ORIGINAL: sPzAbt653
[Re-posted from post #534]
the actual terrain east of Nice, up to La Spezia and beyond
Thanks for the details. So your suggestion would be to extend the hills to the coast, between Nice and La Spezia ?
Naval Units and the eastern rail line from Foggia to Pescara have been added.
Great news! This should make things much easier for any Allied advance along the east coast.
As regards to the "French option", I have made some research about the Allied operations in this area: the French made some very limited advances in Italy in late April 1945, when the Allied had already broken through the Gothic Line and were advancing in the Po Valley plain.
Menton (the last French city before the border, which is not depicted on the map) was liberated on September 6th 1944. Ventimiglia, which only lies 5 miles to the East, was subject to artillery bombardments but was not attacked by the French until April 25th 1945 (the Germans already left on the 23rd). A look at Google Maps clearly shows why: between Menton and Ventimiglia there is a rocky point (Cape Mortola) with only a single road. An Allied attack there, even if successfull would only have gained the first ridge of a sequence which continues along the whole coast with no significant objective. The first pass leading to the Po Valley plain is approximately 65 miles away, near Savona, but taking this way would also imply fighting over another series of mountains, just like the ones the Allied faced on the Gothic line.
