Skip to content

Welcome to cassinobattlefields

We specialise in battlefield studies to Cassino, Anzio, the Gothic Line at Rimini and Salerno.  During each study, we examine the detail of the conflict from a military perspective and focus on the activities at Battalion, Brigade, Division and Corps level.

Forthcoming Tour Dates

NEXT TOUR DATES FOR

Cassino

12-16 May 2024 
£525 per person B&B single room
£396 per person B&B twin/double room sharing
excludes flights, lunch and evening meals

NEXT TOUR DATES FOR

Salerno

6-9 April 2024
£475 per person B&B single room
£365 per person B&B twin/double room sharing
excludes flights, lunch and evening meals

NEXT TOUR DATES FOR

The Gothic Line at Rimini

12-15 October 2024
 £475 per person B&B single room
£365 per person B&B twin/double room sharing
excludes flights, lunch and evening meals

NEXT TOUR DATES FOR

Camino, Garigliano & Cassino

10-14 Oct 24
£525 per person B&B single room
£396 per person B&B twin/double room sharing
excludes flights, lunch and evening meals

NEXT TOUR DATES FOR

Rome to Bologna – The Italian Campaign after the fall of Rome

27 September-5 October 2024
 £1,818 per person Half Board
£1,595 per person Half Board twin/double room sharing
excludes flights and lunch

cassinobattlefields – explaining the past today


Italy Star Association 1943-1945

“Monte Cassino was arguably the most perfect defensive position in Europe, its impregnable heights blocking the Allied advance on Rome in early 1944.  It was here that the Germans made their stand.  The rocky, often precipitous terrain rendered heavy armour ineffective: most of the fighting was conducted using infantry and artillery assault.  The bloodbath that ensued – redolent of the worst moments of World War One – left over a quarter of a million men killed or wounded in the six month struggle. The battle for Monte Cassino was Britain’s bitterest and bloodiest encounter with the German Army on any front in World War Two.”

MATTHEW PARKER. MONTE CASSINO. HEADLINE BOOKS 2003

“War is not a smooth succession of dates and places interspersed with actions tied up neatly like so many parcels.  War is confused, hard to understand, and for commanders in the field, fearfully difficult if not impossible to control.  This was Salerno in those hectic, crowded days in September 1943.”

ERIC MORRIS. SALERNO – A MILITARY FIASCO. STEIN & DAY 1984

“The Battle of Anzio was nightmarish.  In its pure awfulness it stands comparison with any other battle of the Italian Campaign.  Over four months the Allies lost 7,000 killed and 36,000 wounded or missing (totalling one third of the total VI Corps strength) and a further 44,000 non-battle casualties who were hospitalised due to injuries and sickness.  German losses were at least as heavy.  But whilst these statistics alone are suggestive of a ferocious battle, they fail to do justice to the intensity of the fighting.  For a fuller picture one needs to consider that around 300,000 troops, together with the guns and fighting machines gave battle along a mere sixteen miles of front.”

LLOYD CLARK. ANZIO – THE FRICTION OF WAR. HEADLINE BOOKS 2006

“Not only had all the buildings been reduced to debris but also every living creature, vegetation too, had been killed.  Motionless water stagnated on the enclosed flat land between the mountains where the city once rose and flooded the large expanse of ruins: there was’nt a single tree or shrub as far as the eye could see.”

EUGENIO CORTI PASSED THROUGH CASSINO SIX MONTHS AFTER THE FOURTH BATTLE

Publications

A Walking Tour of Italy's WWII Battlefields. From the Salerno Landings to San Pietro Infine

A Walking Tour of Italy’s WWII Battlefields.  From the Salerno Landings to San Pietro Infine.
Nova Science Publishers 
IBSN.  978-1-53618-572-0

A Walking Tour of Italy's WWII Battlefields. Breaking the Gustav and Hitler Lines

 A Walking Tour of Italy’s WWII Battlefields.  Breaking the Gustav and Hitler Lines.  
Nova Science Publishers 
IBSN.  978-1-53619-076-2

A Walking Tour of Italy's WWII Battlefields. From the Anzio Landings to Rome

A Walking Tour of Italy’s WWII Battlefields.  From the Anzio Landings to Rome.  
Nova Science Publishers 
IBSN.  978-1-53619-077-9

Image Gallery

The Monastery as seen from the Rapido valley in October 1944.
The Monastery as seen from the Rapido valley in October 1944
The 18 gravestones of the Jewish corner in the Polish Cemetery.  In all, 838 Jewish soldiers served in II (PO) Corps of which 28 were killed and 52 were wounded.
The 18 gravestones of the Jewish corner in the Polish Cemetery.  In all, 838 Jewish soldiers served in II (PO) Corps of which 28 were killed and 52 were wounded
Frank de Planta at Monte Cassino in full flow.  Sketch by Caroline Deput 2019.
Frank de Planta at Monte Cassino in full flow.  Sketch by Caroline Deput 2019
The original grave of Lt George Wright 38 Field Company RE before being moved to Minturno CWGC cemetery. Victor Wright.
The original grave of Lt George Wright 38 Field Company RE before being moved to Minturno CWGC cemetery.  Victor Wright
Postcard sent home from 92 Field Regiment RA whilst in Italy by Bombadier Russell to his son.  Bombadier Russell was a keen cyclist.  Adam Tunningley.
Postcard sent home from 92 Field Regiment RA whilst in Italy by Bombadier Russell to his son.  Bombadier Russell was a keen cyclist.  Adam Tunningley
Padre 47 Regt RA leads a Service of Remembrance at the CWGC Cemetery in Cassino in 2022.  Tim Ventham.
Padre 47 Regt RA leads a Service of Remembrance at the CWGC Cemetery in Cassino in 2022.  Tim Ventham
A tribute to the 3/8 Punjabis at the Kingsmill Memorial. Sue Hughes.
A tribute to the 3/8 Punjabis at the Kingsmill Memorial.   Sue Hughes
 The Polish Cemetery at Cassino in 2017.  Karl Byatt.
 The Polish Cemetery at Cassino in 2017.  Karl Byatt