 Starting 21 July 1943, some parts of the village were lightly bombed by the Allies, in order to attack Wehrmacht forces that were preparing to retreat.Albert Kesselring and his staff strategically chose not to defend Calabria, leaving only the 29th Panzergrenadier Division's 15th Panzergrenadier Regiment, and began the German retreat.On 3 September, most of this unit was in prepared positions at Bagnara, some 40 km (25 mi) from the landings which it had orders to hold until 6 September.