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The Battle of Rimini took place in between 13 and 21 September 1944 during Operation Olive, the main Allied offensive on the Gothic Line in August and September 1944, part of the Italian Campaign in the Second World War. Rimini, a town on the Adriatic coast of Italy, anchored the Rimini Line, a German defensive line which was the third such line forming the Gothic Line defenses. Rimini, which had been hit previously by air raids, had 1,470,000 rounds fired against it by allied land forces. According to Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver Leese, commander of the 8th Army:
The battle of Rimini was one of the hardest battles of Eighth Army. The fighting was comparable to El Alamein, Mareth and the Gustav Line (Monte-Cassino).
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On 23 August 1944 Eighth Army launched Operation Olive, attacking on a three Corps front up the eastern flank of Italy into the Gothic Line defenses. By the first week in September the offensive had broken through the forward defenses of the Gothic Line and the defensive positions of the Green I line and United States Fifth Army entered the offensive in central Italy attacking towards Bologna. On Eighth Army's right flank 1st Canadian Corps had broken through Green II but inland in the hills the Corps' advance had been held up by stubborn defense at Coriano and V Corps had been halted at Croce and Gemmano. A new attack to clear the Green II positions in the hills and destroy the Rimini Line running from the port of Rimini inland to San Marino was scheduled to start on 12 September.[1]
The 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade (Greek: ΙΙΙ Ελληνική Ορεινή Ταξιαρχία, ΙΙΙ Ε.Ο.Τ.) was a unit of mountain infantry formed by the Greek government in exile on July 1, 1944 in Lebanon, under the command of Colonel Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos. After being transported on August 11, 1944 to the Gothic line by sea, the brigade fought in the Battle of Rimini under I Canadian Corps). In August 1944 the 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade was attached to the 2nd New Zealand Division and the New Zealand commander General Bernard Freyberg inspected them at Taranto on 17 August and was impressed by the Greeks’ bearing. The Brigade then joined the New Zealanders in an exercise to familiarise the officers with all-arms co-operation and communication. By September the brigade was positioned near the village of Cattolica, just south of the city of Rimini. On 8 and 10 September the brigade was engaged by two strong German attacks. The Greeks held their line and pushed the Germans back, and then launched a counterattack to take Rimini.
The Greeks were by then attached to the 1st Canadian Division, but could expect support from their New Zealand friends who were in reserve. To provide the Greeks some armoured support B squadron, 20th New Zealand Armoured Regiment was initially attached to the Greek brigade. For the protection of the tanks the 22nd New Zealand Motor Battalion was attached. Additional firepower was given to the Greek Brigade in the form of the Canadian Saskatoon Light Infantry (SLI), with a Heavy Mortar company and Machine-gun company supporting. The New Zealand 33 Anti-tank battery (17pdrs) was positioned behind the Greeks for the attack.
The attack began on 13 September with the Greeks attacking two small farm settlements on the Marano road. The two settlements (Monaldini and Monticelli) were defended by 1st Parachute Regiment (1. Fallschirmjäger Regiment) and some Osttruppen described as Turkomen (likely a Turkestani Ostlegion battalion from the 162nd Infantry Division). The Germans were well prepared and held off the Greeks.
The following day the New Zealand support was called up to aid the Greeks. 7 and 8 Troop of the B Squadron, 20th Armoured Regiment we assigned to the Greeks and took part in the attack on Monaldini, while soon after a platoon from 22nd Motor Battalion aided the attack on Monticelli with the support of 5 and 6 Troops’ Sherman tanks. By 2000 hours the Monaldini farm had been taken, with only light casualties. The focus then turned to Monticelli, where the Greeks and New Zealanders once again attacked. The German defenders cleared out of the position as soon as the attackers approached and the farm was in Allied hands a short time later.
On 15 September the Greeks launched an assault on the Rimini airfield. The 1st Greek Battalion crossed the Marano River (in truth a stream with only a gentle flow of water) at 1000 hours, and immediately came under intense fire from German positions around the airfield. The Greeks halted to re-organise themselves for an attack. The C Squadron, 18th New Zealand Armoured Regiment replaced the 20th Armoured Regiment in the line supporting the Greeks. Air support was called in and Allied fighter/bombers attacked the western side of the airfield, and the Greeks attacked shortly afterwards.
The 1st Greek Battalion attacked the airfield itself, the 2nd Greek Battalion then attacked up the Route 16 road and the 3rd Battalion attacked the small village of Casalecchio.
The 1st Greek Battalion once more ran into stiff resistance from the airfield defenders. Heavy fire from airfield inflicted heavy casualties on the advancing Greeks, however support from the New Zealand tanks and infantry was better co-ordinated as one of the New Zealand officers spoke Greek. The tanks were able to fire on each house lining the south of the airfield to ensure they weren’t occupied. As the Greeks and New Zealanders approached the defensive positions they came under fire from infantry, Panzerschrecks, self-propelled guns, and emplaced Panther turrets. The heavy fire pinned the Greeks just short of the airfield. Meanwhile the tanks edged around a hedgerow to avoid the anti-tank fire, but soon found themselves at the forefront of the attack. A German self-propelled gun knocked out a Sherman, but the New Zealanders continued forward and knocked out enemy positions with high-explosives and grenades, forcing the Germans to withdraw from their positions. The crew of the Panther turret abandoned it during the night.
The 2nd Greek Battalion, on the right of the brigade, attacked up the Route 16 road, but became separated from their supporting New Zealand tanks. The Greeks were halted by mines and heavy defensive fire from the east side of the airfield and nearby houses. The 3rd Greek Battalion attacked the village of Casalecchio on the left flank, supported by New Zealand tanks and infantry.
The little village stood on a crossroads with a few houses and a church. The Greek infantry quickly cleared the houses, but the Fallschirmjäger in the church proved harder to budge. The church was finally cleared when a combined attack by Greek and New Zealand infantry and tanks drove the paratroopers out. However heavy machine-gun and mortar fire from the airfield halted any further advance. The following day (16 September) the Greeks continued to mop up around the airfield, most of which they held, though one Panther turret was still in operation. The 3rd Greek Battalion advanced up the left through the hedges and ditches beyond Casalecchio until they came level with the 1st Greek Battalion in the centre. Their task was made difficult as they had to occasionally clear minefields and were under constant fire. The 2nd Greek Battalion advanced up the right flank of the airfield. Anti-tank fire was lighter than the previous day.
The following day the three battalions continued their advance. Several attempts were made to knock out the remaining Panther turret with aircraft and artillery, but it finally fell to one of the New Zealand Shermans to work around the flank of the turret. It fired several anti-tank rounds into the turret before the crew were eventually persuaded to evacuate. Once the airfield was taken the 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade turned its attention towards Rimini itself. On 18 September the 2nd and 3rd Battalion pushed on to Rimini, towards the coastal suburbs of the town. They encountered heavy resistance once again from the German Fallschirmjäger, but with the aid of New Zealand and Canadian support were finally able to push into the outskirts of the town on 20 September. They pushed into Rimini from the south, only to find the city abandoned by the Germans, who were forced to withdraw after the fall of San Fortunato.
On the morning of 21 September the 2nd Greek Battalion of the reached the city center via the Ausa River and raised the Greek flag on the balcony of the municipal building. At 7:45 of 21 September the mayor unconditionally surrendered the city to the 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade with an official protocol that is written in Greek, English and Italian.
The actions of the Greek brigade during the battle earned it the honorific title "Rimini Brigade" ("Ταξιαρχία Ρίμινι").