Italy 1943–1945
The Po at Pontelagoscuro, Ferrara
River crossing
The story
By 23–24 April 1945 the German armies were pinned against the Po with every bridge down. Eighth Army's 8th Indian, 56th and 2nd New Zealand Divisions crossed from 24 April with little opposition, while upstream the 6th South African Armoured Division crossed with the US Fifth Army; the banks were littered with abandoned guns and vehicles. The Adige followed on 27 April.
What to look for
Walk up the embankment and look across the river: several hundred metres of fast water that thousands of Germans tried to swim.
Plan your visit
Pontelagoscuro is on the SS16 just north of Ferrara; park near the embankment and use the cycle path.
Nearby sites
- Argenta Gap War Cemetery · 33 km
- Argenta — the Gap · 35 km
- Sacrario dei Partigiani, Piazza del Nettuno, Bologna · 48 km
- Polish War Cemetery, Bologna (San Lazzaro) · 49 km
- Lake Comacchio — the commandos' battlefield · 50 km
- Museo della Battaglia del Senio, Alfonsine · 54 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.
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