it is a model i bought 3 years ago from Magister Militum miniatures.
The
Battle of Monte Cassino (also known as the
Battle for Rome and the
Battle for Cassino) was a costly series of four assaults by the
Allies against the
Winter Line in
Italy held by the
Germans and
Italians during the
Italian Campaign of
World War II. The intention was a
breakthrough to
Rome.
At the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was
being anchored by Germans holding the Rapido, Liri, and Garigliano
valleys and some of the surrounding peaks and ridges. Together, these
features formed the
Gustav Line.
Monte Cassino, a historic hilltop abbey founded in
AD 529 by
Benedict of Nursia, dominated the nearby town of
Cassino
and the entrances to the Liri and Rapido valleys, but had been left
unoccupied by the German defenders. The Germans had, however, manned
some positions set into the steep slopes below the abbey's walls.
Fearing that the abbey did form part of the Germans' defensive line,
primarily as a lookout post, the Allies sanctioned its bombing on 15
February and American bombers proceeded to drop 1,400 tons of bombs onto
it.
[6]
The destruction and rubble left by the bombing raid now provided better
protection from aerial and artillery attacks, so, two days later,
German paratroopers
took up positions in the abbey's ruins. Between 17 January and 18 May,
Monte Cassino and the Gustav defences were assaulted four times by
Allied troops, the last involving twenty
divisions attacking along a twenty-mile front. The German defenders were finally driven from their positions, but at a high cost.
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