Editing Bernhardt Line (section)

==Eighth Army on Adriatic Winter Line defences==
===Prelude===
On 3 October, a battalion of the British Eighth Army's [[78th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|78th Infantry Division]] had crossed the [[Biferno]] river to confront the German [[Volturno Line|Volturno-Viktor Line]] defences. Two [[British Commandos|Commando]] battalions landed from the sea north of the river at [[Termoli]], and a fiercely contested battle ensued which had hung in the balance when a ford became unusable after heavy rains and prevented Allied armour from moving forward. However, the British infantry reinforced from the sea by two brigades, had held out long enough against the tanks of 16th Panzer Division (''16. Panzerdivision'') for a Bailey bridge to be laid across the river, and the crisis passed with the arrival of elements of [[1st Canadian Armoured Brigade]]s.<ref>Nicholson (1956), p. 253</ref> By 6 October, the Germans were withdrawing to new defensive positions behind the Trigno River, the "[[Barbara Line]]".<ref>Carver (2002), p. 84</ref>

At the Trigno, the Eighth Army were obliged to pause because it had outrun its supply chain which stretched back over poor roads to the main ports of [[Bari]] and [[Taranto]], {{convert|120|mi|km|abbr=on}} and {{convert|170|mi|km|abbr=on}} to its rear. Port and transport capacity had also been affected by the logistic requirements of the Allied air force, which was establishing a large number of strategic bomber bases around [[Foggia]].<ref name="Carver90">Carver (2002), p. 90</ref>

The Eighth Army attacked across the Trigno on 2 November. By the next day, the Germans' position had been turned, and they commenced a fighting withdrawal to the forward Winter Line positions that they were preparing on the ridges behind the Sangro River.<ref name="Carver90"/>

===Advance across the Sangro===
[[Image:Italy1943Sango+MoroCampaigns.svg|right|310px]]
The Eighth Army's forward units had reached the Sangro on 9 November. Alexander had planned for Montgomery to strike across the river on its coastal plain on 20 November with the [[V Corps (United Kingdom)|V Corps]] ([[8th Infantry Division (India)|Indian 8th Infantry]] and 78th Infantry Divisions). In secrecy, Montgomery shifted the Indian division to the right to narrow the V Corps front and concentrate its power,sFfvF the newly arrived [[2nd New Zealand Division]] into the gap.<ref name="Nich276">Nicholson (1956), p. 276</ref> Eighth Army also devised a deception scheme involving false troop movements and ammunition dumps to give the impression that the main attack would be through the [[XIII Corps (United Kingdom)|British XIII Corps]] front. The deception was to be maintained by an earlier diversionary attack some {{convert|40|mi|km|abbr=on}} inland by XIII Corps<ref name="Nich276"/><ref name="MC93">Carver, p. 93</ref> and a secondary attack at the same time as V Corps some {{convert|15|mi|km|abbr=on}} inland by the New Zealanders.

However, Kesselring guessed the Allies' intentions.<ref>Phillips (1957), [https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-1Ita-c4-1.html#n67 p. 67]</ref> On 18 November, Lemelsen had signaled Kesselring to the effect that the Allied concentrations on the coast led him to expect the main attack on his left wing.<ref>Nicholson (1956), p. 287</ref> Then, heavy rain raised the river levels, which caused the postponement of the offensive to the night of 27 November and giving the Germans time to switch two divisions across the Apennines to the defending LXXVI ''Panzer'' Corps. That made three divisions on the coastal plain opposing V Corps: [[65th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|65th Infantry Division]] (''65. Infantriedivision''), [[90th Light Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|90th Panzergrenadier Division]] (''90. Panzergrenadierdivision'') and [[23rd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|26th Panzer Division]] (''26. Panzerdivision''). 16th ''Panzer'' Division opposed the New Zealanders and the [[1st Parachute Division (Germany)|German 1st Parachute Division]] (''1. Fallschirmjägerdivision'') faced XIII Corps ([[1st Canadian Division]] and [[5th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|British 5th Infantry Division]]).

In the early hours of 28 November, the Eighth Army attack went in supported by heavy artillery concentrations. The New Zealanders advanced steadily. Although the German defences had been well prepared, most of the New Zealanders' objectives were manned by 65th Division which was poorly equipped and untried in battle. The German Division was also hampered by the fact that its commande, Brigadier-General (''[[Generalmajor]]'') G.H. von Ziehlberg, was severely wounded on the afternoon of 28 November.<ref>Phillips (1957), p. [https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-1Ita-c4-1.html#n73 pp. 73–74]</ref> The 8th Indian Division, however, like the New Zealanders facing their first major combat action since arriving in Italy, experienced tougher opposition. Elements of 65th Infantry Division supported by an armoured battle group held tenaciously on to Mezzagrogna<ref>Ford (2003), p. 174</ref> and the town was eventually taken on 29 November after tough, often hand to hand, fighting. On the morning of 29 November, 78th Infantry Division had joined the attack on the right of the Indian Division and had forced their way to Santa Maria by the evening, which created a base for their main attack the following day towards Fossacesia.<ref>Ford (2003), pp.175-176</ref> By late on 30 November, 78th Division, supported by [[4th New Zealand Armoured Brigade|4th Armoured Brigade]], had taken Fossacesia and the whole ridge on the far bank of the Sangro. The main Bernhardt defences were under Eighth Army control.<ref>Nicholson (1956), p. 288</ref>

As the Eighth Army pushed forward over the next few days, the 65th Infantry Division crumbled to the extent that German 10th Army were later to order a court-martial into its conduct.<ref>Phillips (1957), [https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-1Ita-c4-2.html#n80 p. 80]</ref> However, Herr introduced 90th Panzergrenadier Division into the line from his reserve and transferred reinforcements from the quieter sector inland in the form of elements of 1st Parachute Division. The complications of those manoeuvres introduced considerable confusion within the Germans' alignment, but they still managed a fighting withdrawal to the ridge on the far side of the Moro River. Unaware of the disorganisation in the German ranks, the New Zealanders failed on 2 December to exploit an opportunity to capture Orsogna, a key position near the headwaters of the Moro, which on that day was still only lightly held. It was only on the morning of 3 December that the New Zealand Division disputed possession of Orsogna, but the 26th ''Panzer'' had just enough breathing space to organise and repelled it. The 26th ''Panzer'' then proceeded to create a formidable defensive complex around the town and along the ridge towards Ortona on the coast,<ref>Phillips (1957), [https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-1Ita-c4-2.html#n89 pp. 89-92]</ref> and Orsogna was not occupied by the Allies, despite a further two determined attempts during December, until the Germans withdrew after the Allied breakthrough at [[Battle of Monte Cassino|Monte Cassino]] in May 1944.

===Moro offensive===
{{Main|Moro River Campaign}}
Montgomery now rested the tired 78th Division, which had been leading the V Corps advance since the [[Volturno Line]] offensive, and swapped with the [[1st Canadian Division|1st Canadian Infantry Division]] from the relatively quiet XIII Corps sector. The Canadians, with the 8th Indian Infantry Division on their left, led the [[Moro River Campaign|main thrust across the Moro]] on 8 December aiming for [[Ortona]]. By 20 December, after a stubborn resistance first from elements of the German 90th Panzergrenadier Division<ref>Carver, p. 94</ref> and then elements of the 1st Parachute Division, which had relieved the Panzergrenadier Division, the Canadians had patrols on the outskirts of the town. However, the [[Battle of Ortona]] took another week of fierce house-to-house fighting as the German 3rd Parachute Regiment tenaciously held on before it withdrew to the other side of the Riccio River on 28 December.<ref>Hoyt (2007), p. 116</ref>

Meanwhile, inland V Corps, [[Orsogna]] had suffered three successive assaults, but XIII Corps spearheaded by the 2nd New Zealand Division, could not get past the defending 26th ''Panzer'' Division. After advancing a total of only 18 miles (29&nbsp;km) and sustaining 6,500 casualties,<ref>Lloyd Clark, p53</ref> blizzards, drifting snow and zero visibility in late December, jagged terrain caused Eighth Army's offensive on the Adriatic front to grind to a halt. As the New Year approached, it became clear that with no prospect of better weather until the spring since the Eighth Army did not have the strength to force its way to [[Pescara]]. Alexander called a halt to the offensive and instructed Montgomery to maintain sufficient activity to pin LXXVI Panzer Corps and to prevent troops from being sent across to reinforce XIV Corps facing the [[Fifth United States Army|Fifth Army]].<ref>Carver, p. 103</ref><ref>Phillips (1957), [https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-1Ita-c7-1.html#n149 p. 149]</ref>

The rest of the winter on the Adriatic front was spent in bitterly uncomfortable conditions with the opposing sides often in close proximity and engaged in night-time patrolling and vicious skirmishing.