The historian, John Ellis, described the Cassino battlefield as a 'vile tactical puzzle', and it is only by walking over the ground that we can begin to understand why these hard-fought battles in early 1944 became such a protracted and difficult phase of the Italian campaign.

This was truly an Allied battle, with soldiers from the US, Britain, France, Poland, India, New Zealand and Canada involved. The fighting was fierce and at great cost. The Germans clung-on around the Monastery, in the town and on the mountainside. In the end, it took a massive and coordinated Allied attack, and much hand-to-hand fighting, to dislodge them after five bitter months of fighting. Conditions at Cassino were dire: the terrain and weather, the difficulties of re-supply and casualty evacuation, and the close proximity of the enemy. The same ground was fought over many times as the battle ebbed and flowed.

On this tour, accompanied by Colonel Simon Doughty, we walk the battlefield, starting with the US river crossings and the French attempts to bypass the formidable German defences. We follow the old Cavendish Road, constructed by Indian Army engineers, a little overgrown in places but still accessible. Above the Monastery, we explore where the Indians and later the Poles fought the formidable German paratroopers. Finally, we visit the Monastery, completely destroyed during the war but now reconstructed and with that same overwhelming presence experienced by many Allied soldiers in 1944. There is something very special about the Cassino battlefield. Nearly 70 years' on, it is all still there and often unchanged. Indeed, there remain places on the hillsides that have barely been visited since the battles themselves. We will have the opportunity to explore these places on this tour and marvel at the fighting spirit of those who fought here in 1944.

This tour will involve some walks on rough, uphill paths.

ITINERARY
Day 1 (Saturday): Fly London Heathrow to Rome. Drive to Cassino. Briefing on the Italian campaign. Dinner and overnight (4 nights).
Day 2: The battles around Mignano Gap and San Pietro. From Monte Trocchio, we follow the route taken by the US 36th (Texas) Division to the River Rapido. On the north side of Cassino, we see where US 34th Division attacked across the Rapido and fought their way up the massif. We examine the French operations on the northern flank around Monte Belvedere, and visit the German cemetery at Caira.
Day 3: The New Zealand Division's battle for the town of Cassino, the railway station, and Castle Hill above. We later return to Caira, and walk the Cavendish Road up onto Snakeshead Ridge. From here, we follow the 4th Indian Division's battles close to the Monastery.
Day 4: We begin with a briefing on the final battle for Cassino, Operation DIADEM, and then follow the Polish Corps' battles above the Monastery – around Points 575 and 593. We visit the Polish Cemetery and finally the Monastery itself.
Day 5: We follow the breakout operation from Cassino, concluding with a visit to the CWGC Cemetery at Cassino. Our return journey to Rome takes us along the Liri Valley that had remained so elusive to the Allies for many months in 1944. Fly Rome – London Heathrow.