Italy 1943–1945
Lake Comacchio — the commandos' battlefield
Battlefield
The story
In early April 1945 British commandos and the Special Boat Service opened the offensive on the spit and lagoons of Lake Comacchio. Corporal Tom Hunter of 43 Commando and Major Anders Lassen, a Dane serving with the SBS, won posthumous Victoria Crosses here; both are buried at Argenta. The lagoon's eastern side became the right flank of the drive on Argenta.
What to look for
From Comacchio, drive the lagoon roads and imagine assault boats stuck in the shallows by night, as they were during the raid.
Plan your visit
Comacchio town is a good base for walking the lagoon edges; the lagoons are protected wetland, so stay on roads and paths.
Nearby sites
- Museo della Battaglia del Senio, Alfonsine · 24 km
- Argenta Gap War Cemetery · 28 km
- Argenta — the Gap · 29 km
- The Po at Pontelagoscuro, Ferrara · 50 km
- Polish War Cemetery, Bologna (San Lazzaro) · 67 km
- Sacrario dei Partigiani, Piazza del Nettuno, Bologna · 70 km
All 96 sites in Italy 1943–1945 →
Into Europe: Italy 1943–1945
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The places of the Allied campaign in Italy, from the Sicily landings of July 1943 through Salerno, the Winter Line, Ortona, Cassino and Anzio, Rome, the Gothic Line and the final battles on the Senio and the Po in April 1945.
Open the guide