Marsh Is.#484 Rome Falls to the Allies - 1994 Imperforate Mint Issue
June 4, 1944 After nine months of battling rugged terrain and fierce German resistance, the Allies had broken through the Gustav Line and were poised to take Rome. Following the fall of Mussolini’s Fascist regime the previous July, Hitler was forced to divert German troops and supplies to Italy. While his entrenched army slowed the Allied march to a crawl, the Germans were fighting a retreating defensive battle. Before becoming completely encircled, they withdrew their forces from Rome. On June 4, the U.S. 5th Army marched into the Eternal City. Both sides suffered considerable losses throughout the Italy campaign: The Allies sustained 312,000 casualties with the German losses estimated at 434,000. The victory in Rome was quickly overshadowed by the massive D-Day invasion two days later.
