Battle of Monte Cassino: Rapido to the Abbey

On the night of 20 January 1944 the US 36th Division tried to cross the river near Sant'Angelo. The assault began three hours after sunset, and no Allied armour was ever able to get across. At Sant'Angelo, a peace bell recalls those who died.

Location precision: The pin marks the Gari near Sant'Angelo in Theodice; the exact crossing sites are not given.

Visitor guidance: Sant'Angelo in Theodice has a peace bell remembering the casualties.

The battle of Anzio began on 22 January 1944 with an amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle, a few days after the Rapido crossing. By midnight on 22 January, 36,000 soldiers and 3,200 vehicles were ashore, and the Rangers had captured Anzio's port.

Location precision: The landings used several beaches north and east of the town; the pin marks Anzio itself.

Visitor guidance: Anzio has beaches and a harbour.

The abbey on the hill, founded in 529 by Benedict of Nursia, dominated the nearby town of Cassino. On 15 February 1944, 142 B-17 Flying Fortress bombers struck it. Later investigation found that no German troops were present in the abbey during the bombing, and the raid had not been coordinated with ground commands. German paratroopers then occupied the ruins. The abbey was rebuilt, and reconstruction lasted until the 1960s. It can be visited today.

Visitor guidance: The rebuilt abbey is open to visitors on the hill above Cassino.

The third battle began on 15 March 1944. About half of the 300 paratroopers in the town were killed, but Allied armour was held up by bomb craters. By 17 March the Gurkhas held Hangman's Hill, 250 yards from the monastery, though their supply lines stayed under German fire. Cassino was rebuilt after the war and was awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valour.

Location precision: The pin marks the town centre; the fighting covered the town and the slopes above it.

Visitor guidance: Cassino is a rebuilt town below the abbey hill.

In the last battle, in May 1944, the Polish II Corps under General Władysław Anders attacked Mount Calvary (Point 593), took it and lost it again, and lost 281 officers and 3,503 other ranks in the assaults. On 18 May the Polish flag was the first raised over the ruins of the monastery. General Anders ordered the cemetery on that same day, and it was inaugurated on 1 September 1945. Anders is buried at its centre.

Visitor guidance: The cemetery near the abbey can be visited.