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German MG at Monte Cassino col.

Bundesarchiv - colorized by Schuultz

German Fallschirmjäger observe the streets of Cassino from their MG position.

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The Battle of Monte Cassino was easily the most brutal battle of the Western Front. Set between the January 17th and May 18th, 1944 at Cassino and its famous and geographically distinct abbey, Monte Cassino, it was the centerpiece of the German Gustav defensive line.

The battle saw the German 1st Fallschirmjäger-Division fighting troops from almost every Western Allied nation, including Britain, Canada, New Zealand, India, Poland, Free France and the United States.

Despite being vastly outnumbered, the Fallschirmjäger stood firm, even after losing up to half of its manpower in the preceding bombings. A total of four battles were fought for Cassino. By the Second Battle, Allied High Command was convinced that the Germans had established an observation post in the Abbey, which overlooked the city, including most Allied positions. Officially, the abbey was unoccupied, and both Germans and the Papacy had officially declared the historical abbey as neutral ground.
However, German mortar fire was so accurate that this was soon dismissed as misinformation.

On February 15th, the US Air Force dropped 1,150 tons of high explosives and incendiary bombs on the abbey, which at that point housed not only the monks but civilian refugees from the city - but no Germans.
Two days after the complete demolition of the abbey, German Fallschirmjäger occupied the remains, providing them with a perfect and well to defend observation post over Allied positions. Just like the Russians did in Stalingrad, the Germans now used the ruins and rubble as fortifications.

With the help of this new position and the ruins of Cassino as their hunting grounds, the 1st Fallschirmjäger held out over three more months and three battles following the carpet bombing of the abbey. However, on May 17th, the Gustav line was penetrated by Moroccan commandos along Italian coastline, and Monte Cassino became strategically irrelevant.

The Fallschirmjäger abandoned the city the same night, and when the Polish 12th Podolski Lancers stormed the abbey on May 18th, they found it abandoned with the exception of those Germans that were too wounded to be evacuated.
By the time they had left Cassino, the 1st Fallschirmjäger Divison experienced roughly 20,000 losses, the majority of which were suffered during the bombing raids. The Allied losses amounted to roughly 12,000 dead or wounded.

For the NS-Regime, the steadfastness of the German paratroopers was welcome Propaganda fodder, as things did not go well for the Germans on the other fronts.
For Poland, the battle remains a national symbol of the Free Polish Soldiers who gave their lives fighting to reconquer Poland to this day.

Colorized by Schuultz