Description: Views of the destruction of the town of Cassino and an outline of the strategic importance of the area as a way to Rome precede film of the aerial destruction of the Monastery on the hill. There are scenes of the interior of the Monastery and a close-up of leaflets to "Amici Italiani" warning the population to leave before the assault begins, describing it as a military necessity caused by the refusal of the German forces to leave. The leaflets are fired in shells. Then the air attack begins, filmed from the ground, near enough to see different areas of the Monastery being hit, including a spectacular blast and huge pall of smoke above the dome. The hill beneath the Monastery is then systematically attacked. "No one with a proper sense of values, weighing the importance of a building against the lives of our men, can do anything but fully endorse this regrettable military necessity." The German claim to have been outside the monastery before the bombing is dismissed as untrue on account of visual evidence (but none is shown).
Alternative Title:
Colour:B&W
Digitised:
Object_Number:NMV 769
Sound:Sound
Access Conditions:NON-IWM
Featured Period:1939-1945
Production Date:1944-02-28
Production Country: GB
Production Details: British Movietone News (Production company)
Sanger, Gerald (Production individual)
Craig, Gordon (Production cast)
Personalities, Units and Organisations:
Keywords:
Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W
Sound format: Sound
Soundtrack language: English
Title language: English
Technical Details: Format: 35mm
Number of items/reels/tapes: 1
Footage: 750 ft; Running time: 8 mins
