- 3 months ago
For educational purposes
The Allied invasion of Italy began in September 1943 and the operation remains one of the most controversial of all the campaigns of World War Two.
It was fought against the background of bitter Anglo-American disagreements over strategy --indeed, had Mussolini not fallen and Sicily not surrendered, the Italian campaign might never have been fought at all.
The bloody fighting is epitomised by the events around Monte Cassino as the Germans defended the infamous Gustav Line, which, in some areas, was shored up by rows of turrets from tanks.
This episode features illuminating interviews with battle experts, who shed light on the military and political complexities of the campaign.
The archive footage includes a film of 'Anzio Annie', one of the notorious German heavy guns which caused such devastation during the Anzio landings.
The Allied invasion of Italy began in September 1943 and the operation remains one of the most controversial of all the campaigns of World War Two.
It was fought against the background of bitter Anglo-American disagreements over strategy --indeed, had Mussolini not fallen and Sicily not surrendered, the Italian campaign might never have been fought at all.
The bloody fighting is epitomised by the events around Monte Cassino as the Germans defended the infamous Gustav Line, which, in some areas, was shored up by rows of turrets from tanks.
This episode features illuminating interviews with battle experts, who shed light on the military and political complexities of the campaign.
The archive footage includes a film of 'Anzio Annie', one of the notorious German heavy guns which caused such devastation during the Anzio landings.
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LearningTranscript
00:16In July 1943, the first Allied soldiers set foot on Italian soil.
00:25The Allies had envisaged that this would be a short campaign in a country which Churchill
00:30had called the soft underbelly of Europe.
00:33This campaign, however, was no walkover.
00:36It ran for almost two years until the start of May 1945.
00:41The soldiers involved endured many hardships fighting in the difficult terrain against
00:46a skillful battle-hardened and determined enemy.
00:55The soft underbelly of Europe was in fact a tough old hide that had to be pummeled into
01:00shape over two years of grueling fighting.
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02:13The prelude to this campaign was the battle for Sicily.
02:46If Italy was knocked out of the war, the Allies could then attack the Hitlerian Reich through
02:52southern Europe.
02:53They could attack the Balkans or they could strike through the Alps into Austria and southern
02:59Germany.
03:00The Americans were willing to go along with an initial attack upon Sicily as a way of
03:07gaining control of the Mediterranean without actually committing themselves to a fuller
03:13attack upon Italy.
03:14They reserved the right to see what happened after the attack upon Sicily.
03:20With the collapse of the Axis forces in Tunisia, it was obvious to everyone that the next stop
03:28was going to be Italy.
03:30And the German forces in Sicily were very quickly reinforced because it was there that the first
03:37blow was likely to fall and they correctly predicted that.
03:40The decision to invade Sicily had been made at the Casablanca conference in January 1943.
03:46So when Tunisia finally fell, when German forces finally surrendered in Tunisia, it was logical
03:52to go to Sicily.
03:53Now, what the Allies had to do was to convince the Germans that they were going somewhere
03:57else.
03:58And so there was an elaborate deception operation in the Mediterranean, known as Operation Mincemeat.
04:03And this was to convince the Germans that we were going to land in Sardinia or land in
04:07Crete or almost anywhere else other than Sicily.
04:11And the surprising thing is that it did actually distract German attention from the fact that we
04:16were going to do the most obvious thing, which was to go straight from Tunisia to Sicily.
04:34A two-pronged invasion of Sicily began on the 10th of July, with the American 7th Army
04:40under Patton landing at Gela, after which the British 8th Army under Montgomery landed on
04:45the southeast coast between Ponte Grande and Syracuse.
04:50Once ashore, the Americans had the objective of advancing up the west coast, which harbored
04:56the most difficult terrain on the island.
04:58The British had the objective of advancing up the east coast, which contained the bulk of
05:04the enemy forces.
05:06Within two days of landing, the American troops had taken Gela.
05:10The British were well on their way to Catania by day four.
05:16By the 22nd of July, Patton and his troops were in Palermo in the northwest.
05:22There now began a race between Patton and Montgomery for Messina, the most easterly town on the island.
05:28Most of the defending Axis troops had moved to this area as the Allies continued their advance,
05:34and the Axis withdrawal across the Straits of Messina began on the 25th of July.
05:43In this operation, around 100,000 Axis soldiers managed to reach the Italian mainland.
05:50Patton succeeded in reaching Messina a few hours ahead of Montgomery, on the 17th of August.
05:56But the successful capture of the island had been costly, with the Allies suffering 20,000 casualties.
06:04Worse still, the bulk of the German and Italian forces had managed to evade capture.
06:11The race between Patton and Monti had highlighted a rivalry that was to continue until the end of the war.
06:17For now, however, the Italian mainland beckoned.
06:23In the Sicilian campaign, neither side lost very large numbers of troops, at least not by comparison with the subsequent
06:30fighting on the mainland.
06:32Both sides, however, experienced, shall we say, failures in the Sicilian campaign.
06:38On the Allied side, the principal failure was the failure to trap the German forces.
06:43The 50,000 German troops and all of their equipment were ferried across the Straits of Messina to the mainland.
06:51This was a failure.
06:52The Allies, with their control of air and sea, should have been able to prevent that from happening.
06:58The British landed on the southeast coast of Sicily, just to the south of Syracuse,
07:02and the opposition they faced was relatively light, and they were able to take Syracuse without too many casualties.
07:07The situation for the Americans landing to the west was rather different.
07:12They landed around the town of Gila, and almost immediately were counter-attacked by the Italian Lavorno Division,
07:19a very, very good division, and the German Hermann-Gorning Division.
07:24And in fact, it was only massive American artillery support and aerial bombardment
07:29which prevented the Germans and the Italians from pushing the Americans back into the sea.
07:48On the 25th of July, as the battle for Sicily was raging,
07:52the Italian dictator Mussolini was arrested and placed in custody by a new government of Italy.
07:59The Italian king, Victor Emmanuel III, had appointed Marshal Pietro Badoglio as Mussolini's successor
08:06and negotiations began with the Allies for the surrender of the Italian forces.
08:14Hitler, however, acutely aware of the importance of the Italian mainland to his war aims,
08:19was not a man to give in lightly.
08:24The fall of Italy to the Allies would place the Romanian oil fields in jeopardy
08:29and also open the way to Austria and, ultimately, Germany.
08:34Hitler placed so much importance on this area
08:37that he removed the elite 1st SS Panzer Division from the Russian front
08:41and sent them to northern Italy.
08:44They had been heavily involved in the recent battle for Kursk,
08:48and this battle was still going on as they left the area.
08:51They had the responsibility of taking the Brenner Pass,
08:55which they successfully accomplished before moving deep into northern Italy.
09:02The Allies were anticipating a short campaign in Italy,
09:06but Hitler had other plans.
09:09The transfer of the 1st SS Division
09:12and the positioning of other crack troops,
09:14such as the Hermann Göring Division,
09:17would ensure that the fight for this country
09:18would be difficult and extensive.
09:36In a daring commando raid,
09:38Mussolini was freed from captivity
09:40and allowed to set up a new republic in northern Italy.
09:48To the military planners in the Allied camp,
09:51the terrain in Italy presented a difficult obstacle.
09:55A series of mountain ranges
09:57run virtually the whole length of the country,
09:59from north to south.
10:01In the great valleys between the mountains,
10:03a series of rivers run across the country,
10:06mainly west to east,
10:07which effectively dissect the terrain into sections.
10:13Despite the popular image of a sunny climate,
10:16snow and icy winds can batter the country during the winter,
10:20far removed from the suns of North Africa,
10:23which the majority of the Allied soldiers were now used to.
10:29In the south, a main highway ran along each coast.
10:32The road network was more awkward in the north.
10:37The Allies chose to advance against the grain of the country,
10:40from the south towards the north.
10:43This would make their advance very difficult,
10:45and it would help the German defenders
10:47to slow the Allied attempts.
10:52The Allies had hoped
10:53that the surrender of the Italians
10:55would greatly assist their campaign.
10:57What they had not foreseen
10:59was the determination of Adolf Hitler
11:01to hold on to this country.
11:06Hitler's experienced troops
11:08made excellent use of the many natural barriers
11:11that stood in the way of the Allies
11:12and their ultimate victory.
11:15This was the backdrop
11:17against which the Allies made their first moves
11:20back onto the mainland of Europe.
11:23Italy is a peninsula
11:25with a rugged mountain range near the Apennines
11:27running right up the middle,
11:28and there are spurs which run off the Apennines,
11:31spurs running to the east coast
11:33and spurs running to the west coast.
11:35And from these central mountains,
11:37rivers run.
11:38Quite large rivers in some cases,
11:41quite fast flowing.
11:42And they run to the east coast
11:44and they run to the west coast.
11:45If you were actually to create terrain
11:48which was designed for the defence,
11:50you would create something
11:51that looked like the Italian peninsula.
11:53The terrain in Italy
11:55is enormously favourable for a defender
11:57because you've got this chain of mountains
12:00which runs right down
12:01the whole backbone of the country
12:03and only a very limited coastal plain.
12:06And what the defender is able to do,
12:08and which the Germans did very successfully,
12:10is to defend each of the continuing series of valleys
12:14from the high ground behind it.
12:16And they were able to do this,
12:18really, from 1943 right through almost
12:21to May 1945.
12:23So the terrain in Italy
12:25gave the Germans
12:26a tremendous advantage as defenders.
12:31On the 3rd of September, 1943,
12:34the British 8th Army,
12:35which included the British 5th Division
12:37and the Canadian 1st Division,
12:39crossed the Straits of Messina
12:40towards Reggio.
12:42This operation was codenamed Baytown
12:45and was followed six days later
12:47by two further landings
12:48upon the Italian mainland.
12:51Operation Slapstick
12:52involved the British 1st Airborne Division
12:54who landed at Taranto on the south coast.
12:57Operation Avalanche
12:59involved the US 5th Army
13:01who landed at Salerno on the west coast.
13:06The Americans had sailed the previous day,
13:09the 8th of September,
13:10and en route to Salerno
13:12they heard the announcement
13:13of the Italian surrender.
13:17The Italian surrender
13:19meant that the Germans
13:20were effectively on their own
13:21in a hostile country
13:23and had the double task
13:24of disarming the Italian forces
13:26and also preparing for the landings.
13:30Field Marshal Albert Kesselring
13:32was the commander
13:33in southern Italy at that time,
13:35and he had the German 10th Army,
13:37including the 16th Panzer Division
13:39and the Krak Hermann Göring Division
13:41in the area.
13:44in the northern part of Italy,
13:46Rommel had command.
13:54The German command was aware
13:56of the approaching enemy forces
13:58and moved in to meet the threat.
14:24The British 8th Army
14:26under General Sir Bernard Montgomery
14:28began their advance up the west coast
14:30so that they could link up
14:31with the US 5th Army
14:33under Lieutenant General Mark Clark.
14:36After securing Taranto,
14:38the British also advanced
14:39up the east coast
14:40towards Bari
14:41and also northwest
14:43towards Salerno.
14:45within his 5th Army,
14:48Clark had the British 10th Corps
14:49under the command
14:51of Lieutenant General Richard McCreary.
14:53The 10th Corps
14:54had the left flank
14:55and they were given
14:56the objective
14:57of taking the main road
14:58leading towards Naples,
15:00further north of Salerno.
15:05Naples was a major port
15:06and its importance
15:08was not lost on Clark
15:09or Kesselring.
15:12The American element
15:13of the Salerno landings
15:14had the objective
15:15of linking with the 8th Army
15:17advancing up from the south.
15:19Clark had given himself
15:20five days
15:21to reach Naples.
15:25On the 3rd of September
15:261943,
15:28the Canadian 1st Division
15:29and British 5th Division
15:31crossed the Straits of Messina
15:32from Sicily
15:33to the toe of Italy.
15:34They had immense fire support.
15:36Four battleships,
15:37more than a dozen
15:39other warships
15:39and hundreds of bombers.
15:42There was an amazing
15:44amount of fire support
15:45and there was no opposition.
15:47The only people
15:48they met
15:48in the toe of Italy
15:49were a number
15:50of Italian soldiers
15:51who were desperately
15:52trying to hand themselves
15:54over to the Allies.
15:56Now, it would be quite wrong
15:56to characterise
15:58this particular landing
15:59as a cakewalk
15:59because very quickly
16:00they had to exploit
16:01to the northeast
16:03and then they discovered
16:04that they were in
16:04very, very difficult
16:05terrain indeed
16:06and it was comparatively easy
16:08for small numbers
16:09of German sappers
16:10to actually blow bridges
16:11and to actually hold up
16:13the advance
16:13for some considerable time.
16:16In the south,
16:17the 8th Army's landings
16:18had been virtually unopposed
16:20but at Salerno,
16:21Clark ran into
16:22serious problems.
16:24The Germans
16:25were waiting for them
16:26and they rained
16:27intensive fire
16:28upon the landing forces.
16:47The Allied landings
16:49were bisected
16:50by the Sele River
16:51and the Germans
16:52used this river
16:53to effectively push
16:54a wedge
16:55between the Allied forces.
16:58German forces
16:59also prevented
17:00the British X Corps
17:01from taking the road
17:02to Naples
17:03and in fact
17:04mounted such heavy
17:05pressure upon the Allies
17:06that at one stage
17:07Clark contemplated withdrawal.
17:14The Germans launched
17:15a counterattack
17:16on the 14th of September
17:18but this was checked
17:19by the Allies
17:20with the help
17:20of naval gunfire
17:21from the ships
17:22lying offshore.
17:34With no hope
17:35of further advances
17:37against the Allied positions,
17:38the Germans withdrew
17:40towards the Gustav line.
17:43On the 18th of September,
17:45the 8th Army
17:46and the 5th Army
17:47finally linked up
17:48at Ponte Selle
17:49about 15 miles inland.
17:54Naples fell to the Allies
17:56on the 1st of October
17:57but the Germans
17:59had destroyed the port.
18:01This was a brutal
18:03and bloody opening
18:04to the Italian campaign
18:05and it was a foretaste
18:07of what was to come.
18:10These first Italian battles
18:11cost the Allies
18:1212,000 casualties.
18:27Allied troops
18:27approaching Salerno
18:28on the night
18:29of the 8th and 9th of September
18:31were in exactly
18:32the wrong state of mind
18:33to conduct
18:34an amphibious operation
18:35because on the evening
18:37of the 8th of September
18:37they had heard the news
18:39which had been broadcast
18:39over the BBC
18:40that Italy
18:41was surrendering
18:42and we've had numerous
18:44first-hand accounts
18:45of how that news
18:46was received
18:47aboard the landing craft.
18:48Chaps suddenly broke
18:49into song.
18:50They were cheering.
18:51They were relaxing.
18:52They thought they were
18:53going to have a cakewalk
18:54when they landed
18:55at Salerno.
18:56They'd simply lost
18:58their fighting age.
18:59The Allies nearly suffered
19:01a major defeat,
19:02a catastrophe
19:03at Salerno.
19:05The problem was
19:06the Germans
19:07had partly anticipated
19:08a landing near Naples
19:10and so there were
19:11quite strong German forces
19:12nearby.
19:14At the same time
19:15the Allied commander
19:17the American General Clark
19:19Mark Clark
19:21dispersed his forces
19:22too widely.
19:23He landed on a 35-mile front
19:26which meant that
19:27the landing forces
19:28were unable
19:29to give each other
19:30mutual support.
19:32Moreover,
19:33banking on surprise
19:34which is not a bad thing
19:36he dispensed
19:37with a preliminary
19:38naval bombardment
19:39and so his troops
19:40had to go ashore
19:41facing a hostile reception.
19:44Finally,
19:45the Germans saw here
19:47a very good opportunity
19:49to drive the Allies
19:51into the sea
19:52and for a week
19:54powerful German forces
19:55were sent to Salerno
19:57to try to smash
19:58the Allied landing
19:59and inflict
20:01a truly catastrophic
20:02defeat upon them.
20:06Kesselring had thought ahead
20:08regarding the defense
20:09of Italy
20:09against Allied invasion.
20:11He had planned
20:12a series of defensive lines
20:14that were designed
20:15to delay
20:15and slow the Allies.
20:20The first main line
20:21of defense
20:22was the Gustav Line.
20:24There were other
20:25formal defensive lines
20:27in front of this main one
20:28but less heavily fortified.
20:30There was also
20:31three rivers
20:32between the Allied positions
20:33and the Gustav Line
20:34the Garigliano,
20:36Rapido and Sangro.
20:38The Gustav Line
20:39ran from Minterno
20:41on the west coast
20:42to San Vito
20:43on the east coast.
20:48The town of Cassino
20:49was positioned
20:50on the western part
20:51of the defensive line
20:52just behind
20:53the Rapido River.
20:55directly above Cassino
20:57was Monte Cassino
20:58which was home
20:59to a Benedictine monastery
21:01that had been there
21:02since 529 AD.
21:05Monte Cassino
21:06dominated the surrounding area
21:07which included
21:08Highway 6,
21:10the road to Rome
21:11and the Liri Valley.
21:15Monte Cassino
21:16was only one of a series
21:18of hills
21:18that ran towards
21:19the east coast
21:19from this point.
21:20It was around
21:22this natural strong point
21:23that Kesselring's forces
21:25concentrated their defences.
21:33The German forces
21:34in this area
21:35included the 14th Army,
21:371st Parachute Division
21:38and the 51st Mountain Corps.
21:41By the 15th of November
21:43the Allies began their advance
21:45on the river Garigliano
21:47with the American 5th Army
21:49on the left
21:49and the British 8th Army
21:51on the right.
22:00The composition
22:01of the British 8th Army
22:02included Canadian,
22:04New Zealand
22:04and Indian troops.
22:07Between the 20th of November
22:09and the 2nd of December
22:10the 8th Army
22:11crossed the Sangria River.
22:13Although the poor
22:15winter weather
22:15was causing immense problems
22:17for the Allies.
22:19Towards the end
22:20of 1943
22:21General Sir Harold Alexander
22:23took over from Eisenhower
22:24as the overall commander
22:26in Italy.
22:28Monte also left
22:29and was replaced
22:30by Lieutenant General
22:31Sir Oliver Leese.
22:33Ike and Monte
22:34were sent back to England
22:35to prepare
22:36for the invasion of France.
22:39On the German side
22:41Rommel also left Italy
22:42for the same reason
22:43which left Kesselring
22:45as the overall commander
22:47in Italy.
22:49The situation
22:50at the end of 1943
22:51in Italy
22:52was one of stalemate.
22:54The Allies had pushed forward
22:55from the south
22:56and they had reached
22:57the main German defensive line
22:58called the Gustav Line.
23:00This was anchored
23:02on the monastery
23:03town of Monte Cassino
23:06some 70 miles
23:07south of Rome.
23:08They reached this point
23:10and with winter coming on
23:11they couldn't break
23:12through the line.
23:14Churchill
23:15was watching
23:16the stalemate
23:17with a great deal
23:18of dissatisfaction
23:19and he was indeed
23:20at this time
23:21in North Africa
23:22on convalescence.
23:25Chronically unable
23:26to sit quiet
23:28and do nothing
23:29he then took
23:30a deep interest
23:31in the Italian campaign.
23:33He was appalled
23:35by what was happening
23:36in Italy
23:36and he actually
23:37sent a telegram
23:38to the chiefs of staff
23:39in London
23:40saying that
23:41the Italian stalemate
23:43is scandalous.
23:45Now
23:45what was the problem
23:47in Italy?
23:48Fifth Army
23:49had been advancing
23:50up the west coast
23:51British Eighth Army
23:52advancing
23:53up the east coast
23:55and of course
23:56they had been running
23:57into successive river lines
23:59heavily defended
24:00river lines.
24:02The Eighth Army
24:03on the eastern coast
24:05had managed
24:05across the Sangro
24:06against very bitter
24:08German resistance
24:08and then on the
24:09Eighth of December
24:10had moved up
24:10to the Moro
24:11had managed
24:12to cross the Moro
24:12between the Eighth
24:13and Tenth of December
24:14once again
24:14against bitter
24:15German resistance
24:16and then the first
24:17Canadian division
24:18had been tasked
24:19with clearing
24:19the town of Otona
24:21and this became
24:22one of the nastiest
24:23and one of the most
24:24bitter urban operations
24:25of the entire
24:26Second World War
24:27where the Canadians
24:27literally had to
24:28clear the Germans
24:29out of Otona
24:30room by room
24:31not house by house
24:32but room by room
24:34and it took them
24:34till the 28th of December
24:36to clear Otona.
25:00On the 22nd of January
25:021944 Allied troops
25:05made a landing upon the
25:06Anzio beaches
25:07on the west coast
25:08This objective
25:09was only 40 miles south
25:11of Rome
25:12and the expectation
25:13was that a rapid advance
25:14would be made
25:15to the Italian capital
25:17Major General John P. Lucas
25:20was in command
25:21of the landing forces
25:22which comprised
25:23of the U.S. Sixth Corps
25:26There was no
25:27initial German resistance
25:28and tens of thousands
25:30of troops
25:31were pushed in
25:32to the beachhead
25:33on the first day alone
25:38Lucas was fearful
25:39of a trap
25:39and he waited
25:40until he felt
25:41strong enough
25:42to advance
25:43Lucas finally began
25:44his push inland
25:45on the 30th of January
25:47but by this time
25:48it was too late
25:51Kesselring
25:52had rushed troops
25:53to the area
25:54and these troops
25:55successfully held
25:56the Allied pocket
26:00They rained murderous fire
26:02upon the Allied beachhead
26:03from a variety of weapons
26:04that included
26:05the K5E
26:07280mm railway gun
26:09named Leopold
26:10by the Germans
26:11but nicknamed
26:12Anzio Anni
26:13by the Allies
26:24The use of
26:26the giant rail guns
26:27is really
26:28it's no fun
26:30if you're on the receiving end
26:31but it's not something
26:32which is ever going to change
26:33the course of the war
26:35they're really there
26:35for propaganda purposes
26:37Anzio Anni looks
26:39tremendous
26:40on a newsreel
26:41but in practice
26:42his rate of fire
26:43is very slow
26:44it's a heavy shell
26:46it fires
26:46but it's fine
26:47over such a large distance
26:49that it's difficult
26:50to bring
26:50the kind of accuracy
26:52that the German force
26:54is trying to hold back
26:55the bridgehead need
26:56so their presence
26:58is more psychological
26:59than actually
27:00impacting on the ground
27:02The Anzio landing
27:03was originally intended
27:04as part of an extremely
27:06complex envelopment operation
27:08it would be
27:09the final nail
27:10in the coffin
27:11the Allies were creating
27:13for the Germans
27:14Now of course
27:15the breakthrough battles
27:17didn't happen
27:185th Army did not break
27:19through the Gustav line
27:21and 8th Army
27:22was stuck in the area
27:23of Artona
27:24but the Anzio landings
27:26went ahead anyway
27:27General Clark
27:29actually told
27:30General John Lucas
27:31who was going to command
27:326th Corps
27:33on the Anzio landing
27:34he said
27:35John
27:35don't stick your neck out
27:37I did it Salerno
27:38and it was almost cut off
27:39and Lucas himself
27:41was very very dubious
27:43about his chances
27:44of even minimal success
27:46he's reported to have said
27:48I feel like a lamb
27:50being led to the slaughter
27:51this is not a good state of mind
27:53for a general commanding
27:54an amphibious operation
27:55to be in
28:01two days after
28:03the Anzio landings
28:04the first battle
28:05for Casino began
28:06this battle
28:08and the landings
28:09at Anzio
28:09were designed
28:10to trap the German forces
28:11in a pincer movement
28:13by the start of February
28:15the Americans
28:16were in the process
28:17of outflanking
28:18the monastery
28:19to the east
28:19they captured
28:21Mount Castellano
28:22and Majola Hill
28:23they also managed
28:24to advance to a point
28:25just 400 yards
28:26from the monastery
28:27by the end
28:28of the first week
28:29in February
28:33heavy German fire
28:34prevented any further advances
28:36the Americans withdrew
28:38after suffering
28:3975% losses
28:42as they withdrew
28:43Indian forces
28:45took their place
28:46these first attempts
28:48at breaking
28:49the Gustav line
28:49had failed miserably
28:51and the Allied commanders
28:52had to decide
28:53on their next move
29:10Allied intelligence
29:11was certain
29:12that the ancient
29:13abbey at Monte Cassino
29:14had helped
29:15the German forces
29:16to hold back
29:17attack the Allies
29:18in preparation
29:19for the second attempt
29:20to take Monte Cassino
29:21the Allies ordered
29:23an aerial attack
29:24upon the ancient abbey
29:27they had incorrectly believed
29:29that the Germans
29:30were using the area
29:31for artillery observation
29:33the Germans had in fact
29:34declared the abbey
29:35a no-go area
29:36for any military purposes
29:38and they had taken steps
29:40to ensure
29:40that the artifacts
29:41contained within the abbey
29:43were removed
29:44this was a wise move
29:46as on the 15th of February
29:48a force of 229
29:50Allied bombers
29:51flew over the area
29:52and dropped
29:53450 tons of bombs
29:55upon the abbey
30:15The abbey was completely destroyed
30:18and the Allies hoped
30:19that the German defenders
30:21had been destroyed also
30:22the reality however
30:25was that the reduction
30:26of the abbey
30:27to a pile of rubble
30:28only facilitated
30:29the defense of the area
30:30with the sanctuary
30:32of the abbey
30:33now broken
30:34the German parachute troops
30:36moved into the remains
30:37and prepared
30:38excellent
30:39defensive positions
30:50The following day
30:51the 16th of February
30:52the ground attack
30:54began with the New Zealand
30:55forces moving directly
30:56towards Monte Cassino
30:57from the south
30:58along the railway line
31:00the Indian troops
31:01also advanced
31:02and they managed
31:03to take Snake's Head Ridge
31:05north of the abbey
31:07a German counter-attack
31:08pushed the New Zealanders
31:10back
31:10and further advance
31:11by Indian troops
31:12was also prevented
31:25a lull developed
31:27until the 15th of March
31:29the third attack
31:31was about to begin
31:32and before the ground
31:33operation began
31:34an aerial strike
31:35against Cassino Town
31:36was mounted
31:37500 bombers flew over
31:40and dropped over
31:411,000 tons of bombs
31:42upon the town
31:51an artillery barrage
31:53that crept through the town
31:54and onto the abbey
31:55followed
31:55The ground attack
31:57started after this
31:59ferocious preparation
32:08The Germans had also
32:10blown a dam
32:10further up the river
32:11and the area in front
32:13of the town
32:13was flooded
32:14They now mounted
32:16heavy fire
32:17from the abbey
32:18and also the continental hotel
32:19west of Cassino Town
32:21The Allies did manage
32:23to take Hangman's Hill
32:24and Castle Hill
32:25The New Zealanders
32:27stopped their advance
32:28on the 20th
32:28only four days
32:30after the start
32:31due to casualties
32:32numbering around
32:334,000 men
32:40Monte Cassino
32:41was another one
32:42of these
32:43tremendously strong
32:45defensive positions
32:47that Italy
32:48constantly presents
32:49the attacker with
32:51and what it meant
32:52was a series
32:53of river barriers
32:55first had to be crossed
32:56and then
32:58the attackers
32:59are confronted
32:59with this
33:00natural stronghold
33:03that could almost
33:04have been built
33:05with the idea
33:07of defence in mind
33:08The consequence
33:09of all of this
33:10is that the movement
33:11of troops
33:12is very difficult
33:13the movement
33:14of tanks
33:15is virtually impossible
33:17and the cloud
33:18and rain
33:19means that air cover
33:21really cannot be used
33:22artillery remains
33:24but shells for the artillery
33:27have got to be brought up
33:28and the roads
33:29are full of mud
33:30so Italy
33:32was a desperately
33:33difficult place
33:34to fight in
33:35and the area
33:36among Monte Cassino
33:37exemplified these problems
33:39of terrain
33:40and climate
33:41This set the scene
33:42for one of the most
33:43spectacular aerial bombardments
33:45of the second world war
33:46the destruction
33:47of the monastery
33:48but of course
33:49the Germans
33:49weren't in the monastery
33:51they didn't have to be
33:52in the monastery
33:54they had their observers
33:55in the hills
33:56outside the monastery
33:58now of course
33:59once the monastery
33:59was destroyed
34:00it was the allies
34:01who had actually
34:02violated international law
34:03the allies
34:04who had attacked
34:05this religious institution
34:07and so the Germans
34:08could now occupy
34:09the ruins
34:10of Monte Cassino
34:10we had literally
34:11created a rod
34:13for our own backs
34:14and of course
34:15the attack
34:16of the New Zealanders
34:17and the Indians
34:18ended up in the same manner
34:19as the attacks
34:20of all the other divisions
34:22which had gone in
34:26With the failure
34:27of the second
34:28and third attempts
34:29to break the stalemate
34:30at Cassino
34:31the area enjoyed
34:32a period of relative calm
34:35Further up the country
34:36at Anzio
34:37both sides
34:38tried various attempts
34:39to gain control
34:40but no definite conclusion
34:42was reached
34:44With the stalemate
34:45in Italy
34:45well and truly in force
34:47something had to be done
34:48to break the deadlock
34:50The front line erupted
34:52to the sound of fire
34:53once again
34:53on the 11th of May 1944
34:56Polish troops
34:57mounted attacks
34:58near Snakeshead Ridge
34:59and free French troops
35:01launched an attack
35:02west of Cassino
35:04This was followed
35:05by further attempts
35:05by the British
35:06and Americans
35:10The German forces
35:11now acutely aware
35:12of the danger
35:13that was developing
35:14finally withdrew northwards
35:16on the 17th of May
35:20The Polish troops
35:21entered the remains
35:22of Monte Cassino Abbey
35:23on the 18th
35:24almost four months
35:25since the first
35:26Allied attempts
35:27to take control
35:28of this area
35:30The capture
35:31of this objective
35:32was robbed
35:33of much of its glory
35:34by the fact
35:35that the bulk
35:35of the Germans
35:36had managed
35:37to escape
35:37Nevertheless
35:38the British
35:39broke the German line
35:41on the 23rd of May
35:42and at Anzio
35:43the attempts
35:44to break out
35:45of the beachhead
35:45proved successful
35:47Two days later
35:49on the 25th of May
35:50the US 6th Corps
35:51and 2nd Corps
35:52finally linked up
35:54At this point
35:56there should have been
35:57a fantastic
35:59Allied victory
36:00an envelopment
36:01of the retreating
36:03German forces
36:03because the forces
36:04we had in Anzio
36:05should have then
36:06have advanced
36:07and met up
36:07with the forces
36:08of the 5th Army
36:10But that's not the way
36:12that Mark Clark
36:12saw it
36:13Mark Clark
36:14wanted to go
36:15to Rome
36:16Rome was like
36:17this magnet
36:18attracting him
36:19And so he doesn't
36:21even attempt
36:21an envelopment
36:23He just orders
36:24his divisions
36:24his American divisions
36:25to head straight
36:26for Rome
36:27It's absolutely clear
36:28that he is terrified
36:29that if he engages
36:31in an envelopment
36:32with the forces
36:33in Anzio
36:34then it is the British
36:35British 8th Army
36:36which will actually
36:37get to Rome first
36:38The terrible irony
36:40of it all was
36:41of course
36:41that Mark Clark
36:42led his American troops
36:44into Rome
36:46having passed up
36:47the chance of trapping
36:48the Germans
36:48led his troops
36:50into Rome
36:51on the 4th of June
36:52On the 6th of June
36:54all the world
36:56was talking about
36:56the invasion of France
36:59Overlord
36:59Mark Clark
37:01had his moment of glory
37:02for about 36 hours
37:04and then it was
37:05totally eclipsed
37:16The soldiers fighting
37:17in Italy
37:18had endured
37:18a great deal
37:19to get to this point
37:20and the fact
37:21that their biggest achievement
37:22to date
37:23received limited publicity
37:24did not do much
37:25for morale
37:27There was still a job
37:29to be done however
37:29and the men
37:30set about their task
37:31with a sense
37:32of resignation
37:37By the 10th of June
37:38the Germans
37:39were positioned
37:40at the Viterbo line
37:42In bitter fighting
37:43they were forced back
37:44further
37:44to the next
37:45defensive line
37:46the Transimene line
37:48by the 20th of June
37:50By mid-August
37:51they were at the Gothic line
37:53The capture of Rome
37:55should have had
37:55very great significance
37:56certainly in the political
37:58and psychological area
38:00It is after all
38:01the capital city of Italy
38:04but it's one of the great
38:05capital cities of Europe
38:07It's in the same league
38:08as Paris
38:09Berlin
38:10Moscow
38:11London
38:12The capture of cities like that
38:14has got reverberations
38:16that go well beyond
38:18the military sphere
38:19This would be proof
38:21beyond doubt
38:22that Italy
38:23is now on the side
38:25of the Allies
38:26and that the Italians
38:27too
38:28were on the side
38:29of the Allies
38:30The fact that the capture
38:32of Rome
38:32was largely ignored
38:34at the time
38:35was always a sore point
38:37with the forces
38:37who fought in Italy
38:39After all
38:39it was the first
38:40European capital
38:42to fall back
38:43into Allied hands
38:44But I think
38:45the reason for that
38:47probably is
38:48that Italy
38:49was already
38:50a divided country
38:51Italy had come over
38:52to the side
38:53of the Allies
38:54and to a large extent
38:56the fall of Rome
38:57had been anticipated
38:59much earlier
39:00and it was in fact
39:01very late
39:02in times of the
39:03timetable of events
39:05Of course
39:06the D-Day landings
39:07come along
39:08almost the next day
39:09and completely obliterate
39:11the importance
39:12of that capture
39:13So once again
39:14the men
39:15who are fighting
39:16hard in Italy
39:17are deprived
39:18of the recognition
39:20and the glory
39:21that every soldier seeks
39:25The Gothic line
39:26had first started life
39:28during 1943
39:30Since then however
39:31little work
39:32had been done
39:32to bring the defensive
39:33position up to
39:34the required level
39:35Even as late
39:37as June 1944
39:38the defenses
39:39were far from adequate
39:41Hitler himself
39:42was aware of this
39:43and he ordered
39:44that the Allied advance
39:45must be stopped
39:46further south
39:48In June 1944
39:50an order was issued
39:51for the work
39:52to be completed
39:57The defense line
39:58stretched to a distance
39:59of 200 miles
40:00and ran from an area
40:02just north of Masso
40:03on the west coast
40:04to the cliffs
40:05near Pizarro
40:06on the east coast
40:08The line was designed
40:10to make use
40:10of the Apennine Mountains
40:12Into this line
40:13was placed a series
40:15of pre-prepared
40:16anti-tank
40:16and mortar positions
40:18almost 2,500 machine gun posts
40:21were constructed
40:22on high ground
40:23and other dominant features
40:25Artillery positions
40:26were also placed
40:27into the line
40:28A new
40:29specially designed feature
40:31was a 75mm Panther
40:33tank turret
40:33set on top
40:34of concrete emplacements
40:36that had been dug
40:37into the ground
40:40The depth of the defensive line
40:42was around 10 to 12 miles
40:43This work was completed
40:45in the period
40:46between June
40:47and August 1944
40:49The east coast
40:51received particular attention
40:52as this area led
40:54to the Po Valley
40:58The Germans had learnt
41:00some valuable lessons
41:01during the defence
41:02at Casino
41:03and these would be put
41:05to good use
41:05on the Gothic line
41:28The first Allied moves
41:30against this formidable
41:31defensive position
41:32began on the 25th of August
41:35After an initial
41:37artillery barrage
41:38the British troops
41:39made their assault
41:40against the German defenders
41:41who had been caught
41:42unawares
41:51They broke into
41:52the Gothic line
41:53and began their
41:54limited advance
41:54along the east coast
41:56On the west coast
41:57the Americans
41:58had also launched
41:59an attack
42:00and by the 2nd of September
42:01they had taken Pisa
42:04In the centre
42:05an American assault
42:06was aimed
42:06to the north of Florence
42:08They were heading
42:09directly towards Bologna
42:10and they made good
42:11initial gains
42:17Kesselring shifted
42:18his forces around
42:19to meet the double threat
42:20and tried desperately
42:21to contain
42:22the Allied advance
42:24The advance of the Allies
42:26continued throughout September
42:28with the British
42:29taking Rimini
42:29on the 21st
42:30and the Americans
42:31advancing to within
42:3310 miles of Bologna
42:37Kesselring then received
42:38some unexpected assistance
42:40in the shape of the weather
42:41He had pushed troops
42:44into the battle
42:44against the Americans
42:45and the American assault
42:47began to slow
42:48around this time
42:50the winter weather
42:51began to fall
42:52The combination of driving rain
42:54sleet
42:55and then snow
42:56forced a halt
42:57to all operations
42:59The frustration
43:00on both sides
43:01was apparent
43:02The enforced rest
43:04however
43:04was welcome
43:05to all soldiers
43:06on the front line
43:07The recent fighting
43:09had exacted
43:10a heavy toll
43:10on their numbers
43:12When the Allies
43:13reached the Gothic line
43:14they had first
43:15re-established
43:16their line of communications
43:17You have to bring up
43:19a lot of stores
43:20and so forth
43:21A very well selected
43:23defence line
43:24using mountains
43:25and rivers
43:26once again
43:27all the problems
43:28of assaulting there
43:30But in this case
43:31made worse
43:32by the fact
43:33that six divisions
43:34have been stripped
43:35from the Allied forces
43:36to join the invasion
43:38of southern France
43:39Operation Anvil
43:41which took place
43:42in August of 1944
43:44though it was supposed
43:45to assist
43:46the invasion
43:47of France
43:48Operation Overlord
43:49So the Allies
43:51were considerably weakened
43:52They simply
43:53didn't have
43:54the forces available
43:55In addition to that
43:57the weather
43:57now turns
43:58very hard
44:00against the Americans
44:01and the British
44:01so we have this
44:02horrible season
44:03of mud
44:04and rain
44:05and cold
44:06which make it
44:07almost impossible
44:08to move supplies
44:09which negate
44:10the advantage
44:12that the Allies
44:13have in terms
44:14of the number
44:15of tanks
44:15and it turns it
44:16into a slogging match
44:18such as hadn't
44:19really been seen
44:20since the Great War
44:2125 years earlier
44:27The Gothic line
44:28had at least
44:29been breached
44:30and although
44:31the pace
44:31of the advance
44:32had slowed
44:32considerably
44:33around October
44:34the British
44:35on the east coast
44:36made some
44:36limited gains
44:38The difficult
44:39mountain fighting
44:40had passed
44:41and the open plains
44:42of Italy
44:43were now stretched
44:43out in front
44:44of the Allies
44:48By the start
44:49of December
44:50the British
44:51had reached
44:51Ravenna
44:52but this was
44:53the end
44:53of their advances
44:54for 1944
44:59Further forces
45:00were extracted
45:01from this theatre
45:01during this period
45:02but fresh
45:03replacement units
45:04were sent
45:05to the area
45:05including
45:06specialised
45:07mountain troops
45:09there was also
45:10a limited Italian
45:11German offensive
45:12launched on the west coast
45:13towards the end
45:15of December
45:16This move was blocked
45:17by some of the newer
45:18American units
45:19and no real achievements
45:20were made
45:22The German forces
45:23now suffered
45:24a major blow
45:24to command
45:26Kesselring
45:27the master
45:27of defensive tactics
45:29was injured
45:30in a car accident
45:31and had to be
45:32taken back
45:32to Germany
45:33His replacement
45:34was General Heinrich
45:36von Weitinghoff
45:37who had commanded
45:38the 10th Army
45:39during the fighting
45:39in Italy
45:40On the Allied side
45:42Alexander
45:43was promoted
45:44to field marshal
45:44and took over
45:45all command
45:46of the Mediterranean
45:47theatre
45:49The commanders
45:50and soldiers
45:50on both sides
45:51prepared for their
45:52next moves
45:53in the new year
45:54but for the present
45:55they concentrated
45:56on dealing
45:57with the adverse weather
45:58and trying to find
45:59some degree of comfort
46:00over Christmas
46:01The winter was cold
46:03It wasn't like Russia
46:05but it was bad enough
46:07In the winter
46:08you could never
46:09get properly dry
46:09and so consequently
46:11conditions like
46:12trench foot conditions
46:13you last saw
46:14on the western front
46:15during the First World War
46:16made a dramatic reappear
46:17and in winter
46:19of course
46:19you still have
46:20to move supplies
46:20you have to move
46:21them up
46:22mountain tracks
46:22and of course
46:23the mountain tracks
46:24are knee deep
46:25in mud
46:26and so once again
46:27it is exhausting
46:29and it is dirty
46:30fighting in Italy
46:31The soldiers
46:33on both sides
46:34fighting in the war
46:36in Italy
46:36had to endure
46:37tremendous hardships
46:39all the familiar
46:40hardships
46:40are there for them
46:41mud
46:42rain
46:43wind
46:44rats
46:45disease
46:46all the kind
46:47of things
46:47that you associate
46:48with a grinding
46:50slogan march
46:51are all present
46:52in Italy
46:53it was no picnic
46:54by any means
46:54because you think
46:55of Italy
46:55as being a sunny
46:56warm country
46:58but in the winter
46:58months
46:59and in the mountains
46:59it is as inhospitable
47:01as you will find
47:02anywhere
47:04with the dismal
47:05weather situation
47:06prevailing throughout
47:07the winter months
47:08it was April 1945
47:10before the Allies
47:11could continue
47:12their efforts
47:13to remove the Germans
47:14from Italy
47:15at the start of April
47:17a spoiling attack
47:18was launched
47:19to draw the Germans
47:19away from the main
47:20activity
47:21a concerted attack
47:24the main blow
47:25fell on the 9th of April
47:26upon the Argenta area
47:28the battle started
47:30with a customary air raid
47:31upon the German positions
47:32when over 300 tons
47:34of bombs were dropped
47:35this was followed
47:37by a series
47:37of artillery strikes
47:38into the same area
47:40the Allied troops
47:42then pushed
47:42into the German positions
47:44near Argenta
47:45and beyond
47:47von Weitinghoff
47:48rushed reserves
47:49into the area
47:50but it was not enough
47:52the Americans
47:53resumed their advance
47:54towards Bologna
47:55on the 14th of April
47:57the Germans
47:58put up stiff opposition
48:00but the Allies
48:01enjoyed numerical superiority
48:03and they finally
48:04took the city
48:05on the 21st
48:06with the help
48:06of Polish troops
48:11the German surrender
48:12became effective
48:14on the 2nd of May
48:16less than a week before
48:17Mussolini had been captured
48:19and shot by partisans
48:21an act which greatly
48:22affected Hitler
48:23with this victory
48:25the stalemate in Italy
48:27was finally broken
48:30the focus of the world
48:32may have been fixed
48:33upon northern Europe
48:34during the last years
48:35of the war
48:36however
48:37the Italian victory
48:38was a significant one
48:40in the battle
48:40to free Europe
48:41from Hitler's control
48:42the victory
48:43is a testimony
48:44to the resilience
48:45and skill
48:46of those
48:47who fought there
48:49will have a seat
48:54to victory
48:54of hope
48:56in kep Wales,
48:59now will
48:59have a seat in
48:59the land do
48:59not have a seat for
49:01a soldier there
49:18to��