Under Operation Olive, the objective for the British Eighth Army on the Adriatic Coast was to break the German defenses and enter the Po Plains.

The final assault brought on by the 4th Indian Infantry Division, after heavy bombardment, would prove to be successful in the capture and securement of all German positions in Gemmano.

Two days before the first attack on September 4, a British Battalion sent a platoon of 30 men to determine the size and strength of the German defenses.

These German battalions consisted of antiaircraft weaponry as well, which could also be used as artillery on the advancing allied infantry and armored vehicles.

This heavy rainfall caused roads to crumble, rivers to overflow, and mud to form, all of which made it difficult for movement and transportation.

Gemmano full of dead and smells like another Cassino"[2][3] Casualties from both sides are not well documented, but according to British sources, Germans killed in action were more than 900.