Bowlby, Alex. Countdown to Cassino: The Battle of Mignano Gap, 1943. New York: Sarpedon, 1995.

210 pages
ISBN 1-885119-16-X

Preface; glossary; maps; photos; postscript; references; sources and bibliography; index.

Appendix: General Von Vietinghoff; German Schmeisser; POW Interrogation Report; General Hube; San Pietro.

When the Allied armies advanced from the Salerno beachhead in September 1943, the German army found that it must impose a delay on the enemy in order to provide enough time to fortify its new defensive line across the Italian peninsula. The point chosen to stall the Allies was called the Bernhardt Line and included the Mignano Gap.

Most accounts of the Italian campaign focus on the Salerno landings, the battles for Cassino, Anzio, and Operation Diadem. Alex Bowlby in this book analyzes the critical action at the Mignano Gap during which the German defenders in the Bernhardt position delayed the Allies long enough to complete the Gustav Line with its linchpin at Cassino. For two months Allied troops -- Americans, British, Free French, and Co-belligerent Italians -- were chewed up in a succession of difficult attacks. Had the Allies managed to push through the Gap and the Bernhardt Line faster, they might have been able to penetrate the uncompleted Gustav position and roll northward to Rome, thereby making the costly battles at Cassino and Anzio unnecessary.

Countdown to Cassino covers the campaign from mid-October to January as the Allies batter through the Bernhardt Line only to come face-to-face with the well-prepared Gustav Line and Monte Cassino. Operations are viewed from both perspectives -- Allied and German -- and Bowlby clearly explains not only the strengths and shortcomings of all the commanders involved, but also the difficult, bloody work of the troops on the ground.

Thanks to Sarpedon for providing this copy.