European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 16, 1945, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Souvenir a German Skull under its paratrooper Ai i 2i i t 5 3 the pictures on these and the following pages were taken by yank photographer George Aarons a year after the terrible siege of Cassino began in january they show As clearly As a camera can what happened to a town caught Between modern the name of Cassino was famous for in its great Benedictine monks had kept learning alive in the Middle to the nazis All the Abbey meant was a Good observation Post commanding the Allied route so we eventually had to destroy after a two month stalemate the allies launched a terrific bombardment on 15 by air and Cassino was smashed but we failed to take the Hills by storm and the germans found new shelter in the to the allies the town itself was not the objective so much As the Hills behind it and the Road which led to but Cassino caught fac a 1 and so did the new gurkhas and poles who fought they were All ground Down in the it was a Battle of frightening where the enemy might be holed in under the next pile of where it was suicide to move in and porters carried food and ammunition into the town at creeping close to the shattered for weeks not a House changed and then attacks would Start which might retake a few Hundred at great from their positions on the Hills the nazis could watch every mule and jeep for the allies were blocked for four in the German held Hills were outflanked and but Cassino was never Cap tured by direct Cassinos present monuments Are crumbled Walls As Gray As the stagnant water in Crater lakes and shredded bits of the Panorama shows what a nazi m Locking South from the Abbey during Tho Battle for it emphasizes the great problems of terrain which held up the be Low the German was Cassino Center foreground and on a Clear Day he cow see of for or farther than these mountains of the Moin Aroe Cayey the marshy Valley of the which gis colled the Valley of the purple powerful bold amasses he Evold spot every movement on Highway 6 right Center of pict vie Wowch is part of the main route Between Naples and h made that As Well an the Railroad curving at extreme unusable for the in coming from the South freeze supplies were at skirting the mountains in the background Ami entering Costino from the left of it if