bigpigeon.us webpage WW II - Germany > MTO > Italy > Cassino/the Gustav Line, updated by RAC 25 Feb 2022.
The Gustav Line
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In late 1943, the Allies slowly advanced northward in southern Italy through German defenses as they moved toward the Gustav Line. In early 1944, the German defenses along the Gustav Line stalled the Allied advance for four months. Central to the Gustav Line was the Cassino area, guarding the entrance to the Liri Valley where Highway 6, the key road from Naples, led north to Rome.
From late January until mid May of 1944, Allied forces beat against the Gustav Line in the Cassino area. Major actions, all of which failed, included attempted river crossings south of Cassino and three attacks in the mountains northwest of Cassino. Early on, the Allies attempted in vain to bypass Cassino by an amphibious landing on the beaches near Anzio further up the Italian peninsula. Eventually Allied strength increased and German reserves were depleted. As part of a major Allied offensive begun on 11 May 1944, the fourth battle of Monte Cassino ended in Allied success. In addition to British and American units, Allied forces included British Commonwealth and Colonial, French Colonial, Poles, and Italians, Italy having left the Axis and joined the Allies. |
Cassino in February 1944
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Crossing the Rapido River south of Cassino - 20 January to 22 January 1944
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This attack, by battalions of the 36th Infantry Division, a National Guard division from Texas, failed tragically, as did an earlier attack further south by the British 46th Infantry Division.
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The Rapido River Assault
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The First Battle of Monte Cassino - 24 January to 11 February 1944
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Notes about the map on the far right:
This map is in error. The assault was by the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division, a National Guard division from Iowa and Minnesota. However, the regimental numbers are correct. FEC, attacking to the north, refers to the French Expeditionary Corps. As the middle map shows, 34th Division infantry companies managed to occupy major portions of the Cassino massif. However, the German army brought in reserves and the Allies had few reserves to commit. Eventually the 34th Division strength was reduced to such a level that the American troops were withdrawn. |
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February 15, 1944 - The bombing of Monte Cassino Abbey.
At the insistence of some leading Allied officiers, American aircraft destroyed the historic Monte Cassino Abbey on February 15. It was later learned that the German army had observed the terms of an agreement not to use the abbey. However, after the destruction, the abbey ruins made excellent positions for the German defenders. |
Monte Cassino Abbey After the American Bombing
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15 - 18 Feb, The Second Battle of Monte Cassino.
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15 - 30 Mar, Third Battle of Monte Cassino.
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Operation Diadem, the 4th Battle of Cassino.
Finally in mid-May of 1944, with extraordinary efforts by troops from many nations, the Mt. Cassino defenses fell and the Gustav Line collapsed. The Allied forces shown on this map then pressed west and northwest towards Rome. Meanwhile in the Anzio Beachhead, a breakout to the north allowed both components of Allied forces to join. The Allies liberated Rome in early June and then moved north through central Italy, where in late summer they encountered a new barrier, the Gothic Line. |
Operation Diadem, Advance Past the Gustav Line
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Sources for the Italy > Cassino/the Gustav Line webpage:
Pottawattamie Area WW II Dead - Italy > Cassino/the Gustav Line:
† Comley, George K., SN 20-705-562, US Army, Montgomery Co.
- Salerno to Cassino (scalable maps) (United States Army in World War II, Mediterranean Theater of Operations series, Martin Blumenson, 1993, CMH #6-3) - http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-MTO-Salerno/index.html#index.
- Rome-Arno, 22 January-9 September 1944 (The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II, The U.S. Army Center of Military History, Clayton D. Laurie, illustrated brochure, CMH 72-20) - https://history.army.mil/html/books/072/72-20/CMH_Pub_72-20(75th-Anniversary).pdf.
- The webpage header photo, Monte Cassino Abbey Ruins, by Frank J. Davis, is courtesy of the Southern Methodist University Libraries digital collection and was found at flickr.com.
- The Cassino in February 1944 map is courtesy of NZ History.
- The Operation Diadem map by Gene Thorp is taken from Rick Atkinson's The Day of Battle.
Pottawattamie Area WW II Dead - Italy > Cassino/the Gustav Line:
- Taken from the bigpigeon.us WW II Dead module.
† Comley, George K., SN 20-705-562, US Army, Montgomery Co.
- Co. F, 168th Inf. Regt., 34th Inf. Div.; KIA 9 Feb 1944 near Cassino, Lazio, Italy; First Battle of Cassino - Italy > Cassino/the Gustav Line.
- 141st Inf. Regt., 36th Inf. Div.; KIA 21 Jan 1943 crossing the Rapido River S of Cassino, Lazio, Italy; First Battle of Cassino - Italy > Cassino/the Gustav Line.
- Battery D, 403rd AAA Bn.; WIA 20 Feb 1944 near Cassino, Lazio, Italy; DOW 21 Feb 1944 11th Field Hosp., San Pietro, Italy, shrapnel wound; Italy > Cassino/the Gustav Line.
- Co. F, 350th Inf. Regt., 88th Inf. Div.; DOW 12 May 1944, near Minturno, SW of Cassino, Lazio, Italy; Operation Diadem/Fourth Battle of Cassino - Italy > Cassino/the Gustav Line.
- Hq. Co., 2nd Bn., 168th Inf. Regt., 34th Inf. Div.; KIA 14 Feb 1944, near Cassino, Lazio, Italy; First Battle of Cassino - Italy > Cassino/the Gustav Line.
- 143rd Inf. Regt., 36th Inf. Div.; WIA 17 Jan 1944 near Rapido River, S of Cassino, Lazio, Italy; DOW 24 Jan 1944; First Battle of Cassino - Italy > Cassino/the Gustav Line.
- 143rd Inf. Regt., 36th Inf. Div.; WIA 17 Jan 1944 near Rapido River, S of Cassino, Lazio, Italy; DOW 24 Jan 1944; First Battle of Cassino - Italy > Cassino/the Gustav Line.