Division and the 4th Parachute Division of the I Parachute Corps. German defenses in that region were part of the Army Group C, defending the Paula Line.

The morale of the Polish forces was weakened by the outcome of the Yalta Conference which ended on 11 February, where the British and Americans, without consultation with the Poles, had decided to give a major part of the 1921–1939 Polish territories to the Soviet Union. One of the three Polish divisions, the Polish 5th Kresowa Infantry Division, was named after the Kresy region, which was now given to the Soviets in its entirety. When the Polish commander of II Corps, General Władysław Anders, asked for his unit to be withdrawn from the front line, Winston Churchill told him "you [the Poles] are no longer needed" but the American and British front line commanders—Generals Richard McCreery, Mark Wayne Clark and Field Marshal Harold Alexander—requested Anders that the Polish units remain in their positions, as they had no troops to replace them. Anders eventually decided to keep the Polish units engaged.

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Wikipedia