The five-month Monte Cassino campaign in central Italy is one of the best-known European land battles of World War Two, alongside D-Day and Stalingrad. It has a particular resonance now, because Cassino, with its multitude of participating armies - most notably the American 5th Army under the controversial General Mark Clark - was perhaps the campaign of the Second World War that most closely anticipates the coalition operations of today, with its ever-shifting cast of players stuck in inhospitable, mountainous terrain, pursuing an objective set by unknowing politicians in distant capitals, where victory is difficult to define.

Acknowledged as one of the UK's most experienced battlefield guides, Peter Caddick-Adams has led over 200 visits to more than 50 battlefields around the world, covering all periods in history, from the Romans to the present day. He has written several books and over 100 articles in the "Oxford Companion to Military History" (2001). His latest books, "Montgomery and Rommel: Parallel Lives" (2011) and "Monte Cassino: Ten Armies in Hell" (2012) were both published to acclaim, with the latter being finalised as "British Army Military Book of the Year". He has also presented and contributed to many documentaries and news programmes on terrestrial and satellite TV.

Location: National Army Museum, Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, London SW3 4HT

Time:12.30pm

A Ticket is not required for this event.

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