(18 May 2004)
1. Wide of altar
2. Offering procession
3. Bishop at altar
4. Polish police officers at altar

STORYLINE:

World War II veterans on Tuesday continued remembering the troops who died in the Battle of Monte Cassino, in Italy, one of the bloodiest of the war.

Sixty years ago, in 1944, the Monte Cassino monastery, a German stronghold that held up the Allied advance in Italy, was taken by Polish troops after bitter fighting.

According to some estimates, the Allies suffered 185-thousand casualties over a four-month period as they struggled to drive the Germans from Cassino's mountain, which served as a prime observation post.

The remembrance ceremonies honour soldiers from various nations - including Poland, Canada and New Zealand - who lost their lives in the battle.

Fighting began in January 1944 as Allied forces initiated the first of four assaults to seize the mountain and a monastery on its slopes.

The fourth battle of Monte Cassino began on May 11.

It ended when Polish troops captured the monastery on May 18.

The capture of Monte Cassino cleared the way for British and U.S. divisions to start their advance on Rome, which fell on June 4, 1944.

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