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The battle of Monte Cassino begins...
The battle of Monte Cassino begins...
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January 19, 1944
THE NEW YORK TIMES, January 19, 1944
* Battle of Monte Cassino, Italy begins
* World War II
This 38 page newspaper has a two column headline on the front page: "Americans Crack Defenses Of Cassino From Two Sides" which reports the very beginning of the Battle of Monte Cassino which lasted from January 17 to May 18, 1944 during World War II in Italy.
Other news of the day throughout including various advertisements, and is in good condition.
wikipedia notes: The Battle of Monte Cassino (also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino) was a costly series of four battles during World War II, fought by the Allies against Germans with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome.
In the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans holding the Rapido, Liri and Garigliano valleys and certain surrounding peaks and ridges, together known as the Gustav Line. The Germans had not occupied the historic hilltop abbey of Monte Cassino, founded in AD 524 by Benedict of Nursia and which dominated the town of Cassino and the entrances to the Liri and Rapido valleys, although they manned defensive positions set into the steep slopes below the abbey walls. On 15 February, the monastery, high on a peak overlooking the town of Cassino, was destroyed by 1,400 tons of bombs dropped by American bombers. The bombing was based on the fear that the abbey was being used as a lookout post for the German defenders (this position evolved over time to admit that German soldiers were not garrisoned there but that the risk of the monastery becoming occupied justified the action). Two days after the bombing, German paratroopers took up positions in the ruins; the destruction caused by the bombing and the resulting jagged wasteland of rubble gave troops improved protection from air and artillery attack making it a more viable defensive position. From 17 January to 18 May, the Gustav defences were assaulted four times by Allied troops. For the last of these the Allies gathered 20 divisions for a major assault along a twenty mile front and drove the German defenders from their positions but at a high cost.
Category: The 20th Century
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