80 years of freedom for Rome: the Allies in the "open city"

They are 80 anni of freedom for Rome. Ecosystem's staff is 4 June 1944In fact, during the Second World War the Allied forces entered the Eternal City. With the so-called "Diadem" operation, the Nazi-fascist terror ended. A day that will mark a crucial moment in the history of the capital and of Italy as a whole.

Rome liberated in 1944: the turning point of the Second World War

In 1944, Italy and Europe are still in the grip of the Second World War. But this is the year of a spectacular reversal of the war's fortunes. In Italy the Allied advance seems to be going slowly, but on the other European and Asian fronts, the main theaters of clashes, the Americans, Russians and English are recording important progress. In June, the Normandy landing opened the way to the liberation of the European continent, but the Allied advance on the Italian front seemed to be slower than elsewhere.

Liberated Rome and the Italian campaign

In the first six months of 1944, the Italian and Mediterranean fronts were contested between the attacks of the US Fifth Army and dell'British VIII, on the one hand, and the fierce resistance of Kesselring's German troops. After the Armistice of 8 September 1943, a part of Italy was in the grip of the Nazis and fascists of the Republic of Salò. And the territory between Naples and Rome, abandoned by King Vittorio Emanuele III, becomes the scene of the main military operations in Italy. Here, the Wehrmacht has in fact erected its "Gustav" defensive line: the Germans barricaded themselves in Montecassino and the weather conditions slowed down the Allied advance for many months.

The Allies at the gates of Rome

After the landing at Anzio and the terrifying bombing that reduced the Benedictine abbey of Montecassino, General Mark Clark's US Fifth Army manages to break through. The Allies put the Germans in retreat and the 4 June 1944 Rome is liberated. On June 5, the Italian capital is declared “open city“: Reich troops leave the capital without any destruction. And the success of the so-called “Diadem” operation, at the very heavy cost of thousands of human lives, including Americans, English and Germans.

The consequences of the liberation of Rome

The Allies occupy Rome and King Victor Emmanuel III abdicates in favor of his son Umberto. General Pietro Badoglio, at the head of the government after Mussolini's arrest on 25 July 1943, is now replaced by the anti-fascist Ivanoe Bonomi. The front line rises to the north together with the Allied march, with the complete liberation of the country. But for this it will be necessary to wait until the spring of the following year.