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Salerno to Cassino
CMH Pub 6-3. United States Army in World War 2.
Tells the story of the first eight months of the Italian campaign, from the Allied invasion of the Italian mainland in Sept. 1943, through the battles of the autumn and winter of 1943-44, to the eve of the Allied spring offensive launched in May 1944.
Tells the story of the first eight months of the Italian campaign, from the Allied invasion of the Italian mainland in Sept. 1943, through the battles of the autumn and winter of 1943-44, to the eve of the Allied spring offensive launched in May 1944.
522 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1969
About the author
Martin Blumenson
65 books13 followersMartin Blumenson was a soldier in the US army, and a military historian, and a recognised authority on the life of Gen. George S. Patton Jr.
Blumenson received a Bachelors and Masters degree from Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. He received a second master's degree in history from Harvard University. He also was an exellent pianist, performing at Carnegie Hall as a young man.
He served as a U.S. Army officer in northwestern Europe during World War II.
After the war he lived in France for a number of years, where he met his wife of 55 years, Genevieve Adelbert Blumenson, who died in 2000.
Blumenson again served with the U.S. Army during the Korean War, and later worked in the Office of the Chief of Military History until 1967. After this he became an adviser on civil disorders for the Johnson administration.
Blumenson received a Bachelors and Masters degree from Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. He received a second master's degree in history from Harvard University. He also was an exellent pianist, performing at Carnegie Hall as a young man.
He served as a U.S. Army officer in northwestern Europe during World War II.
After the war he lived in France for a number of years, where he met his wife of 55 years, Genevieve Adelbert Blumenson, who died in 2000.
Blumenson again served with the U.S. Army during the Korean War, and later worked in the Office of the Chief of Military History until 1967. After this he became an adviser on civil disorders for the Johnson administration.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 4, 2012
The official and authoritative US Army history of operations from September 1943-March 1944. Detailed with lots of excellent maps.
June 30, 2026
'Salerno to Cassino' is the 'official' U.S. Army history of that portion (Sep. '43 to Feb '44) of the Italian campaign. Not sure exactly when it was written but Martin Blumenson became a respected if not renowned military historian at least of the Mediterranean theater. This is a comprehensive, even-handed, unsensational and very well-sourced account. It is available as a free pdf on the U.S. Army military history site but I bought a copy on Kindle, sadly it did not contain the maps or photos found in the pdf. Fortunately, I had that on my computer which did slow down the reading process!
Overall highly recommended for a 'synoptic' viewpoint on the campaign with the focus on the higher level decision-making process. It is amazing how close Anzio came to never occurring, saved only by Churchill himself. Mark Clark comes off relatively well in this account (Blumenson also wrote a biography of him) as 5th Army commander, especially in the Monte Cassino bombing controversy, This in contrast to Bernard Freyberg of New Zealand, who might safely be called a 'blowhard' at this point in history (though he has his defenders too). You still have to marvel how hard the Germans continued to fight in late 1943 and early '44 when the final end should have seemed obvious. That takes nothing away from the relatively limited number of Allied divisions who were pressed to their own limits, especially the US 36th, 34th, 45th and 3rd Infantry division and the BR 46th and 56th which also saw nearly continuous hard fighting for months on end.
Solid 4-stars, but perhaps a little too intricate for some readers as there is nearly constant reference to regiments, battalions and even companies at times, as well as geographical detail that requires map consultations to have any clear idea of what is happening.
Overall highly recommended for a 'synoptic' viewpoint on the campaign with the focus on the higher level decision-making process. It is amazing how close Anzio came to never occurring, saved only by Churchill himself. Mark Clark comes off relatively well in this account (Blumenson also wrote a biography of him) as 5th Army commander, especially in the Monte Cassino bombing controversy, This in contrast to Bernard Freyberg of New Zealand, who might safely be called a 'blowhard' at this point in history (though he has his defenders too). You still have to marvel how hard the Germans continued to fight in late 1943 and early '44 when the final end should have seemed obvious. That takes nothing away from the relatively limited number of Allied divisions who were pressed to their own limits, especially the US 36th, 34th, 45th and 3rd Infantry division and the BR 46th and 56th which also saw nearly continuous hard fighting for months on end.
Solid 4-stars, but perhaps a little too intricate for some readers as there is nearly constant reference to regiments, battalions and even companies at times, as well as geographical detail that requires map consultations to have any clear idea of what is happening.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews