Monte Cassino was taken on the fourth assault in May 1944, after months of grinding attrition that destroyed the sixth-century Benedictine abbey and killed tens of thousands across Allied and Axis forces combined. Polish II Corps under General Anders — many of them former Soviet POWs and deportees who had walked out of the USSR via Iran — planted their flag on the ruins. For Anders's men, it was as much a statement about Poland's postwar fate as it was a military objective.
Niue has issued commemorative gold under New Zealand's currency umbrella since the 1990s, producing collector bullion with no pretense of circulation intent.
Monte Cassino was taken on the fourth assault in May 1944, after months of grinding attrition that destroyed the sixth-century Benedictine abbey and killed tens of thousands across Allied and Axis forces combined. Polish II Corps under General Anders — many of them former Soviet POWs and deportees who had walked out of the USSR via Iran — planted their flag on the ruins. For Anders's men, it was as much a statement about Poland's postwar fate as it was a military objective.
Niue has issued commemorative gold under New Zealand's currency umbrella since the 1990s, producing collector bullion with no pretense of circulation intent.