Fallschirmjäger Fighting at Cassino - German Combat Footage (WW2 Documentary)

[@BattleGuideVT]

In this video, we delve into the battles of Monte Cassino with insights from the new Book Cassino '44 by historian James Holland. Using the latest technology, unique combat footage, and veteran testimony, we bring the battlefield to life. www.amazon.co.uk/Cassino-44-Bloodiest-Italian-Campaign/dp/085750553X/

[@davidcoleman757]

My great uncle fought in North Africa, including Alamein, but the the medal he was most proud of was from the Italian campaign. He talked a lot about Africa, but rarely about Italy; the memories were too raw. The respect he gained at Cassino for the Gurkhas and the Poles lasted a lifetime.

[@NorthernTomato]

My Great Uncle was shot all up his side during this battle, he was left for dead. He was captured and put on a cattle truck to Northern Italy where he was operated on for hours...a German surgeon saved his life by removing 8 bullets. He was shipped up to Germany and then released back to the UK after the war. He caught bovine TB from the cattle truck and it laid dormant until the 1980's when it killed him.

[@BattleGuideVT]

That’s one intense story about your great uncle! Sounds like he went through a lot-definitely not your average war tale but such a sad outcome. Thanks for sharing!

[@NorthernTomato]

@@BattleGuideVT I think the fact he survived and lived for 35+ years was a positive! Looking forward to watching this video, thanks for posting.

[@BattleGuideVT]

Well yes but catching Bovine TB was unfortunate after surviving all that!

[@Sub-Kuch13.13]

This campaign was slaughter of innocent soilders😢😢😢

[@NorthernTomato]

@@Sub-Kuch13.13 45 years? That would be 1989...I'm not too sure which year he died exactly, I could do with asking my Mum.

[@jasonbutler7054]

My Grandfather served with the East Surrey Regiment and was wounded at Monte Casino he was shot in the leg. He never spoke of it and once reluctantly told me what regiment he had served with and that he served in Italy and then Greece that was it. After he passed I done some research and found out he took part in the Battle of Monte Cassino. Thank you for posting the history of the Battle it has given me a better understanding of what he took part in.

[@LondonGoldie7]

My grandad was the same. I knew he was involved in the Battle of Normandy but nothing else. When he passed we found a certificate hand-signed by King Olaf thanking him for his efforts in liberating Norway. East Surrey Regiment fought in some tricky places. I'm grateful to your grandfather.

[@kiwigaming1605]

Thanks for mentioning the 2nd New Zealand Division!

[@hamish1309]

Maori battalion as well.

[@mikem443]

Kia Ora tehei Māori Ora

[@kiwichris2971]

@@hamish1309 The 28th Maori Battalion were some of the toughest, bravest and most loyal soldiers in the Allied army who's heroic efforts were not fully recognised at the time. Honour to them all, Kia Kaha!

[@JO-go9jj]

My Grandfather was a machine gunner in the NZ corps - he said the worst thing he ever saw was a bunch of Americans march in twin formation straight into the range of the Germans gunes - they were wiped out in seconds. He said they had no idea......

[@RaytheonTechnologies_Official]

Really great use of 3D maps to give a real sense of the lay of the land, and why this ground had to be fought over. I've previously read a lot about this battle, but this is the first time that I've got a good sense of how all the engagements related to reach other from a spacial perspective. I hope to see more content like this about other history battles, excellent stuff.

[@Keith-wz1tw]

Dad was in the 34th 185 field artillery. His 155 howitzer fired 66 rounds in ten minutes into the abbey on February 15. The air bombings missed twice and finally hit the abbey the third run. Some bombs hit Venafro 10 miles away. Mark Clark personally saw my dad through field glasses and awarded dad the silver star with oak leaves. He said anybody that came home from the war and wanted to talk about it hadn’t seen as much as we did .

[@Slap0ho]

Thank you for posting this, I never fully understood this battle despite having a grandfather that served with the 36th infantry division and sustaining his war ending wound here from a German mortar. It’s a shame that this battle is largely forgotten.

[@montarakid1943]

Your skill with map usage is unparalleled. Frankly, unique to WWII documentaries. Well done chaps!

[@condelocatelli7172]

My Nonna lived close to Cassino. The things she saw being only 11 years old... She helped to bury the polish soldiers there and her neighbors and her brother as well.

[@owmordejezycy]

This battle is legendary in Poland, we even have a famous song about it. 'Red poppies on Monte Casino'. The song reflects on the sacrifice and bravery of the soldiers who fought in the battle, symbolized by the red poppies that grew on the battlefield (and resembling the colour of blood). Still, it is utter horror and madness when you think about the immense lose of life during those couple of months...

[@wasserungeheuer-918]

My grandfather fought at monte cassino as part of the 5th mountain division. Nice to hear some in depth analysis of the battle and what he had to endure

[@Tape231]

This goes for all your videos, but it is amazing how well this breaks down the battle and shows the scale of what actually happened. I am always floored by how much I learn from watching your videos, especially for a battle that people know the name of, but hardly any of the details. Its one thing to hear the names of places, read the casualty reports, and see the dates of this drawn out battle, but to see it to scale with overlaid photos and videos just does so much more. I am forever thankful that I found this channel and hope that I can see this channel grow as more people realize how amazing it is. Keep up the great work and may we all remember these men's sacrifices.

[@steverosie4641]

Agreed. The map overlays are brilliant.

[@DanteTheAbyssalBeing]

My great grandad was at Monte Cassino with the Royal Engineers. It's easy to understand why he was such a quiet and stoic gentleman when I knew him in his 90s, knowing he had experienced something so horrible, even younger than I am now. Poor bugger was in Dunkirk and North Africa too.

[@BattleGuideVT]

Thank you for sharing your great grandad's story. It's a powerful reminder of the resilience and bravery of our ancestors. Their legacy lives on through us.

[@DanteTheAbyssalBeing]

@@BattleGuideVT it's my privilege. I love the channel.

[@Leslie-t1i]

My grandad was there he got shot in his mouth.......he never talked about it.

[@dwaynekoblitz6032]

So many story lines involved in this. Just the story of the Poles alone is practically unbelievable. Such bravery. So many people died for that hill. May God bless them all. 💯❤️

[@necroparagon7226]

I always appreciate just how high the production value is in these videos and how informative you guys make them. I've never seen a channel covering battles that actually made me fully grasp every little detail of the battlefield and the context. Amazing work. Love you all.

[@BattleGuideVT]

Wow, thank you!

[@nomorenoless7656]

A great video showing just how essential the contributions from countries in the former British Empire really were.

[@brettcurtis5710]

Thanks for a mention of the Kiwis - this battle has come to be regarded as NZ's WW2 Passchendaele - our bloodiest battle ever. The 2NZ Division was pushed to the limit at Cassino, and Gen Freyberg was well aware that the NZ Govt would not countenance the loss of so many of it's men - he even told his superiors, Mark Clark and Alexnder as much! The division did reform and re-enforce with men draw from the disbanded 3d Div in the Pacific and soldiered on with 8th Army till the bitter end at Trieste in May 1945. Over 100,000 men and women served in WW2 from a population of only 1.5 million, a big effort from a small country - Kia kaha - lest we forget!

[@Beerpopnana]

Many thanks for for your latest video. My Uncle Michael Platt was in the Grenadier Guards and was badly wounded at Monte Cassino. Thanks again.

[@BattleGuideVT]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@volairn70]

Your videos are fantastic. I visited Cassino in 1989, and would have loved to have had this with me at the time. Maybe time for me to go back.

[@BattleGuideVT]

Thank you and yeah... get your gear together and head back to the battlefields. :)

[@clivegeary4587]

Great video and review. My father was at Monte Cassino from the beginning to the end. It must have seemed to him that the hell of it all would never end as he had previously been at the battle of El Alamein in North Africa. I still have many photos and a Regimental Battle history which he gave me from this period.

[@Patrick-fo9he]

I’ve just finished the video, I’m sorry for bombing your comments section but I just have to say again how blood good this video is, really well done, it’s the best video I’ve seen of any war. You’ve got a big fan here guys I’ll be binging your content all day today

[@ChullsterOG]

My grandfather was in the Cheshire regiment, was at Tubruk, Sicily and he mentioned this infamous place too. Rest in peace Charley Graves

[@thedudeabides3138]

This has been a terrific watch, the visuals gave me a real sense of orientation and the accompanying narration was really well constructed with a lot information conveyed with brevity. You can be very proud of this, thank you.

[@ak9989]

I have two uncles that fought near here. One in the 45th and one in the 36th division. Both infantry. They both came back with severe ptsd.

[@BattleGuideVT]

It was a hellish battlefield!

[@Sub-Kuch13.13]

My Grandfather told me of the horrors & slaughter of the campaign😢 My humble gratitude for both, a duty to mankind. ⚔️Gurfateh ji⚔️⚔️

[@ak9989]

Indeed it was, he was in and out of the VA ptsd​@@BattleGuideVT

[@YourAbeFroemann]

Yours is a superlative channel. The usage of map/aerial photographic/ and modern overlays are, in my estimation without peer on this platform. Well Done & Many Thanks

[@philwomack6841]

As always, an excellent video that honours the men who took part in these battles. My father served on HMS Spartan, which was sunk while supporting the Anzio landings. A German glide bomb (JDAMs are nothing new) struck one of the ship's boiler rooms. Thankfully for me, it wasn’t the one where he was stationed as a stoker.

[@Patrick-fo9he]

Also what a grate GRATE video this is. Really mate I watch maybe 2 war documentaries every day for the last 3 or 4 years and I’ve watch allot befor that. This is well up there with one of the best is seen. Grate job buddy 😊.

[@alex4833]

Excellent video, Battle Guide team! I had learned a bit about the battles of Monte Cassino before, but learned even more here. As with other videos by Battle Guide, I especially like the maps. They are very helpful and provide a superb visual guide. You covered a lot of information in just 24 minutes also. The narration by Dan Hill was great too. He did a great job providing a concise, intriguing, and informative overview of the battle and the brutal struggles that allied forces endured. Excellent work again Battle Guide team! I will see if my local bookstores have copies of Cassino 44. Take care 😊.

[@krzysztof4068]

Thank you for this video

[@jesso777]

Awesome account. Not wanting to compete with CASSINO 44, but there is another account from the German side and that's Monte Casino by Sven Hassel. It's based on fictional characters pegged to real events. Entertaining.

[@mvs7138]

The quality of these videos is amazing. Well done

[@BattleGuideVT]

Glad you like them!

[@annehersey9895]

I’d like to know WHAT on earth made Winston Churchill ever think that Italy would be easy as ‘The soft underbelly of Europe!’. When the war was over, Italy STILL hadn’t been taken!

[@chuckyaegar7691]

It's almost like the Churchill myth might not stand up to scrutiny.

[@Melonfeast]

Churchill was hesitant to attack fortress Europe, very unsure of his men to handle the task. He went to all these big meetings telling leaders it’s the soft underbelly and sold it to them. Nothing soft about that underbelly.

[@Melonfeast]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJuaZoGio6yLrMUsi=auPaGssRVbhTomCB

[@seanlander9321]

Churchill was an egotistical maniac. His military failures, grand schemes and inability to plan were legendary.

[@xne1592]

My father fought in WW2, 4th Indian i think. North Aftica, Sicily Italy and Greece. He was at Cassino with the Gurkhas and Poles, and took part in the Anzio landings. The only time he was wounded badly enough to need medical treatment was as a result of being bombed by the American air force at Cassino. As he got older, especially when the Falklands war was being fought, he would recount his experiences. Some amusing, some not..

[@harpreetsinghpannu7247]

4 th Indian Division also know as another river crossing Division,there was a saying in the allied forces you want to cross a river just call on the 4 th Indian Division

[@guybevan5853]

Hi, my Grand Father was an officer an Indian Division, also fought in North Africa, Sicily, and Cassino, lots of stories, but survived the war.

[@2kt2000]

Well done. At only 24 minutes it somehow felt in depth, a testament to your skill. ALSO you use MAPS 😊 yes.

[@BattleGuideVT]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you found it in-depth and enjoyed the use of maps. They really help to illustrate the points better!

[@petrairene]

My grandfather fought there, on the German side. Survived and was taken prisoner.

[@Loki52020]

My great uncle survived all 4 years in Russia never met him. Ok h the stories he could recount

[@pomicultorul]

I just discovered this channel; incredible graphics and overall quality, thank you!

[@nails3394]

Thankyou...simple well told brilliance, seeing now what you have taken time to do....a history and story told in fair terms, with so many fantastic little touches bothe grafic's wise plus narrative....not often achieved by many. Thankyou...because two of my uncles were there....passed on now of course , but they would have been so thankfull....so i thankyou 🙏👌

[@BattleGuideVT]

Many thanks!

[@CF_-vz2kn]

Absolutely brilliant graphics again on this. Very well told

[@Sub-Kuch13.13]

14:45 The ⚔️Sikhs⚔️ & Gurkas were the largest part of the 4th Indian Division. My Granfather a Sikh, was the lucky few who lived to tell me about this slaughter of Monte Cassino. "Too many kill for a very small gain." Was always his words😢 "Poor planing & no regards for human life, we were only numbers"😢😢 ⚔️Gurfateh ji⚔️⚔️

[@juliansalmon5347]

I visited the Cassino war cemetery and it is shocking to see so many graves of people from all over the world who were involved in this single horrific battle. I read James Holland's book of the battle and it must have been a complete madness of humankind.

[@Sub-Kuch13.13]

​@@juliansalmon5347 As normal human beings, we have learned the lesson about the destruction from any war, but our governments, nowadays thinking is that it is good business practice. 😮😢😮😢

[@emiliodechiro6108]

I've been many times to Casino, with my Nonno,and Nonna, with my father and uncle when they were alive in the 70s, visited all the graves a very moving place, and the monestry is an amazing place to visit, my family are from Caserta, opposite the Royal Palace, where the Americans were based, prior them going to Anzio

[@finlaycowan3681]

The production of this documentary is superb - I haven't seen anything quite like it. I only wish it was three times as long!

[@RivetGardener]

Excellent illustration and description of how Monte Cassino played into the part of the assault on Rome, Anzio Beachead, The Rapido Crossing and all that on the Gustav Line. This cleared it up so well and laid the strategy out so concisely. Well done! Never knew Mone Cassino had anything to do with this. Everything I read sort of covered it as a singular battle; now I know. My uncle was a US Army medic, and was wounded in Anzio, evacuated to Britain. He survived the war as did his brother and my dad.

[@paulausten5786]

My grandfather fought & was wounded at Cassino as part of the Indian 4th Division. He convalesced by nuns who taught him to embroider. We have the Royal Sussex crest he did while there on parachute silk.

[@robertmiller2173]

My father was a Tank Commander of a Mk4 Sherman with the 20th Armored Regiment from the NZEF. His tank got hit but survived etc. I would love to contact any sons of the Fallshirmjager as I am planning to go to Germany next year. My dad was on Cavendish Rd.

[@AnthonyEvelyn]

The German paras put up stiff resistance there. Rest in peace to the fallen.

[@billistefansson5309]

Excellent work! The visuals and the maps are top notch. Thank you. Billi.

[@bigsarge2085]

Fascinating!

[@Brian_is_unconnected]

your videos are always top class!

[@ProfessorM-he9rl]

Excellent post, thank you.

[@nocomment3677]

I always feel so bad for the Poles. Britain and France ostensibly went to war to free Poland from Nazi occupation (not that things would've gone well for the French either way, given Hitler's feelings). Despite fighting with and for the Allies, at the end of 6 years of brutal fighting, terror, starvation, torture and an astonishing death toll, Poland ended the war still occupied by the government of a murderous dictator - but this time it was Stalin and the USSR and it would last half a century.

[@crimson5664]

But we are still here and kicking at the rightful place. Like they say - Lie is fast but Truth has endurance. Thanks for the memory tho.

[@Patrick-fo9he]

In the first minute of the videos, in WW2 if you see a German soldier alive or dead with helmet like that and you know your in for rough time. No one wants to go up and German paratroopers in WW2 them boys where up there with these worries in the world

[@vincentmanion7990]

Great video! The visuals are fantastic. I highly recommend reading Matthew Parker's book on the struggle: Monte Cassino - The Hardest-Fought Battle of World War II. It gets down into the nitty gritty of the battle from the front lines to the weather and supply problems that plagued the Allies attempts to breach the German line. Most of the action is described by 1st person accounts of the horror and brutality here.

[@ericmailander3361]

How did he come up with those over-inflated casualty figures?

[@vincentmanion7990]

Which casualty figures?

[@ericmailander3361]

@@vincentmanion7990 All of them! He claimed 350,000 casualties but my research, and most source agree, that there were actually just 55,000 casualties.

[@vincentmanion7990]

@@ericmailander3361 In the video, or the book I mentioned? Are you talking about the entire Italian Campaign or just Monte Cassino casualty numbers?

[@PvtSchlock]

34 Red Bull was my granddad division although he'd already been captured in North Africa by this time. No coincidence that the ID with "Attack! Attack! Attack!" for its motto had to be completely reformed so many times throughout its history.

[@tremendousbaguette9680]

As always, I enjoy your excellent use of maps on the operational and strategic level. Did you cover the Moro river campaign and the battle of Ortona already?

[@johnking8724]

as always Outstanding presentation ! as 6th generation American by Birth, & 6th generation Southern by the Grace of God, as man of certain age, whose father was WW2, as was 98% of the family men in out area of the city as young boy my best friend`s father was in this battle, & he was one tough SOB !!! was quiet BUT carried a Big Stick !

[@toddburks9182]

Great video and insight.

[@ak9989]

It wasn't just Gurkhas from the 4th Indian division that died. Punjab, Baluchs, Sikhs too

[@gabrielmeneghetti1474]

great video! one of the best i've seen, but how come there is no mention about the Brazilians in this video?

[@TheIrishvolunteer]

Great video, reminds of your work on Gallipoli what with the high hils, spectacular views, and bloody fighting.

[@reddevilparatrooper]

The Germans using the terrain with good observation can track and predict and anticipate the movement of Allied Forces with precision. Very easy for a defending force once established, commanders and forward observers can establish Target Reference Points or TRPs on their maps to target any movement to their front with artillery and mortars to their front. Infantry units established interlocking fires to make the Allied attackers fail in any attempt to breach or flank positions. Your enemy is a thinking one, they will do their best to kill you before you are going to kill them.

[@notilt9014]

Well, sadly there is a lack of brazilian fighting in the video, in any case, nice work!

[@ericmailander3361]

I don't think that they were involved at Monte Cassion although they did fight in other areas of Italy.

[@John14-6...]

I never understood the bombing of the abbey, because it didn't do anything to unlodge the Germans from the high ground.

[@14rnr]

I love your videos

[@thomasdavison7184]

My grandfather fought here. He was from Texas. Now I know the Texas reserve units were here I know why.

[@ChrisLambert-Yngvegodi]

My uncle was a stretcher bearer there, he didn't talk about it. He'd talk about his time in Burma though, just read Spike Milligan, that's where he got shell shocked.

[@Bayomeer]

Epic!

[@AmericanFightingMan]

So that tank that was converted into a memorial is actually a NZ tank? I saw it during my visit a year ago and always thought it was Polish

[@gregski4130]

It is the tank from Polish 2nd Armoured Brigade, 4th Armoured Regiment. It was commanded by lieutenant Ludomir Białecki. It drove on the stack of mines and exploded. All crew died. It happened 12th of May 1944

[@Neal_Schier]

Great graphics and images. I wish you would keep them on the screen for much longer to allow the viewer's gaze to linger for a minute or two. I have to keep stopping and starting the video to enjoy the information being presented.

[@BattleGuideVT]

Noted!

[@RalphBrooker-gn9iv]

This is excellent. Thank you.

[@rudolphpohl4115]

Even the "English" divisions seem to consist mostly of Indians, New Zealanders, South Africans, Canadians etc etc. In fact, an actual Englishman would be very difficult to find. Of course, some real fighting needed to be done...so that would be the reason.

[@BattleGuideVT]

Which division?

[@Blackfoxparadox]

My grandfather was a captain in the indian army that stormed this .he lost two friends to a grenade and had to shoot a german begging him to be put out of his misery..Thats all we knew he threw out his medals and never talked about it

[@Sub-Kuch13.13]

@@Blackfoxparadox My Grandfather (Sikh) was in the 4th Indian Division. The slaughter & horror was beyond anything with bodies & parts just everywhere & the smell of death. My humble gratitude for his duty to mankind.😪😪 ⚔️Gurfateh ji⚔️⚔️

[@Blackfoxparadox]

@@Sub-Kuch13.13 U believe two indian regiments went up. I dont know which one he was in. and all stories are from my mother and grandmother. He was deeply effected and missed his friends. I know he was pinned down and a grenade dropped in his fox hole. he survived unharmed his two friends killed. Kenneth Saxby was his name who knows maybe they fought together

[@Sub-Kuch13.13]

@@Blackfoxparadox The ⚔️Sikhs⚔️ & Gurkas made it up to the monastery at the cover of night. Captured the monastery for a few hours, but reinforcements & communications were lost. My Grandfather & his comrades were captured before dawn, & the Germans regained their position again.

[@ItzBolbert]

Commenting for the algorithm!

[@HadesFebruus]

In memory of Sgt Pearson and his platoon ambushed by Falllschirjager during a patrol , they all rest in a line either side of him in Cassino cemetery, he became a Sgt knowing it would help his widow and son should he fall. ...

[@xlbubblehead2505]

It makes you realise, we are just fodder

[@MoneyshotMan]

How horrible to call them d-day dodgers people lost their lives for this point and yet media sits in a cushy office and slanders them how tragic

[@cuqrious]

Pity my cousin is no longer alive, he was wounded at Cassino. He could have told me the undistorted truth about the Kiwis contribution.

[@rogerr2796]

There was value in taking Rome, an Axis capital. But after that, pushing up the rocky Italian peninsula seemed to me to be a waste of lives. France is where the war would be decided.

[@Niels_Dn]

23:04 these Guys are so badass. They fought super hard for months and still look strong and some even have a smile on their face.

[@paddy.7784]

Being indoctrinated Nazi's, helped their badarse attitude. Hope they were still smiling when the Russians took Berlin. Bet their fraulein's weren't.

[@seanlander9321]

In 1950 Alan Moorhead visited Monte Casino, which had one telephone, not a single flushing toilet, people living underground, and peculiarly the women didn’t wash their hair, ever. It was a wasteland of uneducated backwardness and extraordinary poverty that he wrote of in his book, The Villa Diana.

[@BobBob-yd8xf]

Imagine if Germany had better friends back then! The whole world would be speaking German!

[@allesiofondressi2602]

The second war on architecture, don't ask why.

[@gregk.6723]

Once again, the Poles kicked ass.

[@Chevelle602]

I think the Mediterranean is far more interesting than Normandy.

[@dreamjackson5483]

❤❤❤

[@yvangascogne]

French tirailleurs from North Africa did take Monte Cassino yelling Allah Akbar ! True fact

[@benjaminarrola3596]

The Brazilian force expeditionary fight in cassino, braves Warriors of Brazil smoke snakes 🐍🇧🇷

[@ericmailander3361]

I don't think they fought at Cassino but other areas of Italy.

[@benjaminarrola3596]

@ericmailander3361 yes!

[@janlindtner305]

👍👍👍

[@barefootmedia648]

Good vid, although the mispronunciations of Italian words and place names is grating. AI narration?

[@BattleGuideVT]

Whichblanguage did you listen in? The original audio is in English and not AI

[@jamesvandemark2086]

NONE of this video was German footage, btw.

[@BattleGuideVT]

NONE? Have you gone a bit too far there?...

[@petehoney1]

Mean while .. on the Russian Front 🤔

[@thatkindasux]

23:45 looks to be an A20 not a B26.