The Battle of Monte 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. From January 17 to May 18 1944, the Gustav defenses were assaulted four times by Allied troops. These operations resulted in casualties of over 54,000 Allied and 20,000 German soldiers.
On the western front, the U.S. 5th Army, commanded by Lieutenant-General Mark W. Clark, moved from the main base of Naples up the Italian "boot" and in the east General Sir Bernard Montgomery's British 8th Army advanced up the Adriatic coast.
5th Army made slow progress in the face of difficult terrain, wet weather and skillful German defenses. The Germans were fighting from a series of prepared positions in a way to inflict maximum damage and then pulling back, so buying time for the construction of the Winter Line defensive positions south of Rome.
The advance had ground to a halt with the onset of winter blizzards at the end of December, making movement in the jagged terrain and close air support impossible. The route to Rome, highway 7 (the old Roman Appian Way) followed along the west coast, but ran into the Pontine Marshes which the Germans had flooded. Highway 6 ran through the Liri valley.
Dominating the south entrance to this valley was the hill mass behind the town of Cassino. Excellent observation from the peaks of several hills allowed the German defenders to detect Allied movement, prevent any advance northward, and direct artillery fire on Allied units. With its heavily fortified mountain defenses, difficult river crossings (not only was the river fast flowing, but the Germans had temporarily diverted the Rapido at the head of the valley so as to flood the valley bottom and make conditions underfoot most difficult for any attackers), Liri Valley formed a linchpin of the Gustav Line, the most formidable line of the defensive positions making up the Winter Line. |
