The Battle for Bologna, Italy - April 1945

The men of the 752nd Tank Battalion distinguished themselves in some of the most difficult combat in the Italian Campaign. They recorded the highest number of consecutive combat days in the entire Fifth Army (341), and became the only independent tank battalion in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations to receive the Presidential Unit Citation.

This still photo series was Don Wiedemayer, 196th Signal Photo Company, depicts tankers of Company C, 752nd Tank Battalion during the liberation of Bologna, Italy in April 1945.

Learn more about the 752nd Tank Battalion during the Mediterranean Theater of Operations at: http://www.752ndtank.com/

21 April 1945 - 5/MM-45-7316 FIFTH ARMY, Pianoro, Italy - A tank of "C" Company, 752nd Tank Battalion, goes through Pianoro. (Photo by Don Wiedenmayer, 196th Signal Photo Company)	21 April 1945 - 5/MM-45-7320 FIFTH ARMY, Bologna, Italy - A tank of the 752nd Tank Battalion going down the street in Bologna. (Photo by Don Wiedenmayer, 196th Signal Photo Company)
21 April 1945 - 5/MM-45-7321 FIFTH ARMY, Bologna, Italy - Italian troops in trucks ride through Bologna. (Photo by Don Wiedenmayer, 196th Signal Photo Company)	21 April 1945 - 5/MM-45-7318 FIFTH ARMY, Bologna, Italy - Italian soldiers march down street in Bologna. (Photo by Don Wiedenmayer, 196th Signal Photo Company)
21 April 1945 - 5/MM-45-7317 FIFTH ARMY, Bologna, Italy - U.S. jeep enters the outskirts of Bologna. (Photo by Donald Wiedenmayer, 196th Signal Photo Company)	21 April 1945 - 5/MM-45-7319 FIFTH ARMY, Bologna, Italy - Tanks of the 752nd Tank Battalion in square inside the city of Bologna. (Photo by Don Wiedenmayer, 196th Signal Photo Company)

Background to the Italian Campaign, Po Valley

Learn more at: http://www.olive-drab.com/od_history_ww2_ops_battles_1945povalley.php

The east-west Po Valley is relatively level land, north of the Gothic Line of German defense in the North Apennines. In the Po Valley lay the Po River, meandering east from its source in northwestern Italy to the Adriatic Sea, forming a second line of defense. The river varied in width from 130 to 500 yards, bordered by levees which served as natural fortifications, augmented by field works constructed on both banks. The towns and villages along the river were fortified, and the east-west road system provided good logistical support for the defenders.

North of the Po, in the Alpine foothills, extending east and west of Lake Garda, the Germans had built a third line of defense. Dubbed the Adige Line, after the Adige River, these defenses were designed to cover a last-ditch Axis withdrawal into northeast Italy and Austria. The Adige Line, with its intricate system of trenches, dugouts, and machine-gun emplacements, was reminiscent of World War I. If stoutly defended it could be the toughest line yet encountered in Italy.

To reach the Po Valley, the Allies had to break out of the winter stalemate in the North Apennines, take the German positions of the Gothic Line, and descend into the Po Valley past Bologna and other fortified points.

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