Summer 2011 - Italy, Part 2 Cassino

The highlight of our Summer holiday was retracing Lt CC Beswick's (19 Battalion and Armoured Regiment, 2nd New Zealand Division) WW2 experiences which culminated in the Battle for Cassino in May 1944.

Caprile was to be our base for 2 nights so that we could retrace my father-in-law’s path leading to his attack on the railway station during the Battle for Cassino.

Caprile is a frazione di Roccasecca



The entrance to Caprile



The house we stayed in was built of stone around 500 years ago and has been lovingly restored by Kay – new windows were going in whilst we stayed. The cantina we slept in had been used as a supply dump by the Germans in WW2. 20 tons of concrete were poured by the Germans at street level to create a reinforced bunker.



Caprile night scene





The same place during the day



Another night scene in Caprile

Obviously no cars in much of the village of 80. Donkeys were the main mode of transport here for hundreds of years.



Liri valley from Caprile

The Liri Valley from the ruins of the original Roccasecca.

This photo is taken from the ruins of the original Roccasecca, a walled town built for the Count of Aquinium, family of Thomas Aquinas, in 994. Caprile is one of the three settlements that formed the newer Roccasecca when in medieval times they began to move down the valley in search of water. (not called dry rock for nothing - rocca secca = rock dry)

The Liri Valley is a wide flat expanse which leads to Rome. In WW2 it was the road to Rome. However the gateway was the town of Cassino at a choke point surrounded by hills in all directions.

Cassino surrounded by hills on all sides

This photo taken from Monte Cassino looking across the valley is looking directly at Mt Trocchio which was the Allied observation post. Our troops assembled and attacked from behind that.

Dominating the skyline above Cassino is the Abbey on Monte Cassino. Take Cassino and the gate to Rome was opened. The Abbey was founded in AD529 by Benedict of Nursia.

The Abbey at Monte Cassino.

The Germans established their Gustav Line across Italy with Cassino blocking access to Highway 6 and Rome. Cassino was to see four major battles from November 1943 to May 1944 in an attempt by The Allies to force the Germans to retreat.

Enter the New Zealand Division and my future father-in-law, Lt C.C. (Dib) Beswick. We were in Caprile (half an hour north of Cassino) to be guided by Kay along the lines the NZ Division took which eventually lead to Lt Beswick being awarded the MC for the unsuccessful attack he lead to take the railway station in May 1944. He took a number of German prisoners and evacuated his troops, being wounded in the process.

Our day started well to the south of Cassino among some of the villages they passed through. Kay is a New Zealand artist living in Caprile and our expert guide this day. she also has her own Cassino site which is well worth looking at.

The village of Arpino, south of Cassino

Along the way we stopped at the museo Monte Lungo containing lots of relics gathered from the war.

Sherman tank

Gail takes a look a Sherman tank. This was type her father commanded a troop tanks at Cassino.

The Abbey from Cassino

The dominance of the Abbey over Cassino caused controversy at the time and still does to this day. Did the Germans occupy the Abbey itself and use it for an observation post? They certainly had positions on Monte Cassino below the Abbey. Take the Abbey and the Germans line would be broken and the gateway to Rome opened.

Mt Trocchio which was the Allied observation post.
Allied troops assembled and attacked from here

This hill overlooked Cassino but was able to be looked down on from the Abbey. However it afforded good cover from prying eyes and provided good cover for gathering troops and equipment. The Allies had air superiority so forces gathering here were able to do so without too much interference.

Entering Cassino itself we were able follow the path taken by attacking troops utilising photos taken in 1944 and comparing them with those taken by Jeff Plowman and Perry  Rowe (photographer) and published in their excellent book After the Battle. This gave us good reference so that we were able to stand on the exact spots where in 1944 tense battles were raging.




Sherman in Cassino.



A Sherman tank outside the Continental  Hotel . This was the site of the German command in a cave at the base of Monte Cassino. The attack on the railway station went past here. Lt Beswick’s attack on the railway station meet with intense resistance from the Germans around here.

The German, Captain Foltin revisited the cave in 1984. While he was the field commander in Cassino the big wigs were safely running the show from Roccasecca!

It was time now to head up to the Abbey for the 4.00pm session of Gregorian chants by the monks. There we were guided around by one of the monks who was an 8 year old novice when the Abbey was reduced to ruins when bombed by the American Airforce on 15^th February 1944.

Bramante Cloister, Monte Cassino

The Abbey was completely rebuilt and restored to its former glory as this shot of a chapel shows.



Abbey altar

The Abbey altar, was NOT destroyed in the bombing, and under which are the remains of St Benedict and his sister St Scolastica.

Abbey Cloisters

Polish War Cemetery

The Polish Army attacked through the hills behind the Abbey only to find that the Germans had gone. The Battle for Cassino was finally over by late May 1944. The race to Rome was on – but that’s another story.




Cassino town

The railway station occupies a prominent position in this  view on the way down from Monte Cassino.

Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery

Second last stop was the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in Cassino. These places are very emotional and one pauses to reflect on the supreme sacrifice those who lie here made so that those who survived did not live under the shadow of tyrants.



New Zealand graves at Cassino

Last stop was the railway station.

Cassino station

One very proud, but emotional daughter, standing where her father fought so courageously to get to during the 2nd Battle for Cassino in March 1944.

Next stop was Napoli and the Almafi Coast as well as Vesuvius and Pompeii.