The battle of montecassino

THE BATTLE OF MONTECASSINO  

The soft underbelly

After the Axis retreat and allied victory on the island of Sicily, it was only a matter of time before the Allies carried out a landing on the mainland of Italy, the 'soft underbelly of Europe'. This they did on the toe of Italy, when the British 8th Army landed at Reggio on the 3rd September and Taranto on the 9th. Both of these landings were uncontested by the Germans as they had pulled out of the area some time before.
The US 5th Army then landed on the west coast further north at Salerno on September 9th 1943 to coincide with the Italian armistice. This  move was predicted by the commander of German forces in Italy, Field Marshall Kesselring. In expectation of a landing at Salerno the 16th Panzer Division was moved to the area to meet the invasion. The German 10th Army was then mobilized behind the 16th Panzer to help drive the Allied invasion force back into the sea.

The Gustav Line

 Less than a kilometre  west of Cassino town stood Monte Cassino towering 1700 ft above the town below.
On top of Monte Cassino stood the centuries old Benedictine Monastery, the scene of many battles over the centuries. Monte Cassino became the hub of the German Gustav line, situated 100 miles south east of Rome. Cassino town was first bombed on the 10th September when targets all along the Garigliano river were hit. It caused heavy casualties amongst the civilian population, many took refuge in the monastery at Monte Cassino. The 14th Panzer Corps couldn't live up to their title, they were desperately short of tanks and had to rely mainly on infantry, amongst their ranks men of the 1st Parachute Division who had been moved from the Adriatic sector held by LI Gebirgs Korps.
 By the time the 5th Army Group had resumed their advance, the Germans had firmly dug themselves in on the Gustav defensive line in expectation of the allied offensive.
Facing the Cassino front the allies now had seven Commonwealth divisions, containing men from India, New Zealand, South Africa (who had an armoured division in reserve) & Brazil, also five American, five British, four French and three Polish Divisions. A formidable force.

The Allied governments accused the Germans of using the Monastery as a strong point, which they strongly denied, although they were dug in on the slopes of the monastery. The Germans had encompassed Monte Cassino into their defence line so the allies, although reluctant to do so, agreed that in the near future it would probably have to be bombed.
It was Oberst Schlegel of the Hermann Goering Panzer Division who was responsible for getting all the treasures and works of art within the Monastery, out of harms way before they could be destroyed. They were removed in October to a safer location in the north before being handed over to the Italian government.

The First Battle

The first allied assault on the Gustav line came on the 17th January 1944 to coincide with the landings at Anzio, planned for the 22nd.Both the British and the French had limited success, they never managed to complete the flanking manoeuvre. They met heavy resistance and all they could do was dig in around the hills and mountains behind Montecassino.
The American 36th Division spent a couple of days preparing for their assault. Boats were bought up to the front to carry the men across the River. They were supported by artillery who bought shells down on the German defenders. Some elements of the 36th reached the other side of the river and attacked German positions.
The Americans on the German side found themselves surrounded.
The order to pull back was given on the 22nd , not before the 36th had suffered heavy casualties.

They had been unable to penetrate the excellent German defences.

The Second Battle

The next assault on the Cassino front was planned for the 15th February. On the 14th, leaflets were dropped onto the monastery telling the occupants and refugees that the allies had decided to bomb Monte Cassino. On the 15th the bombing began in earnest. It was the first time that heavy bombers had been used in the support of infantry and the first time that bombers from England had attacked an Italian target. The monastery was pulverized, its architecture destroyed and left in ruins; there was uproar from all round the world at the destruction of this holy bastion.
 After the bombing ceased, the infantry attack began. Positions around the monastery and surrounding hills were defended by men of the 90th Panzer Grenadier.The 1st Parachute Division's machine gun Battalion took up positions on the hill itself.
The New Zealanders assault was met with fierce tank and artillery fire, which forced the Kiwis back across the Rapido River, suffering heavy casualties in the process. 
Indian troops attempted to assault Calvary Hill, which was being held by the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Parachute Regiment, but were almost decimated in the process. The assault was called off on the 19th February.

The Third Battle

Then on the morning of 15th March in fine weather, another bombardment began.
General Heidrich was at 3rd Regiment HQ when the bombardment began. He concentrated his own artillery and mortar fire on Kiwi positions in the town, which also helped to stall the New Zealanders.
The monastery was again bombed but the defenders remained un-scathed in their underground bunkers. 
On the 19th March the Allied high command ordered another push to take German strong points in the town and a frontal assault on Monte Cassino from Hangmans Hill by the Ghurkas who would be reinforced by men from Castle Hill, who in turn were to be relieved by Indian troops 

By the afternoon of the 19th the frontal assault was called off.

Most of Cassino town was now in the hands of the Kiwi's, reinforcements had managed to get through to the beleaguered defenders of Castle Hill overlooking the town.
On the 23rd March the allied attack was called off. Nearly 3000 men had been lost since the 15th March.

The Fourth Battle

Late in the evening of the 11th May 1944 the opening barrage of 2000 allied artillery pieces caught the German Paras totally by surprise.
The French Expeditionary Force had successfully advanced up the Liri Valley, battling with German defenders on the way.
The US 2nd Corps advancing northwards up the coast towards Anzio were supported by allied warships, which pounded German positions.
The Germans were barely holding on to the Gustav line, it had been penetrated and the German positions were being bypassed.
 As allied forces were penetrating the Gustav line backed up by a Canadian Army Corps, (a unit unknown to the Germans), the order came from Field Marshall Kesselring, commander Army Group C, to withdrawal from positions in Cassino town, the monastery and surrounding hills and mountains. The allies had made the mistake of not cutting Route 6, the main highway linking the south to Rome, allowing thousands of German troops to escape northwards.

The town of Cassino finally fell on the 17th May.  

Only the wounded remained at Monte Cassino under Hauptmann Herbert Karl Beyer (commander I/FJR4), himself seriously wounded. The Poles entered the monastery early on the 18th May, where they proudly raised their flag over the ruins where so many of their men had sacrificed their lives. Nearly 1000 Poles were killed and 3000 wounded in the assaults on Montecassino.
Altogether the Germans had lost 20 000 men in the defence of the Gustav line.

During the German retreat they destroyed bridges, laid mines on roads and prepared ambushes, all designed to delay the advancing Allied forces.
On the 23rd May, the US 6th Corps broke out of the beachead at Anzio and on the 25th May linked up with the US 2nd Corps. The German 14th Army at Anzio and the 10th Army withdrawing from their defensive positions  were partially encircled by this joint US force as they moved north, but avoided encirclement when it was decided that the Americans would head for Rome, which they then entered on the 4th June 1944. The German forces slipped past the outskirts of Rome the same time the Allies entered.