Battle of Monte Cassino 1944
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 17 January 1944 – 18 May 1944 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1944 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Location | Italy | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Italian Campaign | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Dominion of New Zealand, Free France, Italian Co-Belligerent Army, Polish Armed Forces in the West, Union of South Africa, United Kingdom, United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 41.4900, 13.8139 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome, was a series of four military assaults by the Allies against Axis forces in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The objective was to break through the Winter Line and facilitate an advance towards Rome.
In the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was anchored by German forces holding the Rapido-Gari, Liri, and Garigliano valleys and several surrounding peaks and ridges. Together, these features formed the Gustav Line. Monte Cassino, a historic hilltop abbey founded in 529 by Benedict of Nursia, dominated the nearby town of Cassino and the entrances to the Liri and Rapido valleys. Lying in a protected historic zone, it had been left unoccupied by the Germans, although they manned some positions set into the slopes below the abbey's walls.
Repeated artillery attacks on assaulting allied troops caused their leaders to incorrectly conclude that the abbey was being used by the Germans as an observation post, at the very least. Fears escalated, along with casualties, and despite evidence, it was marked for destruction. On 15 February 1944, Allied bombers dropped 1,400 tonnes of high explosives, causing widespread damage.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Monte Cassino (revision 1378173385), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of San Germano 1815 · 2 km
- Battle of Rapido River 1944 · 5 km
- Battle of San Pietro Infine 1943 · 13 km
- Battle of Monte la Difensa 1943 · 15 km
- Battle of Cisterna 1944 · 17 km
- Battle of Taenum 90 BC · 34 km
Other battles of the Italian Campaign
- Battle of Monte la Difensa 1943
- Battle of San Pietro Infine 1943
- Battle of Troina 1943
- Battle of Ancona 1944
- Battle of Anzio 1944
- Battle of Monte Castello 1944
All 7 battles of the Italian Campaign →
Browse more: battles in Italy · Europe · World War II era battles