An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir March 2018 www.dfmagazine.ie 30 | By Pat Poland A t dawn on 10th July 1943, the allies landed in force on sicily in prepa- ration for the invasion of the ital- ian mainland. two weeks later, the fascist grand council met and overwhelmingly passed a vote of 'no confidence' in the italian dictator, Benito Mussolini. King victor emanuel iii, nominally command- er-in-chief of the italian forces, was anxious to extricate his country from the war, and ordered the arrest of Mussolini. he appointed Marshal Badoglio as head of a new military government which began secret surrender negotiations with the allies. The Germans, anticipating an Italian defection, began flooding troops into Italy. Their suspicions were vindicated when, on 3rd September, the Badoglio government surrendered unconditionally to the Allies. Shortly after, German forces began the occupation of Rome, imposing martial law. The same night, the king and Badoglio fled to the south of Italy, leaving the Italian army leaderless and in chaos. Far from being the 'soft underbelly of Europe' that Winston Churchill had predicted, a terrible war of attrition began, with the Allies experiencing highs and lows in their fortunes in equal measure. Landings at Salerno by General Clark's Fifth Army on 9th September, the Allies entering Naples on 1 October, and the first attacks towards Monte Cassino (straddling the notorious German 'Gustav Line') in Jan- uary 1944, were all important milestones in the battle for Italy. But it was the news, on 22nd January, of an Allied landing at Anzio, just 30 miles from Rome, that sent a wave of euphoria through most of Rome's populace. They thought all they had to do was keep their heads down and await their deliverance from their Nazi oppressors. Then, at precisely 3.45pm on 23rd March, a bomb exploded on the Via Rasella, not far from the famous Spanish Steps. A Ro- man nightmare was about to begin. The news that the Allies were within striking distance of Rome had led to a dangerous relaxation of caution amongst members of the resistance movement, particularly the Communist-led GAP (Gruppo d'Azione Patriottica, or, in Eng- lish, Patriotic Action Group). They were determined to carry out a 'spectacular' against the Germans, and had monitored the activities of the SS 'Bozen' Regiment, comprised of ethnic Germans from the northern Italian province of South Tyrol, and had noticed that they always marched along the same route on their way to a public swimming baths. On the afternoon of 23rd March, the 156-strong SS column was marching through the narrow Via Ra- sella when a bomb hidden in a refuse cart, and triggered by a young medical student, Civilians rounded up in the aftermath of the bombing. Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty. Col Kappler in the custody of the RMP.

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