(476 pages)
I've been lucky to run across quite a few WWII histories that are very high quality - but this one is a definite favorite - the author was completely effective in knitting an overview of the military strategy and key battles with many contemporary excerpts from diaries, letters and the like; these latter gathered from grunts and officers in American, British, German, and Italian armies; also Italian citizens, Ernie Pyle, etc.
I'll let the author explain -
"I have been studying the long and terrible Second World War for some years now, but nothing has moved me in quite such a profound way as researching and writing this book. Perhaps it's because, for the first time, I've used mostly contemporary sources: diaries, letters, signals and memoranda, and photographs taken in a split second. Rather than hearing the memories of those times fifty, sixty or even seventy years on, my cast of very real characters have drawn from the testimonies they recorded at the time. I have deliberately tried to avoid any forward projection and to write purely in the moments, hours and days in which the events described were taking place. None of those writing diaries and letters knew when Rome would fall. None of them knew when the war would end. I have found it difficult not to be swept up in their experiences, their suffering, their anxieties, their fears and it has been impossible not to care about their fates." (p. 474)
I was definitely swept up. It also helped that Irvin Bormann and Vernon Hohenberger were literally there for big chunks of the 1943 timeline covered in this book - Irvin's diaries and Hohenberger's memoir include items that are 100% on point with descriptions here; makes it much more personal.
Some things I have a better grasp of -
--The Allies attacked Sicily earlier in 1943 with overwhelming force and encountered weak Italian resistance in many cases. Plenty of landing craft available to bring all the stuff that a mechanized army needs, especially when the strategy is to overwhelm the enemy with aircraft and artillery to reduce the expenditure of soldiers' lives.
--Italy in this second half of 1943 was not like this. Resources were diverted to preparations for Normandy and for the war in the Pacific. Sicilian success perhaps gave too much confidence; the politicians and high command were promising "Rome by Christmas" and no one could back off this push even though it pretty quickly became evident that there soon was no basis for achieving this goal.
--Landing craft in particular were key - I didn't think about how new large-scale amphibious assault was (not a thing in WWI) - these craft just didn't exist in sufficient numbers to bring all the stuff needed. As manufacturing ramps up, many diverted to Pacific and Normandy.
--And to some extent the lack of mechanized support and artillery didn't matter - horrific winter weather and isolated mountainous terrain made aircraft and tanks and shelling less effective.
--Italy surrendered in September 1943, and the German army took over - much tougher resistance than encountered in Sicily. Hitler very concerned about this southern approach to Germany.
--The mountains were just made for defense; and the Germans were expert at exploiting this. Whereas an attacking force might be assumed to need a 3:1 numbers advantage, it probably was higher here. Divisions were pulled out of the line (Normandy), soldiers were expected to keep going way beyond normal tours.
--Yet the decision was made to keep going. Which meant the infantry had such a terrible time of it here.
--Mark Clark takes a lot of grief, but this author pins the blame higher up the chain, thinks Clark did well under the circumstances.
--I hadn't read much about the Salerno landing - difficult, interesting.
--The civilian suffering - the mechanized, heavy shelling approach had very different consequences in populated Italy as compared to the North African deserts. The sad stories here, wow.
This book wraps up at year-end, so author doesn't get to Anzio, Rapido River crossing; Irvin Bormann DOW on February 1, 1944 so we don't get battles in his final month. Irvin does mention seeing a big battle down in a valley in the December 15-17, 1943 time frame; that could well have been for San Pietro (p. 440).
