The Story of the 34th Infantry Division
Book I • Louisiana to Pisa

Chapter XIII • CASSINO
Storming [pp. 55-64]

   It will be convenient here to sketch briefly the German position which shortly was to become world renowned. To the west of M. Trocchio there opened up the broad Liri Valley along which Highway 6 and the railroad led ultimately to Rome. Running from north to south in front of the mouth of this valley ran the Rapido River which linked up with the Liri River nine kilometers south of Cassino. The town was built at the base of an imposing hill, covered with rocks and stunted shrubbery, through which twisted the narrow road leading to the famous Benedictine Abbey of Montecassino. The Rapido River had been turned in its course to flood the flatland on the east side of the town. Towering above Cassino there rose a series of craggy peaks - one in particular, Nill 593, dominating but not controlling the Abbey hill itself since a deep gorge separated the two heights. Further north the little villages of Cairo and Terelle huddled close to the hillsides connected by a steep and winding trail. Surmounting the whole picture rose the pinnacle on M. Cairo. An Italian army of ancient days had built a castle on a small sugar-loaf hill on the northwestern outskirts of Cassino from where fire could be placed on the entrances of the town. The modern Italian army had constructed barracks about five kilometers north of the castle along the Cassino-Atina road. The terrain was so suitable for prolonged resistance that the Italian War College had used it as an example of a well-chosen defense line.

   Thick minefields and rows of barbed wire had been laid in the marshes and on the gently rising ground at the base of the mountains to prevent the passage of tanks or foot troops. A chain of bunker positions, stronger than any encountered before, had been built, some reinforced with concrete, some with railroad ties from the ruined station at Cassino, but all of them dug and blasted out from the rock of the Cassino hills. Not content with natural fortifications the enemy had installed portable steel pillboxes, half-buried in the ground, each containing a machine gun. Every man and every weapon had shelter from artillery fire. In support of their infantry positions, emplacements were prepared for self-propelled guns which could mount the trails on the northwest side of a hill without being observed by us, fire a few rounds, and disappear. A large concentration of gun positions had been constructed close to the hills behind Cassino and close to Highway 6 where they had good protection from our counter-battery fire. Enemy artillery was further reinforced by a number of Nebelwerfers whose eerie noise earned them the name of "screaming meemies".

   To attempt an assault upon such a series of fortifications was a most hazardous undertaking, and originally it was decided to force the Rapido River and advance straight up the Liri Valley, bypassing Cassino and turning the Gustav Line. After a series of attempts by the 36th Infantry Division to cross the Rapido south of Cassino had been thrown back with much bloodshed, the 34th Division was ordered to cross the Rapido north of Cassino, to carry by storm the hills overlooking the town and breakthrough to Highway 6, isolating the town and the Abbey. Our attack began during the period of 24-25 January [1944]. Three days previously an Allied amphibious force had successfully established a beachhead at Anzio.

   The 133rd Infantry, advancing with three Battalions abreast, approached the river north of the barracks and immediately ran into extensive minefields covered by elaborate interlocking machine-gun fire. The Regiment continued the agonizing job of forcing paths through the minefields in the marshy land and several times succeeded in getting elements across to the western bank. Each time the tremendous volume of enemy fire obliged them to withdraw, but the enemy in his resistance had betrayed a weak point in his line. On 26 January the 133rd Infantry gave place to the 168th Infantry who, with the 756th Tank Battalion in support, prepared an attempt to storm to the farther side. In the face of mines, barbed wire, and the most intense fire, the Regiment succeeded in established a bridgehead and in pushing to the base of the hills one or two kilometers further on. It was impossible, so soft was the ground, for the tanks to cross but four of them, bogged down, continued to fire in support of the infantry and greatly assisted them in their advance. Engineer troops worked like Trojans to prepare firm crossings, but these were not in operation until the afternoon of 29 January when the bulk of the Tank Battalion crossed in support of the infantry attack. Before midnight, two small hills had been attacked and taken, and the enemy dugouts and bunkers were mopped up.

   The 133rd Infantry moved across in the left of the Division sector. During the next few days very successful infantry-tank operations cleared our right flank, occupied Cairo and captured over 250 prisoners, including an entire battalion headquarters. By this time the 168th Infantry had formed a definite salient into the German line. The enemy command grew anxious and brought in heavy reinforcements from the Adriatic coast consisting of the 90th Panzer Grenadier Division and the 1st Parachute Division. The 135th Infantry passed through the 168th Infantry and pushed on up the hill, trying to reach Highway 6 and isolate the Abbey. On 1 February the 133rd Infantry drove west from its positions toward Cassino clearing the barracks. The next morning the Regiment with tank support began the attack from the north on the town of Cassino itself, meeting very fierce resistance. The enemy had installed anti-tank guns at critical intersections, and had made of the stone-built houses strong points for his machine guns and riflemen. A diversionary attack by elements of the 133rd Infantry from the east was turned back. The enemy refused to be stampeded into a withdrawal.

   Throughout this entire period, it must be borne in mind, every box of rations, every can of water, every round of ammunition which the infantry used had to be brought up across terrain which was under direct observation from hills still in enemy hands. The Germans, fully aware of this, laid down accurate and continuous fire upon all critical points and especially on the river crossings. Traffic control by the Division Military Police reduced congestion, but within a few days the stench of decaying mule carcasses, the litter of overturned vehicles, abandoned shell-cases and disabled tanks made a scene of modern war which will not be forgotten by any who saw it. On the mountains the battle remained stubborn and progress was slow. Casualties to both sides were very heavy, especially because the fanatical German paratroopers launched frenzied counter-attacks in an attempt to drive us back to the valley. Our ranks became thinner and the problems of evacuating casualties down the treacherous mountain trails and across the shell-swept approaches to the position were very serious. Volunteers came from the service and rear units of the Division to help out.

   By the end of 12 February a platoon had succeeded in reaching the outer walls of the Abbey, and capturing prisoners from a cave on Monastery Hill. It was impossible for the platoon to remain, however, and they withdrew. The Germans throughout the operation took full advantage of the fact that the Allies had undertaken not to fire at the Abbey in view of its importance to the world as a religious institution. The relative immunity which the enemy obtained for his observation can hardly be overestimated.

   On 13 February the 135th Infantry in the face of withering fire assaulted and captured Hill 593 which overlooked the Abbey but which was separated from it by a deep gorge. The enemy reacted viciously. Five furious counter-attacks were sent in against our positions in less than twenty-four hours. Once our troops were forced to withdraw, but immediately they reformed and took the hill again. In conjunction with this operation other elements of the Regiment and of the 168th Infantry managed to reach the northern slopes of Monastery Hill itself, before they had to withdraw. Castle Hill, far below Hill 593, remained a constant threat to our troops, and made movement in daylight very hazardous. Several times large concentrations of artillery fire were laid down upon it, and attempts to storm it were made by the 133rd Infantry without success.

   The latter Regiment had, during the entire time, been carrying on what was almost a separate battle in the cellars, the dining rooms, the kitchens of Cassino. So close was the contact that when the mortars and the machine pistols stopped momentarily at night, the troops in one room of a house could hear the Germans talking in another room. Nevertheless, by 12 February the key strong-point which the Germans had created in the jail was taken and one-half of the town was in our hands. Infantry attacks on each city block were assisted by tanks who knocked holes in the walls of the houses through which the infantry could climb or throw grenades. Enemy mortars and self-propelled guns a few streets away kept up a heavy counter-fire. Our field artillery and dive bombers attempted to smother them with massed fire but the piles of rubble only increased the protection for the Germans. The town and castle of Cassino crumbled into stinking ruins.

   The 34th Division, when it had made its first assault on the Gustav Line, was already tired and under-strength from its brilliant series of advances which crushed-in the ring of delaying positions from S. Vittore to Cassino. By now, after three weeks of constant fire, repeated attacks and counter-attacks, often seemingly endless nights on the bare rock of the mountain with no protection against the furies of the rain, wind, and snow, after intolerable hardships, our troops had reached the limits of human endurance. Their numbers were so reduced that every time a man was carried off the hill by aidmen a gap was left in our lines. In spite of the most devoted support which our artillery and tanks could give to the infantry, very little useful help could reach the men in the foxholes whose chief weapons in this fighting were the hand grenade, the tommy gun, and the bayonet.

   The 34th Division had made a serious dent in the Gustav Line. It was now time for fresh troops to take up the fight at the point our troops had reached.

   On 14 February elements of the British 4th Indian Division took over positions held by the 135th and 168th Infantry Regiments on Hill 593 and on the other hills overlooking Cassino. Some of our men had stuck it out so long and had suffered so much that they had to be lifted bodily out of their holes. The sadly depleted Regiments went to S. Angelo d'Alife for rest.

   The 133rd Infantry remained in the town of Cassino for a few more days grimly registering its gains of a room here, half a house there, still opposed by the toughest enemy resistance. They had the unforgettable experience of seeing the Abbey blotted out by hundreds of American bombers on the day after the 34th Division relinquished command of the sector.

   The battle of Cassino was a failure. The Division had failed to take its objectives. The German paratroopers had succeeded in blocking the best efforts of our troops to advance. Yet for those who were there and who knew the difficulties of the assault, the tremendous strength of the German fortifications - to those men, Cassino was the outstanding achievement in the Division's history.

   It is too early [written in late 1944] to even attempt a final judgement on what the 34th did. But it is a matter of record that the troops who relieved us, in spite of the most rigorous air support, lost some of the ground which our troops gave to them. It is a matter of record that successive attacks by troops several times as numerous as we also failed to capture the fortress.

   It is history that when the Allied attack finally achieved its goal no less than five divisions were required to finish the task which the 34th had so gallantly begun and so nearly completed. [The ruins of the Abbey were entered at 10:30 a.m. on 18 May by the II Polish Corps.]

Chapter XII SAN VITTORE - CERVARO Clearing	Chapter XIV ANZIO Waiting
Return to the beginning, The Story of the 34th Infantry Division Introduction, Foreword, Contents

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