Kiwi Soldier
Monte Cassino page
Cassino is a place like Gallipoli or the Somme - a "shrine", a pilgramage place where people go to see and imagine what it must have been like for all those soldiers who had to do their job. Due to the scale of the death and injury that occurred on these battlefields, they become "must see" places for many people.
I finally got a chance to visit Cassino in late May 2005 when I was sent to Rome with work. Since the trip occurred over the weekend, there was a chance to spend a day in Cassino and see for myself what it had all been about. As we drove off the A1 from Rome to Cassino, there it was - the Abbey atop Monte Cassino. We stopped in the "top" of the town at the information center and got our maps. We decided to walk to Rocco Janula (Castle Hill), but found ourselves on the road up Monte Cassino so returned to the car and drove up, after first driving down the old Route 6 and over the Rapido at the south end of town. So we explored the Abbey then the Polish Cemetary before driving down the hill and stopping at the track to Rocco Janula, which is undergoing restoration. We then drove to the Roman amphitheater near the base of the hill before going on to the Commonwealth Cemetary, the railway station, and finally the Cassino Museum before heading back to the A1 and Rome.
And my impressions? Well, very mixed! Cassino to me was a smashed place of rubble and death. From the accounts of the fighting, I had an impression that the Rapido was a huge torrent and the distance from it to the railway station and other places in the town was vast since so many soldiers died covering that impossible distance. In truth, it is all a hop, skip and a jump apart so that just made me wonder why it was so much of a struggle. It made you more aware of the other factors and appreciate how well the Germans had prepared their defences.
Castle Hill was a similar case at first. It appeared too close to the town and not so far up the hill to have caused such difficulty as a target to conquer, but when you look at the terrain you rethink such thoughts. The Abbey and Monte Cassino itself were actually larger than I thought. It was so obvious how much of an impossible target it was. The slopes were steeper and ruggeder than I had imagined and the view was very commanding. The Germans had indeed chosen well their defensive position.
And the cemetaries? We found the grave of Major Slee who had been Dad's "boss" and died from wounds received in the same stonk that took Dad out of the war. And it was impossible to stop the "what if" thoughts - it could have so easily been Dad in that grave. Indeed he came within an inch of having the same fate, and then what? No me...
So of course I took many photo's, and hopefully you can get some idea of it from the following:
 (click on the map for an enlarged version)  |
George's photo's of: The Abbey Polish Cemetary Commonwealth Cemetary Around the town The Museum |
My Cassino Links
Ian's Website story of the Battle:
Part 6 - To Cassino
Part 7 - Cassino, The NZ Offensive
Part 8 - Cassino, Last Moments
The Wreckage of Cassino (photo's from Ian's website)
Other "Cassino" websites:
(some of these sites are in Italian)
Cassino City website
Cassino Cemetary Guide (with "virtual tours" of each)
www.montecassino1944.it
www.cassinowarmuseum.it
The Cassino (Film) Project
Battle of Monte Cassino
BBC History MonteCassino
Italian battlefields Guide
Dal Volturno A Cassino (From Volturno to Cassino)
Image page Dal Volturno A Cassino
Wikipedia The Battle of Monte Cassino
Wikipedia The Abbey of Monte Cassino
The Benedictine Abbey of Montecassino
The Abbey of MonteCassino
The Order of St Benedict Monte Cassino
The Abbey of Montecassino
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© June 2005, George McNeur, Christchurch N.Z..