Florence American Cemetery and Memorial
The Florence American Cemetery is situated approximately 7.5
miles south of Florence, Italy on one of the main roads connecting
Florence with Siena and Rome.
(Click on the above photos for a larger jpeg version)
The cemetery is open daily to the public during the following
hours:
Open 9:00 a.m. - 17:00 p.m. daily
(closed on Easter and Christmas)
World War II in Italy history
(as inscribed on the granite panels located on the grounds)
On 19 July 1943, American and British forces, covered by gunfire
of the Western Naval task force and aircraft of the Twelfth Air
Force, landed on the shores of Sicily. The U.S. Seventh Army advanced
rapidly over the west and north of the island, with the British
Eighth Army on its right. This swift campaign liberated the island
in 39 days.
On 9 September, under cover of naval and air bombardment,
the U.S. Fifth Army landed near Salerno. Fighting its way inland
it joined the Eighth Army which had crossed the straits of Messina.
By 1 October, Naples and the airfields near Foggia had been seized;
from the latter the U.S. Fifteenth Air Force launched its strategic
attacks on Austria, the Balkans and Germany.
Against determined opposition, the Fifth and Eighth Armies
drove northward. To assist the advance, Allied troops on 22 January
1944 landed in the Anzio region but the enemy's prompt reaction
prevented exploitation of this beachhead. On 11 May the two armies
launched a general attack; the Fifth Army aided by the Twelfth
Air Force breached the enemy defenses in the mountains north of
Gaeta. The troops in the beachhead joined the attack and on 4
June the Fifth Army entered Rome.
Following the liberation of Rome, the Allies maintained their
pursuit of the enemy. By 18 July 1944, the U.S. Fifth Army had
advanced 150 miles up the west coast and had liberated Leghorn
(Livorno). In central Italy and along the Adriatic the British
Eighth Army had paralleled this advance. After pausing to reorganize,
the Fifth Army crossed the Arno and pursued the retreating enemy
into the mountains to the outposts of the Gothic Line.
After difficult fighting the Fifth Army cut through this strong
defense system to reach Firenzuola and the Santerno Valley on
21 September. The same day, British troops having forced successive
defended river lines, entered Rimini. the U.S. Twelfth Air Force
and the Desert Air Force materially contributed to these advances
by their close support and their continuous attacks against rear
areas. The advance to the Santerno Valley had outflanked the strong
defenses of Futa Pass, which was occupied on 22 September by American
forces. During October, the Allied advances continued at a slower
pace against stiffened resistance. By the end of the month, hampered
by bad personnel and difficulties of supply, the Fifth Army, now
only nine miles short of Bologna and within sight of the Po Valley,
prepared for its second winter in Italy.
Early in April 1945, gains along both coasts marked the end
of the winter halt. After a week of heavy fighting our troops
broke into the Po Valley. Preceded by bomber and fighter aircraft
which harassed the fleeing enemy, the Allied advance continued
unchecked across the Po, then spread out to the north, east and
west to close the frontiers. On 2 May 1945, the enemy in Italy
surrendered unconditionally.
Site
The Florence American Cemetery, 70 acres in extent, is one
of fourteen permanent American World War II military cemetary
memorials erected on foreign soil by the American Battle Monuments
Commission. The site was liberated on 3 August 1944 by the South
African 6th Armoured Division and later became part of the zone
of the U.S. Fifth Army. It is located astride the Greve River
and is framed by wooded hills which rise several hundred feet
to the west.
The 4,402 servicemen and women interred in the cemetary represent
39 percent of the temporary burials originally made between Rome
and the Alps. Most died in the fighting which occurred after the
capture of Rome in June 1944. Included among them are casualties
of the heavy fighting in the Apennines shortly before the war's
end.
Architects
Architects for the cemetery and its memorials were McKim,
Mead and White of New York. The landscape architects were Clarke
and Rapuano, also of New York.
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(Last update: 25 July 1995)
Copyright © 1995 by The Amerigo Vespucci Committee