Big guns pound Cassino

25th April 1944: US Army heavy artillery supports British infantry in the assault on the Monastery at Monte Cassino

British gunners visit a US Army gun position at Cassino

Pvt. G. Welglars of 2612 West 24th Place, Chicago, Ill. shows the three British gunners the huge shells on the loading tray, which takes the combined efforts of four men to be lifted into position. Each shell costs £30 to produce.

The slugging match in Italy continued. At both the beachhead at Anzio and the mountaintop battles at Cassino, the front line was largely static. On bothhange of artille fronts, the excry fire was a constant companion to daily life.

… he was looking forward to ‘slinging some hot ivy at those God-damned Krauts.’

So the men in the trenches welcomed the return fire that their own side delivered. Isolated high above Cassino British troops gave names to the different calibre guns that were firing in their sector. Their principal support came from the Royal Artillery's 25 pounders, nicknamed 'Harry'. When they were joined by a battery of US Army 8 inch howitzers that got the nickname 'Horace'.