Italy 2022

Andrea drove us to Borgo a Mozzano to see The Gothic Line and a WWII museum.  Andrea is a good driver and loves to drive. È un piccolo museo. (It is a small museum.) Museo Della Memoria.  Filled with pictures and artifacts. We were able to get an English speaking guide. There were 6 in our group.


The Gothic Line was a German o "Defense line" defensive line of the o "Italian Campaign (World War II)" Italian Campaign of o "World War II" World War II. Using more than 15,,000 o "Forced labour under German rule during World War II" slave labourers, the Germans created more than 2,000 well-fortified o "Machine gun nest" machine gun nests, o "Casemate" casemates, o "Bunker" bunkers, o "Observation post" observation posts and artillery fighting positions to repel any attempt to breach the Gothic Line.


The Museum has five rooms displaying artifacts from WWII. I thought we were done and I was happy, but, the guides took us to 2 bunkers to experience the Gothic Line. It took the workers took a year between 1943-1944  to finish the line. They were constructed in two levels so if the Allies used gas they could escape to the second level. There are bunkers, emplacements, communication trenches, and anti-tank defenses at Borgo a Mozzano.  This is the only intact site left along the whole line and is therefore an extremely important piece of historical heritage.


Hitler changed the Gothic Line name to the Green Line so if Allies broke through it wouldn't sound as significant.


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Buffalo soldier
Hats of American, German and Italian soldiers
guns of WWII
Knives of WWII
Explaining the line
Showing how a mortar works
Cot for removing injured soldiers and other equipment
various weapons
Ration cards
Tracks that they used in mud. Left is container that was dropped from airplanes
Photo of part of the line and bunker on bottom picture
Communication equipment
Women serving
Map of the Gothic Line
Medals
Andrea & Katia have never visited this museum
Anna Maria Cheli- smuggled the details of the Gothic Line to the Allies
Mountain division of the German Army
Part of the Gothic line
Going into a bunker on the Gothic Line
duck Dow
Explaining the bunker
historical documents
Going up to second level
built two levels in case of gas warfare
Guns were placed here
Great observation
the curator of the museum
The line going up the wall
This is where they hung camouflage nets
hooks still there
another bunker
Where the workers planted dynamite in the creation of the Gothic Line bunkers
Tunnel is hard rock
Hitler changed the Gothic Line name to the Green line
On top of mountain and taken down because planes used it as reference point
map drawn by a resistance
Posters the Germans used during the occupation
Tough to spend much time here
Up and down
The wall going up the side of the mountain
glad to be out in the fresh air again

Giorno Sedici -A

camouflage