Editing Winter Line (section)

==Bernhardt and Hitler Lines==
On the western side of the Apennines were two subsidiary lines, the [[Bernhardt Line]] in front of the main Gustav positions, and the [[Hitler Line]] some 8 kilometres (5&nbsp;mi) to the rear. The Winter Line was fortified with gun pits, concrete bunkers, turreted machine-gun emplacements, barbed wire and minefields. It was the strongest of the German defensive lines south of Rome. About 15 German divisions were employed in the defence. It took the Allies from mid-November 1943 to June 1944 to fight through all the various elements of the Winter Line, including the well-known battles at [[Battle of Monte Cassino|Monte Cassino]] and [[Battle of Anzio|Anzio]].

The offensive on the Bernhardt Line was launched on December 1, 1943, as part of [[Bernhardt Line#Fifth Army Bernhardt Line offensive|Operation Raincoat]]. British and American troops took the terrain around Monte Camino and the [[Mignano Gap]] within a week and a half of launching the assault but German operations persisted in the area for months.

Some authorities define the Bernhardt Line as crossing Italy from coast to coast following not just the western defensive positions described above but incorporating also the eastern defences of the Gustav Line. Other authorities use the Winter Line name interchangeably with the Gustav Line .