FLORENCE AND
PISA
Later, I would visit Florence and Pisa,
where I was able to climb to the top of the Leaning Tower.
Livorno fell to the Allies on July 19, 1944, providing an
important port for unloading supplies. Field Marshall Kesselring
declared Florence an open city on June 23. The Allies agreed.
However, the German 1st Parachute Division placed
dynamite charges on five of the bridges across the Arno
River, resulting in the destruction of these historical
treasures, dating as far back as 1220. Fortunately the Ponte
Vecchio with its quaint stores was spared, and I was able
to see it when I visited Florence some time later. Below:
Joe Dolgin and the Leaning Tower and the Tower in 1999.
In 1944 I was able to climb to the top of the tower.
In 1999 it was closed to visitors. Repairs were being made.
Joe Dolgin at Leaning Tower of
Pisa
The evacuation
of Florence began on August 11 as the Germans retreated
to the north. In June Allied bombings had been stepped up
in Northern Italy, Austria and Bavaria. The Germans were
almost completely restricted to a ground-based defense.
Pisa was liberated in September. The drive to Bologna slowed
to a halt in October because of torrential rains and mud-clogged
supply lines. Casualties had been heavy and the troops
were exhausted. The main concern now was to keep the Germans
pinned down. By the end of December heavy snows in
the Apennine Mountains limited action to skirmishing and
artillery attacks. The Allies, however, were much better
prepared for the winter than they had been at Cassino and
there was an opportunity to send men to rest centers. The
winter was an opportunity for retraining and integrating
new troops into the units.
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