Special Forces in Northern Italy led by Will Fowler

Independent travel to London Heathrow Airport for the mid-afternoon flight to Bologna. On arrival we have a private coach transfer to the centre of this historic city, where we check-in to the Starhotels Excelsior for a 4-night stay. After time to freshen up you’re invited to join our guide for a pre-dinner drink and to learn more about the days ahead. Tonight’s welcome dinner is served in the hotel restaurant.

Today we travel west into the Appenine Mountains to ‘Tombola Valley’ where we see the rugged and remote terrain in which Roy Farran’s SAS, Russian and Partisan groups were based. We will follow the route taken by the hundred-man strong raiding party to Albinea on the night of March 26^th/ 27^th, 1945. Here we learn about the attack on the German 51 Mountain Corps HQ at Villa Calvi and Villa Rossi, and the success of Operation Tombola. There is time at leisure for lunch in the town before we drive to the bridge and ford at Sassuolo where in April 1945, Farran’s 75mm howitzer shelled German forces withdrawing from the Allied spring offensive of April 9^th, 1945. We return to our hotel late afternoon and the evening is at leisure.

This morning we drive northwards to the drop zones where British trained Italian paratroops of No 1 Italian SAS made a memorable airborne assault codenamed Operation Herring. Its objective was to disrupt lines of communication to the retreating heeresgruppe ‘C’ in the final stages of the Italian Campaign. We learn more about the assault and its outcome before vising the memorial at Poggio Rustico. Here we hear the story of the youngest man to receive the Gold Medal for Military Bravery - Italy’s highest award for valour. Our tour continues east via Poggio Renatico and the critical bridge across the River Reno captured by the 6^th Armoured Division. At Lake Comacchio we’ll learn about Operation Roast, the diversionary amphibious attack by 2 Commando Brigade as part of the wider spring offensive. We see the memorial to Corporal Tom Hunter awarded a posthumous VC for his actions on April 3^rd, and the remains of the coastal defences around Porto Garibaldi. After free time for lunch we drive to Argenta taking in the tactical importance of the ‘Argenta Gap’ in 1945. We’ll visit the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery at Argenta and hear the humbling and moving stories of Corporal Tom Hunter VC, Major Anders VC and Sergeant Arthur Banks RAF George Cross before honouring the fallen in a private Service of Remembrance. The evening is at leisure.

A morning at leisure is a chance for independent shopping or sightseeing in the historic centre of this beautiful medieval city. In the afternoon we visit the Polish cemetery to hear the story of the Polish 2^nd Corps and the part it played in the liberation of Italy. Our tour then continues into the Appenines to Castel del Rio. Here we visit the Museo della Guerra Linea Gotica. Artefacts and original documents in this small museum give us a useful introduction to the following day’s tour where we visit the Gothic Line. We return to the hotel late afternoon and the evening is at leisure.

Today we check-out of our hotel and drive south on the old N65 road into the Tosco Emiliano Appenine range. The mountains presented a formidable natural barrier and formed the basis of the German Gothic Line during the Italian Campaign of the Second World War. Our route takes us through the strategic Futa Pass and past the remains of reinforced concrete defences built by conscripted Italian labour. We visit the German War Cemetery and Memorial at Futa, which is the final resting place of 30,800 soldiers and the largest German cemetery in Italy. Our final visit is to the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial site. Most of those buried here died in the fighting that occurred after the capture of Rome in June 1944 including casualties from the heavy fighting in the Apennine Mountains. We’ll hear the story of Medal of Honor recipients Lt Col Addison Baker, Sergeant Roy Harmon and Staff Sergeant George D. Keathley, and see the information panels that describe the role of American forces in the liberation of Italy. After checking in to the Grand Hotel Adriatico for a 2-night stay, the evening is at leisure.

The capital of the stunning Tuscany region, Florence is one of Italy’s most beautiful cities. On this morning’s walking tour, we enjoy an introduction to the architectural and artistic highlights of this historic city. There is time at leisure for lunch and for you to continue your exploration before tonight’s farewell dinner served in the hotel.

After a leisurely breakfast we check-out of the hotel and drive to Pisa. Your time here is at leisure and you may wish to visit the city’s famous Miracle Square, which is home to the city’s Duomo, Baptistry, Campanile and the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. In the late afternoon we drive to Pisa Airport for our early evening British Airways flight to London.