You couldn’t get closer to the feel of what it must have been like in our area during World War Two than a visit to the encampment of allied forces at Villa Fiori last week-end. The historical gothic line re-enactment group were immaculately accurate in their uniforms and the women especially brilliant in their hairstyles and make-up.

For me, however, it was the incomparable range of military vehicles, including the original jeeps and the Moto Guzzi ‘Alce’ (meaning ‘elk in English) in production between 1938 and 1948, and which was designed for military and police use. I have rarely seen, not even in war museums, such flawlessly kept vehicles.

In the casinò there was a preview of a film on the Great War of (for Italy) 1915-8 to be premiered in Lucca this October. This was followed by a harrowing film on the battle of Sommocolonia, the biggest and bloodiest conflict during World war two in our area.

On Boxing day, 26 December 1944, the village of Sommocolonia, near Barga, was the scene of “Operation Wintergewitter”, an offensive conducted on the Gothic Line by the Axis Italian-German forces against US troops (92nd Division “Buffalo”), supported by the XI area partisan under the legendary ‘Pippo’. The US troops were black and under the unreservedly racist command of white American officers. Considered stereotypically lazy fighters, the troops were valiant in this last great battle on the Italian front. Shamefully, however, it was not until the 1990’s that their heroism was at last recognized by the USA.

Photos of the battle of Sommocolonia)

(Nazi headquarters, interrogation centre and torture chamber in Ponte a Serraglio’s ex-Hotel de Russie.)

There were over 150 casualties among the allied forces (including John Robert Fox, posthumously decorated  with the American Medal of Honour) and 7 victims among civilians including a 6 month old baby, and over 50% of the villages buildings were destroyed by bombing. The last bombs, two Mk2 American hand grenades, were only removed and defused in July 2009.

(John Robert Fox. Posthumous Medal of Honor, 1997)

What was the objective of this German offensive? It’s still unclear although the allied thrust through the Apennines to liberate the remaining part of Italy under the Nazi-fascist puppet government of the Salò republic had to be delayed until April 1945. The Germans could have advanced to capture the munitions factory at Fornaci di Barga, (still in operation today but now manufacturing Euro coins). What was the point of wreaking death and destruction to a mountain village? There are parallels with the Ardennes ‘Battle of the Bulge’ in Belgium which took place at the same time for both operations were only to delay the advance of allied troops and the utter defeat of Hitler’s ‘master race’.

The pity of war, to use poet Wilfrid Owen’s phrase, was fully revealed to us that Saturday afternoon…