Battle of Rimini (1944)

Battle of Rimini
Part of the Gothic Line Offensive during the Italian campaign of World War II

German trucks driving through muddy, flooded and unpaved roads near Rimini; typical terrain encountered during the offensive.
Date13–21 September 1944
Location
Rimini, Italy
44°03′34″N 12°34′06″E / 44.05944°N 12.56833°E / 44.05944; 12.56833
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
Canada
 Greece
 New Zealand
 Germany
Commanders and leaders
Canada E. L. M. Burns
Kingdom of Greece Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos
Nazi Germany Traugott Herr
Units involved
Canada 1st Infantry Division
Dominion of New Zealand 2nd Infantry Division
Kingdom of Greece 3rd Mountain Brigade
Nazi Germany 1st Fallschirmjäger Regiment
Turkestan Legion

The Battle of Rimini took place between 13 and 21 September 1944 during Operation Olive, the main Allied offensive on the Gothic Line in August and September 1944, part of the Italian Campaign in the Second World War. Rimini, a city on Italy's Adriatic coast, anchored the Rimini Line, a German defensive line which was the third such line of the Gothic Line defences.

Rimini, which had been hit previously by 373 air raids, had 1,470,000 rounds fired against it by Allied land forces; by the end of the battle, only 2% of all buildings in the city escaped damage.[1]