The Battle of Ancona was a battle involving forces from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

serving as part of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

against

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

forces that took place from 16 June–18 July 1944 during the Italian campaign in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The battle was the result of an Allied plan to capture the city of

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

in Italy in order to gain possession of a

seaport A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more Wharf, wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can a ...

closer to the fighting so that they could shorten their

lines of communication A line of communication (or communications) is the route that connects an operating military unit with its supply base. Supplies and reinforcements are transported along the line of communication. Therefore, a secure and open line of communicati ...

. The Polish 2nd Corps, tasked with capture of the city on 16 June 1944, accomplishing the objective a month later on 18 July 1944. The Battle of Ancona was the only battle of the Western Front that was carried out entirely by the Polish military.

Background

The Allied advance north meant that the logistics line was in need of a port closer to the front lines than the ports of

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated ci ...

and

Anzio Anzio (, also , ) is a town and '' comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Is ...

.Zbigniew Wawer, ''Zdobycie Bolonii'', p.4 As such, two new targets were designated:

on the Adriatic coast, and Livorno on the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...

. On 16 June,

Polish II Corps The Polish II Corps ( pl, Drugi Korpus Wojska Polskiego), 1943–1947, was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and fought wi ...

under

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Władysław Anders ) , birth_name = Władysław Albert Anders , birth_date = , birth_place = Krośniewice-Błonie, Warsaw Governorate, Congress Poland, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = London, England, United Kingdom , serviceyear ...

—which had been taken into

British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Forc ...

, commanded by

Sir Oliver Leese, reserve after its efforts in the Battle of Monte Cassino—was brought forward once more to relieve

British V Corps V Corps was an army corps of the British Army that saw service in both the First and the Second World Wars. It was first organised in February 1915 and fought through the First World War on the Western front. It was recreated in June 1940, d ...

and tasked with the capture of Ancona. On 17 June, Anders was given command of the Adriatic sector of the

Italian theatre The theatre of Italy originates from the Middle Ages, with its background dating back to the times of the ancient Greek colonies of Magna Graecia, in Southern Italy, the theatre of the Italic peoples and the theatre of ancient Rome. It can ...

Battle

The first obstacle to cross was the Chienti river. Polish troops reached it on 21 June, and heavy fighting lasted in that region until 30 June. The main offensive on Ancona began on 17 July. Polish armored troops took Monte della Crescia and outflanked German troops defending Ancona. Next, Polish troops secured

Casenuove Osimo is a town and ''comune'' of the Marche region of Italy, in the province of Ancona. The municipality covers a hilly area located approximately south of the port city of Ancona and the Adriatic Sea. , Osimo had a total population of 35,037. ...

, and neighbouring British and Canadian troops took Montecchio and

Croce di San Vincenzo Croce may refer to: * Croce (family), a noble family in the Republic of Ragusa * ''Croce'' (genus), a genus of lacewings in the family Nemopteridae * Croce (surname) * Croce, Haute-Corse, a municipality in the Haute-Corse department, France * ...

. By the evening of 17 July, Polish troops were near

Agugliano Agugliano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ancona in the Italian region Marche, located about southwest of Ancona. Agugliano borders the following municipalities: Ancona, Camerata Picena Camerata Picena is a ''comune'' (municip ...

, and the following morning they took Offagna. Later that day, Polish troops took Chiaravalle, and armored troops reached the sea, cutting the German defenders of Ancona from the north-west. The Germans were falling back towards the sea, and Polish troops encountered little resistance entering Ancona at 14:30 on 18 July.

Aftermath

Taking Ancona was the only independent operation of the Polish II Corps. Afterward, the Corps took part in the breaking of the

Gothic Line The Gothic Line (german: Gotenstellung; it, Linea Gotica) was a German Defense line, defensive line of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Generalfeldmarschall, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's la ...

and the Allied spring 1945 offensive which resulted in the surrender of the Axis forces in Italy. For their action in the battle while seconded to the Polish corps, the British

7th Queen's Own Hussars The 7th Queen's Own Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first formed in 1689. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in ...

received the battle honour "Ancona".

Notes

References

* Zbigniew Wawer, ''Zdobycie Bolonii'' apture of Bologna Chwała Oręża Polskiego 32 (53), Rzeczpospolita, 3 March 2007. * Rickard, J (19 November 2018), Battle of Ancona, 17-18 July 1944 , http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_ancona.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Ancona 1944 in Italy History of Ancona World War II operations and battles of the Italian Campaign June 1944 events July 1944 events