One of the most meaningful places of World War II was Cassino, which was the set of various battles between the January and May of 1944.

Cassino is one of the major places of the Second World War; no wonder that many students visit it: visiting the war museum of the city and the abbey of Monte Cassino, indeed, you can look into some important moments of the Second World War.

Four battles took place in the city of Cassino and near the abbey of Monte Cassino between the January and May of 1944. The intention of the Allies was splitting the Gustav line - a series of fortifications that used to divide Italy in two, the Allies on the South and the German on the north, and which crossed Cassino – to be able to assault Rome and join the allies that had remained near Anzio after the operation Shingle.

The German troops had arrived in Cassino on the 14th October of the preceding year, under the guidance of Austrian colonel Schlegel, in command of the Panzer Göring division. The colonel warned Gregorio Diamare, the abbot of Monte Cassino, telling him that that area was going to become the core of the German resistance, and thanks to this warning many treasures that were kept in the abbey could be put in a safe place, being brought to Vatican with 120 trucks (8th of December). The people who lived near the Abbey, too, were evacuated, and the Germans fortified the city of Cassino through trenches, minefields and so on. Visiting the museum of Cassino you can learn something more about this chapter of the Second World War.

Cassino was an important point of the German defense and a strategic place to reach Rome, and in order to be able to break through the Gustav line the Allies attacked the city many times. The first two battles, which took place between the 12th of January and the 12th of February and starting from the 15th February of the same year, were unsatisfying for the Allies, and resulted in the destruction of the city and the abbey. After the attempt of the Allies to conquer the city, indeed, the first battle of Monte Cassino ended with the Germans’ victory, while the second one was characterized by the bombing of Monte Cassino, which had become a target of the Allies as it was believed to be occupied by the German troops. Due to this false assumption, Monte Cassino was bombed for hours in the morning of the 15th of February, until it was reduced to pile of rubble. The bombing also caused many deaths and damages among soldiers and the civilians that had sought refuge in the abbey, but the area was still in German hands. During the third battle, which began on the 15th March of 1944, the whole city of Cassino was razed to the ground through bombings, which caused many deaths and wounded people not only among civilians, but also among English and Nez Zealand soldiers, and the same day the English troops launched an attack but were immediately stopped by Germans. The assaults went on until the 22nd of March: although the Allies had won not even the third battle, the casualties of the Germans had been heavy, and the Allies began to get ready for the fourth battle, which took place between the 11th and the 19th of May.

In the Museum of Cassino you can find many images and information about this battle, which ended with the victory of the Allies, who succeeded in conquering the area and in putting an end to a notably bloody chapter of the history of the Second World War.