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Originally Posted by Gator Wasn't General Freyberg one of yours?
You most likely know more about General Freyberg than I.
I had thought that while General Freyberg wanted to do the deed, along with others, that in the end the decision fell to General Alexander. |
Indeed Freyberg was commander of the New Zealand 2nd Division.
Alexander was overall campaign commander but it was Freyberg that lobbied for the monastery's bombing Alexander gave it the go ahead so there is no doubt he has to bear some responsibility just not all.
This is section I scanned from the book CASSINO - The Hollow Victory
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On 24 January, French forces attacked north of Monte Cassino to flank the German positions, but it failed. Soon after, British, New Zealand and Indian troops were called in to take the town, but the commander of the New Zealand forces at Cassino, General Bernard Freyberg, did not want to proceed until the abbey was heavily bombed. He suspected the Germans were hiding in the abbey and using it as an observation tower because their artillery fire was extremely accurate. General Clark disagreed, arguing that if the abbey was destroyed that the Germans would turn the ruins into a defensive nest that the Allies would have great difficulty neutralizing. The Allied commander in Italy, British General Harold Alexander, had the authority to approve a bombing and sided with Freyberg. The result became one of the war’s great military blunders.
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A surprisingly good book on the topic unless you are a fan of Mark Clark or anti-French then you will hate it.