From esteemed historian Carlo D'Este, World War II in the Mediterranean (published 1990), pages 156–157.
The approaches to Cassino lay in full view of the defenders.
A series of attacks in early February [1944] by the U.S. 34th Infantry Division threatened both the town and the heights of Monastery Hill. An excellent opportunity to have won what historians have designated the First Battle of Cassino was lost when no effort was made to reinforce the 34th Division.
Meanwhile the Germans had rushed in reinforcements to fend off this dire threat. Like the battles being fought at Anzio, the ferocious engagements fought in the jagged mountains surrounding Cassino were among the lesser-known horrors of the Italian campaign. Most of the battles of the heights were referred to simply by the numbers shown in meters on the maps of the participants. The Germans cleverly established their defenses on reverse slopes, with mutually supporting fires to cover an attack from any direction.
One of the keys to breaking the German grip of the Cassino heights was Point 593, which exchanged hands several times but ultimately ended back in German hands after a series of bitter battles with Major General Charles Ryder's 34th Division. Although forced to endure unspeakable hardships in the cold and brutal mountains overlooking Cassino, this National Guard division that Alexander [high command, British] a year earlier had pronounced unfit for combat in Tunisia had long since come of age, and was now one of the most battle-tested divisions in the entire U.S. Army. The performance of the 34th Division was so outstanding that not only were a private first class and a lieutenant awarded the Medal of Honor, but a British historian later wrote that their exploits "must rank with the finest feats of arms carried out by any soldiers during the war." After suffering enormous losses and with its troops at the very end of their endurance, the division was pulled from the line to rest and refit. Their respite was to be short-lived; in early March they were sent to bolster the defenses of Anzio.
From esteemed historian Carlo D'Este, World War II in the Mediterranean (published 1990), pages 156–157.
The approaches to Cassino lay in full view of the defenders.
A series of attacks in early February [1944] by the U.S. 34th Infantry Division threatened both the town and the heights of Monastery Hill. An excellent opportunity to have won what historians have designated the First Battle of Cassino was lost when no effort was made to reinforce the 34th Division.
Meanwhile the Germans had rushed in reinforcements to fend off this dire threat. Like the battles being fought at Anzio, the ferocious engagements fought in the jagged mountains surrounding Cassino were among the lesser-known horrors of the Italian campaign. Most of the battles of the heights were referred to simply by the numbers shown in meters on the maps of the participants. The Germans cleverly established their defenses on reverse slopes, with mutually supporting fires to cover an attack from any direction.
One of the keys to breaking the German grip of the Cassino heights was Point 593, which exchanged hands several times but ultimately ended back in German hands after a series of bitter battles with Major General Charles Ryder's 34th Division. Although forced to endure unspeakable hardships in the cold and brutal mountains overlooking Cassino, this National Guard division that Alexander [high command, British] a year earlier had pronounced unfit for combat in Tunisia had long since come of age, and was now one of the most battle-tested divisions in the entire U.S. Army. The performance of the 34th Division was so outstanding that not only were a private first class and a lieutenant awarded the Medal of Honor, but a British historian later wrote that their exploits "must rank with the finest feats of arms carried out by any soldiers during the war." After suffering enormous losses and with its troops at the very end of their endurance, the division was pulled from the line to rest and refit. Their respite was to be short-lived; in early March they were sent to bolster the defenses of Anzio.
This is for you, Rocky.
Peanuts
Peanuts !! I don't know what to say,-gotta get my hankerchief out--WE 135th Regt. was on a hill just next to
Cassino when the B24s' came over and afterward we were stopped cold by the Krauts. Anzio came next.
It would be wonderful if you can make it to the dedication. Otherwise maybe someone could at least video tape the ceremony for you. A map is attached below showing the 34th Division at Mt. Pantano and a photo of the rugged terrain. It's from the Center of Military History book "Fifth Army at the Winter Line," which has lots more maps and an explanation of the battle.
Around that time the 36th Engineer Combat Regiment had extended its road work and bridge-building to the Colli–Scapoli area, supporting the sectors of the 34th and 45th Divisions in the advance to Cassino. (Before that the 36th Engineers' Company "A" completed a bridge in support of your regiment's first crossing at the Volturno River. The company lost 3 killed, 8 wounded, and 2 missing in action during the operation.) Then they were pulled out for the Anzio invasion and later the invasion of southern France, which ended their participation in the Italian campaign. My Dad was there, so I've read as much as possible about the war in Italy.
The Normandy landings did take center stage after the capture of Rome, but those who fought the costly battles in Italy were vital to the success in France and Germany.
It would be wonderful if you can make it to the dedication. Otherwise maybe someone could at least video tape the ceremony for you. A map is attached below showing the 34th Division at Mt. Pantano and a photo of the rugged terrain. It's from the Center of Military History book "Fifth Army at the Winter Line," which has lots more maps and an explanation of the battle.
Around that time the 36th Engineer Combat Regiment had extended its road work and bridge-building to the Colli–Scapoli area, supporting the sectors of the 34th and 45th Divisions in the advance to Cassino. (Before that the 36th Engineers' Company "A" completed a bridge in support of your regiment's first crossing at the Volturno River. The company lost 3 killed, 8 wounded, and 2 missing in action during the operation.) Then they were pulled out for the Anzio invasion and later the invasion of southern France, which ended their participation in the Italian campaign. My Dad was there, so I've read as much as possible about the war in Italy.
The Normandy landings did take center stage after the capture of Rome, but those who fought the costly battles in Italy were vital to the success in France and Germany.
Good luck,
Peanuts
I am looking at Mt. Pantano and am wondering, how the hell did we get up there. In combat you don't think,
don't have the time. Instinct takes over and you act. I cannot praise those Medics and Engineers enough for
their participation. Well it is still a while till September so I will just have to sweat it out.
Rocky, this is another tribute to the 34th Division that I found in Carlo D'Este's book, Patton: A Genius for War (page 487):
During the final month of the Tunisian campaign II Corps proved equal to the challenge Marshall had insisted it be given. What Alexander had intended to be yet another minor diversionary action, at Bizerte, turned out to be decisive in sealing off the northern end of the Allied trap. The 34th Division was deliberately given an important and difficult task and performed brilliantly during the bloody battle for Hill 609. The Allied trap was sprung when the Eighth Army pushed the Axis army into the coastal plain around Tunis, where von Arnim surrendered in mid-May. About 100,000 of the approximately 250,000 Axis troops bagged near Tunis were German. Bradley sent Eisenhower a simple two-word message: "Mission accomplished." At about the same time Alexander was sending his now famous message to Churchill: "Sir, it is my duty to report that the Tunisian campaign is over. All enemy resistance has ceased. We are masters of the North African shores."
The Italian campaign had a HUGE effect on the (Victorious) outcome of WWII, in ways that most Americans don't even know about. What you GI's did in Italy worried Hitler enough that he diverted some of his best armoured & infantry divisions away from the planned Kursk Offensive in an effort to keep from losing Italy to the Allies. Most historians would agree that the battle for Kurst could have gone either way, given the fact that the Russians and Germans were fairly evenly matched in terms of tanks and Infantry when the actual battle began, (although the Russians held a slight edge in numbers). The German divisions that were siphoned off to the Italian campaign to deal with Rocky and his comrades no doubt played a part in the eventual German defeat at Kursk and the entire Eastern Front itself! The battles for France and Germany may have received most of the headlines in WWII, but the sacrifices made by American GI's in Italy during WWII were equal to all and second to none in the final Victory in Europe!
