First Household Cavalry Regiment 1943-44

In the Shadow of Monte Amaro

In the Shadow of Monte Amaro provides a new focus on the famous First Household Cavalry Regiment, the way its mettle was tested to the maximum in action in the mountains of Italy. It reveals and explores this largely undervalued and forgotten part of a costly and complex struggle, where there are lessons to be learned by everyone. We directly experience what it was like to be there. It also has a contemporary relevance to present-day areas of conflict and military engagement. In late 1943 1st HCR was sent to Syria to patrol the Turko-Syrian border, it being feared that Turkey would join the Axis powers. In April 1944, 1st HCR was shipped to Italy. The Italian campaign was at that time well underway. During the summer of 1944, 1st HCR were in action near Arezzo and in the advance to Florence. The Regiment finally took part in dismounted actions in the Gothic Line, the German defensive system in Northern Italy. Using interviews with survivors still with us and unpublished diaries, there are many revelations that will entertain - and shock.