Rome Falls to Allies: First Axis Capital Liberated
Allied forces entered Rome on June 4, 1944, making it the first Axis capital to fall. The capture was overshadowed just two days later by the D-Day landings in Normandy, which dominated global headlines. General Mark Clark, commanding the US Fifth Army, controversially diverted forces toward Rome rather than cutting off the retreating German Tenth Army, allowing a large enemy force to escape and fight again. Clark was determined to enter Rome first and staged a photo opportunity at the city limits. Italian partisans had already secured many key locations before Allied troops arrived. The German army declared Rome an open city and withdrew without destroying its historic structures, unlike their scorched-earth retreats elsewhere in Italy.
June 4, 1944
82 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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