Montecassino
The trip to Montecassino was on a beautiful Saturday in the end of February. Billed as a trip to Montecassino, it also included the Italian War cemetary, the British War cemetary, San Pietro di Infine, and San Angelo the crossing site of the Rapido river by the US 36th Infantry.
During the battle for Italy, allied forces were stopped near Cassino for nearly 6 months. In February, 1943, allied forces bombed the abbey/monestary under the (wrong?) assumption that Axis forces were using the abbey as a refuge. This tour visited two of the major war cemetaries-the Italian and British, and we could see the Polish cemetary-the ones who liberated the abbey.
After the bombing, the German troops on the hill decided the sacred grounds were no longer sacred, and occupied the ruins. The image below, from the website Military Images, shows the remains of the city of Cassino and the rubble on top of the mount.
The links below are to thumbnail pages from the trip. The images linked have been reduced; however, if you'd like a high-rez image, just let me know.
- The war cemetaries of the Italians and the British
- San Pietro di Infine
- Montecassino-the reconstructed Monistary