Two days later they returned. In the Allied camp, a profound disappointment took hold. It was not “sound,” he said, “to give an order to capture Monastery Hill [Monte Cassino] and at the same time deny the commander the right to remove an important obstacle to the success of this mission.” A higher commander who refused to authorize the bombing, he warned, would have to be held responsible if the attack failed. Although Italy had surrendered on September 3, 1943, Germany was determined to fight for control of the Italian mainland. A piece of history remembering the movie the battle of Monte Cassino . He took it to the Abbot. The battle is perhaps best remembered today for the destruction of a historic abbey that dated back to the 6th century, and the controversial decision to bomb it is still widely debated today, but regardless, Monte Cassino and other operations around Anzio made it possible for the Allies to take Rome on June 4, 1944. The battleground encompasses three modern regione - Lazio, Campania and Molise (in 1944, the Abruzzi). Col (Retd) Biggs briefs the group on the 3rd Battle of Cassino. The abbey was founded by Saint Benedict himself around 529 A.D. The rebuilt Abbey of Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about 130 kilometres (80 mi) southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, 2 kilometres (1 1⁄4 mi) west of Cassino and at an elevation of 520 m (1,710 ft). Found insideIn this remarkable work, renowned historian Professor Norman Davies draws from years of meticulous research to recount the compelling story of this unit, the Polish II Corps or 'Anders Army', and their exceptional journey from the Gulag of ... I first learned this after the bombing. The abbey had been evacuated by the Germans following the Allied landings; both the Germans and the Allies had assured the Vatican that it would not be put to military use or attacked. The second volume in a trilogy chronicling the liberation of Europe during World War II focuses on the Allied campaigns in Sicily and Italy, detailing the bloody battles at Salerno, Anzio, Monte Cassino, and more under the command of ... There was in addition a practical problem—the number of aircraft available to attack the building would be unable to destroy the value of the structure as a defensive work. & Abbey of Monte Cassino on May 18, 1944. How could he use the hill of Monte Cassino in his defenses, he asked his superior, without harming the abbey? According to a new plan that envisaged stretching the German defenses, the Indians would attack Monte Cassino while the New Zealanders crossed the Rapido. They were recorded by someone who sat with the surviving soldiers many years later, during a commemorative event. Free subscription >>, Please consider a donation to help us keep this American treasure alive. Monte Spaduro, 19th October 1944. They would receive wide showing and have great propaganda effect. AUDIO - Come on a spiritual journey with Deacon Tom and Mary Jane Fox to Montecassino, Italy. Clark agreed with that judgment; but unfortunately, he said, the decision was irrevocable. Now General Alexander brought in two fresh divisions—one of New Zealanders, the other of Indians- for a renewed assault. Mark Clark was responsible for operations at both Anzio and Cassino. The Battle of Monte Cassino - The Holocaust Explained: Designed for schools The Second World War On 3 September 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Even ambiguous information regarding the German's location was believed to be valid. Freyberg, as Clark reported the conversation, “expressed some apprehension that the monastery buildings were being used by the Germans and stated that in his opinion, if necessary, they should be blown down by artillery or bombardment.”. Yet despite his apparent assurance, Alexander referred the matter to his immediate superior, Field Marshal Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, a British officer who had succeeded Eisenhower in command of the Mediterranean theatre. All this was so, Alexander admitted. One regimental commander thought he had seen the flash of field glasses within the monastery. Abandon it at once. American infantrymen fought a battle marked by extreme exertion and heroism. And there was an idea novel to the doctrine of warfare, and as yet untried: that the power of massed strategic bombers, normally used for long-range missions, might contribute to a tactical victory — which would give the employment of heavy bombers at Monte Cassino the additional dimension of an experiment. Tune in, this Wednesday, July 7 at 8:0opm on the Guadalupe Radio Network, 89.7FM, or on your favorite podcast listening app as of Thursday, July 8. Here, Army veteran and historian Leo Barron explores one of the most famous, yet little understood, clashes of the war, a vitally important chapter in one of history's biggest battles. Here stood the sixth-century Benedictine Monastery of Monte Cassino . “Our air,” he wrote, “thoroughly demolished the monastery above Cassino. The line was breached in several places, but the crucial valley headed by Monte Cassino remained under German control, and 6th Corps did not succeed in breaking out from Anzio. They would send a sizable contingent of troops up the west coast of Italy in ships. Found insideIllustrated with 11 maps and 35 Illustrations From the plains of Europe to the jungles of the Pacific, the U.S. Army in World War II employed a variety of commando and guerrilla operations to harass the Axis armies, gather intelligence, and ... Since 1866, when Italy dissolved the monasteries, the abbey has been a national monument, the monks remaining as custodians of the structure and its treasures. Sometimes referred to as the Battle of Rome, the Battle of Monte Cassino consisted of a series of four assaults by Allied forces against the defensive German Gustav Line. On January 17, 1944, the Allies launched one of the longest and bloodiest fights of the Italian campaign - the Battle of Monte Cassino. Yet the men who levelled the sanctified walls believed they had compelling reasons. The journalist Ilaria Dagnini Brey focuses her spellbinding account on the monuments officers of Italy, quickly dubbed "the Venus Fixers" by bemused troops. For the third day of the tour we moved away from the Cassino battlefield and on to Monte Piccolo. What is genre of tungkung langit and alunsina? Robin Hollamby 28th July 2015 29 Comments. On the morning of February 13, Clark talked on the telephone with Alexander and told him that he was “greatly concerned.” Despite Freyberg’s conviction that the Germans were using the abbey for military purposes, there was no firm proof. You have tirelessly taken care that these orders were most strictly observed.…Until the moment of the destruction…there was within the area of the abbey neither a German soldier, nor any German weapon, nor any German military installation.”, The General: “It came to my attention much too late that leaflets which gave notice of the bombing were dropped over the area of the monastery. He sent him under escort to Rome. For “along with the renunciation of good observation posts and good positions of concealment on our part, the Anglo-Americans almost certainly would not bother about any sort of agreement at the decisive moment [of battle] but would without scruple place themselves in occupation of this point [the abbey itself] which in certain circumstances might be decisive [for the outcome].”, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, the commander in chief of the German forces in Italy, gave Vieiingholf an unequivocal answer. " "Zumbro also recounts the story of Field Marshal Walter Model's final hours. In all, 55,000 Allies and 20,000 Germans died in the battle. Tourists speeding along the new superhighway between Naples and Rome can look across the fields and see it plainly in all its glory. The Battle of Monte Cassino (also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino) was a costly series of four battles during World War II, fought by the Allies with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome.. the Allies launched the invasion of Normandy. This confirmed the military necessity of a bombardment. Advancing in Italy toward Rome, the Allies attack the Gustav Line, held . Following Operation HUSKY in Sicily, the Allies invaded southern Italy with landings in September 1943.Naples and Foggia fell on 1 October 1943, bringing significant new airfields into Allied hands. If Clark refused an air bombardment and the Indian attack failed, he supposed he would be blamed for the failure. It is really a delight to visit the Abbey of Montecassino to admire its beautiful architectural splendor and remember its history. Importance and End Result: Monte Cassino has effectively blocked the Allies route north to Rome and had to be taken despite the difficulties of doing so. The Italian Campaign of World War II: The History of the Allied Operations that Knocked Fascist Italy Out of the War chronicles the crucial fighting, which featured the largest amphibious invasion in history at the time. The restrictions on that particular target, Gruenther said, made it impossible for him to approve the request. These considerations, he felt, were more valid than the slim chance of facilitating the capture of the mountain. Monte Cassino effectively blocked the Allies route north to Rome and had to be taken despite the difficulties of doing so from a military point of view. A refugee — at some danger to himself, for there was firing all around — emerged from the building and retrieved one. But “in view of General Freyberg’s position in the British Empire forces, the situation was a delicate one, and General Clark hesitated to give him such an order without first referring the matter to General Alexander.” Clark emphasized that a bombardment would endanger the lives of civilian refugees in the building, and that it very probably would enhance the value of the monastery as a defensive fortification. Meanwhile, Gruenther was to go ahead and set up the bombing mission — but to schedule it for no earlier than 10 A.M. By that time, Clark hoped to have spoken with Alexander; if Alexander changed his mind, the bombardment could still be cancelled. Please support this 70-year tradition of trusted historical writing and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to American Heritage. Offers an authoritative account of the lesser-known yet devastatingly brutal battle waged by the Italian campaign during World War II. The First Battle of Cassino dragged on until mid-February. The announcement seemed final, but Gruenther tried to argue. He refrained from looking out of the windows. Taking place between the 17th of January and the 18th of May 1944, Monte Cassino was a series of four Allied assaults against the so-called 'Winter Line', a series of German and Italian Social Republic fortifications and installations that aimed to protect the route to Rome from Allied invasion. “Italian friends,” read the leaflet dropped on Monte Cassino. It was held at the narrow coastal pass of Thermopylae ("The Hot Gates") in August or September 480 BC. The production started with a statement read by a lieutenant: The Abbey Monte Cassino is completely destroyed. Clark’s view was clear — he was against a bombing, so much so that if Freyberg were an American, Clark would turn him down. By the end of 1943, the Allied advance northwards into Italy had forced the Germans back to the fourth and best fortified of their defensive lines. A New Zealander of imposing physical appearance and impressive reputation, Freyberg was a legendary hero of World War I. The embittered Battle of Monte Cassino was a decisive triumph contributing to the advance to Rome. At times it involved over 30 different nationalities in a struggle that has been likened to Stalingrad in its ferocity. Incidentally, it became the focal point of the Battle of Monte Cassino. The setting was World War II, the stage the Italian campaign, and the destruction an apparent departure from a consistent policy scrupulously observed. But the human and material cost was high, and the Allies had not succeeded in seriously disrupting the Germans' staged withdrawal to prepared defensive positions. I want three missions of twelve planes each; the planes to be Kitty Bombers carrying thousand-pound bombs.”. Allied offense on Jan 22, 1944, that tried to cross the Gargaliano First full-length analysis of Norman military organisation in the Balkans: events, strategy, and tactics. He was now saying that the abbey would have to be flattened before the Indians could take the mountain. Before we can ascertain the significance of the Battles of Monte Cassino, and their role in breaking the bastion of German defence along the Gustav line, we must first understand the key motivations behind the instigating of the Italian Campaign itself. And this depended on getting across the Rapido River. In addition, Cassino was outflanked by French Moroccan 8th Army troops in the west and a Polish division in the north. Therefore, the enemy measures lack any legal basis.”. Halfway between Naples and Rome, on a mountaintop and visible for miles, stands the Benedictine abbey of Monte Cassino, serene and benign, apparently indestructible.
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