OPERATION DICKENS 1518 15/3/1944 - PROGRESS REPORT

It's a little fuzzy in the picture. The NZ are making progress, but the cost is high. The FJ still have strong forces in the castle - having sent in reinforcements. The town hall area is well defended but the rest of the town unmanned. All the remaining FJ are on the lower slopes of Monte Cassino and in the two hotels. The NZ have about 2 hours of light left. At some point (not really sure what time exactly) another NZ battalion becomes available and will probably be needed. Even then, doing better than the real men on the day seems unlikely.