Polish success for Londonderry military historian

Among the best-selling non-fiction titles in Poland in 2009 was a book written by military historian, Richard Doherty.

Cel Monte Cassino (Objective Monte Cassino) tells the story of General Wladyslaw Anders' Polish Corps which fought as part of the famous Eighth Army in the Italian Campaign. On the morning of 18 May 1944, the ruins of the famous Benedictine monastery on Monte Cassino were captured by soldiers of the Podolski Lancers in one of the most memorable episodes of the war.

Originally published in English by Pen & Sword Books, Barnsley, as Eighth Army in Italy 1943-45: The Long Hard Slog in 2007, the book is also dedicated to a Londonderry man, Joe Radcliffe from the Brandywell, who served with the Royal Signals in Italy and who died in Rome in 2005. From 1949 to 1958 the Radcliffe family were the author's next-door neighbours in Tremone Gardens in Creggan.

The publication of the Polish edition, translated by Karol Pek, coincided with the 65th anniversary of the fourth and final Battle for Monte Cassino in which the Polish Corps distinguished itself.

Mr Doherty said he was initially a little bit taken aback by the success of the book in Poland: "I wasn't surprised that it was being translated at first. No, I was surprised that it was being translated into Polish. I thought it was going to be Italian.

"Once I made the connection, in a sense, I was not surprised. This was a bit like Gallipoli to the Australians and New Zealanders."

Richard Doherty was in Cassino in May of last year for the commemorative ceremonies where he met veterans of the 1944 battles as well as soldiers of the modern Polish Army.

He said: "I was in Monte Cassino last year for the 65th Anniversary in May. The Polish President was there and the Polish Defence Minister. I managed to get speaking to some of the modern Polish soldiers. They recognised the importance of it all."

He spoke further of the significance of the campaign to Poland: "Monte Cassino is important to the Poles as it marks the courage and sacrifice of the Polish Army in exile and today's Polish soldiers hold dear the memory of their forebears of 1944. The Polish Memorial at Point 593, Monte Calvario, is one of the most poignant of war memorials, especially as it was built in 1945 by Polish soldiers who knew that they could not return to the land for which they had fought and for which their comrades had died. Similarly, the Polish cemetery became part of Poland for veterans and it was there that General Anders was buried when he died in 1970."

Amazon, the world's biggest book seller, carries a review with the following first line: "Typical of this author, this book is exceptionally well written and exhaustively researched." The Amazon review gives Eighth Army in Italy 1943-45: The Long Hard Slog five stars out of five.

Cel Monte Cassino is published in Warsaw by Bellona SA (website www.bellona.pl; e-mail [email protected]). It is the second book by Richard Doherty to be translated for a European edition; the first was A Noble Crusade: The History of Eighth Army 1941-45, which was published in the Czech Republic in 2001.

He has another book on the horizon. "Due for March 17, it's about Irish involvement in the Second World War."