Hitler Line

The Hitler Line was a German defensive line in central Italy during the Second World War. The strong points of the line were at Aquino and Piedimonte. In May 1944, the line was renamed the Senger Line, after General von Senger und Etterlin, one of the generals commanding Axis forces in the area. This was done at Hitler's insistence, in order to minimise any propaganda significance should the line be penetrated. Between the coast and the Aurunci Mountains it was also known as the Dora Line.

The line was a so-called "switch line", joining the Gustav Line at Monte Cairo and providing a fall-back position behind the Gustav Line should it be penetrated. The line was breached on May 24, 1944 on the British Eighth Army front by 1st Canadian Infantry Division and 5th Canadian (Armoured) Division attacking with II Polish Corps on their right. The Polish Corps captured Piedimonte on May 25 and the line collapsed. The next German line was the Caesar C line.

Famous quotes containing the words hitler and/or line:

    If today I stand here as a revolutionary, it is as a revolutionary against the Revolution.
    —Adolf Hitler (1889–1945)

    What is line? It is life. A line must live at each point along its course in such a way that the artist’s presence makes itself felt above that of the model.... With the writer, line takes precedence over form and content. It runs through the words he assembles. It strikes a continuous note unperceived by ear or eye. It is, in a way, the soul’s style, and if the line ceases to have a life of its own, if it only describes an arabesque, the soul is missing and the writing dies.
    Jean Cocteau (1889–1963)