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Acclaimed World War II historian James Holland vividly relates the dramatic last months of the Italian Campaign in a masterful volume that brings new awareness to this vital hinge point of the war
As the new year of 1944 began in
Italy, the Allied army’s momentum had ground to a halt just south of the
vaunted German Gustav Line of defense, far short of their initial objective of
liberating Rome by Christmas. The fighting up the Italian peninsula had been
brutal—rugged terrain, fierce resistance, terrible weather. While Allied
leaders in London prepared for the cross-Channel invasion of France later that
spring, the war in the West hinged in Italy. As bestselling historian James
Holland relates in his seminal concluding volume on the Italy Campaign, the
next five months saw two of World War II’s most famous battles—the four
ferocious assaults on Monte Cassino and the fraught landing northwest in the
marshes at Anzio—culminating at last in the liberation of Rome on June 4,
merely two days before D-Day.
Based on twenty years of
research, Cassino ’44 offers perspectives and conclusions
that differ from the standard narrative. Holland elevates the narrative of war,
chronicling the dramatic events primarily through in-the-moment letters and
diaries of those who were there. Counterpointing the memories of German
soldiers like battalion commander Jurg Kellner with those of British captain
John Strick and American corporal Audie Murphy, whose exploits in the field
would lead to Hollywood fame, and of Italian citizens and politicians caught up
in the maelstrom, Holland vividly recreates their day-to-day encounter with
destiny over each bloodily contested mile.
General Mark
Clark, overall Allied commander in Italy, has been criticized for being overly
cautious and needlessly extending the campaign. Holland argues that, given the
conditions and constant shortage of materiel held back for the D-Day invasion,
Clark and other commanders led a remarkably successful campaign. Well more than
100,000 Allied casualties occurred in the five months leading to Rome, more
than in any other campaign of the war. Cassino ’44 is the
definitive account of a key turning point of World War II and brings our
appreciation of the experience of war to a new level.
As the new year of 1944 began in
Italy, the Allied army’s momentum had ground to a halt just south of the
vaunted German Gustav Line of defense, far short of their initial objective of
liberating Rome by Christmas. The fighting up the Italian peninsula had been
brutal—rugged terrain, fierce resistance, terrible weather. While Allied
leaders in London prepared for the cross-Channel invasion of France later that
spring, the war in the West hinged in Italy. As bestselling historian James
Holland relates in his seminal concluding volume on the Italy Campaign, the
next five months saw two of World War II’s most famous battles—the four
ferocious assaults on Monte Cassino and the fraught landing northwest in the
marshes at Anzio—culminating at last in the liberation of Rome on June 4,
merely two days before D-Day.
Based on twenty years of
research, Cassino ’44 offers perspectives and conclusions
that differ from the standard narrative. Holland elevates the narrative of war,
chronicling the dramatic events primarily through in-the-moment letters and
diaries of those who were there. Counterpointing the memories of German
soldiers like battalion commander Jurg Kellner with those of British captain
John Strick and American corporal Audie Murphy, whose exploits in the field
would lead to Hollywood fame, and of Italian citizens and politicians caught up
in the maelstrom, Holland vividly recreates their day-to-day encounter with
destiny over each bloodily contested mile.
General Mark
Clark, overall Allied commander in Italy, has been criticized for being overly
cautious and needlessly extending the campaign. Holland argues that, given the
conditions and constant shortage of materiel held back for the D-Day invasion,
Clark and other commanders led a remarkably successful campaign. Well more than
100,000 Allied casualties occurred in the five months leading to Rome, more
than in any other campaign of the war. Cassino ’44 is the
definitive account of a key turning point of World War II and brings our
appreciation of the experience of war to a new level.
Used availability for James Holland's Cassino '44