INFANTRY ATTACK ON CASSINO RECALLED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22587, 16 March 1948, Page 4

INFANTRY ATTACK ON CASSINO RECALLED

UNIT IN SPEARHEAD PECULIAR FEATURES reasons for the failure of the attack by the New Zealand Corps on Cassino on March 15, 1944, have been advanced, but few have come from the infantry,” said a former member of the 25th (N.Z.) Battalion, the unit which led the attack on the town four years ago yesterday, in an interview in Gisborne today. “As far as it could be seen from the point of view o£ the men involved in the spearhead of the attack and in the light of subsequent events, the reasons for the failure of that attack were:— “1. Use of high-level bombing and 1000-lb bombs; a double-edged weapon. “2. Complexity of artillery fire plan which necessarily used all guns available on the sector and led to companies of the assaulting 1 /6th Rajputana Rifles being shot up by our own cannon while on the way up the monastery feature and at that time advancing without real organised opposition.

“Intelligence summaries later told us that the German general then in command of the defence of Cassino had been on the point of withdrawing in the face of the attack on the night March 15/1G but events seemed to turn in his favour and he decided to hold on and consolidate. First of Its Kind in Italy “It must be remembered, first, that it was the initial large-scale attack of its kind in the Italian campaign," said the Gisborne veteran. “More than 500 heavy and medium bombers of the American Strategic and Tactical Air Firces were called upon to drop just on 1000 tons of bombs on an area of considerably less than one square mile. “At the conferences prior to the attack it was realised that support from the air was a double-edged weapon, but heavy bombs were required to blast the Hun from his strong points. Unfortunately, as reported yesterday, many of the bombs fell well short of the target area and others made a shambles of the buildings and streets to make the going impossible for the New Zealand tanks and the task force waiting to exploit through the Liri Valley. "The valley through which the Rapido River ran down to its junction with the River Gari had been flooded to the north of Cassino when the defenders had breached the river banks weeks before. The mine-studded flats lying before Cassino were soft and tracked vehicles were forced to keep to the roads. “No Question of Surging Forward" “From the infantry angle of the attack there were three roads converging on to the town,” continued the Gisborne veteran, “the sheltered route running past the quarry was Caruso road, the next one out Parallel road, and the third Pasquale. “There was no question of a surging forward of the infantry at zero hour as the complete battalion—the assault was on, a one battalion front —had necessarily to be fed into Cassino down the one road,” he said. “One company went forward at a time and they fanned out from their point of entry, one company having the task of clearing the houses and buildings on the rising ground with its objective Hotel Continental on Route six, another the outskirts of the town and to line up on Route six, a third to capture Castle Hill, and the fourth to be available for mopping up and other duties. Impossible Task “It was all enemy teritory, including Hangman's Hill,” he stated. “The Paratroopers in the defensive positions recovered from their battering more rapidly than expected and the company assaulting the slopes 'found they had an impossible task. As fast as one strong point was cleared and our troops moved on other elements of the enemy would move in and take charge of the cleared post. “The enemy knew Cassino like the back of his hand and knew of covered routes into the various positions. He had been using them for months. Such was the state of the fighting without the aid of the tanks, through no fault of their own.

“More success was made by the company working down the eastern side of the town, but they, too, found the enemy vigorously disputing possession of many of their houses and buildings. Mostly the Kiwis in the infantry in the days that followed were a match for the guile of the Paratroopers and it was necessary to match the enemy at his own game to live. "The assault on the Castle feature, Castle of La Rocca, was daringly executed by the third company in the actual assault," continued the infantryman. “Two platoons made a frontal attack on the feature and drew the attention of the defenders, while the third platoon succeeded in making a difficult climb to take the defenders from the rear. “Going Very Tough"

"As all this was going on the enemy was becoming aware of the direction and strength of the attack and one by one Spandau posts were opening up on fixed lines of fire and at the targets offered to make the going very tough. Close support weapons could have dealt with the situation had they been able to get up to the troops in the forward areas. “The success signal from the Castle of La Rocca, better known to the attackers as Pt 19.3, was given by the assault troops at 5.30 p.m. on the same day, which was five and a-half hours after zero hour. It was 10.30 pm. before the 251 h Battalion Company in the Castle was relieved by troops of the 114th Essex Regiment, whose conpanies had the task of exploiting up towards the monastery of Monte Cassino.

"With troops of the Essex Regiment in action one of their battalion headquarters moved in to share the casa occupied by 25th battalion headquarters,” the Gisborne infantryman said. “It was during that critical night and in that shared headquarters building that urgent and repeated calls were heard over the radio from an officer commanding one of the assaulting companies by that time well above Castle of La Rocca and on the way up the monastery feature: ‘‘For God’s sake stop the artillery; it’s cutting our fellows to pieces.” Shot Up by Artillery

“While that frantic message was repeated for seemingly endless minutes the adjutant of the unit quickly got a message through to Div. Artillery and Corps, but it seemed an age before the offending guns were silenced or had finished their task. One company of the 19th Gurkhas made progress up the feature and occupied Hangman’s Hill. The companies shot up by the artillery reformed their remnants and considerably later a further attempt was made, by then, against opposition. “What may have happened if the Gurkhas had had the support of two additional companies, all within close reach of Monte Cassino. may be left to the imagination. They were magnificent fighters and were extremely well led by British officers. The monastery was an important key to the defensive opera as it commanded a view of the enure valley below and was put to excellent _ purpose by the enemy as an observation post. “That is the story of the first 12 hours or so of the attack on the town of Cassino, a story without frills, but one that is recorded by an infantryman of a battalion in which many Gisborne men served at that time. Many of those Gisborne infanteers laid down their lives in the first few days of that battle of tough fighting with a Dowerful foe. Virtually, it was a battle lost and the plan became a topic for the critics.”