• January 04, 1944


    The Battle of Monte Cassino, Lazio, Italy, begins. German and Italian soldiers fight the Allies in a series of battles that last until May 1944. The Allies emerge victorious.

    — Photogravure showing a view of the Abbey of Monte Cassino before Allied bombings destroyed the building during World War II, Hielscher, 1922, Columbus Centre Collection

  • January 22, 1944


    The Allies land at Anzio, Lazio, Italy.

  • March 24, 1944


    German soldiers kill 335 Italians at the Ardeatine caves in Rome. The massacre was the German military's response to an attack carried out by Italian partisans the previous day. 

  • June 04, 1944


    The Allies enter Rome.

    — Entry of Allied forces into Rome, Italy, G. Barry Gilroy, June 4, 1944, Lieut. G. Barry Gilroy / Canadian Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada / PA-140135