American Signal Intelligence in Northwest Africa and Western Europe

Chapter 8. The Final Months in the Mediterranean Theater

Pursuit to the Arno and Beyond

The German strategy of resolutely defending successive belts of prepared positions across Italy south of Rome enabled the enemy to absorb Allied offensive power while inflicting heavy losses. It used up Allied resources that might have been used elsewhere, perhaps more injuriously. The same could be said, however, about the German divisions that remained in Italy instead of providing in France the defense in depth that might have turned the scale in the invasion of Normandy. The concept of the defensive line sustained the mistaken notion that battles were for territory rather than for the destruction of hostile firepower. On Hitler's specific orders, place after ...