Commemorative Visit Historical Background The War in Italy and the Battle of Monte Cassino

Page 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 7. 9. 10. 11. Introduction Overview and build-up to the Battle Geography and Terrain Leadership The First Battle of Cassino, 12 January 9 February 1944 The Second Battle of Cassino (15 18 February 1944) The Third Battle of Cassino (19 February 23 March 1944) The Fourth Battle of Cassino (11 May 5 June 1944) After the Battles of Monte Cassino

Introduction The Battle of Monte Cassino was actually four individual battles between January and May 1944. Success in the battles was crucial to the Allied advance in Italy, and led directly to the capture of Rome on 4 June 1944. Rome was the first Axis-controlled capital city to be liberated by the Allies from Nazi control. Despite this eventual success however, steep mountain slopes and atrocious winter weather, combined with the German defences determination and skill, provided the setting for some of the harshest and most arduous fighting of the entire Second World War conflict. This Historical Context to the Battle of Monte Cassino has been adapted from the Ministry of Defences series of commemorative booklets to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War, and with express permission.

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Overview and build-up to the Battle The Battle of Monte Cassino, four separate battles fought between January and May 1944, was fought in the area of Anzio and Cassino approximately 150km south of Rome. The battle saw the Allied Forces which consisted of soldiers from Poland, India, New Zealand, North Africa, Canada, France, America and Britain involved in some of the most bitter fighting of the Second World War. Steep mountain slopes and atrocious winter weather combined with the German defences determination and skill, to provide the setting for some of the harshest and most arduous fighting of the entire Second World War conflict. Allied forces had entered Italy on 3 September 1943. The Allied objectives were to draw German troops away from the Russian Front in the east and also more especially in northern France as plans were underway for the invasion of northwestern mainland Europe known to history as the D-Day Landings. However, Allied commanders were convinced they could win Rome before their forces were shipped off to fight in France. Hitler was determined to contest every inch of ground in Italy and in preparation for the Allied advance towards Rome, German forces had constructed an impregnable defensive line known as the Gustav Line that ran across Italy at the southern entrance to the Liri Valley with the Abbey of Monte Cassino at its centre. This line was not fully breached until 18 May 1944 when the town of Cassino and its Monastery Hill fell to the Allied Forces. Progress was swiftly made northwards, and the Allies took the city of Rome on 4 June 1944, the first major Axis capital to be captured and striking a massive blow to the German hopes of overall victory. German morale was soon dented even further with the success of the D-Day Landings in Normandy, France, and the advance of the Allied forces in the summer of 1944 through France and towards ultimate victory in Europe the following year.

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Geography and Terrain The town of Cassino in northern Italy lies in a valley on the Rapido River, in the midst of extremely mountainous terrain. It was overlooked by the Benedictine monastery on Monastery Hill, now known as Monte Cassino. An ancient religious building built as a fortress guarding the route to Rome, the monastery occupied a strategically vital ridge that marked the edge of the German defences the Gustav Line. The monastery, and the ridge it lay on, became the priority target for the four successive battles known as the Battle of Monte Cassino. The Gustav Line ran across the Apennine mountains following the lines of the Rapido and Garigliano rivers, and covered country that was ideal for defence with the high ground barring the Allies road north. The Rapido (which became the Garigliano River below the junction with the River Liri) was as rapid as its name suggests, and although only 30 feet wide tended to spill its banks and flood in the winter months. It was a barrier to the Allied advance, as was the small town of Cassino that nestled at the foot of Monte Cassino and was linked to the monastery by a narrow road that zigzagged up the precipitous slopes. Monte Cassino was a bottleneck that had to be forced if Rome was to be reached. It was the lynchpin of the German defence.

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Leadership Throughout the campaign, preparations for the invasion of northwestern Europe took priority for the Allies in terms of both manpower and materials. The Allies Italian Campaign demonstrated the difficulties of coalition warfare. The two major allies, Britain and the United States could not agree on the campaigns aim and purpose. Churchill believed that the Italian campaign could both tie down German forces and present opportunities to advance through the Alps into Austria and take Vienna before the Russians. The United States did not want to fight in Italy but reluctantly agreed to British hopes of a rapid advance up the length of Italy, remaining worried that it would become an excuse to delay the invasion of North-west Europe. When dogged German defence frustrated hopes for a rapid advance these hopes were replaced by the belief that the Italian campaign would distract German attention and forces from France and the Eastern Front, and assist in Allied preparations for Operation Overlord and the Normandy landings, and also weaken the Axis forces facing the Soviet Union.

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The First Battle of Cassino, 12 January 9 February 1944 In January 1944 it was hoped that the German defences of the Gustav line could be broken by a two-pronged attack by American soldiers landing at the coastal holiday resort of Anzio (called Operation Shingle and aiming to cut German communications south of Rome), and American, British and French troops aiming to break the Gustav Line further North. However, instead of a quick breakthrough, the battle developed into a long slogging war. The forces within the Anzio Beachhead found themselves isolated by German defences and under constant counterattack. This led to those troops whose mission was to attack the Gustav Line having to abort and come to the aid of the forces in Anzio. The attempted swift breakthrough at Cassino had failed. Meanwhile, alongside this first attempt on the Gustav Line, Monte Cassino was to be bypassed with the French and British troops attacking on either flank, followed by a decisive thrust up the Liri Valley by the Americans. In atrocious weather the French crossed the Rapido River and advanced through the mountains north of Cassino. It was bitter, bloody fighting with Moroccan and Algerian soldiers fighting hand-to-hand against the Germans. It came close to breaking the German line but failed because there were simply not enough French troops left to continue the attack, and no further reserves were available. Frost bite and trench-foot caused by the wet and cold added to the casualties among soldiers from North Africa who fought in the ice and snow with one blanket each and no winter equipment. At the same time the British assaulted the Garigliano River. Despite a successful crossing the attacks ground to a halt against German defences consisting of dug in machine gun posts protected by concrete bunkers, and anti-personnel minefields occupied by German soldiers who were prepared to counter-attack at every opportunity. The American forces found it no easier to attempt to force a way up the Liri Valley. The Germans had turned the river flats into killing grounds strung with barbed wire and laced with minefields across which machine guns raked the attacker from concealed pillboxes and bunkers dug into the cellars of the stone houses. The 36th US Division lost some 2000 casualties and by the end of the battle it was effectively down to one third of its fighting strength. The 34th US Division now attacked across the Rapido and tried to capture Cassino from the north. After grim fighting they pushed to within 1000 yards of the Monastery but were stopped by the network of German machine gun posts. The American GIs fought their way
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forward with heavy losses over steep broken ground where any movement or attempt to get supplies and ammunition forward was seen and fired on by the German defenders. Both sides fought to the point of exhaustion. Success had been tantalisingly close, but the winter conditions and steep mountainous country tipped the balance in favour of the German defences.

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The Second Battle of Cassino (15 18 February 1944) The second attempt to take Cassino was made by the newly formed New Zealand Corps, consisting of the 4th Indian Division and the New Zealand Division. The corps lacked a proper headquarters and proper provisions for planning. The New Zealand Division, with its two infantry and one armoured brigades, was ideally suited for a breakout role, but instead they and the Indians were tasked with relieving the exhausted American troops and taking the high ground. The New Zealand Corps initially planned to avoid Cassino and attack from the north in an encircling movement, but lack of the necessary mule transport for re-supply in the mountains led to the committal of 4 Indian Division in an attack on Monastery Hill, while the New Zealanders aimed to attack across the plain taking the railway station and the town of Cassino itself. However this was a repeat of the American attacks on the same approach and there seemed only a small likelihood of success. Controversy surrounds many of the decisions made in the battles for Cassino and one that still resonates today is the decision to bomb the sixth-century Benedictine abbey that crowned Monastery Hill. To the soldiers struggling to reach the abbey, with its 150 feet high and ten feet thick walls, it seemed inconceivable that it would not be heavily defended by the German forces, but in fact this was the case. However, plans were in place to capture the abbey and for fighterbombers to blast entrance holes in the buildings vast outer walls as the infantry fought their way onto the hill. The monastery was indeed bombed on 15 February 1944, not by fighter bombers but by wave after wave of medium and heavy bombers dropping 500 and 1000 lb bombs and incendiaries leaving it a roofless shell, and killing many civilians who were sheltering inside. Yet its destruction gave the attackers no advantage. Poor coordination meant that 4 Indian Divisions battalions were not yet in position and the Germans had time to occupy the ruins before the final attack came. On the night of 17 February, Indian, Gurkha and British soldiers struggled forward against the rocky outcrops protecting the approaches to the monastery. Each battalion in turn attempted to fight its way forward only to be cut down by machine gun and mortar fire, or German S mines. By morning they were forced back clinging on to the little ground that had been won. On the same night below them on the plain, two companies of 28 (Maori) Battalion advanced in file along the raised railway embankment towards the railway station while engineers behind them bridged gaps to allow tanks to come forward and support the Maori advance. German mortar and artillery
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fire was zeroed in on this obvious approach forcing the engineers to abandon their work. Despite heavy casualties the Maori reached the railway station, but daylight found them isolated and under German tank counter-attack with no anti-tank guns to oppose them. They too were forced to withdraw suffering 124 casualties out of the 200 who made the attack. This failure ended the second battle of Cassino. It cost 4 Indian Division 590 casualties and the New Zealand Division 226. However, unknown to the Allies the German defenders had suffered 4,470 casualties in the first three weeks of February 1944 and were in no position to repel another heavy attack.

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The Third Battle of Cassino (19 February 23 March 1944) Wet weather delayed the further attacks until 15 March 1944. This time the New Zealand Corps attacked Cassino from the north with the Indians again attacking the monastery and the New Zealanders advancing into the town along the main road. The town was flattened by intensive bombing followed by an artillery bombardment of over 1000 guns. However poor coordination again meant the monastery itself was not included as one of the targets. The bombing devastated the defenders but it created equal problems for the attackers who had difficulty bringing their tanks forward. Vicious house to house fighting took place in the ruins of Cassino town, with often the same building being occupied by both sides. Despite the bravery and endurance displayed by the soldiers who had fought their way forward, a tenacious German defence, although stretched to breaking point, managed to hold. The breakthrough push failed once more.

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The Fourth Battle of Cassino (11 May 5 June 1944) The fourth battle of Cassino was incorporated into Operation Diadem. It was conducted with a level of planning and resources that had been lacking in the two previous battles and was planned for the spring when the weather would have improved. This time there would be a carefully coordinated offensive that would make best use of Allied airpower and artillery resources. Both the US Fifth Army and the British Eighth Army would combine in a two fisted punch while 6th US Corps at Anzio would breakout and threaten the rear of the German defences. The German forces were led to believe that a further amphibious operation was planned, forcing him to hold his reserves back from the overstretched German front line divisions. The attack began at 11 pm on 11 May with an artillery barrage along the entire front and an equally savage German response. The Eighth Army divisions (British, Canadian and Indian troops) fought their way forward against stubborn defence. The British XIII Corps ruptured the Gustav Line and tank fought tank as Canadian and British armoured divisions broke through successfully. On the coastal front the Americans and French fought their way forward and by 13 May had cracked open the German defences on their front, advancing on and breaking into the Hitler line that had been developed in depth across the Aurunci mountains. In the north, German paratroopers grimly defended Monte Cassino against attacks by General Anders II Polish Corps. Attacking in a wide encircling right hook from the north, Anders Poles were initially held and driven back in savage fighting. The Carpathian and Kresowa Divisions attacked again on 16 May. It was savage fighting against a stubborn defence with the German forces determined to hold onto Monte Cassino. However, the Americans had torn holes in the Gustav Line in the Liri Valley below Cassino, and further towards the coast. On 17 May the German garrison slipped away and the ruins were abandoned. Cassino had fallen. It was an Allied victory.

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After the Battles of Monte Cassino After the eventual and hard-won success of the battle of Monte Cassino when the German line fell, the Allies advanced relatively rapidly to Rome, entering the city on 4 June. Subsequently the Germans became more organised in defeat and presented a series of tough defensive lines for the Allied to breach. The Allies reorganised and built up their strength for a final offensive in Spring 1945. After a weeks severe fighting, the German front line broke, and Allied troops entered Bologna. By late April the bulk of the German forces were effectively trapped against the south bank of the River Po, then on 25 April the Allies crossed the Po. Popular uprisings took place in the cities in northern Italy, and people over-ran many German garrisons, seizing control of them. On 2 May all German forces in Italy finally surrendered.

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