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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox military conflict
|conflict=Battle for the Barbara Line
|partof=the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian Campaign]] of [[World War II]]
|campaign=
|image=
|image_size=
|caption=
|date=1 – 9 November 1943
|place=From [[Colli a Volturno]] to [[San Salvo]] [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]]
|result=Allied victory
|combatant1={{flag|United Kingdom}}
* {{flag|British India}}
{{flag|United States|1912}}
|combatant2={{flag|Nazi Germany|name=Germany}}
|commander1={{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|Harold Alexander]]<br />{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Bernard Montgomery]]<br />{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Oliver Leese]]<br />{{flagicon|United States|1912}} [[Mark W. Clark|Mark Clark]]
|commander2={{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Albert Kesselring]]
|strength1=
|strength2=
|casualties1=
|casualties2=
|campaignbox={{Campaignbox Italy}}
}}
[[Image:ItalyDefenseLinesSouthofRome1943 4.jpg|thumb|right|305px|German prepared defensive lines south of Rome.]]

During the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian Campaign]] of [[World War II]], the '''Barbara Line''' was a series of [[Wehrmacht|German]] military [[fortification]]s in Italy, some {{convert|10|-|20|mi|km|abbr=on}} south of the [[Winter Line|Gustav Line]], from Colli al Volturno to the Adriatic Coast in San Salvo and a similar distance north of the [[Volturno Line]]. Near the eastern coast, it ran along the line of the Trigno river. The line mostly consisted of fortified hilltop positions. The line was broken by the allied army in November 1943 following which the Axis forces withdrew to the defensible positions of the [[Winter Line]].

==Western breakthrough (U.S. Fifth Army front)==
''[[Generalfeldmarschall]]'' (Field marshal) [[Albert Kesselring]]—German commander-in-chief Italy—ordered his forces to retreat to the '''Barbara Line''' on 12 October 1943 after the [[United States Army North|U.S. Fifth Army]] crossed the [[Volturno River]], breaching the [[Volturno Line|Volturno defensive line]].

By early November the Barbara Line on the [[Tyrrhenian Sea]] side of the [[Apennine Mountains]] had been breached by the U.S. Fifth Army, and the German Forces fell back to the [[Bernhardt Line]].

==Eastern breakthrough (British Eighth Army front)==
The [[Allied Armies in Italy]] under [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] [[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|Sir Harold Alexander]] were fighting their way northward in Italy against determined German opposition skillfully directed by Albert Kesselring whose forces had prepared a succession of defensive lines. On the [[Adriatic Sea|Adriatic]] front east of the Apennine Mountain spine was the [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|British Eighth Army]] under General [[Bernard Montgomery]]. In October Eighth Army had crossed the [[Biferno]] river and the British Eighth Army had broken the Viktor/[[Volturno Line]] defences on 6 October. However, they had had to pause at the [[Trigno]] to re-group and reorganise their logistics along the poor roads stretching back to [[Bari]] and [[Taranto]] {{convert|120|mi|km|abbr=on}} and {{convert|170|mi|km|abbr=on}} respectively to the rear of the front. Delayed by these logistical problems, the Allies were not able to attack the next line of defences (the Barbara Line) behind the Trigno river immediately. It therefore was not until the early hours of 2 November that the [[V Corps (United Kingdom)|V Corps]] on the right of the front on the coast and [[XIII Corps (United Kingdom)|XIII Corps]] on their left attacked across the Trigno river.

On the V Corps front, [[78th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|British 78th Infantry Division]] attacked along the coastal road while [[8th Infantry Division (India)|8th Indian Infantry Division]] attacked some {{convert|10|mi|km|abbr=on}} inland. Fighting was fierce, but on 3 November, British 78th Division reached San Salvo, some three miles beyond the Trigno, at which point ''Generalmajor'' [[Rudolf Sieckenius]]—commanding [[16th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|16th ''Panzer'' Division]]—decided to make a fighting withdrawal to the [[Sangro]] river and the formidable [[Bernhardt Line|Gustav]] defensive positions overlooking the river from the ridge tops on the far side. Forward elements of Eighth Army moved to make contact with the forward defenses of the German [[Winter Line]] on the high ground north of the Sangro River. The Allies were able to move forward without opposition and the Allied advance reached the Sangro on 9 November.<ref>Carver, p. 90</ref>

==See also==
* [[Allied invasion of Italy]]
* [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian Campaign]]
* [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|British Eighth Army]]
* [[United States Army North|U.S. Fifth Army]]
* [[Volturno Line]]
* [[Bernhardt Line]]
* [[Battle of San Pietro Infine]]
* [[Winter Line|Gustav Line]]
* [[Gothic Line]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book|author-link=Michael Carver, Baron Carver|first=Field Marshal Lord|last=Carver|title= The Imperial War Museum Book of the War in Italy 1943–1945|publisher=Sidgwick & Jackson|location= London|year=2001|isbn=0-330-48230-0}}
*{{cite book|author=Fifth Army Historical Section|url=https://archive.org/details/TheVolturnoToTheWinterLine|title=From the Volturno to the Winter Line 6 October-15 November 1943|series=American Forces in Action series|publisher=[[United States Army Center of Military History]]|location=Washington|year=1990|orig-year=1945|id=CMH Pub 100-8|isbn=0-16-001999-0|url-access=registration}}
*{{cite book|first=Col. Kenneth V.|last=Smith|url=http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/naples/72-17.htm|title=Naples-Foggia 9 September 1943-21 January 1944|series=World War II Campaigns|publisher=[[United States Army Center of Military History]]|location=Washington|year=c. 1990|id=CMH Pub 72-17|access-date=1 July 2010|archive-date=6 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160906075921/http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/naples/72-17.htm|url-status=dead}}

{{coord missing|Italy}}
[[Category:German World War II defensive lines]]
[[Category:World War II sites in Italy]]
[[Category:Italian campaign (World War II)]]
[[Category:World War II operations and battles of the Italian Campaign]]

Barbara Line - Revision history

Bot at 14:14, 23 October 2022