Monte Cassino January-May 1944: The Legend of the Green Devils

In early 1944, two Allied armies were poised to launch a massive assault against German forces in central Italy to open the way north to Rome. Obstructing them was the Gustav Line: the most formidably constructed defensive line the Western Allies would ever come up against. There were three routes of attack to choose from. The fastest one passed directly through the Liri valley, but it demanded the perilous fording of the Rapido River. The second possible route involved outflanking the Gust...