286 Florence Drive Linton Military Camp Palmerston North, street view 2018
Reason for the name
This street was named in honour of New Zealand’s involvement in the battle for Florence Italy in WW2. Florence Drive is part of the Camp’s housing area but today (2019) all houses have been removed. Most streets within NZDF Camps and Bases are named in honour of prominent people, battles, campaigns, ships, aircraft and places creating a rich history of our military service.
On the night of 1-2 August the decisive battle for Florence began, when 5 Brigade, 6 Brigade, and 4 Armoured Brigade all joined in the attack on the Pian dei Cerri and La Poggiona ridges. The opposition was tenacious. Throughout the days of 2-3 August the combined efforts eventually forced the enemy to withdraw. This ended the battle for the Paula Line and decided the fate of Florence. New Zealand troops were firmly on top of the final line of hills and on the point of breaking through down the slopes to the Arno. Up to this time the South Africans had been unable to make more than slight headway along the valley of the Greve, through which ran Route 2, the main road to Florence, but with the Paula Line pierced by 2 NZ Division, the enemy had to abandon his positions south of the Arno.
Author: The Poppy Places Trust and Cherrie Lawson
A quick move in mid-July took the Division to the Arezzo front where 6 Brigade fought a sharp two-day action against rear guards barring the way to the Arno Valley and Florence. Its next task was to exploit the impending fall of Florence. Within a few days plans were changed and the Division began on 22 July to push towards the Arno below the city. In this country of vineyards and woods and many hill villages, Tiger tanks with guns and armour far heavier than those of the Sherman tanks offered lively opposition and caused much loss. After fighting to gain a suitable start line, a divisional attack before midnight of 1 August, under a strong artillery barrage, pierced the last line of hills before Florence, and early on 4 August Maoris and men of 23 Battalion raced each other into the outskirts of the town, only to be recalled within an hour or so. The Division took over a sector to the west of the city and on 10–11 August pushed forward to the bank of the Arno. The confused fighting which took the Division through two strong defensive lines on the way to the city cost 298 lives, 900 wounded (4 of them captured), and 27 other prisoners.
