The Difficulties Faced by New Zealand Soldiers
When New Zealand fought at Cassino, Monte Cassino and its town had already been assaulted two times before, and both failed. This shows that it was difficult to assault the area in the Liri Valley. When a third assault was made, the Allied troops faced tough terrain, bad weather, poor morale, and elite German soldiers.
The Allies lost the Third Battle of Monte Cassino for many reasons, as they had many things against them.
Firstly, the New Zealand soldiers were fighting some of the best soldiers in the world, the elite I Parachute Division (Fallschirmjäger division), which had seen action throughout the War in Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Greece, Crete, the Soviet Union and most importantly, Italy. The I Parachute Division therefore had many battles and victories under their belt, including experience in Italy. While the New Zealanders fighting did have much experience fighting in Europe and Africa, it only knew how to fight in open spaces with a lot of room to manoeuvre, not in small towns where much manoeuvring was near impossible in tight alleyways and houses. In short New Zealand soldiers had no experience in fighting the sort of battle they were expected to fight in, General Galloway said of the soldiers that “It is still the desert army and we have a lot to learn”. Many of the New Zealand soldiers in this battle had been marching and fighting since 1940 and many as a result were tired and weary of the war and of battles. The New Zealand soldiers however did put up a very good fight, but they were still up against elite soldiers. Heinrich von Vietinghoff, the commander of the German soldiers in Italy, said of them that, “no troops but I Parachute Division could have held Cassino.” Even the Allied Commander Harold Alexander gave them praise, “Unfortunately we are fighting the best soldiers in the world – what men!” In this, the German forces had the advantage over the Allied soldiers in Cassino.
Secondly, the preliminary tactics used by the Allied commanders both helped but cursed the soldiers attacking Cassino. The key to Cassino would be to take it quickly, ideally with surprise; otherwise soldiers would become pinned down by the defenders both in the town and on Monte Cassino, overlooking Cassino. However, on 15 March 1944, at 08:30 hours, an aerial bombardment was launched on Cassino that lasted four hours, which was followed by artillery bombardment by 746 artillery pieces with over 200,000 shells fired. The benefits of this bombardment were that the defenders received many casualties, with 160 out of 300 killed, wounded, or trapped, and with the Germans being an elite unit, the less men that the Allies to face from the Parachute Division, the better. As well as this, some of those who did survive were traumatised by the bombing and shelling [enter in quote of shocked German]. If it were not for the bombing and shelling, the Germans would have been stronger in numbers and may have caused a faster battle, resulting in a quick Allied defeat, but due to the bombing, the Allies were able to make it into Cassino and cause much trouble for the German forces that they met. However, the bombing and shelling held the Allies back as well. As Cassino needed to be taken quickly, use of tanks was vital, but when the shelling stopped and the soldiers and tanks moved forwards later that day, they found that the roads and land leading up to the town were riddled with craters and holes, making it nearly impossible in some places to move forward and otherwise a very slow march. One soldier said that there “were bomb craters deep enough to take a tank” (Italian Odyssey, New Zealanders in the Battle for Italy 1943-45, Matthew Wright, 2003). When the town was reached, the soldiers found it difficult to move again, with the town being turned to rubble, and very difficult rubble to traverse at that, in some places, the town had been bombed so fiercely that it turned into a dough-like consistency. With the slow advance of the soldiers, they fell behind schedule, throwing artillery out of their plans of a walking barrage, and for a plan relying on speed; this did not bode well for New Zealand soldiers. It also helped the Germans defending as the ruins often proved to be exceptionally efficient to defend. The ruins also forced the New Zealanders and their allies away from planned routes to unplanned and uncontrolled movement. An historian on the battle, John Ellis said “The town… was a potential death trap, for the bombing would only help if it completely eliminated the garrison there, something which no aerial or artillery bombardment had yet done. Otherwise it could only hinder the attacking troops, forcing the infantry to move at a snail’s pace… hardly allowing the armour to move at all.” (Cassino: The Hollow Victory, the Battle for Rome January-June 1944, John Ellis, 1984) John Ellis presents this point well, but as previously said, if the town had not been bombed as it was, the New Zealanders would have faced a full garrison of elite fanatical Nazi soldiers, and may have faced many more casualties.
Thirdly, the New Zealand soldiers and their allies fought in poor weather conditions. Due to it being winter when the battle was taking place, the weather was not ideal. Originally, the battle was supposed to take place after the Second Battle in February, but rain held all plans of assault. In order to start the battle, Freyberg and his commanders hoped to bomb Cassino, but with airfields boggy and muddy under rain, no bombers could take off. With no bombing able to take place, the battle was postponed, allowing the Germans to recuperate from the last two assaults (the First and Second Battles of Monte Cassino). Then once the battle had finally commenced, rain began on the night of the 15th. This rain covered the sky and moon, denying the soldiers light to regroup or fight in, it made the battlefield more stationary by forcing the soldiers to move across the town blind, amongst slippery rubble and ceasing the fighting. In doing so, the Germans had more breathing space and recovery time to regroup, and build or repair defences.
Fourthly, the New Zealand soldiers’ morale seemed to be low throughout the battle. At the start of the battle after witnessing the bombing and shelling of the town, many of the soldiers thought that no one could survive such an attack, with Alexander saying that it was “inconceivable that any troops should be left alive”. However, the soldiers were in for a surprise when they attacked later that day, and found Germans still alive and fighting strong. The surprise of finding Germans fighting after such a bombardment would have shaken the soldiers. The weather also may have hampered the New Zealanders, as many of them would have thought of Italy as a sunny, Mediterranean, holiday spot, not a soggy, muddy and soaking battlefield. Unprepared for such situations, the battle would have been a miserable scene. It was even described by Hitler as a battle from World War One, fought with World War Two weapons.
The Allies did not really face great odds when attacking the Germans in one of the best defendable positions in Europe. If the Germans were taken out through a battle of attrition by besieging Cassino and Monte Cassino and attacking any enemy planes bringing in supplies to the Germans. The Allies might have had fewer casualties in the Liri Valley, but with Cassino never being attacked in March, the soldiers at Anzio may not have lasted as long as they did, and it would be likely that the Fourth Battle would have been a defeat, with the elite I Parachute Division still intact and fighting. It could then be assumed that Rome would not have been reached or the rest of Italy as quickly as they were. For a campaign that required speed, Monte Cassino was a very unlucky place to come across for the Allies, and it can only be said that for the resources that they had and the deadlines that they had to meet, the Allies put up a very good fight.
The Allies lost the Third Battle of Monte Cassino for many reasons, as they had many things against them.
Firstly, the New Zealand soldiers were fighting some of the best soldiers in the world, the elite I Parachute Division (Fallschirmjäger division), which had seen action throughout the War in Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Greece, Crete, the Soviet Union and most importantly, Italy. The I Parachute Division therefore had many battles and victories under their belt, including experience in Italy. While the New Zealanders fighting did have much experience fighting in Europe and Africa, it only knew how to fight in open spaces with a lot of room to manoeuvre, not in small towns where much manoeuvring was near impossible in tight alleyways and houses. In short New Zealand soldiers had no experience in fighting the sort of battle they were expected to fight in, General Galloway said of the soldiers that “It is still the desert army and we have a lot to learn”. Many of the New Zealand soldiers in this battle had been marching and fighting since 1940 and many as a result were tired and weary of the war and of battles. The New Zealand soldiers however did put up a very good fight, but they were still up against elite soldiers. Heinrich von Vietinghoff, the commander of the German soldiers in Italy, said of them that, “no troops but I Parachute Division could have held Cassino.” Even the Allied Commander Harold Alexander gave them praise, “Unfortunately we are fighting the best soldiers in the world – what men!” In this, the German forces had the advantage over the Allied soldiers in Cassino.
Secondly, the preliminary tactics used by the Allied commanders both helped but cursed the soldiers attacking Cassino. The key to Cassino would be to take it quickly, ideally with surprise; otherwise soldiers would become pinned down by the defenders both in the town and on Monte Cassino, overlooking Cassino. However, on 15 March 1944, at 08:30 hours, an aerial bombardment was launched on Cassino that lasted four hours, which was followed by artillery bombardment by 746 artillery pieces with over 200,000 shells fired. The benefits of this bombardment were that the defenders received many casualties, with 160 out of 300 killed, wounded, or trapped, and with the Germans being an elite unit, the less men that the Allies to face from the Parachute Division, the better. As well as this, some of those who did survive were traumatised by the bombing and shelling [enter in quote of shocked German]. If it were not for the bombing and shelling, the Germans would have been stronger in numbers and may have caused a faster battle, resulting in a quick Allied defeat, but due to the bombing, the Allies were able to make it into Cassino and cause much trouble for the German forces that they met. However, the bombing and shelling held the Allies back as well. As Cassino needed to be taken quickly, use of tanks was vital, but when the shelling stopped and the soldiers and tanks moved forwards later that day, they found that the roads and land leading up to the town were riddled with craters and holes, making it nearly impossible in some places to move forward and otherwise a very slow march. One soldier said that there “were bomb craters deep enough to take a tank” (Italian Odyssey, New Zealanders in the Battle for Italy 1943-45, Matthew Wright, 2003). When the town was reached, the soldiers found it difficult to move again, with the town being turned to rubble, and very difficult rubble to traverse at that, in some places, the town had been bombed so fiercely that it turned into a dough-like consistency. With the slow advance of the soldiers, they fell behind schedule, throwing artillery out of their plans of a walking barrage, and for a plan relying on speed; this did not bode well for New Zealand soldiers. It also helped the Germans defending as the ruins often proved to be exceptionally efficient to defend. The ruins also forced the New Zealanders and their allies away from planned routes to unplanned and uncontrolled movement. An historian on the battle, John Ellis said “The town… was a potential death trap, for the bombing would only help if it completely eliminated the garrison there, something which no aerial or artillery bombardment had yet done. Otherwise it could only hinder the attacking troops, forcing the infantry to move at a snail’s pace… hardly allowing the armour to move at all.” (Cassino: The Hollow Victory, the Battle for Rome January-June 1944, John Ellis, 1984) John Ellis presents this point well, but as previously said, if the town had not been bombed as it was, the New Zealanders would have faced a full garrison of elite fanatical Nazi soldiers, and may have faced many more casualties.
Thirdly, the New Zealand soldiers and their allies fought in poor weather conditions. Due to it being winter when the battle was taking place, the weather was not ideal. Originally, the battle was supposed to take place after the Second Battle in February, but rain held all plans of assault. In order to start the battle, Freyberg and his commanders hoped to bomb Cassino, but with airfields boggy and muddy under rain, no bombers could take off. With no bombing able to take place, the battle was postponed, allowing the Germans to recuperate from the last two assaults (the First and Second Battles of Monte Cassino). Then once the battle had finally commenced, rain began on the night of the 15th. This rain covered the sky and moon, denying the soldiers light to regroup or fight in, it made the battlefield more stationary by forcing the soldiers to move across the town blind, amongst slippery rubble and ceasing the fighting. In doing so, the Germans had more breathing space and recovery time to regroup, and build or repair defences.
Fourthly, the New Zealand soldiers’ morale seemed to be low throughout the battle. At the start of the battle after witnessing the bombing and shelling of the town, many of the soldiers thought that no one could survive such an attack, with Alexander saying that it was “inconceivable that any troops should be left alive”. However, the soldiers were in for a surprise when they attacked later that day, and found Germans still alive and fighting strong. The surprise of finding Germans fighting after such a bombardment would have shaken the soldiers. The weather also may have hampered the New Zealanders, as many of them would have thought of Italy as a sunny, Mediterranean, holiday spot, not a soggy, muddy and soaking battlefield. Unprepared for such situations, the battle would have been a miserable scene. It was even described by Hitler as a battle from World War One, fought with World War Two weapons.
The Allies did not really face great odds when attacking the Germans in one of the best defendable positions in Europe. If the Germans were taken out through a battle of attrition by besieging Cassino and Monte Cassino and attacking any enemy planes bringing in supplies to the Germans. The Allies might have had fewer casualties in the Liri Valley, but with Cassino never being attacked in March, the soldiers at Anzio may not have lasted as long as they did, and it would be likely that the Fourth Battle would have been a defeat, with the elite I Parachute Division still intact and fighting. It could then be assumed that Rome would not have been reached or the rest of Italy as quickly as they were. For a campaign that required speed, Monte Cassino was a very unlucky place to come across for the Allies, and it can only be said that for the resources that they had and the deadlines that they had to meet, the Allies put up a very good fight.