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The
Cassino Memorial is situated within Cassino War Cemetery, which
lies in the Commune of Cassino, Province of Frosinone, 139 kilometres
south-east of Rome. Above it, at a distance of 1 kilometre,
is the dominating hill on which stands the Abbey of Monte Cassino.
Take the autostrada A2 from Rome to Naples and leave it at the
Cassino exit. At the junction of this exit and the road into
Cassino, is the first of 6 clearly visible signposts to the
cemetery and Memorial.
On
3 September 1943 the Allies invaded the Italian mainland, the
invasion coinciding with an armistice made with the Italians
who then re-entered the war on the Allied side. Allied objectives
were to draw German troops from the Russian front and more particularly
from France, where an offensive was planned for the following
year. Progress through southern Italy was rapid despite stiff
resistance, but by the end of October, the Allies were facing
the German winter defensive position known as the Gustav Line,
which stretched from the river Garigliano in the west to the
Sangro in the east. Initial attempts to breach the western end
of the line were unsuccessful. Operations in January 1944 landed
troops behind the German lines at Anzio, but defences were well
organised, and a breakthrough was not actually achieved until
18 May, when Cassino was finally taken. The site for CASSINO
WAR CEMETERY was originally selected in January 1944, but the
development of the battle during the first five months of that
year made it impossible to use it until after the Germans had
withdrawn from Cassino. During these early months of 1944, Cassino
saw some of the fiercest fighting of the Italian campaign, the
town itself and the dominating Monastery Hill proving the most
stubborn obstacles encountered in the advance towards Rome.
The majority of those buried in the war cemetery died in the
battles during these months. There are now 4,266 Commonwealth
servicemen of the Second World War buried or commemorated at
Cassino War Cemetery. 284 of the burials are unidentified. Within
the cemetery stands the CASSINO MEMORIAL which commemorates
over 4,000 Commonwealth servicemen who took part in the Italian
campaign and whose graves are not known.
[Taken
from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website]
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