The Italian Campaign featuring Salerno, Anzio & Monte Cassino


12 days from £1,699pp

About the tour: The Italian Campaign featuring Salerno, Anzio & Monte Cassino


Tour Introduction

In September 1943, during World War 2, British troops landed at Salerno as a result of Operation Avalanche. This led Winston Churchill to see Italy as the ‘soft under-belly’ of the Third Reich and a costly battle in the country followed. On this tour we take a look at some of the most iconic battles such as the landings at Anzio and the fighting for Monte Cassino. We also see how different nations played a role in the battles in Italy, as we see sights such as the Polish Cemetery at Cassino.

Tour Includes


  • 11 nights hotel with continental breakfast
  • 9 evening meals
  • Specialist Battlefield Guide
  • Convenient local joining points
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(Deposits from £150pp)

Once you have booked your battlefield tour either online, or by telephone (), you have the flexibility of how you pay off the remainder of your balance. You can -

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  2. Send payments via online banking.
  3. Send payments via cheque.
  4. Call us and make a card payment, either a small amount or as lump sum until your final due date.

Our contact and online banking payment details will be on your confirmation invoice to remind you of your choices.

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Tour Itinerary

Travel with us on a new version of this classic battlefield tour for the 80th Anniversary year, looking at the story of the 'Tough Old Gut' - the hard-fought war in Italy 1943-45 which cost over 300,000 casualties. Our highlights include Salerno, Anzio and Cassino, and places where the battles took place along the Adriatic coast.

Day 1

Local departure by coach or Door-to-Door service, then to northern France for an overnight stay.

Day 2

To the Cremona or Milan area for an overnight stay.

Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 3

Continue south through Italy, making a stop at Florence War Cemetery en-route to Cassino for a five-night stay.

Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Florence War Cemetery

Florence War Cemetery (2)

Key Visits

  • Florence War Cemetery

Day 4 - Salerno & Caserta

We begin our tour at Salerno where Operation Avalanche brought American and British forces ashore in September 1943. We see Salerno War Cemetery and then drive along the beachhead from the British to the American sector. We have the lunch period in Paestum, where fighting took place among the Greco-Roman Ruins, and then travel back via Caserta to visit Caserta War Cemetery and the grave of England Cricketer, Hedley Verity.

Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Salerno war Cemetery

Salerno war Cemetery (4)

Key Visits

  • Salerno war Cemetery
  • Beachhead area
  • Paestum Ruins
  • Caserta War Cemetery

Day 5 - The Battles of Cassino

We look at the fighting for Cassino in 1943 and 1944, visiting the Mignano Gap to see the war museum and Italian Cemetery, and then follow the Allied advance to the ‘Winter Line’ and visit the memorials along the Rapido river. After lunch, we visit Cassino War Cemetery and the Cassino Memorial and then travel into the Liri Valley to look at the final battles for Cassino and the attack on the Hitler Line.

Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Cassino War Cemetery

Cassino War Cemetery (6)

Key Visits

  • Rapido River Memorial
  • Liri Valley
  • Cassino War Cemetery
  • Mignano Gap Battlefield
  • Mignano Gap War Museum
  • Amazon Bridge Memorial

Day 6 - Monte Cassino

This morning we journey up to Monte Cassino and see the Polish Cemetery and battlefield area where they fought for the capture of the monastery, and then visit the Monte Cassino Monastery with its impressive views. After lunch, we have a walking tour of Cassino Town seeing where the fighting was in 1944, and then travel to Minturno War Cemetery to see where the British soldiers killed on this part of the Italian front are buried.

Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Polish Cemetery, Monte Cassino

Polish Cemetery, Monte Cassino (5)

Key Visits

  • Monte Cassino
  • Polish Cemetery, Monte Cassino
  • Minturno War Cemetery
  • Cassino Town: Sherman Tank

Day 7 - Anzio

Today, we look at the Battle of Anzio, seeing the Sicily Rome American War Cemetery at Nettuno before having our lunch period in the seaside town of Anzio. After we see the Anzio War Museum, Anzio War Cemetery and the Beachhead Cemetery, before going to the infamous Flyover at Campo di Carne, the scene of heavy fighting in 1944.

Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Sicily Rome American Cemetery, Anzio

Sicily Rome American Cemetery, Anzio (6)

Key Visits

  • Anzio War Museum
  • Anzio Flyover
  • Anzio War Cemetery
  • Beach Head War Cemetery, Anzio
  • Sicily Rome American Cemetery, Anzio

Day 8 - Sangro River & Ortona

Leaving Cassino, we cross the mountains to the Adriatic coast and see the Sangro River War Cemetery overlooking the valley where fighting took place in 1943. After lunch we look at the Canadian advance on Ortona, seeing the Sterlin Castle battlefield and the Moro River Canadian War Cemetery. We have time in Ortona itself to see where the street fighting took place in December 1943, and then we depart for an overnight stay in the Montesilvano area.

Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Ortona

Ortona (5)

Key Visits

  • Ortona
  • Sangro War Cemetery
  • Moro River Canadian War Cemetery
  • Sterlin Castle

Day 9 - The Gothic Line

We continue along the Adriatic coast to where the Gothic Line battles were fought in September 1944, seeing the Coriano Ridge War Cemetery and Rimini Ghurka Cemetery. After lunch, we travel up to the Ravenna area for an overnight stay.

Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Coriano Ridge War Cemetery

Coriano Ridge War Cemetery (2)

Key Visits

  • Coriano Ridge War Cemetery
  • Rimini Gurkha War Cemetery

Day 10

We depart the Ravenna area and cross the area of the final battles in Italy in 1945, pausing for lunch before we continue to our overnight hotel in the Austrian Tyrol.

Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 11

Travel through Germany to Belgium for an overnight stay.

Included meals: Breakfast

Day 12

Return home.

Included meals: Breakfast

Pre-Tour Reading

A selection of related books for pre or post tour reading.

  • Blackwell, I. - Anzio (Pen & Sword 2006)
  • Caddick-Adams,P. - Monte Cassino: Ten Armies in Hell (Preface 2012)
  • Ford, K. - Monte Cassino 1944 (Osprey 2004)
  • Konstam, A. - Salerno 1943 (Pen & Sword 2007)
  • Orgill, D. - The Gothic Line (various editions)
  • Rowe, P. - Monte Cassino: Then & Now (After the Battle 2011)
  • Zaloga, S.J. - Anzio 1944 (Osprey 2005)

Passenger Information

The Tour


The Italian Campaign Battlefield Tour takes in the key areas of fighting from the invasion of mainland Italy in September 1943 to the breakout at Cassino and Anzio in May 1944. We will also have a look at some of the fighting on the Gothic Line in August/September 1944.

Foreign Currency


The Italian Campaign tour takes place in mainland Europe and therefore you will only need the Euro. You are advised to get Euros – in cash – in advance of your tour, as most banks in Italy do not provided currency exchange services.

What to Bring


The weather in Italy can be extreme - very hot and sometimes very wet and cold. So it is advisable to bring sensible clothing to cater for this; loose clothing for the hot weather, a hat and sun cream are all idea. Pack a fleece and waterproof – just in case! When we visit sites like the Monastery at Monte Cassino you will not be allowed to dress in shorts, so make sure you have at least one pair of trousers. Your guide will advise during the tour. As some of the terrain we visit can be rough you are also advised to have some sensible shoes; a pair of good trainers or walking boots being ideal.

Specialist Battlefield Guides

All of Leger’s battlefield tours are accompanied by specialist guides. Their individual in-depth knowledge of warfare will be informative, as well as enhance your overall experience, as they recreate a fascinating perception of the history and factual events of each battle. Discover the actual catalysts for war, the strategies employed and the final, inevitable outcomes, as well as experiencing the emotional human side of the front line.

Please note: On certain tours, you may get tour guides other that the ones listed below.

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Hotel

You will stay for six nights at the 4-star Best Western Hotel Rocca in Cassino. The hotel offers a restaurant, bar, lift and lounge.

Overnight stay in the Ravenna area and in Austria will be in a minimum 3-star hotel.

Overnight stays in northern France, northern Italy and Belgium will be in city-style hotels.

Travel Options

All our coaches and transfer vehicles operate a 'no smoking on board policy'. The use of electronic cigarettes is strictly forbidden.
In the interest of fellow guests, do not take hot food or ice cream on board.
alcohol can only be taken on board our vehicles at the discretion of your driver.

When it comes to getting to the Battlefields, Leger Holidays make it easy, with a selection of travel options for you choose from.

Silver Service Coach

Silver Service, refreshments
Silver Service, lounge
Silver Service, entertainment

Silver Service Features

  • Sit back and relax in specially-designed, deluxe reclining seats, with leather headrests, footrests and more legroom than standard coaches.
  • Enjoy the perfect temperature onboard with climate control.
  • Relax and have a chat in the spacious rear lounge.
  • Servery on board offering a range of refreshments.
  • Porterage* at most hotels, so you really don’t have to lift a finger.
  • Time flies with our onboard entertainment system.
  • With free personal headphones you can tune into the music channel, listen to the radio or watch DVDs.
  • Onboard toilet

Silver Service Seating Plan

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Luxuria Coach

Luxuria - Charging sockets
Luxuria - TV
Luxruia - Seating

Luxuria Features

  • Deluxe armchair-style seats with leather exterior, central arm rests with cup holders and retractable calf rests give you a more comfortable journey.
  • Every seat has its own, fully interactive, touch screen T.V. offering a wide choice of entertainment so you can control what you want to watch and when.
  • There’s also a selection of double and single seats, including four seats face-to-face with tables. And with a total of 7 single seats available, these are ideal for passengers travelling independently.
  • Plug sockets and USB points at each seat mean you can keep your devices fully charged throughout your journey.
  • Onboard toilet.

Luxuria Seating Plan

Luxuria Seating Plan

Travel Extras

With an overnight stay, a Door-to-Door pick up or the option to meet us at the interchange, our travel extras allow you to create a travel experience to suit your needs...

Join coach at Interchange

Join your tour coach at the interchange.

On most tours if you’d prefer to join your tour coach at Stop 24 services, you can park your car in the car park which is accredited by the Park Mark safer parking scheme and is monitored 24 hours a day by CCTV. Payment for the parking is made on arrival using the self-service machines.

Excludes tours to Ireland and the U.K. and tours travelling via Brittany Ferries.

Door-to-Door service

On Battlefield tours of 7 days’ duration or more, you don’t even have to think about getting to your local joining point. Our Door-to-Door Service collects you from your home and takes you to meet your transfer vehicile, then brings you back at the end of the holiday. Door-to-Door Service is available within a 20-mile radius of one of our free joining points and is from £90 per car, return (up to 4 passengers per vehicle).

If you live a little further afield, you can also take advantage of this convenient option for an additional charge – please enquire at the time of booking.

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