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Monte Cassino

The Hardest Fought Battle of World War II

By Matthew Parker

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| Paperback | 9781400033751

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Book Description

Monte Cassino is the true story of one of the bitterest and bloodiest of the Allied struggles against the Nazi army. Long neglected by historians, the horrific conflict saw over 350,000 casualties, while the worst winter in Italian memory and official incompetence and backbiting only worsenedContinue

1 Review

Wow. This is a battle to rival D-Day.

My grandfather fought at Monte Casino. That is the only thing about him in the war I knew growing up (except that he had a purple heart--I saw that one day). I saw a few short documentaries on it and read a few blurbs but I couldn't get at my grandpa's experience. I found out his regiment when re ... (continue)

My grandfather fought at Monte Casino. That is the only thing about him in the war I knew growing up (except that he had a purple heart--I saw that one day). I saw a few short documentaries on it and read a few blurbs but I couldn't get at my grandpa's experience. I found out his regiment when reading this book (my uncle gave me that info. He was in the 88th Blue Devils). They didn't actually come into it until the 4th battle. I didn't realize Monte Tassino was 4 battles before I read this book. I didn't realize how badly executed they were, how wasteful of life. But for the soldier who had to march into it anyway, no matter how badly planned the attack was, it was a horror. And for both sides. Matthew parker does a good job of taking you behind the lines to the German side now and then to see what the german soldiers experienced. In particular the carpet bombing of Cassino town was awe-inspiringly terrible. Reading it, I could almost hear the barrage. It's an incredible book about a horrendous time in history. In the end, the author takes us tback home with some of the veterans and then back to Italy to visit the cemeteries of the dead. Full circle. Beautifully done.

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GLawson said on Jul 11, 2010 | Add your feedback