Rapido River, Battle of

In World War II, costly US assault on German lines in Italy based on the Rapido, a river running southwest through Cassino to meet the Garigliano River; it was a major German defensive obstacle in the Gustav Line.

The first attempt to cross 20 January 1944 was a failure, with over 1,000 killed and 600 wounded; it was this engagement that led to the name the ‘Battle of Bloody River’. The second attempt took place 24 January north of Cassino where the river was shallower; the US forces took two days to establish a bridgehead, after which reinforcements were put across and the Gustav Line was broken.