60th Commemoration of the Battle of Monte Cassino

Original source: Beehive

I am honoured to be here today in the company of so many distinguished veterans, fellow New Zealanders, Italian and other friends as we gather to remember the heroism and sacrifice shown here by New Zealanders 60 years ago.

As I drove though the town of Cassino today, I found it difficult to believe that this peaceful place beneath the imposing mountain was the scene of one of the fiercest battles of the World War II - a battle that has linked this historic place with our much younger nation, New Zealand.

Earlier today, I had the opportunity to have been guided over what was the battlefield and that has given me better insight into those terrible events of 60 years ago. Needless to say I have an even deeper respect and admiration for the men and women who so bravely served their country through such a terrible event in our and your history.

Although this ancient land has been no stranger to conflict throughout its history, the battle of Cassino 60 years ago epitomises the full horror and senseless destruction of modern war. In the battle that raged here for those five months from January to May 1944, the casualties on both sides were terrible. At least 20,000 soldiers died here.

In 1944 the Liri Valley offered the allies the only route through the mountains to Rome. Monte Cassino was the key high point that blocked the entrance to the valley and from which all activity in the valley below could be monitored. New Zealand joined forces with the United States, Britain, France India and Poland in trying to capture Casino and to open the road to Rome.

On February 11 the responsibility for capturing the objective, namely the town of Cassino was passed from the US 2nd Corps to the New Zealand Corps, comprising the 2nd New Zealand Division and the 4th Indian Division. Faced with a costly frontal assault on Monte Cassino as his only option, the New Zealand Commander, General Freyberg, reluctantly ordered his troops into the fray.

The New Zealanders attacked through a maze of well-defended rubble, and against well-concealed and courageous German paratroopers. As a result, the advance soon became bogged down in bitter close quarter fighting.

Advancing slowly, street-by-street, house-by-house, and with supporting armour unable to penetrate through the rubble, the casualties soon began to rise to a level that was unacceptable to General Freyberg. On 23 March, General Freyberg admitted his division had come to “the end of its tether” and he called a halt to the attack.

For the tired and hungry New Zealanders, the withdrawal was a bitter disappointment after having endured so much, and losing so many of their mates.

The records remind us that 343 New Zealand soldiers died here during the battle. After this service I hope you will take the time to walk among the headstones of many of those New Zealanders and others, whose young lives were cut short so tragically. For it is only then, that the full scale of the disaster will become truly apparent to you.

The effect of the battle was felt across the length and breadth of New Zealand. Associated with each headstone are the countless broken hearts of the whanau and iwi, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, and the wives and children of the soldiers who fell here. Their lives, too, were permanently scarred by the effects of war.

It is difficult for those of us here today who are not veterans of the battle to imagine the terrible loss of life and destruction that occurred here. Cassino has got back on its feet, however, and it is now an active commercial and cultural centre. It can boast one of the most modern car assembly factories in Europe; it has a university with an impressive roll of students; and more poignantly, it has a monastery once again that dominates the skyline.

Now, 60 years after Monte Cassino finally fell to the allies, the direct memory of those tragic days is held by an ever-decreasing number of New Zealanders. I know that for the veterans, whom we are privileged to have here with us today, this journey will have been an emotional return to a place where as young men they endured the full horrors of war. As fit young men and women with all their lives before them, they answered their country’s call. They sacrificed their youth, and in many cases their lives, for our future. Today, we remember their service, and their sacrifice.