rugged terrain. And for a man with Senger’s
classical background, it proved an area of in-
tense personal interest. Monte Cassino was
the site of the noted monastery of St. Bene-
dict, a treasure of ancient Christendom
harkening back to the year 529. This famous
building was the inspiration for hundreds of
other Roman Catholic retreats, was consid-
ered a work of art, and housed countless art
treasures for safekeeping during the war. No-
body could have appreciated this more than
Senger, for he carefully situated his defenses
around that noble building, but never near it.
His overall position, situated on steep, 1,700-
foot-high peaks and manned by the elite First
Parachute Division, would not require its use
anyway. He nevertheless carefully evacuated
all the monks and works of art as a precau-
tion. The general fully intended to perform his
duty yet was equally determined to spare this
priceless relic from the ravages of war.
In December 1943, a combined Anglo-Amer-
ican force under Clark and British Gen. Harold
Alexander had reached the valley and slopes
before Monte Cassino in their drive to Rome.
Their advance promptly halted after encoun-
tering the first belt of the so-called Gustav
Line, masterminded by Kesselring to impede
them. From their position high upon the
slopes, the Germans easily observed Allied
movements below them and called down a
steady stream of accurate artillery fire. Cassino
proved a difficult position to attack, a reality
underscored on February 11, 1944, when Sen-
ger’s men handily repulsed a major American
advance. Responsibility for breaking the Ger-
man line next passed to New Zealand Gen. Sir
Bernard C. Freyburg, who believed that the
Germans used the ancient abbey as an artillery
observation post. He therefore insisted that the
position be bombed into rumble before an-
other attack was attempted. Clark and Alexan-
der agonized over what to do next, but at last
they relented. On February 15, 1944, waves of
Allied bombers dropped 450 tons of high ex-
plosives upon the ancient abbey, demolishing
it. Around 300 civilians living in the villages
below were also killed.
The bombardment of Monte Cassino
sparked condemnation from Catholics
around the world, including Senger, who had
taken deliberate steps to preserve the artifact.
Clark, himself a Catholic, was apologetic but
felt that his hands were tied. Afterward, Ger-
man paratroopers occupied the ruins,
strengthening Senger’s already formidable po-
sition. The Allies experienced ample proof of
this on February 11–15, 1944, when a second
major attack by New Zealand and Gurkha
troops was repelled with heavy loss. Senger
expertly shifted his forces, deployed his guns,
and bloodily repelled a third determined at-
tempt on March 15–25. To break the impasse,
Clark ordered a large-scale amphibious land-
ing at Anzio near Rome, and Senger withdrew
men from his front line to contain it. A fourth
and final attack by Polish troops on May 18,
1944, finally carried Monte Cassino after even
more heavy fighting. Casualties were horren-
dous, with some Polish battalions reporting
losses of 70 percent! The Germans then quit
their position and retired in good order to
their next defensive line. All told, Monte
Cassino was a masterful display of defensive
tactics by Senger. His gallant stand halted a
numerically superior force enjoying complete
control of the air and inflicted more than
20,000 casualties on them.
Senger had thus far performed superbly,
but his antipathy toward Hitler and the Nazis
brought him under suspicion. After the failed
July 20, 1944, bomb plot against the Hitler, he
refused to cable congratulations or display
any joyful manifestations over the Führer’s
survival, and he became closely watched.
Rome fell in August 1944, and Kesselring’s
forces occupied a new defensive position
called the Gothic Line. Senger’s next per-
formance—moving obliquely across the
Apennines with Allied forces in hot pursuit—
was equally brilliant. At length he reached an
agreement with Kesselring that the Gothic
Line should not include the cities of Bologna,
Pisa, Lucca, and Florence, for they were too
heavily laden with artistic and historic arti-
facts. Taking the hint, the Allies also by-SENGERUNDETTERLIN, FRIDOLINVON