The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 (The Liberation Trilogy)

The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 (The Liberation Trilogy) | Rick Atkinson | Day of Battle an Incredibly great read!!

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The Day of Battle:...

	The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 (The Liberation Trilogy) Rick Atkinson Henry Holt and Co., 2007 - 791 pages average customer review:based on 85 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The best on the invasion of Italy

Rick Atkinson does an excellent job in volume 2 of the Liberation trilogy. This book traces the evolution of the Allied armies into a fighting force as they continue to grow and learn. The battles of Sicily and the invasion of Italy are the focal points in this volume. Many of the errors that were committed in the landings at Africa (see vol 1 An Army at Dawn) are repeated particularly with regards to a lack of organization in landing supplies. Air cover, naval activity and army movements are not coordinated in a single command leaving each branch working separately not only for the Americans but for the British as well giving six different commanders areas to disagree and fight over. It also leads to one of the most heart wrenching moments of the book where American and British planes and paratroopers are killed by the dozens with friendly fire. The introduction provides an interesting look at how the allied war aims differed and shows Churchill's fear of a direct attack on fortress Europe. The invasion of Italy was not necessary militarily but the British insistence led the Americans to agree. Its one shining point was that it provided more practice for the army to gain fighting skills while preparing for D-Day in Europe.

Sicily is one of the most interesting invasions of World War II and Atkinson captures it well in the first half of the book. The landings and taking of Salerno mostly by Patton and the British are largely successful. The landings are confused as always and a lack of air support leads to a greater than average casualty to rate but they are able to establish beachheads and once re-supplied with fresh troops via the DUKW's are able to press on. The German's were organized well and as the battles turn sour they were able to evacuate the majority of their forces that remained to mainland Italy without encountering any real Allied resistance.

The invasion of Italy with the landings at Naples met with severe resistance which Atkinson captured well and the strategic dilemmas faced by the Nazi's and Italian forces are covered in detail. As the Germans dug in south of Rome the allies changed course and made a disastrous landing at Anzio. The Germans had well dug in positions at Cassiano and along the line forcing the Americans, British, Canadian, and Indian forces to try and destroy these fortifications. The overall nature of the Italian campaign as a stale mate is discussed in great detail. This was truly one f the more disastrous campaigns and the destruction of the church at Cassiano was one of the great tragedies of the war. The divisions between the Americans and British begin to show over Italy as does the paradigm shift in world powers.

Overall the Italian campaign was superfluous and this book shows that it was not necessary for the defeat of Nazi Germany. Italy was a sideshow for the Americans and considered essential by the British who wished to reopen their Mediterranean trade. The details of the battles are clear and like his other books Atkinson's style of writing is superb. For those interested in learning more about the Italian campaign it is an essential place to start. Although the campaign itself did not help the overall war effort it is still an essential part of World War history and the symbolism of capturing the Eternal City, Rome, cannot be understated. I eagerly await the third installment and I am sure the author will keep up the good work.

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Day of Battle an Incredibly great read!!

"Day of Battle" is the best history of the battle for Sicily and Italy that I have ever read. Beautifully written , outstanding narrative sytle, really gets to the reader, and should be in the library of anyone who wishes to own the story of World War II. I will read Rick Atkinson's other book in the planned trilogy now.

Outstanding History Work, Highly Readable and Greatly Enjoyable

After winning the Pulitzer Prize with his last work it is obvious that the bar is set pretty high for Mr. Atikinson with his next work. Yet he manages to, at least in my opinion, offer a more compelling and exciting work. The author does a great job of combining both personality and telling the story using the framework of both the larger than life Generals who lead the assaults and the average soldiers who bear the results and take their lives into hand by executing the grand schemes.

The book is very well written and does and excellent job of portraying all participants in a balanced and fair light. While the German atrocities are not overlooked, they are also portrayed as soldiers fighting a great campaign. The faults of all commanders are portrayed yet not treated as if one is worse and one is better. All in all, this is a book well worth reading.

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Absolutely the Best

I have read a lot of excellent Military History books but this one is so incredibly rich in detail and so well written that others pale in comparison. Other reviewers have said it well so I will not elaborate other than to say it was totally mesmerizing and contained not one wasted word.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

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