Monte Cassino; the Story of the Hardestfought Battle of World War Two

Pb, in-8, 456 pp., photos, bibliography, index. Note LT: This book contains the testimonial of Gemma Notarianni who lived in Valvori; this village was 'liberated' by goumiers who raped the women. See also p. 265 (witness Tony Pittaccio, but not clear on the village where the event took place) and the subsequent commentary on looting by all troups. MP states about the goumiers conduct: 'it is much harder, although not impossible, to find eyewitness reports that can be reliably checked.' (p. 266) On p. 343 we find the report on the village of Spigno (based on interview with an American machine-gunner and the memoir of the French nurse Solange Cuvillier). The book of James Holland (The sorrow of Italy, 2008) is more severe on these questions and he states that the misconduct of the goumiers was more like a habit, a compensation for the effort in battle.