Robert Edsel's Blog

Perhaps one of the most controversial and misguided decisions of World War II was made when General Mark Clark of the U.S. Fifth Army ordered the Abbey of Monte Cassino to be bombed. Some Allied leaders, as well as the soldiers on the ground fighting the terrible battle of Monte Cassino and the general public, believed that the Germans occupied the monastery and were using it as an observation point. The Abbey of Monte Cassino had become a symbol of defeat, and many felt that the Allies could not advance until it was destroyed.

On February 15, 1944, Allied pilots were told that their “target is a huge ancient monastery which the Germans have chosen as a key defense point and have loaded with heavy guns…In the past few days this monastery has accounted for the lives of 2,000 American boys…this Monastery MUST be destroyed and everyone in it as there is no one in it but Germans.”[1] From 9:28 am to 1:33 pm, 453.5 tons of bombs were dropped on the Abbey of Monte Cassino. The abbey, founded in AD 529 and the birthplace of the Benedictine order, was bombed into oblivion.

Nazi Field Marshal Kesserlring’s headquarters was informed of the bombings by 10:30 am. “His chief of staff, Major-General Siefgried Westphal, asked by telephone, “Has it done us any harm from a military point of view?” He was told by his counterpart at the Tenth Army, “No, because we are not occupying it.” [2]

The Vatican quickly responded, calling the destruction of the abbey “a colossal blunder” and a “piece of gross stupidity.” Thankfully, the lesson was learned and the Monuments Men swung into full action shortly after the bombing of the Abbey. They sought to ensure that historic monuments were never again treated with such disregard, or destroyed so carelessly.

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[1] David Hapgood and David Richardson. Monte Cassino: The Story of the Most Controversial Battle of World War II. Cambridge: Da Capo, 2002.

[2] Ibid.

After six weeks of fighting across “Purple Heart Valley”, US Fifth Army in Italy finally reached the Gustav line on January 15, 1944. Before them lay the long road to Rome.  On January 17, British X Corps attempted to break the Gustav Line by crossing the Garigliano River. This marked the beginning of the Battle of Monte Cassino – a battle that would last four months, and become one of the most controversial and devastating of the war.

The Gustav Line was anchored by the town of Cassino, and the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Cassino above it. Because some allied leaders believed that the Germans were using the abbey  as an observation point, the thousand-year old building became the focus of much debate. On the one hand, General Eisenhower had issued an order just weeks earlier, stating that “we are bound to respect those monuments as far as war allows.” However, as the battle dragged on and the number of casualties quickly climbed into the tens of thousands, the abbey increasingly became seen as a symbol of Nazi strength, and one that must be destroyed if the Allies were to advance to Rome.

The abbey would not be destroyed by Allied bombing until February 15, but in the early days of battle the monks living in the abbey had already begun to experience the war first hand. This is an excerpt from a monk’s diary, dated January 18:

“At noon a shell hit in the Fossa [the ravine behind the Abbey]. It killed a woman and wounded several others, among them a girl of 20 months…The Anglo-Americans are firing on the Fossa because they see movement there…Only God can save us. One day perhaps we will find out the reason for things that seem somewhat mysterious.”{Footnote 1}

It is no wonder the monks thought the attack of the abbey so mysterious – as the Allies discovered after the bombing of the monastery, the Germans had not been occupying the building after all. Luckily, the destruction of Monte Cassino served as an important lesson for Allied leaders – and soon after Monuments Man Deane Keller was attached to Fifth Army.

Footnote 1: David Hapgood and David Richardson. Monte Cassino: The Story of the Most Controversial Battle of World War II. Cambridge: Da Capo, 2002. Pg 109.