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CHAPTER 11
Cassino

The battalion quickly settled down in its new area, pleasantly situated amidst olive groves and oak trees, the change of scene all the more enjoyable because of the genial sunny weather which generally prevailed during the three weeks spent there. The training was interesting and not too arduous and sport played a big part in the daily round. Weapons of course received a great deal of attention, but the main emphasis was on training for mobile warfare under the conditions likely to be met with on the new front. Demonstrations of the great fire power of all the supporting weapons were particularly impressive, especially to the many men who had recently joined the battalion. Mines were playing an increasingly important part in operations, and as engineers were not always available, the infantry were frequently called upon to remove them; No. 2 AA Platoon therefore gave a demonstration showing the best method of dealing with mines.

Tactical methods, route-marching, administration and supply problems, and the crossing of rivers in assault boats all received attention. During all this training the only untoward incident occurred on 22 January during a fire-power demonstration by the mortars when Sergeant Reid¹ of the Regimental Police was wounded. Recreation was not neglected. On alternative days trips were made to the ruined city of Pompeii at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, the parties numbering about thirty men; some excellent concerts were staged, in one of which the organisers, Padre Norris and the YMCA, were assisted by a choir from a convent. The mobile cinema was particularly popular.

General Freyberg paid a visit to the area and at a ceremonial parade of 6 Brigade made an inspection, presented awards, and addressed the troops. On 23 January, the day before the General's visit, a reinforcement of 5 officers and 72 other ranks had brought the battalion to within sixty-one of its authorised establishment; these men were organised as a separate platoon and given special training before they were posted to the companies. Thus far there had been few working parties to be provided, but at the end of the month numbers of men were

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employed in improving the roads in the area. January closed with an excellent concert given by the Maori Concert Party. The battalion lost no time in reciprocating, its concert party next day ‘putting on a pretty good show’ for the Maoris.

From 1 February the New Zealand Division once more was required to be ready for active operations and a move was expected at short notice. During this waiting period training was continued, boat drill, hill training, football, and TAB inoculations occupying the first few days.

Cassino, on the left of the Gustav Line, as the German defensive position across Italy was named, was about 25 miles to the north-west. From the Adriatic front the line stretched in a south-south-west direction over mountainous country through Cassino to the junction of the Rapido and Liri rivers, six miles to the south of the town. In the mountains 12 miles north of Cassino were the French, United States troops were opposite Cassino, and 10 British Corps was south of the junction of the rivers.

The Cassino position was extremely strong and indeed, in Italian staff exercises, had been rated as impregnable. The town was very compact, averaging 500 yards in width and 1200 yards in length from north to south, though scattered buildings extended along the roads to the north, east, and south, and up the hillside to the west. With a normal population of 19,000, the town lay on the extreme western edge of the Rapido valley between the Rapido River and the eastern shoulder of a great spur or ridge which projected from high country exceeding 3000 feet altitude, five miles to the north-west, where Monte Cairo of over 5400 feet was the principal feature. On the eastern side of the spur the very prominent and precipitous Castle Hill rose 600 feet in height within 300 yards of the main street of Cassino; 1000 yards to the south-west of Castle Hill was the famous and imposing monastery of Montecassino, situated on a hill of over 1600 feet, with Hangman's Hill about 260 feet lower 300 yards to the south-east. A zigzag road, of about one in fifteen gradient, from Cassino to the Monastery (1100 yards away in a direct line), was four and a half miles in length, emphasising the towering domination over Cassino enjoyed by positions on the ridge. Naturally the heights also gave the Germans perfect observation over the Rapido and Liri valleys and the approach routes through the hills east of the Rapido. The Rapido valley between the hills and the town, about two miles wide, was perfectly flat.

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On the night 20–21 January Fifth Army, commanded by Lieutenant-General Mark Clark, United States Army, had attacked this position, with the main effort between Cassino and the Liri River, the intention being to advance westwards along Route 6 to Rome, 85 miles away. The New Zealand Division was to be used as a mobile force to exploit up the Liri valley when the United States attack broke through. On the following night British and United States troops landed at Anzio, 60 miles behind the German right flank.

The main assault on Cassino had little success and British and French attacks elsewhere were also held up. At Anzio strong German reinforcements confined the attacking forces to a small bridgehead, where their situation was somewhat precarious. Further attacks by the French north of Cassino near Monte Cairo with great difficulty made small gains, and American attacks on the Monastery from the north and north-west, though reaching Point 445 about 300 yards north of the Monastery, could get no farther over the very broken ground against the strong German defences. The American attacks had gained the northern outskirts of the town but could not overcome strongpoints in the houses. The German forces, especially in the Cassino area, were of high quality and had been strongly reinforced.

Such was the situation at the beginning of February while the New Zealanders were in reserve in the Alife area waiting to move to the front. For its projected advance up the Liri valley the Division on 3 February was expanded to a temporary New Zealand Corps under General Freyberg by the addition of 4 Indian Division from the Eighth Army and a considerable increase in artillery and other arms. In addition to its exploitation role the New Zealand Corps was to be ready to assist the French and American attacks. The concentration and deployment of the Corps could not be completed before 8–9 February, and then only if the weather remained favourable.

On 4–5 February, in accordance with General Clark's orders to relieve that part of 36 US Division south of Route 6, 5 NZ Brigade took over the line of the Rapido south of Cassino and made plans for an advance across the river. The remainder of the Division also moved forward to assembly positions behind the front a few miles south-east of Cassino, the movement being completed by the 7th. A little before midnight on the 5th 25 Battalion, preceded by an advance party of one NCO and five men from each company under Lieutenant Muir, left for a

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new area, three miles to the north-west. There, with the rest of the Brigade Group in the vicinity, it was in reserve seven miles south-east of Cassino. The battalion was again under command of Colonel Morten who had rejoined the day before.

The area was under observation from the lofty Monte Cairo though otherwise well masked by Monte Trocchio, four miles to the north-west of the battalion, and by a lesser hill, Monte Porchia, a mile and a half away in the same direction. Moving to their company positions, the troops lost no time in digging in. The men soon realised they were back into the war as it was not long before a few German shells burst some little distance away, and the Allied artillery, including heavy American guns just behind, fired several concentrations. During the seventeen days the battalion remained in this reserve position it was shelled twice at night, suffering several casualties, once in the evening mess queue when German 88-millimetre fire straddled the area. ‘Sergeant Bill Nicholl² [sic] who was ladelling out soup,’ wrote one man, ‘had his cookhouse (which was situated in a dug-out) filled with diving bodies and spilt hot food when the men decided it was the only reasonably safe place to be.’

In the next two weeks there were daily route marches and hill climbing; sporting activities included baseball against some Americans, while the YMCA mobile cinema gave several entertainments. Heavy rain on the 4th, 8th, and 11th made conditions unpleasant, but otherwise, though sometimes cold and frosty, the weather was fine. During this period the principal spectacle was the bombing on 15 February of Montecassino by waves of heavy and medium bombers, supplemented by the shelling of all known anti-aircraft positions and by bombardment with heavy and medium guns in the intervals between bombing attacks. The bombing was protracted, commencing at 9.30 a.m. and continuing for four hours; 143 Flying Fortresses and 112 Mitchell and Marauder medium bombers were engaged. In general retaliatory enemy shelling the following night the battalion was twice shelled and lost one man killed and six wounded.

The great pains taken to keep the enemy in ignorance of the transfer of the New Zealand Division from the Adriatic front were unfortunately set at naught by the loss on the night of 6–7 February of three prisoners by 21 Battalion; in consequence

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the wearing of badges and titles was resumed. On 7 and 14 February fifty reinforcements arrived but were sufficient only to keep the strength at the general level of about sixty below establishment. Due to postings elsewhere, sickness, and attendance at courses, there were frequent changes in officers and nine replacements arrived.

On 17 February an attack by troops of 5 Brigade against the Cassino railway station and its vicinity was repulsed, though it achieved some initial success. An attack from the north against Montecassino by 7 Indian Brigade also failed. Four days later 6 Brigade relieved 133 US Regiment in Cassino. Leaving in vehicles at 6.30 p.m., 25 Battalion travelled to the north-west along Route 6, which was a couple of miles from the camp, until it was two and a half miles from Cassino.

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Secondary roads on the northern side of Route 6, very narrow, muddy, and difficult to negotiate in the dark, were then followed to the debussing point, which was two miles north-east of the town. From there the troops marched via a very circuitous route till they reached the Caruso road, which ran between Cassino and Cairo near the ruins of a large military barracks a mile north of the town. After a short wait for American guides the companies were led to their allotted positions. A and B Companies (Major Sanders and Captain Hoy) occupied

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strongpoints in fortified buildings near the gaol at the northern end of the main part of Cassino and were facing generally to the south. A Company's front included the gaol, where Company Headquarters was installed, and extended to the road on the edge of the town, 150 yards to the east; 7 Platoon was in a house on the left flank, 8 Platoon was with Company Headquarters in the centre, and 9 Platoon was on the right in a building almost next door to the gaol.

B Company was somewhat similarly disposed on the right of A Company, its frontage extending to the north-west for a similar distance; on its right to the north-west was C Company 24 Battalion on the southern slopes of Point 175, which faced Castle Hill directly to the south. Touch between the two battalions was maintained through a listening post of C Company 24 Battalion situated in the ravine below Castle Hill, 100 yards west of B Company.

The total frontage of the two battalions was some 600 yards. About 300 yards behind A and B Companies, a position astride the Caruso road was held by D Company 24 Battalion. C and D Companies (Lieutenant Milne and Major Hewitt) were in reserve some 2500 yards behind A and B Companies and about 1000 yards north-west of the barracks, the reserve companies of 24 Battalion being in the same locality. Headquarters of 25 Battalion was in a cave near the barracks. Twenty-sixth Battalion was in reserve to the north-east of Cassino and had three companies forward east of the barracks on a frontage of a mile, with its reserve company 1500 yards back.

Supporting weapons were soon in position. The Divisional Artillery also was in support as usual, ready to engage observed targets and to bring down defensive fire in front of the infantry posts. Twenty-fifth Battalion, and 24 Battalion likewise, took over road blocks of mines established by the Americans on the roads leading northwards out of Cassino.

The position held by the battalion was unusual and unpleasant. The forward defended localities of A and B Companies were within a few yards of the enemy, whose voices and movements could be distinctly heard. The enemy in positions on Castle Hill commanded all the forward positions held by both battalions and frequently swept them with machine-gun fire. Fortunately all the posts, both in the town and on the slopes of Point 175, were in buildings which had been fortified and turned into strongpoints by the Americans. Tucked-in as they were under the lee of the ridge, A and B Companies were very

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vulnerable to any enemy advance along the ridge, and any reverse suffered by 24 Battalion would place the two companies in a very precarious position.

The reserve positions beyond the barracks also provided no haven for the occupants. They were in full view of enemy observation posts on the slopes of Monte Cairo and were frequently and heavily shelled by mortars and artillery, especially during daylight meals when some movement was unavoidable. During the relief C and D Companies suffered three casualties. There was, however, some consolation. ‘The barracks was previously an American Supply Depot,’ remarked one man, ‘and it did not take the 25th Battalion long to find out, as all members helped themselves to what was known as “American K Rations”.’

Obviously the conditions in Cassino were especially difficult for the recent reinforcements for whom it was their introduction to warfare. The approach march over difficult roads in pitch darkness, both in the trucks and on foot, with the thunder and flashes of numerous guns all around and the whine and crash of enemy shells, was something of an ordeal even for seasoned troops. The process of occupying the various posts within the battalion position was not the comparatively clear and orderly operation of the training exercises, nor was it easy for inexperienced men to determine what was dangerous and what was not, a difficulty sometimes increased by the stupid pranks of occasional humorists who had forgotten their own ignorance and fears in similar or easier circumstances. But danger is a great teacher and the ‘rookie’ soon became the veteran.

It is not only the British, apparently, who indulge in understatement, as the men of A Company will recall. ‘As we trudged in through the mud-clogged fields on the dismal night of February 21st 1944, one of the boys asked the Yanks as they hurried past in the darkness “What's it like in there?”. “Waal,” replied one, who took time off to answer, “it's a hot old time in that old town”, a reply regarded very shortly afterwards by A Company as “a gem of understatement”.’

‘The house occupied by 7 Platoon who took over from the Americans became known as “The Wayside Inn”,’ wrote one of the platoon. ‘On the night of the take-over from the US tps two of their men were in such a bad way physically that they did not wish to go out in the dark and chose to make a break for it just before first light. They were however mowed down by Spandau fire as they endeavoured to make a break along

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the side of the Rapido river…. The smell of the corpses (in the area generally)… was something that the tps could not get used to and as it was impossible to organise burial parties, this area will always be remembered for its stench of death.’

The men found the town very badly battered and at first it was difficult to locate the enemy's forward posts. These soon made themselves evident, however. Spandau posts, some with steel turrets, were only thirty to forty yards away and enemy positions were observed in the nunnery, 120 yards south-east of the gaol, with various rifle-grenade posts nearby. The house occupied by 7 Platoon was a favourite target for enemy light mortars, and being a light type of building did not give much protection. It was soon obvious that communications would be difficult. Signal lines were cut time after time, giving the signal personnel the dangerous task of continually and at all hours searching during enemy shelling for the breaks in the lines. On one such occasion, when 7 Platoon signal lines were broken, a nightly occurrence, a repair party consisting of Corporal Wootton³ and Private Fraser⁴ was crawling along a ditch when it came face to face with a German patrol. Luckily, as the night was black, a hasty retreat was possible.

The two companies in the town were supplied at night by carrying parties, who (always running the gauntlet) worked hard and fast under cover of darkness. There were equal difficulties farther back. The supplies were brought to the battalion by jeep, generally in darkness, but a crossroads on the route about 600 yards east of the barracks was in full view of the snowcapped heights of Monte Cairo and was continually under heavy fire. Mule teams which were being used by various units had suffered severely, as the many dead animals along the route bore witness.

On its first day in the Cassino sector 25 Battalion had a change of commanding officers, Major Norman taking over command in place of Lieutenant-Colonel Morten who was evacuated sick.

Although the attacks by 5 Brigade and 7 Indian Brigade on 17–18 February had failed and the prospects of success in future operations against the Cassino position were not bright, it was essential to pin down the enemy forces there to prevent them

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from intervening elsewhere. General Freyberg decided that after an overwhelming air and artillery bombardment the next attack would be made from the north within the next two or three days, provided the weather was suitable. Clear weather was essential so that the bombers could see their target; it was equally necessary that there should also be fine weather beforehand and afterwards so that the airfields should be dry enough for the heavy bombers and the ground generally, but especially the Liri valley, sufficiently firm for the tanks to operate.

Before going into Cassino the battalion had been told that, after two or three days there, the forward troops would be temporarily withdrawn while the bombing and bombardment took place; after that the battalion would again advance, with tanks, and capture the town so that the armoured forces could advance round the southern flank of Montecassino into the Liri valley.

On its first complete night in the line, 22–23 February, A Company in common with B Company experienced some shelling and mortar and machine-gun fire against the forward posts, and just before midnight it was shelled, with little effect, by self-propelled guns. Shortly after dark the battalion had lost by enemy shelling one man killed and seven wounded, the total casualties for the day being two killed and thirteen wounded. The following afternoon line communication between Battalion Headquarters and A Company was broken by shellfire and could not be re-established until after dark. Heavy rain which commenced at midday created very unpleasant conditions for the troops and made it inevitable that the impending attack would be postponed.

The orders for the attack, which had been given the codename dickens, were issued on 23 February. It had been intended that before dawn the next morning the forward troops of 24 and 25 Battalions should withdraw to a safety line 1000 yards north of Cassino. The bombing and bombardment would then take place, after which 25 Battalion would advance under an artillery barrage, accompanied by a squadron of Sherman tanks of 19 NZ Armoured Regiment under command, and capture that part of Cassino as far south as Route 6, a distance of 700 yards from the forward positions held by A and B Companies near the gaol; Indian troops on the higher ground to the right of 6 Brigade were as far as possible to give covering fire against the hills and higher slopes commanding the town from the west.

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Twenty-sixth Battalion and the remainder of 19 Regiment would follow 25 Battalion and clear the rest of the town. Twenty-fourth Battalion was to re-occupy its former position on the high ground to provide a firm base for 25 Battalion's attack, and to be ready to assist that attack and move into Cassino after its capture. Fifth Brigade and the two machine-gun platoons in position beyond the Rapido east of the town were to support the attack with all the fire they could bring to bear.

The artillery programme in support of the attack was tremendous. It included 168 field guns and 80 medium guns of British, Indian, and New Zealand regiments, 134 American guns of 240-mm, 155-mm, and 105-mm, and 12 French guns of 155-mm, the majority directed chiefly against the comparatively small target of the town.

The air bombardment, planned on the grand scale, would be made by about 360 heavy and 200 medium bombers, which would drop about 1100 tons of bombs in a period of three and a half hours. The bombs to be dropped on the town were to be of 1000 pounds and fitted with instantaneous fuses.

As expected, the rain caused a postponement of the attack, which was put back twenty-four hours to 25 February. The ground was soon waterlogged and was more or less a morass. Next day the weather broke completely and rain fell almost continuously until 5 March, resulting in a waiting period of over three weeks before conditions improved sufficiently for the attack to be launched. For the attacking troops the delay was most unfortunate. A great strain was imposed, especially on those in close proximity to the enemy, and casualties from enemy fire and sickness mounted daily. While no doubt the enemy, well aware that an attack was coming, also suffered strain, he had a breathing space to regroup his forces and bring up his best troops, build up reserves of ammunition and supplies, and improve the already formidable defences. Even by 9 March, when conditions had improved sufficiently, bad weather in south-east Italy prevented the heavy bombers from using the Foggia airfields, and the following day, when all was ready, a bad weather forecast caused further delay. Truly the operations were very susceptible to the effects of weather over a large area and some period of time.

There was further rain on 11 and 12 March but good drying days followed, and on the evening of the 14th it was decided that the attack would be made next morning.

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During this waiting period the two forward companies of 25 Battalion in Cassino were relieved every third day by the two reserve companies, the first relief commencing on 24 February when C Company relieved A Company, losing three men wounded while moving up. The reliefs were difficult and dangerous and the platoons moved one at a time with long intervals between moves. Every day there was a good deal of enemy action, especially against the forward posts. Mortars both by day and night fired on the defences and roads, at times heavily, and were engaged by ‘stonks’ (pre-arranged and registered bursts of artillery fire) and by the battalion mortars. The latter with their high-angle fire were particularly suitable against targets behind buildings or on reverse slopes, though they were much disliked by the enemy and generally attracted a good deal of fire. The hostile artillery, machine guns, mortars, and snipers all took part and the Germans made free use of rifle grenades, an effective trench-warfare weapon of the 1914–18 war, where they were extensively used by the New Zealanders though very little, if at all, by the Germans, who retaliated strongly against them.

Early in the evening of its first day in the forward posts on the left flank, C Company was attacked by a fighting patrol which tried to blow in with an explosive charge a wall of a house occupied by the left platoon. The patrol was driven off by fire and a fighting patrol of an officer and ten men sent up from the reserve company was not needed. In consequence C Company was naturally very much on the alert, and on hearing enemy tracked vehicles moving in the town called for a ‘stonk’, which stopped further movement. Later, a heavy gun in the centre of the town, no doubt self-propelled, shelled the forward positions, and in the early part of the night heavy fire on a nearby quarry, probably against two six-pounders and three 3-inch mortars there, broke the Signals' line communication with Battalion Headquarters. The line to Brigade Headquarters from Battalion was also giving trouble, and to avoid a road junction which was a favourite target for the German artillery, a line was laid on a different route.

The area between the barracks and the Rapido came under heavy fire at times, chiefly from mortars, and Battalion Headquarters and the reserve companies' areas were frequently shelled. The enemy fire brought immediate retaliation from the battalion mortars and the supporting artillery, which continued

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to harass the enemy. Bright moonlight during the evening of the 29th at first delayed the carrying parties which were taking supplies to the forward companies but rain at 10.30 p.m. removed the difficulty. Enemy snipers and machine-gun posts on Castle Hill, which was less than 500 yards from the forward posts, were a distinct menace and a careful watch was rewarded by the discovery of some of the positions, which were immediately shelled. It was no duel of sniper versus sniper.

February closed with steady rain, a dreary prospect for the resumption of the attack. The cold wet weather continued into March and the conditions it created, combined with the watching and waiting, threw such a strain on the troops that the launching of an assault on the town would have been welcomed. The insanitary conditions, especially in the forward positions, caused an alarming increase in the sick rate, amounting almost to an epidemic, but it was checked by treatment and such disinfection of the area as was possible.

Another difficulty of the postponements arose through the code-word dickens becoming so widely known that security was endangered; those familiar with the slang use of the code-word, however, were convinced of its suitability for the proposed operation.

With the enemy in such commanding positions all approaches and roads had been accurately plotted and registered by his artillery and other weapons and the large carrying parties required each night had an unenviable and onerous task in the dark, their routes being frequently swept by artillery, mortar, and machine-gun fire. Front-line work was deemed preferable, and indeed it was safer since the majority of the casualties suffered almost daily occurred in the reserve areas and along the supply routes. Vehicles could not approach within half a mile of the town. ‘It was quite impossible to enter or come out of the town unless under darkness,’ remarked one man, ‘as all parties were immediately under observation from Castle Hill. This also applied to ration parties and the troops in the town could assess their meal times by the rising of the moon.’

The casualties during February were six other ranks killed, and one officer (Second-Lieutenant Kemp⁵) and forty-one other ranks wounded.

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On 1 March Lieutenant-Colonel MacDuff,⁶ formerly commanding 27 MG Battalion, took over command of the battalion from Major Norman. Moonrise that night was at 11.40 p.m., and to avoid its dangers the usual three-day relief of the forward companies was completed before that hour, commencing at half past seven. Possibly the enemy had some inkling of it as from 9 p.m. till midnight his heavy guns fired on the barracks and their vicinity at quarter-hour intervals but caused no casualties. On 2 March 6 Brigade had a change of commanders, Brigadier Parkinson taking command of the Division in place of Major-General Kippenberger,⁷ who had been severely wounded by a mine on Monte Trocchio; a former commanding officer of 25 Battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Bonifant from the Divisional Cavalry, was appointed to command 6 Brigade.

The enemy continued his harassing tactics and the moon in early March was still a nuisance to the carrying parties. On the 6th, however, the men taking rations to the forward companies risked enemy observation, with the result that on the way back near the exit from the town they suffered casualties from machine-gun and mortar fire. The following day Battalion Headquarters had some casualties from two salvoes fired by nebelwerfers. Captain Pearse, the battalion medical officer, was evacuated sick that day, his place being taken by Captain Dick.⁸

During the whole period preceding the attack on Cassino 25 Battalion sent out only one patrol; this was on the night 7–8 March when a route from the south end of Caruso road into Cassino on the right flank of the right company was explored. The patrol found that the route was not mined and that it provided a good approach for a company in the advance. The battalion sector was of course not suitable for normal patrolling.

The weather on 9 March was fine but cold and with a high wind which appreciably dried the sodden ground. In the afternoon C Company on the left flank in Cassino reported movement south-east of its left platoon and asked for mortar fire

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which dispersed the enemy; a couple of hours later, towards dusk, the enemy was heard to the west of the previous position and was fired on by New Zealand machine guns situated eastwards of the company position. On the other flank at 11 p.m. D Company heard a working party in the gully just to the north of Castle Hill, and in response to its request, ‘Wadi Stonk’, an artillery concentration planned to deal with that area, caused the activity to cease.

Except for the usual shelling of crossroads and machine-gun fire in the late morning, the following day was generally quiet. At 5 p.m., however, the enemy had a spectacular success when his artillery scored a direct hit on a mortar-ammunition dump situated near Caruso road about 200 yards from the barracks. This was rather unfortunate for Battalion Headquarters and various detachments in that vicinity as the ensuing conflagration aroused the enthusiasm of the enemy gunners, who for five hours shelled and mortared the road and the country nearby. The nightly carrying parties were also affected as the illumination and the danger from exploding mortar bombs delayed them till the small hours of the morning.

The next day enemy guns from the direction of Terelle to the north-north-west troubled the troops in the reserve area, B Company having eight men wounded. There was little relief in being in reserve in such an exposed locality. After dark an enemy patrol, which appeared to be trying to penetrate between the forward posts of D Company and 24 Battalion, was driven back, after suffering casualties, by mortar and small-arms fire from both battalions. A couple of hours afterwards in this somewhat disturbed night twenty-eight reinforcements reached the battalion, a rather trying time and place for men to join a unit, though no doubt some ‘old hands’ rejoining were amongst them and gave them confidence.

Bright moonlight was still troubling both the carrying parties and the company reliefs, which were delayed till three in the morning and completed only just before daylight broke on the 12th. Shortly after noon the reserve companies' area was again shelled, but ineffectively, from the direction of Terelle. Up in front after a quiet day A and B Companies were fired on by mortars for four hours before midnight, and as the night went by there were signs of increased enemy activity. The German was not sitting down quietly under the obvious threat of impending attack. Mortar and machine-gun fire against the battalion's forward positions was vigorously replied to by artil-

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lery defensive fire on the enemy's Castle Hill positions. Before midnight detachments of 4.2-inch mortars took up positions in 25 Battalion's sector a little to the west of Caruso road, about 900 yards behind the forward companies, a powerful support under the immediate control of 25 Battalion; ammunition expenditure was limited to twenty-four rounds for each mortar daily, though this did not apply in the event of an enemy attack or for Operation dickens. A limit of twenty-five rounds per gun for 25-pounders and twenty rounds for medium artillery had also been imposed as expected supplies had not reached Italy. These quantities, however, were sufficient for harassing and were very little below the average daily expenditure.

To give some relief from the strenuous conditions the battalion was experiencing, each company in turn was to be given two days' rest at the B Echelon area about three miles east of the barracks. D Company had the good fortune to be sent first, marching out from the reserve position after dark on the 12th to the vicinity of the ADS, two miles to the north-east, and being taken on from there by RMT vehicles. As it happened the company just had time to complete its refit, clean-up and rest period before being called back to take part in the attack.

After light rain at intervals throughout the previous day, the 13th was fine with bright sunshine and perfect visibility and prospects seemed good for an early attack; but it was still a matter of wait and see. During the morning the enemy artillery registered with pink smoke a little to the north of the reserve companies' area and followed this with heavy shelling for twenty minutes, mostly on C Company and fortunately without effect. Four hours later the shelling was repeated for five minutes, and shortly afterwards the crossroads about 600 yards north-east of Battalion Headquarters—a favourite target— were shelled and mortared at frequent intervals for half an hour. The enemy mortars in a re-entrant south of Castle Hill spur had been aggressive and were fired on by the artillery, the observation of fire being carried out by A Company.

A man from the battalion Intelligence Section had been attached to the headquarters of each of the forward companies to locate enemy positions and to become familiar with the area of attack. The lay of the ground and the jumble of wrecked buildings, combined with the proximity of the enemy, made observation difficult and these special measures were necessary. On one occasion one of these men during darkness went to a house, selected from air photographs as suitable for an OP to

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observe Castle Hill. The house had been occupied by American troops and during the day three Italians, a man and two women, all quite young, were discovered living in the cellar. They had plenty of food, mostly American rations, but had no water. So for the rest of the day four persons shared one water bottle. With a certain amount of difficulty the Italians were persuaded to leave the house and after dark on the 13th were taken back to Battalion Headquarters. They had been living in the house for eighty days and had remained in the cellar so were unable to give any information regarding enemy positions; they had no knowledge of the tunnels which were said to exist in Castle ridge. From time to time other groups of Italian civilians had been evacuated from the town.

Early on the 14th, the day preceding the attack, light rain fell but later the day was clear and sunny. Before dawn there were sounds of enemy activity at the nunnery on the left in front of A Company and at a school on the right between Castle Hill and B Company. Using German grenade dischargers, the two companies carried out with great satisfaction lively exchanges of rifle grenades with the enemy and, fearing their stock would be exhausted, sought a further supply from Battalion Headquarters. Casualties in the battalion continued and during the first two weeks of March there were two other ranks killed, one died of wounds, and twenty-one wounded.

It was nine in the evening before the code-word dickens at last came into force, and final preparations were then made for the battle of Cassino on the morrow. It had been a long and arduous wait in unpleasant and dangerous conditions and with movement most restricted. It was also a period of steady attrition, as has been shown, the battalion casualties from 16 February to 14 March being eight killed and sixty-two wounded, while many more were evacuated sick.

Very early next morning, 15 March, Battalion Headquarters vacated its cave in favour of 24 Battalion and moved to a building 100 yards closer to the barracks. Before dawn all the forward troops, with the exception of a small covering detachment in the quarry, moved back behind the safety bomb-line, A and B Companies at 5.30 a.m. withdrawing from Cassino to prepared positions at the foot of the hills a little beyond the barracks. The covering detachment, a Bren and an anti-tank gun crew with two tanks of 19 Armoured Regiment, remained in the quarry within 600 yards of the gaol to act as a rearguard and to conceal the withdrawal. Fifteen minutes before the air

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attack was due the detachment withdrew, the tanks carrying the two gun crews with them. All heavy weapons, such as anti-tank guns, mortars, and medium machine guns were left in position, but essential parts were removed. The battalion's six-pounder anti-tank gun near the barracks remained responsible for covering Caruso road. All mines on roads leading into Cassino from the north were removed to clear the way for the subsequent advance of the tanks.

At 8.30 a.m. the first wave of heavy bombers came over and the impressive spectacle was an exhilarating sight to the waiting troops below. A huge and dense pall of smoke and dust rose over Cassino as the heavy bombs burst with a shattering roar, rendered all the more violent by the use of instantaneous fuses. The smoke and dust gradually spread well beyond the target area, and although reports from observation posts estimated that 90 per cent of the bombs first dropped were on the target, subsequent waves with vision badly obscured and poorer navigation were not so accurate. Many bombs, chiefly from the heavy bombers, dropped well wide of the mark, including several on the B Echelon area though with no ill effects there. At approximately fifteen minutes' intervals until noon, successive waves of heavy and medium aircraft continued the attack, the total weight of bombs dropped by the 338 heavy bombers and 176 medium bombers being 1140 tons. Of this total 576 tons were dropped on or near the Abbey.

The area of the bomb-target was approximately 1200 yards by 1500 yards; disregarding the special attention paid to the Abbey and the bombs dropped outside the target area, the density of the bombing was roughly one ton per three square chains (33 yds by 44 yds), and apart from the vicinity of the Abbey was probably about half that density.

The general plan for the attack, issued on 23 February, has already been referred to. The objective for 25 Battalion was the western edge of Cassino from a point 180 yards north-east of the Castle to the road junction where the southern branch of Route 6 turned southwards at the Continental Hotel, thence 500 yards to the east along Route 6 to the convent at the crossroads. B Company on the right was to clear the western part of the town and secure the objective as far as the Continental Hotel. A Company was responsible for the remainder of the objective and for clearing the rest of the town north of Route 6. D Company was to capture the imposing and formidable Castle Hill (Point 193) and join up with the right flank of B Company,

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handing over Castle Hill to a unit of 4 Indian Division. C Company, with a section of engineers under command, had the task of mopping up any enemy left in Cassino north of Route 6, after which it was to occupy a reserve position behind B and A Companies.

Each of the leading companies had two troops of Sherman tanks allotted to it, 7 and 8 Troops to B Company and 5 and 6 Troops to A Company. No. 7 Troop was also required to support D Company's attack by observed fire on Castle Hill. From positions south of the barracks three of the battalion mortars were to fire on the saddle west of Point 193 and on observed targets on the western side. The anti-tank platoon and two sections of carriers were to be available on call; the anti-aircraft platoon was to provide two minesweeping teams.

Half an hour before the end of the air attack 25 Battalion began to move to its forming-up position in a gully 300 yards east of the barracks. The starting line at the barracks was crossed at noon as the last of the bombers passed overhead and ‘the artillery opened up a terrible barrage’. A Company (Major Sanders) led along Caruso road, followed by B Company (Captain Hoy), a troop of tanks, Battalion Headquarters, C Company (Lieutenant Milne), and D Company (Major Hewitt). As far as the town the rate of advance was 100 yards a minute and thereafter, following the barrage, 100 yards in ten minutes. A second troop of tanks moved down Parallel road, beyond the left bank of the Rapido, 200 yards from Caruso road.

As the troops advanced there was practically no enemy fire. Battalion Headquarters and the two rear companies halted while the leading companies went on. Both companies were in single file, B Company following Caruso road and A Company in the Rapido River beside the road. The river was from two to five feet in depth and very muddy. ‘There were several barked shins,’ said an A Company man, ‘while several members fell over in the water and on two occasions had to be assisted from going under … there were several weapons lost during the advance and many Tommy guns had their firing mechanism temporarily disabled by water. The advance was made by hugging the right bank of the river for besides pieces of shrapnel hitting the water we were under small-arms fire from Castle Hill. During the advance up [down] river some difficulty was experienced in edging round a wounded man (Pte Aitken⁹)

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and platoons became very spread out. Eventually some members were held up in the gaol by an enemy sniper and were “lost” for three days.’

Under cover of the barrage and smoke screen the companies reached the town without much difficulty, and after deploying gained their old positions level with the gaol without meeting the enemy. At this stage the two companies were in the same sectors as those taken over by them from the Americans, B Company on the right between the lower slopes of Castle Hill and the gaol, and A Company on the left from the gaol eastwards. When the companies advanced a little farther they soon encountered machine-gun and rifle fire from Germans on the slopes of Castle Hill and in the ruins of buildings on the flat. It was soon evident that overwhelming and devastating as the bombing and the artillery barrage appeared to have been, they had not been able to destroy the enemy sheltered in deep dugouts and in cellars beneath collapsed buildings, though undoubtedly they had inflicted heavy casualties. Cassino was to be another example of the truth so often illustrated in the terrific bombardments of towns and field defences in the 1914–18 war, that fire would never destroy the defenders and that infantry closely following a barrage had always to be employed to that end. The optimism noticeable in all quarters as to the effect of the bombardments was rapidly dispelled as the strength of the German resistance became apparent.

By 12.50 p.m. A Company's leading platoons had advanced 100 yards to the nunnery and to the vicinity of the road junction 150 yards east of it, protected by the barrage and the thick smoke screen which covered the town, and in very difficult conditions were pressing forward. Cassino was in a state of utter destruction, every building in complete ruins and open spaces and former roadways churned up or covered by debris and badly cratered. Some streets could hardly be found, much less used. The men had a most unenviable task, scrambling over rubble, through mud and bomb craters half-full of water, and exposed to incessant rifle and machine-gun fire. A little after 1 p.m. communications between the forward companies and Battalion Headquarters were broken and the companies also lost touch with each other in the confused jumble of the ruins. ‘This was one time in the war,’ observed one man, ‘when Red Cross flags, arm bands, etc., were not observed and Fred Wright,¹⁰ our RAP man was killed by German snipers

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when attending himself to a German wounded.’ Major Sanders, commanding A Company, also said that stretcher-bearers, plainly visible, were shot at close range when trying to pick up wounded, several of whom had to be left lying in the open till after dark. In these circumstances Lance-Corporal Pritchard,¹¹ a medical orderly attached to the company, showed great courage in attending to many wounded lying in exposed positions and in getting them to a place of safety. For this and similar work throughout the battle he received the Military Medal.

One of B Company's tasks on the way to the objective was to clear the lower slopes of Castle Hill to prepare for D Company's attack on the Castle. Fire at close range from the German posts there, however, forced the company to swing to the left towards the middle of the town, some of the men going over as far as the nunnery. By 2 p.m. the company had been unable to get farther forward than the line of the nunnery, but an hour later was again moving forward, being finally held up for the day with its forward platoon at a school about 350 yards short of the Continental Hotel.

Sergeant T. W. Tulloch, a platoon sergeant in B Company, took command when his platoon commander was wounded, though he himself was wounded by grenade splinters. Getting in touch with a nearby tank, he arranged for its support and overcame the nearest enemy strongpoint. His strength had then been reduced to twelve men and he was beyond the limit of further tank support, but with his platoon weapons alone he assaulted the next strongpoint about seventy-five yards away; this was a group of strongly fortified houses at the base of Castle Hill. He and his platoon were driven back, but he then established his men in a strong position on the flank and partly neutralised the strongpoint. Until ordered by his company commander to report to the RAP, where he was evacuated, he stayed with his men; throughout the fighting his aggressive tactics and his personal example were excellent. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, commonly regarded as the equivalent for other ranks of the Distinguished Service Order.

Meanwhile the supporting tanks, 7 Troop on the right and 8 Troop on the left, had been delayed by craters on the roads before entering Cassino. About 1.30 p.m. 7 Troop succeeded in reaching the southern end of Caruso road, 100 yards south-west of the gaol, but the destruction of buildings and streets

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had created such appalling obstacles that the troop could get no farther down the main street towards the Continental Hotel, 600 yards farther south. From the position it had reached, however, 7 Troop, which was under fire from the slopes of Castle Hill, vigorously engaged the enemy posts. On the other flank 8 Troop made its way slowly over piles of rubble and around craters past the gaol and the nunnery, and shortly after 2 p.m. reached the road junction east of the latter which A Company had passed an hour or more earlier. The troop continued to move slowly forward though sometimes, to find a route, it was necessary to make a reconnaissance on foot, and on occasion the men had to clear a path with pick and shovel. According to one personal account, ‘The confusion was such when the town was entered that our own tanks did not know which buildings we had occupied and at times we came under fire from them with armour-piercing shells.’

A Company had continued its advance, though slowly, towards Route 6 against determined opposition at close range and fire from Castle Hill. At 2.10 p.m., when the barrage was to end, the company was still short of the objective. Enemy mortars on Montecassino and in the vicinity of the railway station, 700 yards south of the objective, were bombarding the forward troops, and half an hour later nebelwerfers were also in action. After an hour of this the enemy artillery commenced to shell the north end of Cassino with increasing severity.

The enemy opposition and the physical obstacles made movement extremely difficult. In consequence the barrage was extended until 3.30 p.m., when the right platoon of A Company succeeded in reaching the Post Office, which was situated on an extension or northern fork of Route 6 about 180 yards short of the objective on Route 6 proper. From the Post Office the platoon turned to the right, or westwards, but met with strong opposition both from the west and south and could get little farther. A Company headquarters came up to the Post Office and the left platoon, which had fewer buildings to clear, pushed through to the objective on Route 6 and entered the convent near the crossroads there. However, the Germans held part of the building and could not be dislodged, and the platoon was also in action at close range with other enemy posts. Major Sanders saw that no further advance could be made, and as the platoon in its isolated position could not be supported, he withdrew it late in the afternoon to the Post

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Office. As dusk approached A Company was firmly established in that area, its right platoon about 150 yards in advance or south of the leading troops of B Company at the school.

The tanks also had made a little progress, but as they had no liaison with the infantry the situation was by no means clear to them, though they were able to give some help by engaging any enemy posts they saw. No. 8 Troop on the left, which had been advancing in the wake of A Company, had been joined on its left by 5 Troop. The latter had been stopped by craters on the road running north and south on the east side of the town 250 yards north of the convent, while 8 Troop about 3 p.m. was also blocked by craters 200 yards north of the Post Office. There it met some men of A Company who said that the enemy was holding a house at the crossroads 300 yards ahead, and also the convent at the next crossroads 100 yards farther on. Bulldozing their way to get into position, the tanks engaged the two targets, no doubt contributing to the success of the left platoon in pushing on and entering the convent a little later, as already related.

No. 7 Troop on the right had been unable to make any further progress. Tank reinforcements sent up could achieve little and supporting tanks on the left flank east of the Rapido River—which they could not cross—could do no more than heavily engage Castle Hill. The tanks had made strenuous efforts to get forward to support the infantry, even to the extent of making personal reconnaissances on foot ahead of the tanks by two majors commanding squadrons (both were wounded by rifle fire), but the physical obstacles were insuperable.

C Company, which had been in reserve at the quarry, had also advanced into Cassino and about 1.30 p.m. was in position at the nunnery, where it met men of A and B Companies and also saw the tanks advancing in the vicinity. With its headquarters at the gaol, the company was in touch by wireless with Battalion Headquarters and did valuable service in relaying reports and messages from A and B Companies, providing fairly good communications until the companies moved on. It was then necessary to use runners from C Company forward and from A and B Companies back to C Company, but owing to casualties and to the runners being unable to find their way, the results were not satisfactory.

From 5.30 to 6 p.m. the artillery again fired on the final barrage line and after that concentrated on the railway station area, from which enemy mortars had been troublesome. How-

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ever, the expectation that the leading companies would then be able to reach the objective was not realised. The scene at dusk was described by Lieutenant Milne, commanding C Company:

‘Consolidate was the order at dusk. In the maze positions were sought out, with men milling about, stretcher-bearers getting out the wounded, and shells falling all over the place. No supplies could be brought in but luckily each tank had carried ammunition, even primed grenades, so there was no shortage.’

To add to the desolation and to the discomfort of the tired, disillusioned, and disappointed troops, rain began to fall just after dusk and continued heavily throughout the night. With the moon obscured it was pitch-dark; movement was almost impossible. The water-filled craters made conditions hopeless and night operations simply could not be planned and carried out. No hot food could be taken up and the men, saturated and chilled, passed a miserable night.

At 4 p.m., when it was obvious that 25 Battalion was unable to take its objectives, B Company (Major Turnbull¹²) of 24 Battalion was placed under command of 25 Battalion and sent into Cassino. This company had been kept on the hillside near 25 Battalion headquarters in readiness for such a role, and at 5 p.m. it moved down to the quarry and along the bed of the Rapido into the town, losing on the way one man killed and five wounded. Its task was to pass through B Company and take that company's objective. Major Turnbull had little trouble in finding B and C Companies but the ruins, darkness, and pouring rain created such obstacles that his company could not reach A Company till midnight. Turnbull established his headquarters alongside Sanders in the Post Office and his platoons took up positions along the northern branch of Route 6, the conditions making it practically impossible to organise any worthwhile operation. Enemy mortars and machine guns were still firing though not so intensely as before dusk.

Despite the conditions in Cassino the casualties of A, B, and C Companies of 25 Battalion were not severe, with eleven killed or died of wounds, twenty-nine wounded, and one wounded and missing. In the circumstances they could have been very much worse.

The operations of D Company (Major Hewitt) against Castle Hill have still to be described, and here there is a much brighter

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tale to tell. In the early afternoon the company was held up outside Cassino by the slow advance of A and B Companies in the town. The orders for the attack gave B Company the task of clearing the lower slopes of Castle Hill so that D Company could then attack from the south-east. As B Company had been forced away from the hill into the town, Hewitt moved D Company up the slopes at the foot of Point 175 (450 yards south-west of the quarry and 700 yards due north of Castle Hill) and then into the ravine between the two hills. No. 16 Platoon was sent farther to the west along the ravine to attack Point 165 (an off-shoot or lesser peak of Castle Hill, about 90 feet lower and 150 yards south-west of the summit); at the same time the remainder of D Company moved round to the east of Castle Hill to where a sharp ridge led straight up to the fort at the top. Company Headquarters was established at the foot of the ridge and 17 and 18 Platoons then delayed their advance up Castle Hill to give 16 Platoon time to develop its attack from the opposite side.

About 1 p.m. 16 Platoon was at the foot of an almost sheer cliff below Point 165 and began the slow and very difficult climb. Private McNiece,¹³ a Bren-gunner in No. 1 Section, describes the extraordinary events which followed:

‘It was about 1300 hours when we reached the foot of Castle Hill and started to scramble up the cliff face where a goat would have had difficulty in getting up. After a very hot and hard climb we reached the shelter of a very large rock, about 100 feet from the top of the hill. Cpl McInnes,¹⁴ i/c No. 1 Section, directed myself (Bren gunner) and Bill Stockwell¹⁵ (2 i/c Bren) to go out to the right and protect the pl's right flank.

‘We hadn't advanced ten yds when I looked back and saw Cpl McInnes with two Jerries with their hands well in the air; they were scouts posted on the lookout to warn their HQ of our approach but we were so close on the arty barrage and the Jerries were as deep down as possible in their dugout, so that they failed to hear or see us. If they had spotted us we would never have had a chance to climb the hill face; from their position they could have quite easily picked us all off.

‘As Bill and I came to the edge of the rock I noticed a concrete pillbox on the top of the hill—it was about 12 feet

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square with a small window two feet square and four feet from the ground. I said to Bill “That's a likely place for a Jerry or two; what about having a look”… I raised the Bren to my hip and made for the pillbox which was about 20 yds distant. When I had covered the distance I heard Bill yell “Look out for the Spandau” and he fired past me into the window. I did not see the Spandau but made a dash for the side of the pillbox. Bill kept on firing and the Jerry withdrew the Spandau. I was now between the window and the corner of the pillbox, a distance of five feet. My first thoughts were of the three HE 36 grenades that I had on me and in a few seconds I had pulled the pin out and slipped one grenade through the window. There was a lovely explosion, dust and splinters of stone and wood came flying out of the window; a few seconds later there was a clatter at my feet and there lay a Jerry stick grenade smoking and spitting out sparks—without stopping to think I grabbed it up and flung it over the cliff— I didn't hear it go off but the boys at the rear of the platoon said it went off just below them! I immediately slipped another grenade through the window and it went off with a bang; another stick grenade came out through the window and landed just out of my reach—I fell flat on my face and hoped for the best; the seconds seemed like ages; then there was a terrific explosion. Dirt and rocks flew in all directions. I was completely obscured in the dust and Bill said to himself “Mac's had it”. My head felt as if it had been bashed in and my ears rang and ached cruelly. [Note: He was evacuated to hospital on 8 April suffering with ruptured ear drums.] When the dust cleared away I was standing by the window with the Bren gun held out at arm's length pouring a stream of hot lead through the window. I then threw my last HE 36 grenade inside and stood with my back to the wall wondering what to do next.

‘All the time this was happening a Spandau was firing past a corner of the pillbox and the hot lead was only missing my legs by inches. I looked down at Bill and saw him calling to the Jerries to come out. I then looked at the window and saw a Red Cross flag held out. I called on Jerry to “Camarad” and he replied “No, no, wounded”. I looked through the window and saw some wounded Jerries lying on the floor. I called Bill up and covered him while he entered, then I scrambled in and covered the Jerries while Bill took their arms away. At the far end of the pillbox there was a ladder down into a huge dugout about 12 feet square and 15 feet deep. Jerries were filing up

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the ladder with their hands in the air. When we counted them up there were two dead, twenty-three alive, five of whom were wounded. The pillbox was a German Coy HQ of the Paras. The captain, a 21 yr old boy, was dead and the 2i/c, a lieut, was seriously wounded. After we had disarmed them I sent them one at a time, down the hill to our officer—all this was done in a few minutes.

‘In the meantime the Jerries in the Castle had come into action—mortars, rifle grenades, and bullets were flying in all directions. Cpl McInnes had stopped a burst of Spandau in the back and was dead. Gerry Marsh,¹⁶ a boy of 21, was also killed by a Spandau and several others wounded.’

It was indeed an amazing feat and McNiece and Stockwell had well earned the Military Medals they were awarded.

After occupying Point 165 16 Platoon tried to move up the slope to the summit of Castle Hill but was pinned down by the heavy fire described by McNiece. The platoon had done well. By its skilful approach and through the resolution of McNiece and Stockwell it had achieved a brilliant success which greatly assisted, if indeed it did not actually make possible, the subsequent capture of Castle Hill.

Meanwhile, about 2 p.m. on the other side of Castle Hill, from the buildings at the foot of the slope east of the fort, 17 and 18 Platoons began their climb. On the right 17 Platoon went straight up the ridge while 18 Platoon followed a stone wall leading up to the fort on the south side. The houses on the lower slopes were occupied by the German snipers and machine-gunners who had been so troublesome to B Company and other troops in Cassino and the leading sections were soon engaged with them. One section of 18 Platoon used a grenade and a tommy gun against one house, killing the four occupants; pushing on, it found a man of B Company pinned down by fire from a house in front and a flank attack enabled another three Germans to be killed with the tommy gun. Continuing the climb the section passed the last houses and approached a couple of dugouts or tunnels; while endeavouring to fire down these the section leader was shot through the head by a sniper. Now reduced to three men, the section was pinned down by rifle fire on one side of its stone wall and by a Spandau on the the other and, until the rest of the platoon advanced along the wall, had to remain there for an hour or more.

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At this stage 17 Platoon was in sight moving up its ridge and the advance continued with no further opposition until the top was reached. Germans were then seen running from a broken wall on the left to the shelter of a keep in the quadrangle of the fort, a German officer being wounded by a lucky shot as he ran for cover. The two platoons occupied the broken walls, and after an exchange of fire and the throwing of grenades down a hole in a wall leading to terraces below, a German called out ‘Kaput no shoot’ and came up through the hole with a Red Cross flag. The German walked across to where a wounded corporal of 18 Platoon was lying and brought him in. Two more Germans, one with a Spandau, then surrendered; two dead Germans were found in the hole in the wall and three more on a terrace below where six prisoners were taken, three of them wounded. By 4.45 p.m. all resistance had ceased and the company took up defensive positions in the fort, 16 Platoon shortly afterwards coming up from Point 165.

In this well-planned action which was conducted with skill and resolution by all ranks, D Company had scored a very important success. Its casualties were six killed and sixteen wounded. The prisoners reported captured by the platoons numbered forty-seven and the Germans killed, in the various incidents related, were nine, apart from the final episode at the fort where, on rejoining the company, 16 Platoon found ‘dead and wounded Germans lying everywhere’. Though there were the usual discrepancies between the number of prisoners reported by the platoons and those recorded at Brigade Headquarters, for which the explanation apart from error could be casualties en route or prisoners passing through other units, the German losses in killed, wounded, and prisoners, were undoubtedly severe.

In the early afternoon when D Company approached Cassino, Major Hewitt was confronted with a difficult situation. The battalion plan required B Company to clear the enemy from the lower slopes of Castle Hill close to the town so that D Company could form up there for its attack up the hill. When Hewitt found that B Company had been forced away from the base of the hill and that he could not form up there, he immediately sized up the position, formed an entirely new and very sound plan, and carried it out with skill and determination. For this operation and his subsequent fine work in Cassino, Major Hewitt was awarded the Military Cross.

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Just after dark when the rain set in, a cold wind blowing around D Company's elevated position gave the men a rather miserable time whilst they were awaiting relief by a unit of 4 Indian Division, especially so because they had no blankets or greatcoats and had had no food since 11 a.m. In these respects they were of course in no worse case than the troops in Cassino, and in other ways they had distinct advantages. From their lofty hilltop they had a grand view of the brilliant spectacle of bursting shells of a concentrated artillery bombardment of Hangman's Hill below the Monastery, only 1000 yards away to the south-west; they were little troubled by enemy fire; and from an undisclosed source they had an abundant supply of cigarettes.

Through poor signal communications it was some time before 25 Battalion headquarters knew of the capture of Castle Hill, which is difficult to understand in view of its prominence and the ease with which the visual success signal should have been seen. Then the relieving troops, from the Essex Regiment, were delayed by heavy enemy shelling and the great difficulty of negotiating the country in the dark. The Essex men reached D Company's headquarters at the foot of the ridge shortly after 8 p.m. and from there they had the stiff climb over rugged ground to the summit. The relief was not completed till just after midnight, when the platoons moved down the hill into Cassino. On the way down they were met by a burst of Spandau fire and rifle grenades from the foot of the hill and forced to take cover for a time, but by daylight the company was concentrated behind B Company in the town.

The official casualty list for the day was one officer (Second- Lieutenant Blackie¹⁷) and fourteen other ranks killed, two died of wounds, two officers (Second-Lieutenants Chapman and Murphy¹⁸) and forty-two other ranks wounded, and one other rank wounded and missing.

Meanwhile 26 Battalion, which was to follow 25 Battalion into Cassino, by 9 p.m. had two companies at the Municipal Buildings on the northern branch of Route 6. There they were in touch with A Company at the Post Office and were told of a German strongpoint west of the Botanical Gardens which had held up the advance. Until the strongpoint was dealt with the

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two companies took up a position along Route 6, the remaining two companies of 26 Battalion appearing some time later. About 9.30 p.m. 26 Battalion asked 25 Battalion headquarters to complete the capture of its objective so that 26 Battalion could proceed with its task of securing the railway station, the hummock to the south of it, and Baron's Castle, and also another objective 600 yards beyond.

Until after midnight and except for runners, 25 Battalion headquarters had no communication with its companies, but then for a short time A Company got through by telephone. Major Sanders was then ordered to maintain contact with 26 Battalion on his left and to join with B Company 24 Battalion in an attack on the western edge of the town and clear the enemy from the north of Route 6, that is, from the area north of the road between the Continental Hotel and the convent.

Majors Sanders and Turnbull decided that both companies would attack astride the northern branch of Route 6, with B Company 24 Battalion on the right and A Company 25 Battalion on the left; the objective was the road on the western side of Cassino between the school held by B Company 25 Battalion and the Continental Hotel, 350 yards to the south-west. Brigadier Bonifant had ordered that the objective must be taken before dawn, but both company commanders agreed that it was hopeless to try to organise the attack in the pitch darkness and decided to attack at dawn.

At 6.15 a.m. on the 16th the two companies, assisted by 11 Platoon of B Company 26 Battalion, launched the attack. The enemy was on the alert and from the outset heavy fire was encountered. B Company 24 Battalion, which very early had three killed and seven wounded, took two prisoners from one house