Allied Armies in Italy
Encyclopedia
Allied Armies in Italy, commanded by Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...

 Sir Harold Alexander, was the title of the highest Allied field headquarters in Italy, during the middle part of the Italian campaign. In the early and later stages of the campaign the headquarters was known as 15th Army Group; it reported to the Joint Allied command Allied Force Headquarters (AFH) the theatre command for the Mediterranean Theatre
Mediterranean Theater of Operations
The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army was originally called North African Theater of Operations and is an American term for the conflict that took place between the Allies and Axis Powers in North Africa and Italy during World War II...

.

15th Army Group was renamed Allied forces in Italy on 11 January 1944, then Allied Central Mediterranean Force on 18 January 1944 and finally Allied Armies in Italy on 9 March 1944) The Army group was commanded by Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...

 Sir Harold Alexander until 11 December 1944. General Mark W. Clark then took command and the headquarters title was reverted back to 15th Army Group.

Allied Armies in Italy thus controlled the land forces for some of the hardest fighting of the entire war. Operations carried out included: the long stalemate on the Gustav Line with the hardfought Battle of Monte Cassino
Battle of Monte Cassino
The Battle of Monte Cassino was a costly series of four battles during World War II, fought by the Allies against Germans and Italians with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome.In the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans...

; the Anzio landings
Operation Shingle
Operation Shingle , during the Italian Campaign of World War II, was an Allied amphibious landing against Axis forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno, Italy. The operation was commanded by Major General John P. Lucas and was intended to outflank German forces of the Winter Line and enable an...

; the capture of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

; and ending with the Allied forces stuck again just south of the Po valley.

For most of its life the command consisted of the US Fifth Army and the British Eighth Army.
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