The Battle for Italy

This is the only one-volume history of the battle for Italy in World War Two. It covers the entire campaign from the invasion of Sicily to the German surrender in the Po Valley. Of the three major allied campaigns in Europe - those in Russia, in Normandy-to-Germany, and in Italy - the Italian campaign has been the least examined. Yet, in a number of ways it is the most fascinating, with many continuing lessons for the future. Though the names most remembered are Monte Cassino, Salermo and Anzo, the fighting was fierce throughout. And the skirmishing among the famous personalities was almost equally hot. While Rommel and Kesserling urged different strategies on Hitler, the allied side was buffeted by sharp disagreement among such titanic figures as Patton, Montgomery, Bradley, Clark, Alexander, Eisenhower, Churchill, and Roosevelt. In his comprehensive account, General Jackson describes the war as seen from both sides allowing us to watch the moves and countermoves, the inspired guesses and the outright blunders that constituted the two-year-long series of set-pieces in the deadly contest for Italy. This authoritative history, supported by almost 100 sketch-maps and photographs, and by seven appendices including a day-by-day chronology, is a must for all readers interested in military history.