May 11, 1944 – Polish II Corps Begins Monte Cassino Attack

This year is the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Monte Cassino.

Dug in at the hilltop monastery of Monte Cassino, elite units of German paratroopers ably controlled the surrounding hillsides and valleys to defend against Allied assaults. This formidable German stronghold guarded the route to Rome, stopping the Allied advance up Italy.

Beginning in January 1944, three Allied attempts to take Monte Cassino were unsuccessful. The first took place from January 17 to February 11, and was conducted by French, French Colonial and American troops. The second unsuccessful attempt, from February 15 to 18, was controlled by the New Zealand and 4th Indian Divisions. The third attempt to capture the monastery, from March 15 to 26 and fought principally by Canadian and British troops, was also a failure.

Finally, the fourth attempt, code-named Operation Diadem, began the night of May 11/12, 1944. This time, Allied Command handed the job of taking the monastery to General Władysław Anders’s Polish II Corps. The Poles had to fight their way uphill over rocky, difficult terrain, against the German units burrowed into the bombed-out ruins of the monastery at the top of the hill.

The Germans controlled the high ground, enabling them to shoot downhill against the attacking Poles — all but wiping out the Polish units who led the first attack. The Poles pulled back, regrouped and attacked again on May 17….