Italian partisans help the Allies Liberate Northern Italy
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Rome fell to the Allies in June of 1944, but the Germans fell back to a defensive line running across the Italian Peninsula just north of Florence. An impressive line of fortifications blocked the Allies’ path to Italy’s industrial heartland of the Po river valley. This was a potential problem for the Western Allies, as the Soviet Union might invade Italy from the North and occupy one of the most economically important regions of Europe. This video game lets you simulate the Allied effort to break through the Gothic Line and invade Northern Italy in late 1944. The game begins in July of 1944, and lasts until October of 1944. You need to reach the border with Austria to preempt a Soviet Invasion from the East before winter weather sets in, making any kind of offensive impossible. Anti-fascist partisans are fighting Germany’s Italian puppet government, and these guerrilla fighters might be able to help subvert German defenses from behind enemy lines.
After the D-Day landings, the Italian front does not get much attention from English language sources. This is a shame because there was a lot at stake in Northern Italy during the closing days of the Second World War. Churchill saw Northern Italy as a gateway into Eastern Europe. If the Western Allies could reach Trieste before the Soviets, the British had a shot at liberating Balkan nations like Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. This would keep the Soviets and communism from establishing a foothold in the Mediterranean, securing the Suez Canal for Britain after the war. Of course, the Red Army could invade Northern Italy as well, creating the potential for an industrialized communist state deep inside Western Europe. Neither of these things happened, but a People’s Republic of Italy was a real possibility.
This game also tries to simulate the partisan war that raged behind German lines in Northern Italy. Scholars have started to refer to this conflict as the Italian Civil War, and with good reason. Brigade and division sized formations of anti-fascist partisans took control of sections of German occupied Italy, and established their own governments. Italian partisans also coordinated with the Allies to try and help break through Germany’s formidable defenses. The CIA has a very good summary of these efforts (there is a screenplay in there, if any Hollywood types are reading this). Of course, the Allied offensive stalls. Tired of waiting for the Allies, the partisans go ahead and start liberating cities like Milan and Genoa on their own.
Game Details:
Time per turn: 2 Weeks
Human Units:
[x]: Allied Armored Division
[-]: Italian Partisan Unit
[/]: British Commando Brigade
[x]: Allied Infantry Division
Computer Units:
(o) Panzer Regiment
(/) Panzergrenadier Regiment
(x) German Infantry Division
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