Trying to rewrite history are we Gump? The Canadians fought well at Monte Cassino but were only a small part of the 4th and final battle. The Algerians and Moroccans of the French Expeditionary Corps were the troops most directly responsible for making the decisive breakthrough, which led to the German decision to withdraw from Monte Cassino.
Allied Objectives
The British 8th Army had three objectives--(1) To break through the enemy positions in the Liri Valley in the general direction of Highway no.6 and to reach the area east of Rome, (2) To pursue the enemy in the general direction of Terni-Perugia, and (3) To advance to Ancona and Florence.
The U.S. Fifth Army had four main objectives--(1) To take the Ausonia defile and to advance on an axis parallel to that of the 8th Army, but south of the rivers Liri and Sacco, (2) To launch an attack from the Anzio beach head via Cori on Valmontone and prevent the retreat of German forces opposing 8th Army, (3) To pursue the enemy north of Rome and capture the Viterbo airfields and the port of Civitavecchia, and (4) To advance to Leghorn.
The Allies had twenty-one divisions and eleven brigades opposing fourteen German divisions and three brigades.
Day by day events
May 11:
At 11 pm, 2000 guns open fire from Aquafondata all the way to the Tyrrhenian Sea. At 11:45 pm, British troops on the Rapido advance to the attack.
May 12:
At 1:00 am, the Polish 2nd Corps north-west of Cassino, the French Expeditionary Corps in the Auruncian Mountains, and the Americans in the coastal sector all advance to the attack.
At daybreak, swarms of fighter-bombers drop high explosives over their targets. The German Tenth Army headquarters in Avezzano, as well as the XIV Corps headquarters, are both buried under a carpet of bombs.
In the south, the French attack the 71st Infantry Division on the upper Garigliano. Raapke's Grenadiers fight desperately, but by 3:00 am Monte Faito is firmly controlled by the Moroccan 4th Mountain Division.
In the center, the 6th Lemberg Brigade (2nd Polish Corps) attacks the Passo Corno, but are stopped by the von Ruffin Battle Group. Further south of Monte Castillone, the 5th Vilna Brigade moves forward against Colle Santo Angelo. They reach Height 517, where they are caught by heavy machine gun fire and driven back with heavy losses. German artillery also takes a heavy toll of the attackers. By evening, General Anders is forced to withdraw the 5th Division back to its assembly areas.
The 3rd Carpathian Division of the 2nd Polish Corps attacks Albaneta and Height 593. They capture the Cavalry Mount and set up positions on the northern slopes of Height 569. The Germans respond by sending reinforcements in an attempt to recapture it. The Germans launch four counter attacks that fail, but the fifth attempt is successful and the Cavalry Mount is back in German hands by late evening.
The U.S. II Corps (in the coastal sector) gets into a furious fight at Santa Maria Infante and Sollaciano with Steinmetz's 94th Infantry Division. Both the 85th and the 88th Divisions are repulsed.
The British XIII Corps' task is to form bridgeheads between the Cassino railway station and Santo Angelo and between Santo Angelo and the Liri and then to move toward the Via Casilina in the vicinity of Piedmonte. Kirkman's troops experience great difficulties setting up the bridgehead and one brigade, the 28th, is flung back across the river. The Indian 8th Division has better luck and manages to put up two thirty-ton bridges into position.
May 13:
The Moroccans capture Monte Girofano by morning, Monte Feuci by noon, and Monte Maio by 4 pm. The northern wing of the German 71st Division is breached. The French I Division presses northward to capture Sant' Andrea, Sant' Ambrogio, and Sant' Appolinari and eventually reaches the Liri Valley. Castelforte and Damiano are now both in French hands. The Moroccans and Algerians together capture Monte Ceschito. This was the decisive blow. The Gustav Line is now punctured on the Garigliano, south of Cassino.
Elsewhere along the front, the situation is not so rosy. On the coast, the U.S. 88th Division captures Santa Maria Infante after a whole day of very slow advances against determined enemy resistance.
General Ward's British 4th Infantry Division launches a fresh attack south of Cassino. This time the attack succeeds in extending a bridgehead to within a mile northwest of Santo Angelo.
The Poles continue to suffer heavy losses attacking the Cavalry Mount. The Germans also suffer casualties, as illustrated by the comments made in Major Veth's diary, "Great number of dead on the slopes--stench--no water--no sleep--amputations being carried out at battle headquarters."
May 14:
After penetrating through the German 71st Division's positions, General Juin decides to push the Moroccan mountain warfare experts through the Auruncian Mountains towards the Itri-Pico road twelve miles behind the Gustav Line. After the fall of Monte Ceschito, General Guillaume's men advance towards Petrella. By nightfall of the 14/15, the French Goumiers are clambering up Monte Fammera, north of Spigno.
During the night of May 14/15, the German 94th Infantry Division is forced to withdraw to a position on either side of Castelonorato. The French troops have torn wide gaps in this sector of the German defense lines.
The Poles under General Anders continue to engage in heavy fighting around the Cavalry Mount.
The 94th Fusiliers push the U.S. 88th Division out of Santa Maria Infante and capture an entire American battalion. The Americans counter attack later in the evening and reoccupy this place once more.
The German Tenth Army decides to throw all its available reserves into the battle. The 305th Infantry Division is brought back from the Adriatic to bolster the crumbling Bode Battle Group. Two battalions of the 114th Rifle Division and grenadiers, pioneers, and anti-tank units from various divisions arrive to plug up the holes in the defensive lines.
German artillery continues to concentrate its fire on the bridges over the Rapido, but as soon as a battery opens fire, a swarm of Allied fighter-bombers quickly bombs it.
May 15:
The British 78th Division reaches the Pignataro-Cassino road. The Indians attack and capture Pignataro during the night. While the Indian 8th Division advances quickly, the British 4th Division on the right wing can only move forward with great difficulty. Further to the west, the British make little headway towards the Via Casilina. In Cassino town itself, the British make no ground at all, despite the fact that the German 1st Parachute Machine gun Battalion is completely destroyed.
The right wing of the LI Mountain Corps begins to crumble as a result of the French attacks. General Alexander orders the Canadian I Corps under General Burns to cover General Kirkman's left flank. The Canadian objective is Pontecorvo.
As a result of French successes elsewhere, General Steinmetz's 94th Infantry Division has to fight desperately to hold Formia against the American 88th Division.
May 16:
General Guillaume's troops capture Monte Petrella and Monte Rivole.
May 17:
The Moroccans capture Serra de Lago, Monte Faggeto, and Monte Calvo and reach the all important German XIV Corps' line of communications--the Itri-Pico road. After the capture of Monte Maio, Dody's troops capture Castelnuovo and the Moroccans and Algerians together capture Ausonia. East of Esperia, however, the Algerians are held up by the counter attacking 200th Panzer Grenadier regiment. The Grenadiers are too weak to stop the advance and the Algerians capture Esperia, while the French I Division captures Monte d' Oro.
General Senger arrives back from leave to find that his XIV Corps has been decisively beaten. The 71st and 94th Divisions are destroyed and the 15th Panzer Grenadiers Division is very hard pressed and the U.S. 5th Army is approaching the Senger Barrier. General Senger throws in the last of his reserves in a desperate attempt to stop the French Corps. The British 78th Division captures Piumarola and, to the north, the 4th Division reaches the Via Casilina, thus choking off a vital artery leading to the Cassino front.
On the coast, the American 85th Division drives the battered remnants of Steinmetz's 94th Infantry Division away from Formia. Meanwhile, the U.S. 88th Division is moving through the mountains towards Itri.
The Poles stage another bloody attack on the monastery. The Kressowa Division manages to penetrate some of the defences on Colle Santo Angelo, but are thrown back by German counter attacks. For ten hours the battle rages and, in desperation, General Anders throws in the last of his reserves--a weak battalion made up of drivers, mechanics, and clerical personnel.
The Carpathian Division's objective is the Masa Albaneta and the Cavalry Mount, but again they are stymied on Height 593. the Polish gains are slow, despite assistance from the 2nd Armoured Brigade, which manages to destroy most of No.3 Company of the 3rd Parachute Regiment. At the end of the day, the Colle Santo Angelo and the Cavalry Mount remain in German hands.
To prevent encirclement and a possible rout, the German Tenth Army Headquarters orders the paratroops on Monte Cassino to withdraw from their positions. On the night of May 17/18, the remaining men of the 3rd Parachute Regiment begin to withdraw through the mountains, while the men of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Parachute Regiment (those who had defended Cassino town) are forced to climb over the slopes of Monte Cassino and head north of the Via Casilina in the direction of Piedmonte. During the entire battle, the paratroops had never been directly defeated.
May 18:
The 12th Podolski Regiment advances quickly into the ruins without firing a shot. The only Germans left are a few wounded, who were unable to walk over the mountains back to their lines. By 10:20 am, the Poles hoist their national flag over the ruins of the monastery.
May 19:
The Americans occupy Monte Grande, to the west of the Itri-Pico road.
After the fall of San Olivia, the French reach the southern outskirts of Pico and Guillaume's Moroccans capture Campodimale on the Itri-Pico road.
Results
The fourth Battle of Monte Cassino resulted in an Allied victory, but only because the Allies decided to overwhelm the Germans through sheer weight of numbers. Simultaneously, the Germans had weakened their positions prior to the battle by withdrawing some troops to France.
The breakthrough at Cassino meant that the Allies were able (within a week's time) to join up with the Anzio beach head and then to capture Rome.
Casualties
The U.S. 5th Army lost 107,144 men between January 15 and June 4. The British XIII Corps lost 4,056 and the Polish 2nd Corps lost 3,779, for a grand total of 118,979 dead, wounded, or missing.
Concluding Comments
The Algerians and Moroccans of the French Expeditionary Corps were the troops most directly responsible for making the decisive breakthrough, which led to the German decision to withdraw from Monte Cassino.
The German paratroops (169K Jpeg) defending the monastery were never truly defeated, instead they were forced to withdraw because of the general situation confronting the Tenth Army.
While it is true that the men of the 2nd Polish Corps occupied the monastery after the paratroops had left, nonetheless the Poles are credited as being the first Allied troops to reach the top. The Polish flag flying over the ruins on May 18 is clear evidence of which nationality reached the top first.
