Veterans are marking the 60th anniversary of one of World War II’s bloodiest battles - at Monte Cassino. The Duke of Kent is joining 300 British veterans for the service in Italy to mark the end of the battle, which claimed the lives of 200,000 soldiers. Former soldiers from Poland, New Zealand, Canada and other countries will also be at Monday’s service. It took four months for Allied troops to dislodge a German rearguard from the hilltop near the town of Cassino. In a series of battles Allied troops advancing on Rome attacked retreating German forces dug in at the abbey on top of the hill. The BBC’s David Willey in Cassino said the war graves of more than 4,000 British and Commonwealth servicemen stretched in every direction from the site. He said: "You realise just what a slaughter it was. "Some of the survivors have talked about fighting a World War I battle in the second world war. It really was one of the major events of the Italian campaign."
200,000 dead - makes Iraq look like a picnic. |