Introduction

On 6 April 1945, the Allies launched a massive offensive in Italy. The objective was to liberate northern Italy from German occupation and reach the Austrian border. From there, the Allies could enter the German homeland from the south.

Over the following weeks, Allied armies smashed through the German defences at the Senio, Santerno and Po rivers. Six battalions of Gurkhas took part in the offensive, distinguishing themselves at the Santerno river, Medicina and the Gaiana canal.

By 23 April the German defensive effort in Italy had collapsed, and thousands of men were surrendering en masse. But although the end of the war in Europe was looming, there was still the possibility of fanatical German troops who would fight to the last man. Carried forward on tanks and lorries, the Gurkhas joined the final dash toward the Austrian border.

The Final Fights

On 11 April the 1^st Battalion, 5^th Royal Gurkha Rifles, part of the 8^th Indian Division, had suffered 90 casualties during its difficult battle to cross the Santerno river. Moved out of the line to rest and reorganise, 1/5RGR rejoined the offensive on 23 April. For the next four days the battalion enjoyed an uneventful drive in the wake of the Allied armies. On 26 April it crossed the Po river onboard amphibious troop carriers.

Although the crossings of the Senio, Sillaro and Gaiana rivers had spelled the end of effective German resistance in Italy, it was found that their rearguards were still holding out on the far bank of the Bianco canal. On the morning of 27 April, 1/5RGRs ‘B’ Company attacked toward the canal alongside tanks of the 6^th Lancers. Upon reaching the canal they found a burning but intact bridge. With no enemy in sight, the attack became an impromptu engineering effort as the Gurkhas rushed to put out the flames and carry out improvised repairs. They succeeded, and a squadron of tanks was across the river by 8am.

Continuing forward atop the tanks of the 7^th Hussars, 1/5RGR crossed the Adigetto river against half-hearted resistance and cleared the village of Roverdicre. By this time, many Germans in the vicinity were beginning to surrender. 1/5RGR had its last casualties of the war when six men were wounded attacking the German line in front of the Adige river, but the advance was not stopped and by 28 April the Gurkhas had crossed it unopposed. By 2pm that day, the battalion had advanced 4 miles north of the river, where it entered Vescovano. From this point the 8^th Indian Division was left behind by the advance as more mobile elements of the Allied army sped on toward Austria.

Slightly to the east, the 2^nd Battalions of the 3^rd and 4^th Gurkha Rifles had been fighting along the Idice river. In attempt to stall the Allies, the Germans had destroyed the Idice’s flood banks, swamping the surrounding countryside. On 20 April, ‘A’ Company was sent to clear out houses in a flooded village. Struggling to move through the deep water, a Gurkha patrol commandeered a discarded row boat. Their novel approach to determining whether Germans were occupying a house was to row around it and see if they attracted any fire. Although this particular patrol seems to have avoided casualties, two Gurkhas from another patrol were killed on 20 April, becoming 2/4GRs last fatalities of the war.

2/3GR, operating close by, was across the Idice by the morning of 21 April. Throughout the day they mopped up the remaining German resistance in the area, losing 3 men killed but capturing 50 prisoners. For the Gurkhas of the 10^th Indian Division, the fighting at the Idice was their last of the war. The Division moved on to Ferrara, where it was pushed out of the advance by 30 April.

Gurkhas of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Gurkha Rifles atop a tank of the 6th Royal Tank Regiment, April 1945.

50 miles away, the 43^rd Independent Gurkha Infantry Brigade were rolling into Padua. 43^rd Brigades last major battles had been at Medicina and the Gaiana canal on 16/17 April, and their subsequent advance had been less eventful. When the brigade entered Padua expecting German resistance, it instead found itself greeted by cheering crowds. The Paduans certainly had cause to celebrate: On 2 May 1945 General Heinrich von Vietinghoff, the commander of German forces in Italy, surrendered to the Allies. After nearly two years of fighting, the war in Italy was finally over.

Victory in Europe

Though often eclipsed in popular memory by events in north-west Europe, the Italian Campaign was a vital thrust in the effort to defeat Nazi Germany. Besides liberating the Italian people from German occupation, the campaign also pinned down Axis units that might otherwise have been sent to reinforce the western and eastern fronts.

After the Far East Theatre, the Italian Campaign saw the Gurkha’s second largest involvement in the Second World War. The Gurkhas in Italy had fought in every major offensive, won two Victoria Crosses, and saw the death and injury of thousands of their comrades.

In 2005, soldiers of the 1^st Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles visited Italy to mark the 60^th anniversary of the Battle of Medicina, where they paid tribute to their forebears who fell in the Italian Campaign.

Perhaps for this reason, the men of 2/3GR were ‘astonishingly unimpressed’ when they learned of the surrender of German forces in Italy. It was only six days later, when the news broke of Germany’s complete unconditional surrender, that they showed any enthusiasm. In the 2nd Battalion, 6th Gurkha Rifles the atmosphere was much more jubilant, with the end of hostilities being celebrated by nautch dances.

British and Gurkha officers of 2/6GR share a drink to celebrate Germany’s surrender, Monfalcone, May 1945

In Vescovano, Winton Churchill’s announcement of Germany’s surrender was played on loudspeakers, delighting the men 1/5RGR. The following day, the Gurkha officers hosted the British officers in their mess, and whilst sat together they listened to a victory speech by King George VI. The speech was written down and translated into Nepali by Jemadar Satya Saran Khattri, who read it aloud to the men.

In 2/4GRs sector, news of Germany’s capitulation on 2 May filled the night air with the flash and crackle of rifle volleys as troops marked the end of the fighting. Regrettably, the shooting cost 2/4GR its final casualty of the war when a rifleman was wounded by a stray bullet. Despite this incident, the following week was a highlight of the battalion’s war service as the Gurkhas enjoyed parades, games and a steady supply of wine from the grateful Italian populace.

Major Denis Drayton of the 7th Gurkha Rifles was in the UK when the news broke, attending the wedding of a fellow Gurkha officer. The guests included half a dozen Gurkha soldiers, who had been convalescing nearby after their liberation from a German prisoner of war camp. The following day Drayton took the Gurkhas into London, where they joined in the mass celebrations that had taken over in the city.

Across the world on India’s North West Frontier, the 2nd Battalion, 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles celebrated by staging a battle demonstration for thousands of local people. The demonstration caused great excitement when the live ammunition ignited the grass and caused a fire. However, this did not derail the celebrations, with the rest of the day seeing feasting, wrestling and khud races.

But the celebrations could only last so long. Whilst the fighting was over, Europe was nevertheless in a state of disarray. Allied troops would be needed to occupy captured territory, accept surrenders, police partisan groups, and relocate millions of refugees and prisoners of war.

Churchill’s speech on 8 May had also come with the solemn reminder that whilst Germany had been defeated, the war was not over. In the Far East, the Empire of Japan still occupied vast swathes of China and southeast Asia. For many of the British and Indian troops fighting in Burma, news of Germany’s surrender could only muster half-hearted enthusiasm as they continued to fight on against a fanatical enemy.

Before turning focus back to the Burma Campaign, next month’s instalment of Path to Victory will look at how the Gurkhas protected the fragile peace in Europe throughout May and June 1945. It will also share little known stories of Gurkha prisoners of war in Europe and their efforts to reach Allied units in the chaotic days following Germany’s surrender.