In-depth account of the daring Allied tank attack launched along
Cavendish Road during the third battle at Monte Cassino in 1944.
Early morning, 19 March 1944. Tanks manned by New Zealanders, Indians
and Americans launch a daring attack along a narrow mountain track on
German positions north of Monte Cassino. So began one of the most
audacious Allied attempts to break through the Gustav Line and advance
on Rome - and it almost succeeded. Yet the extraordinary story has
seldom been told, and it has never been told before in the vivid detail
Jeffrey Plowman brings to this new account.
Using operational orders, combat reports, unit diaries, post-battle
photos from private and public archives and the graphic personal
accounts of those who took part, he describes the construction of
Cavendish Road and the course of the entire operation that followed. The
planning for the attack and the men involved are described in a gripping
and clear-sighted way, as is the attack itself - its initial rapid
success and its ultimate failure.
Eighty years later Jeffrey Plowman reveals exactly what happened and
shows how and why this bold thrust against the German strongpoints at
Monte Cassino, which could have turned the course of the battle, ended
in retreat. His book also features a visitor's guide that covers the
length of Cavendish Road from the village of Caira to Massa Albaneta,
linking each spot with the events described in the narrative.
