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On May 18, 1944, the Polish 2nd Army corps captured the Abbey at Monte Cassino, Italy. From the article:
"They really DID believe… Monte Cassino, 18 May – Polish at heart
They really DID believe… Monte Cassino, 18 May
Of the many accounts I’ve read about the Battle of Monte Cassino, these words hit me hard. They were recorded by someone who sat with the surviving soldiers many years later, during a commemorative event.
Polish soldiers who fought at Monte Cassino were no ordinary conscripts, drafted and sent to Italy. Most had been forcibly removed from their homes by the Russians, sent to Siberia to labour camps, endured near starvation and escaped on foot to Iran to join the Free Polish Forces as part of the Allied effort.
There are accounts of the battle by men who survived; but here, I want to remember those that perished. Men such as Ferdynand Ciastko, who did not live to see the Polish flag flying from the monastery, but lies in the cemetery.
Killed four days into the battle, he had not even celebrated his 18th birthday when war broke out in 1939. Ferdynand was an Ułan of the Karpacki Pułk Ułanów, (a Lancer from the Carpathian motorised Cavalry Regiment). He had spent his brief adulthood preparing to liberate not just Cassino, but Poland. We don’t know his journey, we don’t know who he left behind at home. The war for men like him was full of suffering and horror – perhaps tempered by hope and faith in a future, free Poland. Sadly that wasn’t to be. At the time of the battle and unknown to Ferdynand, Allied leaders Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin had already decided the fate of his home in the eastern lands of Poland.
Where is Monte Cassino? What happened?
The magnificent Abbey of Monte Cassino was built on a rocky hilltop in 529 AD by Saint Benedict. Despite being repeatedly sacked or destroyed in its early history, it survived in different forms throughout the ages. Geographically, it lies about 130 kilometres southeast of Rome, dominating the nearby town of Casino and the entrances to the Liri and Rapido valleys. Strategically, its importance lay in this, its location: guarding as it did the route to northern Italy. In 1944, as the Allies pushed towards Rome and with the German army in retreat, the hilltop and entrenched defenders were identified as a prime target for massive Allied bombardment in one of the fiercest actions of the Second World War.
Why were the Poles there?
The II Korpus Polskich Sił Zbrojnych na Zachodzie (Polish II Corps) was created in 1943 from various units fighting alongside the Allies, either in the Middle East or in the army formed with those evacuated from Russian labour camps. In November 1943 these troops, numbering about 50,000 soldiers were trained for mountain fighting and transferred to Italy ahead of the battle. Their task was to push the Germans back towards the North of Italy and do what had been tried several times without success: to break the Gustav Line of defence which stretched from east to west across the whole of Italy.
How long did the battle last?
The action wasn’t just one battle but a series of four assaults by the Allies against the Germans, that had begun in January 1944 after the Allies had landed in Italy the previous September. The forces of several Allied countries had attempted since mid-January to capture this German-held fortress. In February hundreds of tons of explosives were dropped by bombers, obliterating the Abbey, in the belief that it was occupied by German troops. Sadly, it seems this was not true but the German forces immediately utilised the rubble for cover making it even harder for Allied troops to make progress up the perilous slopes.
What was the battle like?
“All the trees were naked, stark and leafless. Route 6 dwindled into a ‘sheep track’ which wound its way through shell craters, bomb craters, and the gaunt remains of houses. All the way up this track was a mass of kit, blankets, bits of clothing, boots, steel helmets. The whole of the area in front of the town was a ghastly marsh, caused by lack of drainage and the bombs and shell which had blown everything to pieces. All the craters have filled with water, which stank horribly and were very often a watery grave. Down this grim avenue were many bodies, which had been untouched for weeks, a grim spectacle.“
“I looked up at the Monastery, a mass of jutting rubble. Every single tree on the shell-shattered mountain face below the Monastery was stark and naked.”
Major Hardy Parker was with the 2nd Battalion Royal Northumberland Fusiliers
The night before the attack, General Władysław Anders spoke to his troops saying “let the spirit of lions enter your hearts” and…”go and take a revenge for all the suffering in our land, for what you have suffered for many years in Russia and for years of separation from your families!”
The final assault on 11 May 1944 was led by the Poles. It opened with a massive bombardment manned by soldiers of many countries, and the task of the Poles was to gain the Abbey. On 17 May, they launched their second attack on Monte Cassino. The fighting was fierce and often hand-to-hand. The Poles, with little natural cover were under constant fire from the German positions. As the Allies linked up and squeezed their supply line, the Germans slowly, firing to the last, withdrew from the mountain. On the highest rocks, the Polish survivors were so battered that it took some time to find men with enough strength to climb the few hundred yards to the summit.
A patrol of the 12 Pułku Ułanów Podolskich (Podolski Regiment) entered the ruined Abbey on 18 May and Kazimierz Gurbiela raised the Polish flag, followed shortly by the British flag and plutonowy (platoon leader) Emil Czech, rushed to the summit despite retreating fire to play the Hejnał Mariacki (Kraków Anthem). For the soldiers it was a huge victory, despite the losses “from being prisoners in Russia, now we managed to show the world that we can fight.” said one soldier.
How many people died in the offensive?
The loss of life was massive, with the Allies losing 55,000 soldiers and an estimated 20,000 killed and wounded German soldiers.
Where are the cemeteries?
In 1945 a Polish cemetery was built on a flat area known as the “Valley of Death” between Monte Cassino and hill no 593, in the place where the main Polish attack went through. Designed by architects Jerzy Skolimowski and Wacław Hryniewicz and supervised by surviving fighter Roman Wajda, it forms a cross, guarded by two huge eagles with hussar wings sculpted by Cambelotti. Over a thousand crosses recall the sacrifice of these young men who fought and died for freedom and peace, together with their leader General Wladysław Anders, who was buried with them in 1970, followed by his wife Irena in 2010. In the Commonwealth War Graves lower down the mountain lie men from Britain, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and India. The American cemetery lies in Nettuno and in Caira, north of Cassino, 20,000 crosses mark the graves of the Germans.
Who wrote „Czerwone Maki na Monte Cassino (Red poppies on Monte Cassino)“?
Feliks Konarski (known as Ref-Ren) wrote the song with Alfred Schutz on the eve of the battle and it was sung on the day of victory for General Anders: “For the first time, singing “Red poppies on Monte Cassino”, we all cried. Red poppies, which bloomed over night, became one more symbol of bravery and sacrifice” said the author in his memoirs. It quickly became one of the most well known Polish war songs, sung by the singer and actress Irena Anders, the General’s wife.
The red poppies on Monte Cassino
Drank Polish blood instead of dew…
As the soldier crushed them in falling,
for their anger was more potent than death.
Years will pass and ages will roll,
but traces of bygone days will stay,
and the poppies on Monte Cassino
will be redder for Poles’ blood in their soil.
What happened afterwards?
Allied forces captured Rome soon after, on 4 June 1944. The Polish II Corps carried on fighting with distinction most notably in the Battle of Ancona and the Battle of Bologna during the final offensive in Italy in 1945. Rebuilding of the Abbey started during the 1950s and it was reconsecrated in 1964.
When is the battle commemorated?
The SPK (Polish Ex-Servicemen’s Association) and the Polish Scouts all over the world have returned to Monte Cassino, year after year to remember the sacrifice. The government of Communist Poland played down the event and only since Poland regained independence, has the Prime Minister of Poland or one of their Ministers attended, together with Polish schoolchildren to pay homage to those who died and lay flowers on their graves.
In 2014, Prince Harry visited together with Donald Tusk, the then Prime Minister of Poland and was visibly moved by the sacrifice. And yes, I was there too.
So how will you remember the dead of Monte Cassino?
Many of us have relatives who lived through it. My uncle was in the tank regiment and my grandfather stationed elsewhere, but for all Polish soldiers at the time it was a sign of great hope, and those poppies a symbol of their fervour. I have picked poppies every time I have been on Monte Cassino but you can’t be there every year, so this is why I love them and always have them in my garden – the plants grow strong and thick in May, the buds appear from nowhere and suddenly bloom with vibrant resplendent colour, yet only last a few days before a carpet of red adorns the ground. I never know which plant will survive one winter to the next, yet once it has, I know it will bloom with fierce strength.
And that is how I choose to remember Ferdynand Ciastko and his brother soldiers; for the freedom they believed in and died for."
"They really DID believe… Monte Cassino, 18 May – Polish at heart
They really DID believe… Monte Cassino, 18 May
Of the many accounts I’ve read about the Battle of Monte Cassino, these words hit me hard. They were recorded by someone who sat with the surviving soldiers many years later, during a commemorative event.
Polish soldiers who fought at Monte Cassino were no ordinary conscripts, drafted and sent to Italy. Most had been forcibly removed from their homes by the Russians, sent to Siberia to labour camps, endured near starvation and escaped on foot to Iran to join the Free Polish Forces as part of the Allied effort.
There are accounts of the battle by men who survived; but here, I want to remember those that perished. Men such as Ferdynand Ciastko, who did not live to see the Polish flag flying from the monastery, but lies in the cemetery.
Killed four days into the battle, he had not even celebrated his 18th birthday when war broke out in 1939. Ferdynand was an Ułan of the Karpacki Pułk Ułanów, (a Lancer from the Carpathian motorised Cavalry Regiment). He had spent his brief adulthood preparing to liberate not just Cassino, but Poland. We don’t know his journey, we don’t know who he left behind at home. The war for men like him was full of suffering and horror – perhaps tempered by hope and faith in a future, free Poland. Sadly that wasn’t to be. At the time of the battle and unknown to Ferdynand, Allied leaders Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin had already decided the fate of his home in the eastern lands of Poland.
Where is Monte Cassino? What happened?
The magnificent Abbey of Monte Cassino was built on a rocky hilltop in 529 AD by Saint Benedict. Despite being repeatedly sacked or destroyed in its early history, it survived in different forms throughout the ages. Geographically, it lies about 130 kilometres southeast of Rome, dominating the nearby town of Casino and the entrances to the Liri and Rapido valleys. Strategically, its importance lay in this, its location: guarding as it did the route to northern Italy. In 1944, as the Allies pushed towards Rome and with the German army in retreat, the hilltop and entrenched defenders were identified as a prime target for massive Allied bombardment in one of the fiercest actions of the Second World War.
Why were the Poles there?
The II Korpus Polskich Sił Zbrojnych na Zachodzie (Polish II Corps) was created in 1943 from various units fighting alongside the Allies, either in the Middle East or in the army formed with those evacuated from Russian labour camps. In November 1943 these troops, numbering about 50,000 soldiers were trained for mountain fighting and transferred to Italy ahead of the battle. Their task was to push the Germans back towards the North of Italy and do what had been tried several times without success: to break the Gustav Line of defence which stretched from east to west across the whole of Italy.
How long did the battle last?
The action wasn’t just one battle but a series of four assaults by the Allies against the Germans, that had begun in January 1944 after the Allies had landed in Italy the previous September. The forces of several Allied countries had attempted since mid-January to capture this German-held fortress. In February hundreds of tons of explosives were dropped by bombers, obliterating the Abbey, in the belief that it was occupied by German troops. Sadly, it seems this was not true but the German forces immediately utilised the rubble for cover making it even harder for Allied troops to make progress up the perilous slopes.
What was the battle like?
“All the trees were naked, stark and leafless. Route 6 dwindled into a ‘sheep track’ which wound its way through shell craters, bomb craters, and the gaunt remains of houses. All the way up this track was a mass of kit, blankets, bits of clothing, boots, steel helmets. The whole of the area in front of the town was a ghastly marsh, caused by lack of drainage and the bombs and shell which had blown everything to pieces. All the craters have filled with water, which stank horribly and were very often a watery grave. Down this grim avenue were many bodies, which had been untouched for weeks, a grim spectacle.“
“I looked up at the Monastery, a mass of jutting rubble. Every single tree on the shell-shattered mountain face below the Monastery was stark and naked.”
Major Hardy Parker was with the 2nd Battalion Royal Northumberland Fusiliers
The night before the attack, General Władysław Anders spoke to his troops saying “let the spirit of lions enter your hearts” and…”go and take a revenge for all the suffering in our land, for what you have suffered for many years in Russia and for years of separation from your families!”
The final assault on 11 May 1944 was led by the Poles. It opened with a massive bombardment manned by soldiers of many countries, and the task of the Poles was to gain the Abbey. On 17 May, they launched their second attack on Monte Cassino. The fighting was fierce and often hand-to-hand. The Poles, with little natural cover were under constant fire from the German positions. As the Allies linked up and squeezed their supply line, the Germans slowly, firing to the last, withdrew from the mountain. On the highest rocks, the Polish survivors were so battered that it took some time to find men with enough strength to climb the few hundred yards to the summit.
A patrol of the 12 Pułku Ułanów Podolskich (Podolski Regiment) entered the ruined Abbey on 18 May and Kazimierz Gurbiela raised the Polish flag, followed shortly by the British flag and plutonowy (platoon leader) Emil Czech, rushed to the summit despite retreating fire to play the Hejnał Mariacki (Kraków Anthem). For the soldiers it was a huge victory, despite the losses “from being prisoners in Russia, now we managed to show the world that we can fight.” said one soldier.
How many people died in the offensive?
The loss of life was massive, with the Allies losing 55,000 soldiers and an estimated 20,000 killed and wounded German soldiers.
Where are the cemeteries?
In 1945 a Polish cemetery was built on a flat area known as the “Valley of Death” between Monte Cassino and hill no 593, in the place where the main Polish attack went through. Designed by architects Jerzy Skolimowski and Wacław Hryniewicz and supervised by surviving fighter Roman Wajda, it forms a cross, guarded by two huge eagles with hussar wings sculpted by Cambelotti. Over a thousand crosses recall the sacrifice of these young men who fought and died for freedom and peace, together with their leader General Wladysław Anders, who was buried with them in 1970, followed by his wife Irena in 2010. In the Commonwealth War Graves lower down the mountain lie men from Britain, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and India. The American cemetery lies in Nettuno and in Caira, north of Cassino, 20,000 crosses mark the graves of the Germans.
Who wrote „Czerwone Maki na Monte Cassino (Red poppies on Monte Cassino)“?
Feliks Konarski (known as Ref-Ren) wrote the song with Alfred Schutz on the eve of the battle and it was sung on the day of victory for General Anders: “For the first time, singing “Red poppies on Monte Cassino”, we all cried. Red poppies, which bloomed over night, became one more symbol of bravery and sacrifice” said the author in his memoirs. It quickly became one of the most well known Polish war songs, sung by the singer and actress Irena Anders, the General’s wife.
The red poppies on Monte Cassino
Drank Polish blood instead of dew…
As the soldier crushed them in falling,
for their anger was more potent than death.
Years will pass and ages will roll,
but traces of bygone days will stay,
and the poppies on Monte Cassino
will be redder for Poles’ blood in their soil.
What happened afterwards?
Allied forces captured Rome soon after, on 4 June 1944. The Polish II Corps carried on fighting with distinction most notably in the Battle of Ancona and the Battle of Bologna during the final offensive in Italy in 1945. Rebuilding of the Abbey started during the 1950s and it was reconsecrated in 1964.
When is the battle commemorated?
The SPK (Polish Ex-Servicemen’s Association) and the Polish Scouts all over the world have returned to Monte Cassino, year after year to remember the sacrifice. The government of Communist Poland played down the event and only since Poland regained independence, has the Prime Minister of Poland or one of their Ministers attended, together with Polish schoolchildren to pay homage to those who died and lay flowers on their graves.
In 2014, Prince Harry visited together with Donald Tusk, the then Prime Minister of Poland and was visibly moved by the sacrifice. And yes, I was there too.
So how will you remember the dead of Monte Cassino?
Many of us have relatives who lived through it. My uncle was in the tank regiment and my grandfather stationed elsewhere, but for all Polish soldiers at the time it was a sign of great hope, and those poppies a symbol of their fervour. I have picked poppies every time I have been on Monte Cassino but you can’t be there every year, so this is why I love them and always have them in my garden – the plants grow strong and thick in May, the buds appear from nowhere and suddenly bloom with vibrant resplendent colour, yet only last a few days before a carpet of red adorns the ground. I never know which plant will survive one winter to the next, yet once it has, I know it will bloom with fierce strength.
And that is how I choose to remember Ferdynand Ciastko and his brother soldiers; for the freedom they believed in and died for."
They really DID believe… Monte Cassino, 18 May
Posted from polishatheart.com
WWII World War Two
World History
Military History
Combat
Warfare
Posted 4 y ago
Responses: 4
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Thank you my friend SGT (Join to see) for reminding us about the bitterly-fought series of battles on Monte Cassino along the German Gustav Defensive line.
Battlefield S5/E3 - The Battle for Monte Cassino
https://youtu.be/qtmMrusiywI?t=40
Images:
1. Polish soldiers inside the ruins of the Monte Cassino monastery, Italy, 18 May 1944
2. Polish troops carrying ammunition to the front lines, near Cassino, Italy, May 1944Polish troops carrying ammunition to the front lines, near Cassino, Italy, May 1944
3. Polish Generals Nikodem Sulik (left) and Zygmunt Bohusz-Szyszko (right) in Italy, 1944
4. Troops of Polish 2nd Corps fighting near Cassino, Italy, May 1944
1. Background from {[https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/the-italian-campaign/cassino]}
"The Italian Campaign
Cassino
The struggle for Cassino in early 1944 was one of the most brutal and costly battles involving New Zealand forces in the Second World War. For the New Zealand Division, this German strongpoint southeast of Rome would prove the most tragically elusive prize of the Italian campaign.
The Germans' success in resisting the Allied offensive along the Gustav Line prompted the Allies to switch their focus to the Liri Valley, which led directly to Rome. However, the entrance to the valley was just over ten kilometres wide and was overlooked by the 500-metre-high Monte Cassino, topped by an historic Benedictine monastery.
A defender's dream
Augmented by the Germans' meticulous deployment of minefields, fortifications and flooding though demolition of stop-banks, Cassino was a defender's dream and an attacking army's nightmare. New Zealand involvement in this challenging task was in part due to the failure of the American 5th Army's attempt to bypass the German front line by staging a seaborne attack at Anzio, south of Rome. An initial attack by American forces on Cassino in January had already met with heavy losses and a failure to break through to the Liri Valley.
Temporarily heading a New Zealand Corps (a unit which included the New Zealand Division and the 4th Indian Division), Lieutenant-General Sir Bernard Freyberg now steeled himself and his forces for the battle ahead. Desperate to minimise casualties, he requested a massive bombardment of the German defences to precede the assault by his troops. As this included the historic monastery, the decision needed direct approval by the Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean, General Sir Harold Alexander. The subsequent aerial bombardment on 15 February laid waste the monastery and its environs.
Controversy about this decision would persist long after the war was over. Tragically for the waiting New Zealand soldiers, most of the German defenders survived and exploited the ruins of the town and monastery to create an even more formidable set of defences.
The 17 February attack
Adding to the New Zealand Corps’ woes, the aerial bombardment took place a day and a half before the corps was prepared to mount an attack. They nevertheless proceeded with the plan, which involved the Indian Division attacking Cassino from the north, while the New Zealanders were to attack the town from the south with the hope of punching an opening for the Allies into the Liri Valley. Due to the Germans’ demolition of floodbanks south of Cassino, only one New Zealand battalion was able to cross the flooded Rapido in the southern attack. It fell to the 28th (Māori) Battalion to initiate the attack on the town's well-defended railway station south of the town on 17 February.
After one of the fiercest and costliest battles fought by the unit during the war, men of the battalion seized positions in and around the station. But the equally courageous engineers following behind them were unable to clear a path through the flooded terrain for reinforcements. Without support, the isolated Māori soldiers were forced to withdraw after a withering counter-attack by German infantry backed by tanks. Over 150 of the Battalion's men were killed, wounded or captured in this failed attack — the first of a number of setbacks for the Division at Cassino.
Further assaults fail
A series of other brave but unsuccessful assaults ensued. After another heavy bombardment, New Zealand forces fought their way into the devastated town from the north on 15 March. Once again, the Germans put up tenacious resistance from hidden positions in the maze of rubble that was once Cassino. In creating ideal positions for enemy snipers and hindering access for New Zealand’s armoured support, the bombing of the town had proved to be counter-productive. After eight days of fighting from one shattered building to the next, Freyberg decided the cost was proving too high and he ordered his troops to stop their attack. Shortly afterwards in early April, the New Zealand Division withdrew from the Cassino area, having suffered 343 deaths and over 600 wounded.
Cassino finally falls
Cassino finally fell in May 1944 to British and Polish troops, with support from New Zealand artillery. The Gustav Line was at last breached. Allied forces entered Rome on 4 June, two days before the D-Day landings in Normandy. The success of the cross-channel invasion meant that the Italian campaign became a secondary theatre of operations, with seven Allied divisions redeployed to France in August 1944. The Italian campaign's main purpose was now to divert part of the German war effort and to tie down forces which might otherwise have been used to defend France and Germany itself.
2. Battle of Monte Cassino Timeline from {[https://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=312]}
5 Nov 1943 In Italy, Lieutenant-General Richard McCreery's British X Corps reached Monte Camino, a 3,000-foot pinnacle overlooking the River Garigliano and the entrance to the Liri valley. Here, and in the surrounding hills, the Germans had laid extensive minefields and set booby-traps as well as blasting artillery, mortar and machine gun positions out of the solid rock. After several days of savage fighting in the cold and wet, Harold Alexander called off further action in order that the front-line divisions may be rested before trying again.
2 Dec 1943 The British 56th (London) Division, which had already been badly mauled in earlier fighting for Monte Camino, Italy, launched a new attack and reached the summit under cover of darkness, but it would take another four days of hard fighting before the position could be secured completely.
12 Jan 1944 General Alphonse Juin's Free French Expeditionary Corps launched an attack inland of Monto Cassino towards Castel Sant'Elia in Italy.
15 Jan 1944 Free French Expeditionary Corps reached Castel Sant'Elia, Italy.
17 Jan 1944 British X Corps attacked the western end of the German Gustav Line in Italy.
19 Jan 1944 British 46th Infantry Division attacked German positions near the junction of the Garigliano River and the Liri River in Italy.
20 Jan 1944 After sundown, US 141st Regiment and 143rd Regiment attacked across the Rapido River in Italy.
21 Jan 1944 In the mid-morning, German 15th Panzergrenadier Division wiped out the US beachheads along the Rapido River in Italy, forcing the survivors to withdraw back across the river. During the day, German 29th Panzergrenadier Division and 90th Panzergrenadier Division arrived in the region as reinforcement. After dark, US 141st Regiment and 143rd Regiment crossed the river again and established precarious footholds.
22 Jan 1944 German 15th Panzergrenadier Division wiped out new beachheads on the Rapido River in Italy established by US 141st Regiment and 143rd Regiment through the previous night.
24 Jan 1944 Hitler ordered that the Gustav Line in Italy was to be held at all costs. Meanwhile, French forces attacked north of Monte Cassino and US 34th Infantry Division attacked across the Rapido River north of Cassino.
27 Jan 1944 Germans launched a counter attack against French troops near Cassino, Italy.
31 Jan 1944 US 34th Division crossed the Rapido River in Italy. Nearby, French Moroccan colonial troops were halted by troops of German 5th Mountain Division near Cassino and Monte Belvedere, Italy.
1 Feb 1944 German 44th Infantry Division fell back near the Rapido River toward Monte Cassino, Italy.
5 Feb 1944 US forces reached the outskirts of Cassino, Italy, but were held out of the town.
7 Feb 1944 US troops reached Point 445, a hill 370 meters away from the monastery at Monte Cassino, Italy.
8 Feb 1944 US troops began an major assault toward Monte Cassino, Italy.
11 Feb 1944 The US II Corps attack toward Monte Cassino, Italy was halted by German troops. Major General Harry Dimoline of Indian 4th Division requested the aerial bombing of the abbey atop Monte Cassino.
12 Feb 1944 Lieutenant General Bernard Freyberg requested Allied air forces for the bombing of the abbey at Monte Cassino, Italy.
13 Feb 1944 The monastery at Monte Cassino, Italy was given advance warning of the aerial bombing to come.
15 Feb 1944 142 B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, 47 B-25 Mitchell bombers, and 40 B-26 Marauder bombers dropped 1,150 tons of high explosive and incendiary bombs on the historic Benedictine monastery atop Monte Cassino, Italy. The aerial bombing was augmented by artillery shelling as well. In the evening, a company of 1st Battalion of British Royal Sussex Regiment of Indian 4th Division attacked neraby Point 593, but failed to capture the position.
16 Feb 1944 Fighter-bombers attacked the already-destroyed historic Benedictine monastery atop Monte Cassino, Italy.
17 Feb 1944 Indian 4th Division attacked Monte Cassino, Italy, failing to make advances and suffering heavy casualties. In parallel, Maori troops of the New Zealand Division established a small bridgehead across the nearby Rapido River.
18 Feb 1944 German tanks eliminated the 28th (Maori) Battalion bridgehead on the Rapido River in Italy.
2 Mar 1944 On Mount Trocchio near Cassino, Italy, walking down a path that was supposed to have been cleared, Major-General Howard Kippenberger, the admirable commander of the 2nd New Zealand Division, stepped on one of the vicious little wooden "Schu" mines. One of his feet was blown off and the other had to be amputated.
15 Mar 1944 At 0830 hours, the third major Allied attempt to attack Monte Cassino, Italy began with a heavy bombardment that lasted more than three hours.
16 Mar 1944 Allied troops continued the attack on Monte Cassino, Italy.
17 Mar 1944 New Zealand troops captured the train station at Cassino, Italy. Nearby, Indian Gurkha troops captured Point 435 (nicknamed Hangman's Hill).
18 Mar 1944 New Zealand troops mounted a failed armored attack on Cassino, Italy, losing all 17 tanks in the process.
19 Mar 1944 British and New Zealand troops attacked German positions in the Cassino, Italy area, making very little progress in the face of German 1st Parachute Division.
20 Mar 1944 British 78th Infantry Division joined in the attack of Cassino, Italy.
22 Mar 1944 General Alexander ceased the frontal attacks at Cassino, Italy.
24 Mar 1944 The Allied attacks on the Gustav Line were persistently repulsed by German defenders.
26 Mar 1944 The New Zealand Corps headquarters, currently near Cassino, Italy, was dissolved. Surviving troops were incorporated into British XIII Corps.
15 Apr 1944 The German defensive Gustav Line in Italy began to fall.
11 May 1944 Operation Diadem, the fourth Allied attempt at attacking Cassino, Italy, was launched at 2300 hours with 1,660 artillery pieces firing on German defensive positions. Troops of US Fifth and British Eighth Armies advanced toward German positions behind the artillery barrage.
12 May 1944 Near Cassino, Italy, engineers of Indian 8th Division successfully established a bridge to allow tanks of Canadian 1st Armoured Brigade to cross the Rapido River, while Polish troops engaged in fierce fighting with troops of German 1st Parachute Division at Point 593.
14 May 1944 French Moroccan colonial troops outflanked German defenses in the Liri River valley in Italy.
15 May 1944 British 78th Division joined in on the attack of Cassino, Italy as German troops withdrew from Gustav Line to Hitler Line 30 miles to the south of Rome, Italy.
17 May 1944 German troops evacuated Cassino, Italy. Meanwhile, the French penetration of the Gustav Line reached 25 miles. Nearby, Polish troops launched what was to become the final attack on Monte Cassino.
18 May 1944 British 78th Division linked up with the Polish Corps in the Liri River valley 3.2 kilometers west of Cassino, Italy. Later on the same day, Polish troops captured the ruins of the Monte Cassino monastery.
19 May 1944 French Moroccan colonial troops plundered villages near Cassino, Italy.
23 May 1944 Troops of Polish II Corps and Canadian 1st Infantry Division attacked Piedimonte, Italy.
24 May 1944 The German Senger Line south of Rome, Italy was breached by troops of Canadian 1st Infantry Division, Canadian 5th Armoured Division, and II Polish Corps.
25 May 1944 Polish troops captured Piedimonte, Italy.
FYI 1SG Walter Craig SPC Randy Zimmerman LTC Greg Henning LTC (Join to see) LTC Wayne Brandon SMSgt Lawrence McCarter TSgt David L. 1SG Steven Imerman 1SG Joseph Dartey SGT Jim Arnold SSgt Terry P. Maj Robert Thornton SFC (Join to see) SGT Steve McFarland Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. PFC Richard Hughes SSG (Join to see) PO2 (Join to see)Capt Rich Buckley
Battlefield S5/E3 - The Battle for Monte Cassino
https://youtu.be/qtmMrusiywI?t=40
Images:
1. Polish soldiers inside the ruins of the Monte Cassino monastery, Italy, 18 May 1944
2. Polish troops carrying ammunition to the front lines, near Cassino, Italy, May 1944Polish troops carrying ammunition to the front lines, near Cassino, Italy, May 1944
3. Polish Generals Nikodem Sulik (left) and Zygmunt Bohusz-Szyszko (right) in Italy, 1944
4. Troops of Polish 2nd Corps fighting near Cassino, Italy, May 1944
1. Background from {[https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/the-italian-campaign/cassino]}
"The Italian Campaign
Cassino
The struggle for Cassino in early 1944 was one of the most brutal and costly battles involving New Zealand forces in the Second World War. For the New Zealand Division, this German strongpoint southeast of Rome would prove the most tragically elusive prize of the Italian campaign.
The Germans' success in resisting the Allied offensive along the Gustav Line prompted the Allies to switch their focus to the Liri Valley, which led directly to Rome. However, the entrance to the valley was just over ten kilometres wide and was overlooked by the 500-metre-high Monte Cassino, topped by an historic Benedictine monastery.
A defender's dream
Augmented by the Germans' meticulous deployment of minefields, fortifications and flooding though demolition of stop-banks, Cassino was a defender's dream and an attacking army's nightmare. New Zealand involvement in this challenging task was in part due to the failure of the American 5th Army's attempt to bypass the German front line by staging a seaborne attack at Anzio, south of Rome. An initial attack by American forces on Cassino in January had already met with heavy losses and a failure to break through to the Liri Valley.
Temporarily heading a New Zealand Corps (a unit which included the New Zealand Division and the 4th Indian Division), Lieutenant-General Sir Bernard Freyberg now steeled himself and his forces for the battle ahead. Desperate to minimise casualties, he requested a massive bombardment of the German defences to precede the assault by his troops. As this included the historic monastery, the decision needed direct approval by the Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean, General Sir Harold Alexander. The subsequent aerial bombardment on 15 February laid waste the monastery and its environs.
Controversy about this decision would persist long after the war was over. Tragically for the waiting New Zealand soldiers, most of the German defenders survived and exploited the ruins of the town and monastery to create an even more formidable set of defences.
The 17 February attack
Adding to the New Zealand Corps’ woes, the aerial bombardment took place a day and a half before the corps was prepared to mount an attack. They nevertheless proceeded with the plan, which involved the Indian Division attacking Cassino from the north, while the New Zealanders were to attack the town from the south with the hope of punching an opening for the Allies into the Liri Valley. Due to the Germans’ demolition of floodbanks south of Cassino, only one New Zealand battalion was able to cross the flooded Rapido in the southern attack. It fell to the 28th (Māori) Battalion to initiate the attack on the town's well-defended railway station south of the town on 17 February.
After one of the fiercest and costliest battles fought by the unit during the war, men of the battalion seized positions in and around the station. But the equally courageous engineers following behind them were unable to clear a path through the flooded terrain for reinforcements. Without support, the isolated Māori soldiers were forced to withdraw after a withering counter-attack by German infantry backed by tanks. Over 150 of the Battalion's men were killed, wounded or captured in this failed attack — the first of a number of setbacks for the Division at Cassino.
Further assaults fail
A series of other brave but unsuccessful assaults ensued. After another heavy bombardment, New Zealand forces fought their way into the devastated town from the north on 15 March. Once again, the Germans put up tenacious resistance from hidden positions in the maze of rubble that was once Cassino. In creating ideal positions for enemy snipers and hindering access for New Zealand’s armoured support, the bombing of the town had proved to be counter-productive. After eight days of fighting from one shattered building to the next, Freyberg decided the cost was proving too high and he ordered his troops to stop their attack. Shortly afterwards in early April, the New Zealand Division withdrew from the Cassino area, having suffered 343 deaths and over 600 wounded.
Cassino finally falls
Cassino finally fell in May 1944 to British and Polish troops, with support from New Zealand artillery. The Gustav Line was at last breached. Allied forces entered Rome on 4 June, two days before the D-Day landings in Normandy. The success of the cross-channel invasion meant that the Italian campaign became a secondary theatre of operations, with seven Allied divisions redeployed to France in August 1944. The Italian campaign's main purpose was now to divert part of the German war effort and to tie down forces which might otherwise have been used to defend France and Germany itself.
2. Battle of Monte Cassino Timeline from {[https://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=312]}
5 Nov 1943 In Italy, Lieutenant-General Richard McCreery's British X Corps reached Monte Camino, a 3,000-foot pinnacle overlooking the River Garigliano and the entrance to the Liri valley. Here, and in the surrounding hills, the Germans had laid extensive minefields and set booby-traps as well as blasting artillery, mortar and machine gun positions out of the solid rock. After several days of savage fighting in the cold and wet, Harold Alexander called off further action in order that the front-line divisions may be rested before trying again.
2 Dec 1943 The British 56th (London) Division, which had already been badly mauled in earlier fighting for Monte Camino, Italy, launched a new attack and reached the summit under cover of darkness, but it would take another four days of hard fighting before the position could be secured completely.
12 Jan 1944 General Alphonse Juin's Free French Expeditionary Corps launched an attack inland of Monto Cassino towards Castel Sant'Elia in Italy.
15 Jan 1944 Free French Expeditionary Corps reached Castel Sant'Elia, Italy.
17 Jan 1944 British X Corps attacked the western end of the German Gustav Line in Italy.
19 Jan 1944 British 46th Infantry Division attacked German positions near the junction of the Garigliano River and the Liri River in Italy.
20 Jan 1944 After sundown, US 141st Regiment and 143rd Regiment attacked across the Rapido River in Italy.
21 Jan 1944 In the mid-morning, German 15th Panzergrenadier Division wiped out the US beachheads along the Rapido River in Italy, forcing the survivors to withdraw back across the river. During the day, German 29th Panzergrenadier Division and 90th Panzergrenadier Division arrived in the region as reinforcement. After dark, US 141st Regiment and 143rd Regiment crossed the river again and established precarious footholds.
22 Jan 1944 German 15th Panzergrenadier Division wiped out new beachheads on the Rapido River in Italy established by US 141st Regiment and 143rd Regiment through the previous night.
24 Jan 1944 Hitler ordered that the Gustav Line in Italy was to be held at all costs. Meanwhile, French forces attacked north of Monte Cassino and US 34th Infantry Division attacked across the Rapido River north of Cassino.
27 Jan 1944 Germans launched a counter attack against French troops near Cassino, Italy.
31 Jan 1944 US 34th Division crossed the Rapido River in Italy. Nearby, French Moroccan colonial troops were halted by troops of German 5th Mountain Division near Cassino and Monte Belvedere, Italy.
1 Feb 1944 German 44th Infantry Division fell back near the Rapido River toward Monte Cassino, Italy.
5 Feb 1944 US forces reached the outskirts of Cassino, Italy, but were held out of the town.
7 Feb 1944 US troops reached Point 445, a hill 370 meters away from the monastery at Monte Cassino, Italy.
8 Feb 1944 US troops began an major assault toward Monte Cassino, Italy.
11 Feb 1944 The US II Corps attack toward Monte Cassino, Italy was halted by German troops. Major General Harry Dimoline of Indian 4th Division requested the aerial bombing of the abbey atop Monte Cassino.
12 Feb 1944 Lieutenant General Bernard Freyberg requested Allied air forces for the bombing of the abbey at Monte Cassino, Italy.
13 Feb 1944 The monastery at Monte Cassino, Italy was given advance warning of the aerial bombing to come.
15 Feb 1944 142 B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, 47 B-25 Mitchell bombers, and 40 B-26 Marauder bombers dropped 1,150 tons of high explosive and incendiary bombs on the historic Benedictine monastery atop Monte Cassino, Italy. The aerial bombing was augmented by artillery shelling as well. In the evening, a company of 1st Battalion of British Royal Sussex Regiment of Indian 4th Division attacked neraby Point 593, but failed to capture the position.
16 Feb 1944 Fighter-bombers attacked the already-destroyed historic Benedictine monastery atop Monte Cassino, Italy.
17 Feb 1944 Indian 4th Division attacked Monte Cassino, Italy, failing to make advances and suffering heavy casualties. In parallel, Maori troops of the New Zealand Division established a small bridgehead across the nearby Rapido River.
18 Feb 1944 German tanks eliminated the 28th (Maori) Battalion bridgehead on the Rapido River in Italy.
2 Mar 1944 On Mount Trocchio near Cassino, Italy, walking down a path that was supposed to have been cleared, Major-General Howard Kippenberger, the admirable commander of the 2nd New Zealand Division, stepped on one of the vicious little wooden "Schu" mines. One of his feet was blown off and the other had to be amputated.
15 Mar 1944 At 0830 hours, the third major Allied attempt to attack Monte Cassino, Italy began with a heavy bombardment that lasted more than three hours.
16 Mar 1944 Allied troops continued the attack on Monte Cassino, Italy.
17 Mar 1944 New Zealand troops captured the train station at Cassino, Italy. Nearby, Indian Gurkha troops captured Point 435 (nicknamed Hangman's Hill).
18 Mar 1944 New Zealand troops mounted a failed armored attack on Cassino, Italy, losing all 17 tanks in the process.
19 Mar 1944 British and New Zealand troops attacked German positions in the Cassino, Italy area, making very little progress in the face of German 1st Parachute Division.
20 Mar 1944 British 78th Infantry Division joined in the attack of Cassino, Italy.
22 Mar 1944 General Alexander ceased the frontal attacks at Cassino, Italy.
24 Mar 1944 The Allied attacks on the Gustav Line were persistently repulsed by German defenders.
26 Mar 1944 The New Zealand Corps headquarters, currently near Cassino, Italy, was dissolved. Surviving troops were incorporated into British XIII Corps.
15 Apr 1944 The German defensive Gustav Line in Italy began to fall.
11 May 1944 Operation Diadem, the fourth Allied attempt at attacking Cassino, Italy, was launched at 2300 hours with 1,660 artillery pieces firing on German defensive positions. Troops of US Fifth and British Eighth Armies advanced toward German positions behind the artillery barrage.
12 May 1944 Near Cassino, Italy, engineers of Indian 8th Division successfully established a bridge to allow tanks of Canadian 1st Armoured Brigade to cross the Rapido River, while Polish troops engaged in fierce fighting with troops of German 1st Parachute Division at Point 593.
14 May 1944 French Moroccan colonial troops outflanked German defenses in the Liri River valley in Italy.
15 May 1944 British 78th Division joined in on the attack of Cassino, Italy as German troops withdrew from Gustav Line to Hitler Line 30 miles to the south of Rome, Italy.
17 May 1944 German troops evacuated Cassino, Italy. Meanwhile, the French penetration of the Gustav Line reached 25 miles. Nearby, Polish troops launched what was to become the final attack on Monte Cassino.
18 May 1944 British 78th Division linked up with the Polish Corps in the Liri River valley 3.2 kilometers west of Cassino, Italy. Later on the same day, Polish troops captured the ruins of the Monte Cassino monastery.
19 May 1944 French Moroccan colonial troops plundered villages near Cassino, Italy.
23 May 1944 Troops of Polish II Corps and Canadian 1st Infantry Division attacked Piedimonte, Italy.
24 May 1944 The German Senger Line south of Rome, Italy was breached by troops of Canadian 1st Infantry Division, Canadian 5th Armoured Division, and II Polish Corps.
25 May 1944 Polish troops captured Piedimonte, Italy.
FYI 1SG Walter Craig SPC Randy Zimmerman LTC Greg Henning LTC (Join to see) LTC Wayne Brandon SMSgt Lawrence McCarter TSgt David L. 1SG Steven Imerman 1SG Joseph Dartey SGT Jim Arnold SSgt Terry P. Maj Robert Thornton SFC (Join to see) SGT Steve McFarland Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. PFC Richard Hughes SSG (Join to see) PO2 (Join to see)Capt Rich Buckley
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LTC Stephen F.
James teams up with Second World War Polish history aficionado Simon Rees to explore the battle of Monte Cassino. Together they investigate the story of the ...
The Battle of Monte Cassino
James teams up with Second World War Polish history aficionado Simon Rees to explore the battle of Monte Cassino. Together they investigate the story of the Polish II Corps under General Anders and its part in the bloody battle fought over 70 years ago. It’s an epic story of survival, bravery and victory, but one that is also tempered by a sense of betrayal. Instead of gaining freedom and democracy, the Western Allies allow post-war Poland to slide into Stalin’s iron grip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-Qot_qyrDs
Image:
1. Polish bugler Master Corporal Emil Czech playing the Hejnał mariacki, announcing the victory at Monte Cassino, Italy, 18 May 1944
2. Entertaining Polish troops, Italy, May 1944
3. Monte Cassino monastery in ruins, Italy, 1944
4. German MG42 machine gun crew fighting in Monte Cassino, Italy, Apr 1944,
5. German troops posing with a Sturmgeschütz III vehicle, near Monte Cassino, Italy, Apr-May 1944
FYI MSG (Join to see)SGT Gregory Lawritson SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT John " Mac " McConnell SGT (Join to see) CWO3 (Join to see) PO1 William "Chip" Nagel LTC (Join to see)SGT Robert R.CPT Tommy Curtis Col Carl Whicker SPC Margaret Higgins
~1628331:SPC Chris Bayner-Cwik]PO1 Robert GeorgeSSG Robert Mark Odom LTC Jeff ShearerCWO3 Dennis M. SFC William Farrell 1stsgt Glenn Brackin
James teams up with Second World War Polish history aficionado Simon Rees to explore the battle of Monte Cassino. Together they investigate the story of the Polish II Corps under General Anders and its part in the bloody battle fought over 70 years ago. It’s an epic story of survival, bravery and victory, but one that is also tempered by a sense of betrayal. Instead of gaining freedom and democracy, the Western Allies allow post-war Poland to slide into Stalin’s iron grip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-Qot_qyrDs
Image:
1. Polish bugler Master Corporal Emil Czech playing the Hejnał mariacki, announcing the victory at Monte Cassino, Italy, 18 May 1944
2. Entertaining Polish troops, Italy, May 1944
3. Monte Cassino monastery in ruins, Italy, 1944
4. German MG42 machine gun crew fighting in Monte Cassino, Italy, Apr 1944,
5. German troops posing with a Sturmgeschütz III vehicle, near Monte Cassino, Italy, Apr-May 1944
FYI MSG (Join to see)SGT Gregory Lawritson SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT John " Mac " McConnell SGT (Join to see) CWO3 (Join to see) PO1 William "Chip" Nagel LTC (Join to see)SGT Robert R.CPT Tommy Curtis Col Carl Whicker SPC Margaret Higgins
~1628331:SPC Chris Bayner-Cwik]PO1 Robert GeorgeSSG Robert Mark Odom LTC Jeff ShearerCWO3 Dennis M. SFC William Farrell 1stsgt Glenn Brackin
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LTC Stephen F.
FYI SGT (Join to see)PO3 Bob McCord [~655611:spc-douglas-bolton Cynthia Croft SSG Donald H "Don" Bates SSG William JonesSP5 Jesse EngelSPC Matthew LambSSG Robert "Rob" WentworthCW4 G.L. SmithSPC Russ BoltonSFC Terry WilcoxPO2 Roger LafarletteSPC Nancy GreeneSSG Franklin Briant Sgt Kelli Mays Lt Col Charlie Brown Lt Col John (Jack) ChristensenTSgt George Rodriguez
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SPC Margaret Higgins
LTC Stephen F. - My Dear Brother-in-CHRIST, Steve, I thank you; beyond compare; for mentioning my name!
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