Cassino WWII Tours: the Four Battles of Cassino
Table of Contents
The Battle of Monte Cassino(also known as theBattle for Rome) was a long series of four battles fought by the Allies with the goal of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome.
The only two roads leading to Rome, the Via Appia (Highway 7) and the Via Casilina (Highway 6), were fiercely defended by a series of German fortifications stretching across Italy from the west coast to the east coast. This defensive system, known as theWinter Line, was composed ofGustav Line,theHitler Lineand the Bernhardt Line.
Cassino WWII Tours: the Gustav Line
TheGustav Linemade it impossible for the Allies to advance without suffering heavy casualties, as it was anchored by German forces holding theRapido, Liri,andGariglianovalleys. Their positions were further secured by garrisons stationed on every peak of the surrounding mountain ranges. Dominating the landscape wasMonte Cassino, towering nearly1,700 m (5,500 ft), surrounded by a series of smaller yet equally imposing mountains. This rugged terrain provided the Germans with an excellent vantage point from which to observe and attack Allied positions.
The bombing of Monte Cassino Abbey
The Germans had not occupied the historic abbey ofMonte Cassino, although they manned defensive positions set into the steep slopes below the abbey walls. In a coordinated military operation,British, French, American, Indian, New Zealand, Moroccan,andPolishregiments converged on key German strongholds in a long struggle that lasted several months and claimed the lives of thousands of men. OnFebruary 15, the monastery was destroyed by1,400 tonsof bombs dropped by American bombers.Look here
Cassino WWII Tours: the first mistake done by the Allied
Two days after the bombing, the Germans took up positions in the ruins. The destruction caused by the bombing provided troops with improved protection from air and artillery attacks, making it a more viable defensive position. FromJanuary 17toMay 18, the Gustav defenses were assaulted four times by Allied troops. It was not until the final phase of the battle, when all other Allied efforts had failed so dismally, that theII Polish Corpswas finally called into action. Their mission was to capture Monte Cassino and Piedimonte, objectives that had eluded all other military units up until then. The Poles drove the German defenders from their positions, but at a high cost.
Cassino WWII Tours: the first Battle of Cassino
The Allies reached the GermanGustav Linein Italy in mid-January 1944. The BritishX Corpsattacked first onJanuary 17, 1944, crossing theGarigliano Rivernear the coast on a 20-mile-wide front. Two days later, the British46th Infantry Divisionattacked near the junction of theGariglianoandLiri Rivers, but what was considered to be the main assault, conducted by theUS 36th Division, began shortly after sundown onJanuary 20, 1944. Troops of theUS 141st Regimentand143rd Regimenttried twice to cross theRapido River, but timely German counterattacks by theGerman 15th Panzergrenadier Divisioncaused heavy casualties.
Cassino WWII Tours: the attempt to cross the Rapido River
In these failed attempts to cross the Rapido River, theUS 36th Divisionsuffered 2,100 casualties. OnJanuary 24, theUS 34th Infantry Division, with French Moroccan colonial troops also in its ranks, crossed the Rapido River north of Cassino and engaged in bitter fighting for the following week. OnFebruary 1, troops of theGerman 44th Infantry Divisionfinally allowed the Allies a solid foothold on the previously German-held side of the river. Fighting continued, and a renewed attack toward Monte Cassino was launched onFebruary 8.
However, after three days of heavy fighting and no apparent success, the assault was called off onFebruary 11. Meanwhile, the Allies launchedOperation Shingle, which landed 36,000 men at Anzio, Italy, onJanuary 22, 1944.
Cassino WWII Tours: the second Battle of Cassino
In an attempt to apply pressure on theGustav Linein coordination with the attack onAnzio,Operation Avengerwas launched. Similar to the first attempt to take Monte Cassino, the Allies, largely consisting of New Zealand and Indian troops in this offensive, suffered heavy casualties.
Since the artillery fire came from above, Allied leadership believed that the Germans must have observation posts near or within the Benedictine monastery. OnFebruary 11,Brigadier Harry Dimoline, acting commanding officer of theIndian 4th Division, requested aerial bombing of the monastery, which was passed on byLieutenant General Bernard Freybergto the air forces.
The bombing of the monastery
The bombing was approved and conducted onFebruary 15, with229 US heavy and medium bombersdropping 1,150 tons of high-explosive and incendiary bombs, demolishing nearly all structures.Point 593, the German strongpoint beneath the abbey that the Allies had attacked but failed to capture in earlyFebruary, was nearly untouched by the attacks. Interestingly, the Allies failed to immediately launch a major ground assault after the bombing. With theMonte Cassino monasteryin ruins and no longer of cultural or historical value, troops of theGerman 1st Parachute Divisionmoved in and precisely used it as an observation post, as Allied leadership had feared.
The Indians in Cassino area
On the night ofFebruary 17, 1944, theIndian 4th Divisionand theNew Zealand Divisionattacked Monte Cassino in strength. A parallel attack by the28th (Maori) Battalionof the New Zealand Division successfully established a small bridgehead across the Rapido River, but this bridgehead was lost again on the following day.
Cassino WW2 Tours: the third Battle of Cassino
The third Battle of Monte Cassino started with the attempt to take Monte Cassino onMarch 15, 1944, following a heavy bombardment. When the New Zealand troops attacked, they encountered a stronger German defense than they had expected. Even though the initial attack did capture several positions, includingCastle Hill,Point 165, andPoint 236, heavy rain halted the Allies’ progress. By the end of the day onMarch 17, theIndian Gurkha troopswere within 250 meters of the monastery, while the New Zealand troops were threatening to capture the town of Cassino. After several days, the troops were exhausted, and onMarch 23,AlexanderandFreybergdecided to pause the offensive.
Cassino WWII Tours: the fourth Battle of Cassino
The fourth attack was to become the last on Monte Cassino. It was launched several weeks later, on the night ofMay 11-12. The Allies began the operation with a heavy bombardment, and by dawn onMay 12, some Allied units had made significant advances, including theIndian 8th Division, which established a bridge over the Rapido River to bring tanks of theCanadian 1st Armoured Brigadeforward. During the day onMay 12,Polish troopscapturedPoint 593, while onMay 13, theFrench troopscapturedMonte Maio. As German positions along the Liri River valley began to fall one by one, thePolish Corpslaunched what was to become the final attack on Monte Cassino.
The Polish army inside Monte Cassino abbey
By the following day,Andersand his troops had taken the ruins of the monastery. After the four battles ofMonte Cassino, German troops fell back from theGustav Lineto theHitler Line(known as theSenger Lineat this time), even though they knew that it was only a matter of time before even these positions would be abandoned.PolishandCanadiantroops assaulted the line onMay 23, and within a few days, theSenger Linewas breached. The line was broken onMay 24by the1st Canadian Infantry Division, the5th Canadian Armoured Division, and theII Polish Corps.
Cassino WWII Tours
Cassino WWII Tours for history lovers
SKU del prodotto:History-lovers
Brand di prodotto:Monte Cassino War Tours
Valuta del prodotto:EUR
Prezzo del prodotto:150
Prezzo valido fino a:30/12/2030
Prodotto in magazzino:InStock
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