Synopsis

The documentary “Cassino then and now” describes the four battles of Cassino (World War II, Jan-May 1944, Italy) through the narratives of five different soldiers (American, New Zealander, German, French and Polish) and one italian refìugee. Each different story, told by an original language voice over, is based on an accurate historical documentation about real soldiers who died during that battle and show rare stock footage of those specific acts of war. In the film are shown some views of the Cassino area, of the Abbey and of the Gustav Line front, as they appear today compared to the same place photographed during the World War II.
The documentary have seven narrative sections which will illustrate the most salient stages of the four battles for Cassino: the attempt to crossing on the Rapido River by American soldiers; the allied aerial bombardment of the abbey of Montecassino; the Allied air bombardment of Cassino; the failed attack attempt to Montecassino by the New Zealander tankers; the strong defense of Cassino by the German Paratroopers; the breakthrough of the Gustav Line by the French; the assault on Hill 593 and the conquest of the Abbey by the Polish troops.