German Perspective: Battle of Monte Cassino '44
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- Опубликовано: 26 июл 2021
- The Battle of Monte Cassino from the German perspective with Dr. Magnus Pahl of the Military History Museum (MHM) of the Bundeswehr Dresden. This video covers the 2nd (German Perspective) / 3rd (Allied Perspective) of Monte Cassino. For this we use many German sources, yet also the British and New Zealand official Histories of the Second World War as well. We look at the combat operations and changes in position from 16th March 1944 to 26th March 1944.
Disclaimer: I was invited by Militärhistorische Museum der Bundeswehr Dresden in 2021. www.mhmbw.de/
Cover Photo 1: Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-2005-0004 / Wittke / CC-BY-SA 3.0
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Cover Photo 2: Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-312-0998-27 / Enz / CC-BY-SA 3.0; Monte Cassino, Panzerreparatur während Kampf
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
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» SOURCES «
Pahl, Magnus: Monte Cassino 1944: Der Kampf um Rom und seine Inszenierung. Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh: Paderborn, Germany, 2021.
Stimpel, Hans-Martin: Die deutsche Fallschirmtruppe 1942 - 1945: Einsätze auf den Kriegsschauplätzen im Süden. Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn: Hamburg, Germany, 1998.
Parts of the Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939-1945:
nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/schola...
nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/schola...
Fennell, Jonathan: Fighting the People’s War: The British and Commonwealth Armies and the Second World War. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, 2018.
Molony, C.J.C.: History of the Second War: The Mediterranean and Middle East. Volume V: The Campaign in Sicily 1943 and The Campaign in Italy 3rd September 1943 to 31st March 1944. Her Majesty’s Stationery Office: London, UK, 1973.
Frieser, Karl-Heinz u. a.: Die Ostfront 1943/44. Der Krieg im Osten und an den Nebenfronten. Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg Band 8. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt: München, Germany, 2011.
Citino, Robert Michael: The Wehrmacht’s Last Stand: the German Campaigns of 1944-1945. University Press of Kansas: Lawrence, Kansas, USA, 2017.
Parker, Matthew: Monte Cassino. The Hardest-Fought Battle of World War II. Doubleday: New York, USA, 2003.
U.S. Navy Bomb Disposal School, Section 1 High Explosive Bombs, September 1945.
Phillips, N. C.: Italy Volume I: The Sangro to Cassino. The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War. Historical Publications Branch, 1957, Wellington, New Zealand. (Digital Version)
Blumenson, Martin: Salerno to Cassino. United States Army in World War II. The Mediterranean Theater of Operations. Center of Military History, United States Army: Washington D.C., USA, 1993.
Caddick-Adams, Peter: Monte Cassino. Ten Armies in Hell. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK, 2013.
Fisher, Jr., Ernest F.: Cassino to the Alps. United States Army in World War II. The Mediterranean Theater of Operations. Center of Military History, United States Army: Washington D.C., USA, 1993.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/36th_In...)
#MonteCassino,#GermanPerspective,#Fallschirmjäger
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A history Professor once told me "As historians, our first priority is to constantly remind ourselves that nothing which happened in the past was destined or preordained...except German counterattack."
...and Russians entrenching.
A British WW1 version would be "Although the infantry attack was pushed forward with a great deal of pluck.."
Did he mean Gegenstoß or Gegenangriff though?
And yet they lost again!!
@@bruetel436 the germs lost!
I knew a Major of the 1st Fallschirmjäger-Div. at Monte Cassino. He told me, that they were much smaller in number than reported. ("You know, we fellows of the Luftwaffe did it on ourselves...") However he always pointed out that only the rubble, the mines and the Panzergrenadiers saved them. They were shattered to a Batallion in manpower.
Yeah, Cassino - the GRIND.
my grandfather was killed just before here at sangro. he was 28th Māori bttn. new zealand infantry. the battalion went on to take heavy casualties at the train station below the monastry. i know people who lost grandfathers at this battle including my wife. it is very interesting & crucial historical information to hear a german perspective on this hard fought fight. thank u for excellent upload.
When you Maori Bttn do you mean all -or perhaps most- were Maori?
@@ronchappel4812 there may have been some other polynesians in there ron im not sure, but yep almost all Maori.
@@vivaprez Thanks,thats interesting.
Thanks for sharing his story. Cheers to your grandfather!
“24km away” *stormtrooper icon*
To be fair, 24km is a lot for normal people, but that in aircraft cruising at 300 plus km/h likely coming from a location well over 500km away it isn't a huge degree of error.
Travel just slightly off course and you see a town below you at about when you should see Cassino and the allied troops below you get busted.
Given how much a high altitude bomber could miss by l... thats making the storm troopers envious
"With the Norden bomb sight, it's possible for a bomber to hit a pickle barrel from an altitude of over 5 miles"
"You bombed a town 15 miles away"
"A town that I'm certain has pickle barrels, which I'm confident that at least one of which was hit by a bomb dropped from an altitude of at least 25,000 feet..."
@@smokerjim the yanks could hit anything on the nose from 100 miles away..... as long as it was allied
@@scrubsrc4084 and the Canadian and Polish troops managed to get bombed by RAF heavy bombers six days after the USAAF heavy bombers plastered them.
I have read there were some mighty pissed off people after the second time they suffered hundreds of casualties from friendly bombers in the space of a week. It also didn't help the ensuing offer dives very much.
my uncle later said that he was lucky at Monte Casino cause he became a british POW and was send to Canada and survived to come back and began his life as a farmer with a huge experience he had gained in Canada as a POW cause he was very young when he had been drafted. Just 20 years old when captivated with a journey through italy to el Alamein and back again to Italy and then to Canada or POW.
He always talked about tough fighting even though he did not like to talk about that whole time.
A… british pow? italian or wehrmacht
@@Sophiebryson510 He was a POW after being caught by the Britains.
@@martinmaier352 oh was he italian?
@@Sophiebryson510 Why Italian? There is not one word about Italians. He fought as German Paratrooper and finally was POW in Canada.
@@martinmaier352 not one word about german either.... it could have been Italian...
I'm very happy to see other big channels pointing out that reports usually contained unrealistic or exaggerated claims as part of ass covering campaigns. Too many 'weekend historians' ignore that simple fact.
Several years ago when I was in college (high school), I went on a field trip to Wellington with my social studies class. During our lunch break my cohort decided to go to parliament on a whim. We randomly showed up, went through a metal detector, and then sat in the public gallery. Around the walls of parliament, there are plaques commemorating notable battles that New Zealand participated in. I distinctly remember having to explain to the girl next to me (who I had a crush on at the time, lol), about where and when Monte Cassino happened. Of the plaques we could see from our angle, she could recognise Gallipoli and Passchendaele among others, but had absolutely no knowledge of Monte Cassino. In general, the battle is very much a forgotten bit of NZ history that is seldom covered while we are at school.
Thanks for the detailed breakdown of the battle, with accompanying birds-eye view diagrams of where and when the various events happened over the course of it. I'm growing more and more appreciative of this sort of visualisation style on youtube as it's much more effective at cementing how events actually took place compared to reading details over propaganda footage or still images.
We Maori have not forgotten Cassino.
Your country like my country fought the wrong enemy. Enjoy the NWO. Bet you didn't even get in that girls pants lol
you are sitting in the trench at Monte Cassino and you know you've taken a Pervitin tablet too much
because you see in Poles line the cannon is loaded by a f*cking bear...
All hail Wojtek!
@Generic Cracker 2001 Too late Ludwig, we can't, the Brits and the Yanks have started taking it too. Too bad, invading France in 6 weeks was incredible, we were fighting day and night the poor French had no idea what had fallen upon their heads! Ya ya ya!
They had no pervetin anymore that late in the war, at least not the regular army, maybe some fighters or night fighters and special forces. The common soldiers had to ask relative at home to buy and send some cause they did no longer get them also due to the negative impacts afterwards. The regulations for the medics had also changed to avoid all the negative implications, so the average soldier had to ask for. And there are proofs like the letter of a famous post war Nobell price winner who had asked his family for perventin.
Es tut mir leid. No more Pervitin for you!
One can only imagine what suffering through meth withdrawal in the field felt like. No wonder the Landser were begging the folks at home for it.
@@nonamesplease6288 Oh, it was still available after the war and honestly it was probably a good thing considering how horrible life became for the population once the war had ended, I suppose it helped deal with reality, I guess. As for myself don't worry, I know someone who knows someone! He he.
Having been to cassino, it baffles me how the allies could reach point 435. The map doesn't show the sheer steepness of those mountains. Yet somehow they reached there without using the roads, that where still under German control with point 236.
I dare anyone to walk up the slope towards hangman's hill and then finding the energy to fight.
Gurkhas... Simply the best fighting men of the entire British Empire.
Thanks for the insight . I have never seen a good layout of the terrain and the struggle . the view point would confuse the uneducated when Tanks are involved in mountainous terrain
They "slipped" through the German lines. When they realized that they couldn't hold the height any longer, they returned to where they have come from.
@@thomaskositzki9424 they are certainly not the best of the corporation of londons empire, they are moderate, disciplined and simple. But they are not the best, even tho the corporation of london hates the historic British people and so always parades foreigners to somehow obscure there long standing and almost complete genocidal agenda against the Celtic Britons but it's those Celtic units that are the reason why this corporation gained a empire. Look up those units or check out Alan Wilson if your interested in real history.
_Walk_ up? Why didn't you just use the elevator?
3:37 first time I notice the Stormtrooper icon for shooting inaccuracy - just perfect 😀
Beat me to the comment. Had me laughing out loud.
love the little things, had a great laugh with high ping infantry as well
Pretty sure this channel used it before.
I was unaware that there were Panzer Grenadier units at Monte Cassino. Thank you for teaching me something that I didn’t know!
Hi, I amfrom Monte Cassino, what a beautiful place to visit. The German paratroopers who fought there were some of the toughest in the Wehrmacht. And Polish army fought hard for every inch of that monastery.🇮🇹❤️.
Fascinating. The guts of those men on both sides of the conflict, are incredibly humbling.
Inside and outside too
Regardless of why they fought or what they believed, the sheer courage required for this is hard to understand.
All throughout the war to, they both had there badass troops/divisions. I bet alot of them became close after the war, the both lived the same scary life. R.I.P to everyone that died during WW2.
The (guts) of the bad guy is a (Bad) thing.
@@31terikennedy imagine you're a German boy of almost 18, say between 1939 and 1945, just before finishing your school. You get an invitation of your nearest district military office to be present at an exact hour an exact date for the physical examination.
If you pass it, then a couple of weeks later, you get a notification to be present at the barrack (put a name here).
Etc. etc. in the end, you are sent along with thousands of others on a train to Italy, Russia, Northern Africa, Norway etc.
Does this make you a bad guy? I guess you would had behaved the same.
Bad were the people who organized this, the ones who sent these innocent boys to be killed, who indoctrinated them, who permitted this to occur. Most soldiers on that war were victims also, who would much better have liked to amuse themselves than to kill and be killed.
My great uncle lost his two brothers at Monte Cassino, He found out one of them was killed when he received a great coat and it had his brothers name on the collar. He went crazy and was sent back to New Zealand.
I spent a beautiful summers night in the monastery car park in my campervan 😀
The strategic view from up there was amazing!!
Thank you for posting this and doing the work . It's always haunted me since I was a kid that so many of our New Zealand brothers died trying to take Cassino town and the monistary. I remember watching in the early 1980's the series the World at War which covered the battles in the episode " Tough old Gut " as it noted the New Zealand casualties as between 3,500 - 5,000 , whether this is accurate or not I don't know as you've mentioned them as 2,200.
Thanks for putting this together.
my mum's perspective, can you please fight somewhere else and don't forget to take your Nebelwerfer with you.
they left the Nebelwerfer in my mum's farmyard, she dumped it in the river along with ammo, not bad for a 15 year old
The nebelwerfer battery commander: understandable, have a nice day.
Sorry hitler and Mussolini caused this !
She was a brave woman
A shame... I would like a Nebelwerfer in my farmyard resp. garden. *With* the ammo... not bad for a 52 year old.
Considering that Nebelwerfer would have caused an overwhelming Allied response, good move!
(3:33) Stormtroopers didn't have bad aim. They only couldn't aim when the plot needed them to not aim.
Kind of like how a lightsaber can cut through anything except a central character (although forearms seem to be unusually weak).
@@danielbond9755 With the exception of when the plot needs them to die, exactly like that.
Stormtroopers actually have really good aim they can miss on purpose when required and make it look like they are trying to hit
@@colbyburgesd9258 Good point.
Hey in the original movie the orders were clear to threaten but not kill the good guys so they get tracked home
Of course Disney didn’t help
The husband of my mother's cousin was killed there. The German military had her husband's daily diary delivered to her about two months after the Monte Casino battle was over. He wrote saying, they had no one stationed in the Montesaery itself. But after the bombardment, he and a total of 150 soldiers moved into the ruins. I hadn't proofread my comment and now I organized it a bit.
Polish ?
@@robertwoodroffe123 german
@@phil5545 what are you saying?
@@phil5545 kiwi
@@phil5545 sorry but ??War
Best WWII channel on youtube. I love the vulgarisation still, you show a lot of commitments to details and show us the strategy and the tactic of an operation. Love it.
That was a very good video. In 26 minutes, you gave me a better picture of what happened than several documentaries that I have seen, each of which were an hour long. The maps were crucial for this understanding. Cheers.
Always great to hear the perspective of the German soldier in battle
we don't hear enough of it
why
3 tons of bombs for each Fallshirmjager .... plus artillery.
That's the way to fight a war if you can afford it.
If you don´t hit your target it´s just wasted resources.
Welcome to the US where overkill comes standard.
@@KaDaJxClonE the bombs should have a .50 Cal mounted on it.
You also need to exploit it properly. Fire without maneuver is wasted ammo. Maneuver without fire is suicide.
@@KaDaJxClonE Hardly. We haven't had overkill in 30 years.....
MHV Bernard great job I leaned more from this video then all of the documentaries I have watched over the years on this battle. Please keep up the great work ! Long time patron
my thoughts too. Some have mentioned the CBC documentaries but I found them very biased and highly inaccurate although Its been a while so maybe I should rewatch them .
Thank you for your support!
@@mikepette4422 Or read a book.
Great episode! Interesting to see how the lack of proper reporting affecting both sides in terms of either denoting the strength of a defending division or masking of the true losses of the attacking force.
In my training as artillery officer i was reminded time and again that one should not expect to be able to destroy infantry by massive heavy fire (artillery or by bombs). Heavy fire can immobilize the enemy for a certain time or interfere with his movements. As a rule a well led unit getting under heavy fire will dig in and almost always survive. This has been amply shown in the nightmare of trench warfare in WW1.
Monte Cassino proved that this still was (and is) true... In the ensuing horrible infantry fighting the initial heavy fire allegedly 'killing the enemy' gave the attackers very little advantage. What ever advantage there was, likely became compensated by the massive changes in terrain by craters giving the disadvantage to attackers.
You are correct stating this as 1st WW demonstrated this again and again like in Cassino making very difficult for the attackers to cross or climb waterlogged craters and whatever it can be added to make the life downright miserable for the attackers...
@T[A]P Me!! To Have [S]EX With Me it was a 1st WW style of epic proportions resulting one of the most useless bombing of the Abbey of Monte Cassino that was nearly completely destroyed for no purpose, actually it helped the Germans to resist even more. More than 250,000 troops, 1,900 tanks and 4,000 airplanes tried to kick out roughly 150,000 German troops yet they failed with very high casualties: over 55,000 allies got killed versus around 20,000 Germans from 17 January - 18 May 1944. It was only because of the stupidity of generals like Alexander, Clarke and whoever that they wanted a "new Verdun" commanding far away refusing to understand the reality of the situation that resulted in such high losses forcing them to stay from 17 January - 18 May 1944 and it was considered a " victory" just because of the crack troops, the Fallschirmjäger, stayed put. Not happy General Clarke instead of obeying direct orders from General Alexander to cut the retreat of the German 10th Army in full retreat to Valmontone, but decided to rush to Rome permitting the Germans, more than 100,000 to escape permitting them retreat to form the Gothic line, resisting in Pisa and other places inflicting heavy casualties to the allies. Gosh what a victory the battle of Cassino....
This is a superb account of a brutal battle. Incredible insight from Dr Pahl and also Bernhard.
You can never get too specific for me. I love each and every fact. Thank you.
Great work, really enjoyed this one!
This was the first WW2 battle I ever read about in depth. Great video, tons of info I never knew, especially the bombs per paratrooper ratio.
Considering the video on Monte Cassino, have you ever thought on doing a video on the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB, "Força Expedicionária Brasileira"), the Smoking Snakes, during the Italian Campaign?
Just a warning, saying that may start inspiring Sabaton fans to start spamming song lyrics as replies to your comment.
@@FirstNameLastName-tg3rc That's not an issue to me! lol
@@MatsKratz If it helps, I was intending that to be a joke.
@@FirstNameLastName-tg3rc I was too! If that happend i would laugh my ass off! Greetings from Brazil.
And monte castelo would be a great video to
Interesting note: the Italian 1st motorized group was present at the fighting on the allied side: (67th Infantry Regiment, 51st Bersaglieri Battalion, 11th Artillery Regiment, 5th Anti-Tank Regiment, along with a engineer battalion.)
@ Actually they were near the spearhead and helped breakthrough the western sides defenses playing a critical role in the attack.
@ Actually all of the German Army at El Alamein during the retreat would have been overrun if the Italian General located there made the split second decision to make a delaying action. Fighting to the last to buy Rommel the time he needed to retreat.
"High ping was a problem" + the stormtrooper icon made me have a good chuckle when I needed it. I appreciate your sense of humor!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent video. Thanks
Yet another informative video, I must admit that I never gave thought to the Panzergrenadier units that fought there. Never knew about the Fallschirmjager dishonesty with paperwork as well.
Can’t wait for more perspective videos
Well, the whole channel is about ww2 from German perspective.
Great video Bernard. This battle and campaign tends to be misrepresented on the Western/allied side of history. Australian, Maori & Kiwi, Canadian, Brazilian, Polish, British and US divisions were all involved in the campaign. Kesselring definitely outfoxed a number of the Allied generals.
Great video thank you 👍👍👍
I really enjoyed this presentation the style of which I had never before seen.
Glad you enjoyed it!
@@MilitaryHistoryVisualized Oh, so very much so. I do enjoy your videos in general but I think this video probably was the hardest video to put together. While I have seen other excellent videos on the subject and some included information that yours did not. Yet, your approach required just a little more effort and I do not doubt that it is among the best, if not the best, video I have seen on the subject.
The view from the (rebuilt) monastery gives you reason to admire all who fought there.
I.. was expecting footage. Well done regardless.
Crazy good quality
Would be awesome if you could include news reels from the time of this battle. Excellent and interesting video nevertheless!
I would really love for you to do a video on the German perspective of Riva Ridge, the Po Valley and the 10th Mountain Division. I served in the 10th in the late 90s and we worked hard to carry on its proud traditions and maintain its status as the toughest of the tough and most deployed Division among all the excellent Infantry Divisions of the U.S. Army. Climb to Glory!
To the top.... (Get smoked, kitty. Sincerely, the Eridani Light Horse.)
@@Deridus ELH got smoked on Strana Mechty. CSJ is back, reconstituted under the Republic as the Fidelis and going strong alongside the Ilclan, Wolf Empire.
@@smokejaguarsix7757 "Reconstitured." Lol. It's what, one binary and some isorla? Besides, the ELH bought it on Herperus 2... To the Emerald Parakeet.
@@killdizzle While Im not going to disparage fellow Americans, the Marines have older equipment, are unaccustomed to fighting without Naval support or behind enemy lines without a massive support system. I'd much rather fight them than the 18th Airborne Corps or any of the Divisions therein. They are trained to fight unsupported by other units, behind enemy lines for at minimum 3 days if necessary. They (we) have our own organic air, logistic and artillery support, our own transports (UH60s and CH47s) , can use enemy weapon systems, fight under any weather conditions and in any climate and can go to ground if necessary and start a guerilla campaign. We have our own ADA (Avengers and MANPAD Stingers), our own strike capability (AH64D) to knock out enemy C3, tactical and operational-level targets (which also has limited CAS via IR Sidewinders, SEAD and Anti-Tank capability via AGM-65E), along with plentiful MANPATGM Javelins for whatever other threat comes along. Give them Regular Army and USAF CAS and CAP support and we are virtually unbeatable. Again, not disparaging Marines, they have a specific mission and are quite good at it. But I think the 18th Airborne Corps are a more dangerous foe.
@@Deridus There are 3 Fidelis Brigades any one of which is more powerful than a Galaxy. And now they are the Jaguars again. Meanwhile, the ELH is no more. They did buy it on Strana Mechty. Randill Bills revived them and then smashed them again. So....
Very interesting video.
Fairly well done !!
Damn... I'd love to see a movie or series detailing the battle of the monestary. Imagine the POV of a company of soldiers like Band of Brothers, who are tasked with defending one of the bunkers, must retreat the monestary, and then hear about or have friends who take part in the total failure to retake the station. What a power piece that could be. It shows the resolve of the germans, how ideology plays a role, the despair and hopeless, the idiocy of command, and so many more emotions just on the German side. Plus it gives a unique perspective on the dedication and relentlessness of the allies who threw everything they had at this, and often had very elite and motivated soldiers
Very good. Thanks.
Man the info u had ! Top marks
Katriel Ben Arie, "Die Schlacht bei Monte Cassino 1944": "Die Verluste des Neuseeländischen Korps in den Kämpfen um Cassino waren sehr schwer. Auf die Frage von Churchill nannte Wilson die Zahl von insgesamt 2400 Mann: 1050 Mann der neuseeländischen 2. Division, 1160 Mann der indischen 4. Division (401 Briten und 759 Inder) und 190 Mann der 78. Division. In der amtl. Darstellung des neuseeländischen Heeres wird jedoch die Zahl der Verluste allein für die Zeit vom 15. bis 26. März 1944, d.h. von Beginn der zweiten Schlacht bis zur Auflösung des neuseeländischen Korps, mit 140 Offizieren und 1966 Mann angegeben."
It always messes with my perspective of these things when you hear about a ceasefire and the soldiers on both sides are being friendly to each other, even sharing stretchers.
I wonder how this made some of these men feel when they opened fire on each other again? After all; the cease fire was only temporary.
I guess business as usual.
even more bizzar when he notes that neither side was taking prisoners
Hope you do Anzio next!
Back in the early 1980s when I was finishing my university studies I was employed at a grain storage facility during my holidays. While working there I came across an old guy who had fought in the NZ Division at Cassino. Although he had fought through the North African Campaign beforehand, he said the fighting at Cassino was horrific by comparison.
That close air support dropped bombs within 20 kilometers of the target.
Just like today, someone, somewhere was getting rich from every single bomb being dropped. It doesn't matter where they land, as long as they're dropped.
Great video, very interesting to learn about the presence of panzer grenadiers at Monte Casino! Will you be making a video about the 3rd/4th battle which resulted in the capture of the Cathedral and the whole of the town?
thank you; unlikely, I was not happy making this video and currently it is doing extremely poorly as well.
@@MilitaryHistoryVisualized ah that is a shame!
Another classic. I learned some new stuff today.
A history Professor once told me "As historians, our first priority is to constantly remind ourselves that nothing which happened in the past was destined or preordained...except German counterattack."
10:32 Confusing pronunciation: "three Sherman tanks" sounds rather like "three German tanks".
Next time he can post this auf Deutsch and you won't have that problem. Right, Herr Maier?
it's not confusing though,in January 1944 German forces had few tanks left, only antitank guns, grenade launchers, infantry and horsedrawn carriages. German tank production was low compared to the Western Allies and the Soviet Union.
@@adamcrookedsmile Not everyone here is a historian :)
@@adamcrookedsmile
Most would've been sent to the Russian Front. German's loved T-34, God know's they captured enough of them.
You might be surprised at German production number's throughout the war.
Much higher than one would expect from a country and population that size.
When Rommel ran out of panzers, he used captured armor. As did the other panzer divisions. Germans would go out at night, drag the knocked out tanks back to their repair facilities, and rebuild them overnight theirs, and the enemy tanks they dragged back. Today Russian's find T-34 with German markings. The German's didn't remove the Russian markings, just added theirs.
I visited the abbey of Montecassino 2 years ago. Wonderful place, and such a commanding position on the area. The bombing of the abbey, one of the most important of Europe, was truly a crime against humanity, but thankfully it has been rebuilt exactly as it was. From the top you can also see the war cemeteries, especially the polish one.
It's not just the buildings of the monastery. It's thousands of irreplaceable ancient manuscripts
A completely unnecessary destruction at that.
"Shift + S; Space"
Gotta love it! *heart*
;)
“Losses *before* the battle?!”
Rainbow dash token
I agree
If you want copies of the NZ war diaries for future videos I'm a local historian living just down the road from Archives NZ, happy to help
thank you! Do you know if there is a pdf version of the official New Zealand History? Because I prefer a scanned version of the original over the currently available html version, but couldn't find anything.
@@MilitaryHistoryVisualized Sorry, as far as I know the only digital version is the NZETC one you've already seen ...
Owwww I was hoping that you'd mention the 4th battle ;/ Great video never the less!
love it, thanks
Warm-up for COH 3
I used to work with a chap who was an Engineer / co-pilot on Lancaster's during WW2. When I suggested he must have had a rough time I was surprised when he claimed the opposite in that as his aircraft was never caught in search lights or attacked by night fighters he thinks he had an easy time of it and added 'My brother was in the Army at Monte Cassino and had a terrible time'.
a informed and must see for military history enthusiasts on this famous battle from the german perspective :)
Great video.
Could you somehow create in the map a clear direction from which the opposite sides attack?
Although the left bottom corner had all the German strong points, I thought these were forward positions and the German line was North from these strong points.
This was because I thought the Allies would attack from the south. But after you've drawn the new Allied line, I first understood that the Allies were already east and north of Monte Casino and somehow attacked to the southwest?
I was very confused for a while.
My sisters father in-law was there, what he told me would never be put in the history books
He was Irish living in England
Must be North Irish....What self respecting Tater Catholic Irish would be caught living in England at that time?
@@cs-rj8ru Quite a lot. A large number of men from the Republic also joined the British armed forces during WW2, and were persecuted by the Government of the Republic for many years after 1945.
What did he say
Interesting and spectacular video. At 13:28 a whole Battalion of Fallschirmjäger surrendered. Source? Primary (Bundesarchiv - Militärarchiv), secondary (recollection), or something else?
Just curious, because for example Hans-Martin Stimpel didn't mention it in his book.
so the Fallschirmjäger are so tough that they count two battles as one :O
Didn’t get my dad took out 3 high rank officers later as head sniper of nz div , ultra decrypts ! Not orders
Who invented computers ? The most dangerous weapon invented ! Not Germans
@@robertwoodroffe123 "The German civil engineer Konrad Zuse (1910-1995) is considered the inventor of the first digital and programmable computers - a feat he first accomplished in 1938, long before anyone else."
get rektum
@@kallemickelborg did he produce any thing useful?
@@kallemickelborg my dad took out your side !
Thank you for covering this as it is a big deal in the NZDF history.
Aw Cool ....i am looking forward to watching this😀
I visited Cassino and Monte Cassino back in 2004 where I paid my respects at the German and Commonwealth cemeteries. You really can’t appreciate the mountainous terrain without seeing it firsthand.
Why now, Bernhard? I have two tons of work to finish yesterday!
Could you do a video on when yakovlev visited germany along with details of a trade agreement that included naval and air force equipment i believe
Thank you.
Of all the History Channel style documentaries I've seen, I have never heard about NZ in Italy. I'm Australian and it's appalling how the Commonwealth gets written out of history.
You should read books rather than rely on TV documentaries. The role of New Zealand (and Canadian, Indian, & South African troops, among others) is fully documented, and has been for years.
@@dovetonsturdee7033 I didn't say that I didn't know about it.
Tell me about it. Today I heard an American history professor say on a WW2 documentary that “the Americans managed to convince the Nazis that the Normandy landings were a side-show and that the main landings would be coming later in the Pas de Calais area.”
The work he was referring to was a completely British operation. What a berk.
But you’re right: TV documentaries often use the word ‘British’ when they really mean Aussies, Kiwis, Canadians or even Indians.
Because it's irrelevant who was there in the greater picture outside of the main actors. If NZ hadn't been there it would have been another British client. It changes nothing, it was just additional manpower. They did what they were told.
good stuff as Always MHV, but when I watch ur stuff its late & ehh Sometimes I fall asleep & wake up after its done ^^ xD
03:34 I like the icon of the Stormtrooper who mostly misses the target 💪😅
so while we are talking about italy in WW2, could you make a video about Sardinia and Corsica in 1943?
I found virtually nothing about that topic, despite putting quite some effort into it ^^
still annoyed about general clark who instead of flanking the german lines to trap german units [which is why some of these battles around cassino are taking place and the sacrifice of the allied troops keeping the germans in play] , instead raced for Rome , taking his glory and place in history...but allowing all those german units who could have been flanked and trapped and cutoff to withdraw without issue to a new defensive line [sighs] :(
Yeah there was a reason why Clarke was considered among the very "BEST" allied generals wasn't he ? 😜
@@mikepette4422 well he sure didnt show it in italy, thats for sure :(
It's actually unlikely that the US troops could have actually cut off the Germans retreat. They just didn't have the strength or logistics to do so
@@lovablesnowman of course there was opportunity..you dont have to appear so weak as to shore up a american general who preferred his own glory as opposed to the plan that cost a massive amount of lives to implement :( do ithink perhaps it would have netted as much germans as they theorised? no..i dont..but lets face it, he deviated from the general agreed plan for his own glory at the cost of his and his allies men..that is poor generalship&looking out for his own personal career :(
@@paladinbob1236 no he deviated because he didn't have the strength or logistics to cut off the Germans. It's not like HOI4 where you can just cut off and encircle armies
Maoris and Ghurkas vs. Fallschirmjägers. What is this, totally accurate battle simulator? New map 'fish market'? :)
Also polish
Maori and fish....Combat power to get some paua
Should the river Rapido be south of Casino? Could it be that the displayed map details are upside down? It makes it difficult to understand and follow the different movements.
my father was at monte cassino .he was a lieutenant commanding a 25 pounder field gun in the new zealand army.I can only say he and those with him were very fortunate not to be in the front line .the tenacity of both the allies and the germans.can only be admired .I remember my dad saying to me that he held the german fighters in high regard.The one other thing i remember him saying was he hated the german 88
The Stuka or the flak cannon?
flak cannon@@shastealyomeal
My Father was there, on the left. An Engineer Officer. While building a bridge, away from the others and his rifle he was surprised by a Fallschirmjäger with an MP 40 at the ready who suddenly appeared from the brush. They looked at each other for a moment then the German back away as he came, deciding not to kill that day. My Father learned two important lessons that day very inexpensively.
I would love to read the book, is an English version available or only German?
It is interesting to get a German perspective. The New Zealand battalion histories note that the weather and high state of the Rapido river had impacts on supplying allied troops on the north bank of the river and resulted in boggy ground conditions. Extensive mine laying on the sides of the road to Casino also limited the advance to the town.
There was a fair bit Of history between the falshirmjagers and the Kiwis dating back to North Africa, a respect for each other’s toughness and not much compassion.
The fact that so many of the allied movements over the river were observed by German forces was noted as a major hinderance to manoeuvre.
My father fought in this battle he was a Tank Commander with the 20th Armoured Regiment of the New Zealand Army. My mum and dad caught up with the veterans of the Fallschirmjager in Munich in the 1980's my dad had fought the Fallschirmjager in Crete so they had a lot to talk about. In Crete he (My dad) was wounded crossing Melene Airport with two Fallschirmjager prisoners. My dad's Sherman Mk 4 tank was knocked out probably by a Stug, but nobody got injured except for their eardrums and nerves. It was a highlight of my parents trip to Europe; catching up with their old foe. they all had a great night! Charlie Upham was also at this reunion; Charlie Upham was the most highly decorated person in the entire British Empire and a Veteran of the famous 20th Battalion as was my father. The 20th Battalion was a South Island Battalion! My father Rex Miller was awarded an oak Leaf and Bar!
An excellent video. Drach did a video on operation excess, They have almost no info from the German side- Who commanded the german forces ??? Who was responsible for their excellent tactics? Did the germans share any of this info with the Japanese? I hope you will look at that battle- sam
How accurate is Counter-Battery fire in the mountains? With all the changes in elevation and rock plus soil how do you get an accurate picture of the enemy guns' location?
Math, and terrain knowledge. If you know the approximate capabilities of a gun, you can draw a circle around the impact point, and then use a good contour map (the ones with the lines that show elevation change) to show places where artillery could be emplaced. Sound ranging had been invented by the British in WW1, and could be used alongside that, aerial recon, looking for muzzle flashes, and rough knowledge of angle of impact/fall to say "the battery is probably here."
In the modern era, we have millimeter-wave radar that can detect a shell in flight, back-calculate it's origin point down to about a meter, and give that location as GPS coordinates to a gun battery in seconds for a counter battery mission.
Thanks. Makes me wonder if instead of high explosives fuel was dropped and ignited the subsequent heat and lack of oxygen would be more effective on the troops in deep bunkers. Fire has a particularly demoralizing effect.
Does not work at all on top of a mountain or ridge. It only works in urban areas that way especially in the dehousing worker air raid campaign where the civilians died in their cellars not getting enough oxygen anymore. They had not many bunkers, just natural shelters and partly the natural cellar and underground of the Monastire, My uncle had fought there and went into canadian POW. They had been partly evacuated during the bombarding but they were using mostly natural caves or existing cellars. In those cave they sadly lost all the vine of the monestary and thought that they should had drunken that earlier instead of watching the wine running out of the barrels and the broken bottles.
@@typxxilps thanks. Newsreel footage ruclips.net/video/u8afP6GetP8/видео.html
Really rich in detail and concept, battles in Africa & Italy are all facinating, small unit battles compared to Eastern battles. Involving airforces (and/or naval) seems important to those outcomes, hard to understand why local air power did not participate, or if just poorly referenced and attested, when small #s of troops are involved. Seems like all histories of battles in Italy don't say much about local ground attacks of either side, where we see old videos of p-47s raising hell with German logistics, only big (inaccurate) bomb attacks for battles
Everyone's hiking is gangsta till the stones start talking in German.
Dear MHV,
a video about the industrial capacity of all the countrys in WW2 would be great. Its a hotly debated topic, and there are not very much well made videos / summaries or comparisons out there.
Freyberg asked for three strikes by a dozen " kitty bombers" ( P-40s) using single 1000 pound bombs. The US Army Air Force sent 142 B-17s, 47 B-25s and 40 Martin Marauders. Typical American overkill.
If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing.
@@cdgncgn More likely US air power enthusiasts decided this was a good way to demonstrate what bombers could do to support the army.
@@cdgncgn stupid comment
Just goes to show that the quality of the fighting man makes a big difference.
It would be helpful to put north designation to your actual maps, otherwise things get confusin and one has to refer to other maps for orientation.
Stormtroopers sign at 3:34 got me off guard.
In your picture of the German defence line it wasn't clear which side of the line they occupied. Earlier it was implied that the allies attacked from the south but later on it was revealed that they attacked from the top side of the picture.
thats because the front line was a series of S shaped. From the north east to the south and then west. It followed the line of the mountains I believe
My Grandfather was there 5th Inf Div 5th Rece corp. hard fighting.
Love the stormtrooper icon for a lack of accuracy
My Uncle (22) fought at Cassino, with the Armour of the 2ndNZEF. He survived, but it didn't do him much good. The Italian campaign was a long drawn out and brutal affair. Besides the fighting there were freezing temperatures, sicknesses to contend with. The allied leadership wasn't great either.