View source for Caesar C line

{{Short description|German defence line during WW2}}
{{Unreferenced|date=December 2009}}
{{Campaignbox Italy}}
[[Image:ItalyDefenseLinesSouthofRome1943 4.jpg|thumb|right|300px|German prepared defensive lines south of Rome]]
The '''Caesar Line''' was the last [[Wehrmacht|German]] line of defence in [[Italy]] before [[Rome]] during the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian Campaign]] of the [[World War II|Second World War]]. It extended from the west coast near [[Ostia (town)|Ostia]], over the Alban Hills south of Rome, from [[Valmontone]] to [[Avezzano]] and then to [[Pescara]] on the [[Adriatic Sea|Adriatic]] coast. Behind the western half of the line was a subsidiary line, the [[Roman switch line]] which took a path north of Rome.

When the Caesar C Line defences, manned by the [[14th Army (Wehrmacht)|German 14th Army]], were breached by the [[United States Army North|U.S. Fifth Army]] on 30 May 1944, following the [[Battle of Anzio|breakout from Anzio]], the road to Rome was finally opened. The Germans retreated to their next line of defence, the [[Trasimene Line]] where the 14th Army re-aligned with the [[10th Army (Wehrmacht)|German 10th Army]] before withdrawing to the formidable defences of the [[Gothic Line]].

==See also==
*[[Operation Shingle|Battle of Anzio]]


==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caesar C Line}}
[[Category:German World War II defensive lines]]
[[Category:Italian campaign (World War II)]]
[[Category:World War II sites in Italy]]
[[Category:Rome in World War II]]