When Did Us Troops Drop Explosives At Monte Cassino. South of Monte Cassino the Gustav Line traced the course of the River Garigliano which added to the defensive qualities of the line. All possible precautions to be taken to avoid bombing abbey on Monte Cassino.
The only people in the monastery at the time of the bombings were monks and Italian citizen seeking refuge. While the French advanced on their right and the British X Corps launched an attack on their left the Americans of the 34th and 36th Divisions assaulted the. For the thousands of Allied soldiers who had fought and suffered for so long in the shadow of the abbey of Monte Cassino Tuesday morning February 15 1944 was a time of joy and celebration.
On February 15 th 1944 142 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers and 47 North American B-25 Mitchell and 40 Martin B-26 Marauder medium bombers dropped 1150 tons of explosives and reduced the abbey to rubble.
Beginning in January 1944 more than five months of bombingsincluding an Allied aircraft drop of 1400 tons of explosivesmarked the Battle of Monte Cassino as one of the longest and bloodiest engagements of the Italian campaign and ultimately destroyed the historic monastery. 142 B-17 Flying Fortress bombers 47 B-25 Mitchell bombers and 40 B-26 Marauder bombers dropped 1150 tons of high explosive and incendiary bombs on the historic Benedictine monastery atop Monte Cassino Italy. The final assault on 11 May 1944 was led by the Poles. In all they dropped 1150 tons of high explosives and incendiary bombs on the abbey reducing the entire top of Monte Cassino to a smoking mass of rubble.
