Both presentations were full of information. I knew a little bit about the Anzio operation, but I didn't realize how much of a seesaw there really was. It was interestingly timed, because at first the Germans wanted to keep their panzer divisions in reserve for fighting to hold the line formed by the Po River, but then changed their minds and decided to crush the Anzio beachhead and hold the Gustav line with even more reinforcements. Anzio seems to be the guiding concept battle for the later amphibious attack on Inchon during the Korean War. When the Allies found themselves stuck against an extremely defensible position, they opted to go around it to add pressure from multiple sides.
Monte Cassino was that position the Allies were stuck against. I didn't realize that the Allies bombed the monastery, and then the Germans moved in. Moreover, I think the German plan to drop paratroopers in to fortify the ruins of the monastery was a brilliant move. Like was mentioned in the presentation, it seems the Germans realized how defensible rubble can be from their experiences at Stalingrad.
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I thought it interesting, too, about the bombing of the abbey. The abbey the Americans bombed became a fortress for the Germans during the battle.
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