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This story was submitted to the People's War site by Katherine Wood of the 'Action Desk — Sheffield' Team on behalf of Mr. Burditt, and has been added to the site with the author's permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

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Destruction of Monte Cassino Monastery

February 15th 1944. My division plus the New Zealanders and Americans, were poised to attack Monte Cassino. We were informed that at 9 o'clock in the morning there would be a massive air attack. At 11 o'clock, there would be a barrage of all guns followed by an infantry attack at 1 o'clock in the afternoon.

It was a fine morning with a wintry sun shining. I and a few other gunners climbed a small hill, and with the aid of binoculars we could see the beautiful Monastery, which would be perhaps two and a half miles away. Just turned 9 o'clock, bombers of the American Air Force started high level bombing. Within half an hour we witnessed this beautiful building reduced to rubble, and dust was rising to a few hundred feet in the sky.

We returned to our gun position, to get ready for the barrage at 11 o'clock, when one of our officers shouted a warning. It appeared bombs were hurtling towards us. Bombs fell on the small hill where we had been and straddled our position. Luckily no one was injured from our unit, but we learned that a few gunners from the unit behind us had been killed. So friendly fire was heard of in World War Two.

For all the bombing and terrific barrage, it caused so much destruction, the attack when it came was a failure. The Monastery was a pile of rubble and Cassino was not captured until May 1944 by Polish troops. We pulled out of Cassino on my 20th birthday, 26th of March.

Historians argue, 'Was the destruction of a work of art necessary?' It appears after the war it came to light that no Germans occupied the Monastery.

Pr-BR

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