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He was an early draftee (mid-1942) who was sent to North Africa, Sicilly, and Italy. I bought this book as a gift for my son. His father was in the army in WW II.
Attaboy."If there are oversights in Atkinson's book, perhaps they include these: An explanation of why the Allies did not invade Sicily in the Northeast at or near Messina to cut off the German units that readily escaped across the two-mile strait to Italy to fight another day (Germany's Dunkirk), and a more detailed perspective of the Sicily-Italy campaign from the standpoint of the German commanders and soldiers. In between are exceptionally well-rendered maps showing landmarks and troop movements by date with great clarity. For example, he describes a forelorn and unloved George Patton waving farewell, blowing kisses, and yelling God-bless-yous to a 1st Division troop ship leaving Syracuse harbor. Sadly, good maps are not a given in all books of military history.
That "Day of Battle" is so extensively reviewed on this web site attests to its popularity with those who love history well told, particularly WWII history. The latter is dealt with lightly, but it's clear that the bulk of the interviewing and research materials were from Anglo-American sources.Atkinson reveals a shocking degree of "friendly fire" by American forces involving not just individual soldiers, but entire units, incredible incidents of fratricide that were institutionally suppressed during the campaign. "Still resentful at the (firing of 1st Division commanders) Terry Allen and Ted Roosevelt, soldiers stood three deep at every rail and peered from every porthole, utterly silent." When General Mark Clark asked an exhausted lieutentant, "What troops are in front of you." the lieutenant replied, "Sir, the Germans." 'Clark uttered a few words of encouragement and drove off.' In liberated Rome, an unlettered Allied soldier driving past the Colosseum muttered, "My God, they bombed that too." He described Pope Pius XII being photographed by American reporters jostling for photographs, one of them shouting, "Hold it, Pope. Their critiques need not be elaborated on with my review, so I will comment on some of the book's other virtues.
Two groups of black-and-white photos also provide visual perspective of the two campaigns.The author also has a nice eye for vignettes that convey an understanding of the prevailing state of mind or situation. Perhaps that explains one of the moral judgments he sparingly uses: "And then there was the saddest lesson, to be learned again and again in the coming weeks as they fought across Sicily, and in the coming months as they fought their way back toward a world at peace: that war is corruping, that it corrodes the soul and tarnishes the spirit, that even the excellent and superior can be defiled, and that no heart would remain unstained." It's a pleasure, first of all, to see a book so carefully and lovingly edited and published (by the Henry Holt Company), beginning with the handsomely embossed dust jacket of the hardbound version and ending with the carefully written source notes. This expensive and painstaking addition adds immeasurably to the reader's understanding of what went on tactically in the war of attrition in Sicily and Italy.
Atkinson, a Pulitzer Prize winner, captures the brutality of this campaign and exposes the reality that real war is not glorious. Churchill's strategy was to spread out German forces to assist the pending D-Day invasion. The overall Italian campaign was noted for its ferocity and high rates of attrition. Wave after wave of doomed assaults on Cassino The maxim that it's better to be a non-front line top military leader than a brave young soldier was as true as ever during the long assault on Cassino.
Early in this history we are told that Napoleon had said that the way to conquer Italy was to invade from the top and go down, since the mountains favored a northern invasion. He also demonstrates the phenomenon that many call the fog of war, as leaders were often unable to make informed decisions and many thousands died as a result of that alone. The Germans could not be everywhere at once and could not afford such losses indefinitely. The mountains taper lower as you make your way down the boot.
Things were better for the Allies along the coast, where additional firepower gave them the upper hand in this brutal stage of World War II. This is a compelling story narrated by the author himself. The allies in World War II did the opposite out of necessity and timing. The tragedy for the allies in implementing this strategy included many failed assaults on the seemingly impenetrable mountain top site called Cassino.
Of course, there are battles detailed, but they are clearly explained in a few pages, not densely drawn out page after page until you are nodding off. A really wonderful, continually interesting book. I really did not expect such a well-told story of this part of WW II. This is a personality-driven narrative, not a battle-drive one. This is not one of those WWII books filled with battle after battle that you really cannot follow clearly. Instead, it is filled with stories and anecdotes of the soldiers and their officers as they prepare for and then invade Sicily and Italy.
Wonderful addition to other accounts I have read regarding the battles in Sicily and italy. Very good read.
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