Harry commemorates Monte Cassino

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Prince Harry paid an official visit to Monte Cassino, the rocky hill eighty miles outside the Italian capital, Rome, for a commemorative service in honour of the “Forgotten Campaign” of World War Two. The famous Abbey of Monte Cassino was first established in the sixth century by St. Benedict of Nursia. Its strategic position however made it a target over the centuries and sacked repeatedly. The last and perhaps most important occasion came  seventy years ago, between January-May 1944,  when The Allies fought a vital battle with Axis Forces to gain access to Rome. The campaign was protracted and hard fought and the eventual capture of the abbey came at a high prices with some 115,000 casualties. The honour of taking the hilltop fell to Polish II Corps. For the ceremony Prince Harry wore Household Cavalry uniform, joined by Polish PM Donald Tusk and General Wieslaw Grudzinski.

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