Concord Publications

The Fall of Monte Cassino

by  Robert Michulec and color plates by Dmitriy Zgonnik

Reviewed By  Howie Belkin, IPMS# 16

MSRP: $15.95 ISBN: 962-361-153-6 No. 6524 Soft cover 12" x 17.5" 52 pages plus covers, 134 black and white photos, 4 color paintings of combatants: three German and one Pole. Imported by Dragon USA (www.dragonmodelsusa.com) who provided the review copy. www.concord-publications.com Concord publishes several separate and distinct series of books, much like Osprey Publishers does, but Concord is less obvious from its book covers as to what is what. For example, Concord has a series of books all aimed at history buffs in general, but specific modeling genre like their series on specific aircraft targets aircraft modelers, AFVs for armor modelers, and military units for miniature/figure painters. This book follows the latter format established for miniature/figure painters and still holds some appeal for history buffs and AFV modelers. The traditional brief introduction is followed by a show and tell story with a plethora of never seen before photos and informative captions that flesh out the book. What makes this primarily for miniature/figure painters is that there are four very well done, full pages, full color plates that will please a miniatures figure painter. If you're accustomed to the Concord books with eight pages of great color profiles of the vehicles and weapons used, you might be disappointed. There are plenty of photos of weapons and vehicles but not in color. That's not what this book is about. True to its title, this book gives you the background leading up to the fourth and final Battle of Monte Cassino from mid-March to mid-May 1944, and then details how it was fought with great bravery and sacrifices by the Germans against American, British and Commonwealth allies and finally won by the II Polish Corps. There is enough in this photo history to keep a modeler or diorama builder - and the history buff, happy. Michulec shows and tells the story of the fighting going on in the battlefield leading up to the town, and abbey, of Monte Cassino. The first half of the book defines the defenders as comprising primarily of Luftwaffe, Fallschirmjager or Paratroop and Gebirgsjäger, or Mountain troops. In addition to the many combat and in action photos of the German weapons, machines, rock and ruins defensive positions in and around Cassino, there are photos included depicting KOed and abandoned vehicles, many in transit to a battlefield and others retreating, some rare one of a kinds, and almost all offer the modeler either painting or diorama references. Many photos are of the military leaders, but mostly of "the grunts" that fought the battle. Special attention was paid to include photos showing their weapons, uniforms, equipment and three of the four superb paintings are of Germans. Many of the Gebirgsjäger photos show them knee deep in snow, which may be of value to show a Gebirgsjäger's equipment, but are less likely to be from in and around this last Battle of Cassino. The second half of the book is the rarely told II Polish Corps point of view, divided into infantry and armor sections. The one color painting is of a sergeant of the Polish 3rd Carpathian Rifle Div. holding a captured, tattered Nazi flag, armed with the British .303 Lee-Enfield rifle. With the Polish armed forces eagle on the front of his Mk I helmet and colorful Polish shoulder insignia, he is a "natural" begging a sculptor to take up the challenge. In that the Poles were victorious, and that the authors are presumably of Eastern European or Polish descent, I would have expected and welcomed more color coverage of the Poles. A number of photographs are of Sherman's, showing some camouflage, tank names, some with welded on and overpainted extra track as spaced-armor protection, some crewmen wearing various UK or Polish headgear, even a rare Valentine bridgelayer. There are Sherman's utilizing the ever present rocks to provide some crew protection, placed around the running gear or hull when a tank was knocked out or parked for static fire support. An overturned tank doesn't reveal a large embossed mfr logo, but does show different styles of track link on the same length of track. Judges be forewarned: never say never! Rare shots of M-31 recovery vehicles, Stuarts (turreted and topless troop carriers), a White Scout car, jeeps, a former Italian Semovente 75/18 and shots of stowage all add to the value of this book. This book is recommended as a reference on the German and Polish troops and equipment during the Fall of Monte Cassino. It is not THE definitive book for the subject matter but has much to offer the figure painter, diorama and armor modeler. The history buff isn't going to find an apology or argument for the destruction of the Abbey. Many thanks to Dragon USA (www.dragonmodelsusa.com) for the review copy. Available in better hobby shops and bookstores or go to Concord Publications (this page) or Dragon Models USA, Inc.1315 John Reed Court, City of Industry, CA 91745 (626) 968-0322

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