Monte Cassino, a historic hilltop abbey founded in AD 529 by Benedict of Nursia, dominated the nearby town of Cassino and the entrances to the Liri and Rapido valleys, but had been left unoccupied by the German defenders.
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As the Allied forces progressed, the 42d took a leading part in interdicting Axis road and rail transport, and later in 1944, in the attacks against the monastery at Cassino.
Operations carried out included: the long stalemate on the Gustav Line with the hardfought Battle of Monte Cassino; the Anzio landings; the capture of Rome; and ending with the Allied forces stuck again just south of the Po valley.
On BBC 1's Who Do You Think You Are?, broadcast in August 2010, it was revealed that Penry-Jones's maternal grandfather, William, had served with the Indian Army Medical Corps at the Battle of Monte Cassino and that his earlier ancestors had a long-standing connection with the Indian Army.
Som has completed a multi-part documentary series called Great Battles, on the role of Indian soldiers in some of the greatest battles of the last century from Monte Cassino in the Second World War to the Siachen high altitude conflict.