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Anzio: Italy and the Battle for Rome—1944
“Masterly . . . a heartbreaking, beautifully told story of wasted sacrifice.” —Vince Rinehart, The Washington Post
The Allied attack of Normandy beach and its resultant bloodbath have been immortalized in film and literature, but the U.S. campaign on the beaches of Western Italy reigns as perhaps the deadliest battle of World War II’s western theater. In January 1944, about six months before D-Day, an Allied force of thirty-six thousand soldiers launched one of the first attacks on continental Europe at Anzio, a small coastal city thirty miles south of Rome. The assault was conceived as the first step toward an eventual siege of the Italian capital. But the advance stalled and Anzio beach became a death trap. After five months of brutal fighting and monumental casualties on both sides, the Allies finally cracked the German line and marched into Rome on June 5, the day before D-Day. Richly detailed and fueled by extensive archival research of newspapers, letters, and diaries—as well as scores of original interviews with surviving soldiers on both sides of the trenches—Anzio is a harrowing and incisive true story by one of today’s finest military historians.
The Allied attack of Normandy beach and its resultant bloodbath have been immortalized in film and literature, but the U.S. campaign on the beaches of Western Italy reigns as perhaps the deadliest battle of World War II’s western theater. In January 1944, about six months before D-Day, an Allied force of thirty-six thousand soldiers launched one of the first attacks on continental Europe at Anzio, a small coastal city thirty miles south of Rome. The assault was conceived as the first step toward an eventual siege of the Italian capital. But the advance stalled and Anzio beach became a death trap. After five months of brutal fighting and monumental casualties on both sides, the Allies finally cracked the German line and marched into Rome on June 5, the day before D-Day. Richly detailed and fueled by extensive archival research of newspapers, letters, and diaries—as well as scores of original interviews with surviving soldiers on both sides of the trenches—Anzio is a harrowing and incisive true story by one of today’s finest military historians.
436 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 9, 2006
137 people are currently reading
416 people want to read
About the author
Lloyd Clark
20 books40 followersLloyd Clark is a senior lecturer in war studies at Great Britain's Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and he has lectured on military history around the world. His special interests are the Western Front of the First World War, the Mediterranean Front of the Second World War, and airborne warfare.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
June 12, 2018
There is a striking image part-way through 'The Friction of War' , which sees Winston Churchill posing in his dressing gown after hosting a Christmas day lunch in 1943. Among the guests was a certain General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Although Churchill at the time was bogged down by illness, he had a passion to go full steam ahead in the coming months, with the launch of the high risk amphibious landing at Anzio- Nettuno (codename - Operation Shingle), in the hope of gaining ground in the battle for Italy. This meeting was to play a pivotal role in swaying Franklin Roosevelt to approve such a mission. Churchill would later admit - "Anzio was my worst moment in the war.
I had most to do with it".
Over a four month period during the battle for Anzio and the resulting push towards Rome, over 7,000 Allied troops were killed, with a further 36,000 wounded or missing. Omaha Beach generally gets seen as one of the bloodiest battles of WW2, Anzio would easily also be high up on that list.
The Americans had big concerns over such a dangerous move before leading the joint US/British operation. Moving a big deployment from Naples should have raised the eyebrows of the Germans, but they believed an attack was more likely further north. Where their defences were ready and waiting. On a cold and dreary night, in January 1944, at 0200 hours, when most Allied soldiers were expecting hell on Earth nearing the beachhead, were surprised at the lack of defences at first. Appearing to have caught the Germans off guard. And had they immediately pushed forward, substantial gains would have been made. But the situation was about to take a turn for the worst, all thanks to one of Hitler's most trusted men, Commander Albert Kesselring, who was overseeing the German stranglehold on Italian soil.
With the Nazi war machine gathering pace in the surrounding area, the Allies were in for one hell of a battle that would push their strengths to the limit.
I always believed the Americans and the British would have got on so well whilst fighting together on the operation. This was simply not the case. There was a fierce rivalry over who was the best, with both blaming the other for any little mishaps or wrong moves. There is even a farcical moment here when they squabble like kids over who it was that shot a sheep for it's mutton when food rations were running low. In between the chaos, when things were at a point of stalemate, to pass the time, troops took up some unlikely interests, like racing beetles in the ditches using little flags stuck on with chewing gum to set them apart from one another, and one enterprising American corporal rounded up some local mules, donkeys and horses to form the 'Anzio Beachhead Racing Association' in which the 'Anzio Derby' was held.
Strategically, there were many unsung heroes, including a Harvard graduate, codename - Pietro,
who landed north of Rome and posed as a Fascist auxiliary policeman, and helped coordinate activities with the Italian Resistance. Establishing an excellent intelligence network, this provided key insights into German movements, and helped greatly in the push towards Rome.
As Rome became more and more unstable, with Allied troops nearing, the Nazis became more brutal, to strike fear into the locals to try and wave off any uprising. The Italian Resistance were carrying out bombings daily, to help in the war effort to force the Germans to flee. In response to learning some key men had been blown up in Rome, an enraged Hitler ordered the execution of some 335 prisoners keep in the Ardeatine caves just outside the city.
On Rome's apparent capture, Commander of the US Fifth Army - Lieutenant General Mark Clark, wanted to bask in the glory of the eternal city all for himself, and even had it that the British were to be keep from entering Rome. A bit of a kick in the teeth really.
Lloyd Clark has done a tremendous job writing this. It's just about as comprehensive a book on the subject can get. He even includes not just the Allies perspective on events, but the Germans as well.
It also featured detailed maps and photos at various points of the operation, which gives a much better picture to the overall war efforts. Seeing a soldier share his lunch with a beaming little Italian boy bought a smile to my face. And that's the only disappointment, is that the Italians themselves don't really get a mention. Would loved to have read more from their viewpoint, after all, it's their country being hit hard, with some smaller towns along the way being completely flattened.
Overall, this would probably appeal to those interested in military history, slightly more than just the average WW2 reader. With so much already written on Berlin, Normandy, Stalingrad, etc... Turning to the war in Italy definitely opened my eyes as to how important a piece of the World-War-Two jigsaw puzzle this turned out to be.
I had most to do with it".
Over a four month period during the battle for Anzio and the resulting push towards Rome, over 7,000 Allied troops were killed, with a further 36,000 wounded or missing. Omaha Beach generally gets seen as one of the bloodiest battles of WW2, Anzio would easily also be high up on that list.
The Americans had big concerns over such a dangerous move before leading the joint US/British operation. Moving a big deployment from Naples should have raised the eyebrows of the Germans, but they believed an attack was more likely further north. Where their defences were ready and waiting. On a cold and dreary night, in January 1944, at 0200 hours, when most Allied soldiers were expecting hell on Earth nearing the beachhead, were surprised at the lack of defences at first. Appearing to have caught the Germans off guard. And had they immediately pushed forward, substantial gains would have been made. But the situation was about to take a turn for the worst, all thanks to one of Hitler's most trusted men, Commander Albert Kesselring, who was overseeing the German stranglehold on Italian soil.
With the Nazi war machine gathering pace in the surrounding area, the Allies were in for one hell of a battle that would push their strengths to the limit.
I always believed the Americans and the British would have got on so well whilst fighting together on the operation. This was simply not the case. There was a fierce rivalry over who was the best, with both blaming the other for any little mishaps or wrong moves. There is even a farcical moment here when they squabble like kids over who it was that shot a sheep for it's mutton when food rations were running low. In between the chaos, when things were at a point of stalemate, to pass the time, troops took up some unlikely interests, like racing beetles in the ditches using little flags stuck on with chewing gum to set them apart from one another, and one enterprising American corporal rounded up some local mules, donkeys and horses to form the 'Anzio Beachhead Racing Association' in which the 'Anzio Derby' was held.
Strategically, there were many unsung heroes, including a Harvard graduate, codename - Pietro,
who landed north of Rome and posed as a Fascist auxiliary policeman, and helped coordinate activities with the Italian Resistance. Establishing an excellent intelligence network, this provided key insights into German movements, and helped greatly in the push towards Rome.
As Rome became more and more unstable, with Allied troops nearing, the Nazis became more brutal, to strike fear into the locals to try and wave off any uprising. The Italian Resistance were carrying out bombings daily, to help in the war effort to force the Germans to flee. In response to learning some key men had been blown up in Rome, an enraged Hitler ordered the execution of some 335 prisoners keep in the Ardeatine caves just outside the city.
On Rome's apparent capture, Commander of the US Fifth Army - Lieutenant General Mark Clark, wanted to bask in the glory of the eternal city all for himself, and even had it that the British were to be keep from entering Rome. A bit of a kick in the teeth really.
Lloyd Clark has done a tremendous job writing this. It's just about as comprehensive a book on the subject can get. He even includes not just the Allies perspective on events, but the Germans as well.
It also featured detailed maps and photos at various points of the operation, which gives a much better picture to the overall war efforts. Seeing a soldier share his lunch with a beaming little Italian boy bought a smile to my face. And that's the only disappointment, is that the Italians themselves don't really get a mention. Would loved to have read more from their viewpoint, after all, it's their country being hit hard, with some smaller towns along the way being completely flattened.
Overall, this would probably appeal to those interested in military history, slightly more than just the average WW2 reader. With so much already written on Berlin, Normandy, Stalingrad, etc... Turning to the war in Italy definitely opened my eyes as to how important a piece of the World-War-Two jigsaw puzzle this turned out to be.
August 27, 2022
A good book about the Battle of Anzio.
The Italy campaign is something that isn't very popular in history books nor in general, and that shows even in my own bookshelf, where books based solely on Mediterranean battles are very limited. Lloyd Clark's book focuses solely on the Anzio landings, the battle and the following breakthrough 5 months later, although the latter is only short part of the book. The book offers only little in terms of the whole Italian campaign, so one might like to read more about it beforehand if not familiar with it.
I have little to say about the actual contents, it's well structured book with little to gripe about. The maps are good, there's enough quotes from high ups and grunts and all sides except civilians and navy are covered properly. The book's lenght is just right and at no point did I feel that it was overextended or hurrying to the finish. Clark isn't too eager to pass judgement apart from his namesake. Then again the book didn't feel like it's the pinnacle of military history, it's good enough for me to be the only book I'll need about the battle, for awhile at least.
The Italy campaign is something that isn't very popular in history books nor in general, and that shows even in my own bookshelf, where books based solely on Mediterranean battles are very limited. Lloyd Clark's book focuses solely on the Anzio landings, the battle and the following breakthrough 5 months later, although the latter is only short part of the book. The book offers only little in terms of the whole Italian campaign, so one might like to read more about it beforehand if not familiar with it.
I have little to say about the actual contents, it's well structured book with little to gripe about. The maps are good, there's enough quotes from high ups and grunts and all sides except civilians and navy are covered properly. The book's lenght is just right and at no point did I feel that it was overextended or hurrying to the finish. Clark isn't too eager to pass judgement apart from his namesake. Then again the book didn't feel like it's the pinnacle of military history, it's good enough for me to be the only book I'll need about the battle, for awhile at least.
August 20, 2014
I only read it because my great grandfather was in it. Not as good as anzio by wynford vaughan-thomas (who was actually there)
May 2, 2020
If Stephen King was ever to write a war novel, especially a World War Two novel it would probably have a lot of elements of this book. This book reads like a novel, but it’s a great account of another attritional battle between the Allies and Germany; I may as well say Germany because Italy’s contribution was minimal after Mussolini had fallen.
There is a list of characters at the beginning, and only the King Of Italy and the two faced prime minister are mentioned. They don’t appear much in this book.
Anzio could have ended as a disaster because of the stiff resistance by German troops. Maybe later on, indecision and lost opportunities cost them, when they had made early gains over the Allies. This campaign, apparently a dress rehearsal for Overlord, which was going ahead despite the outcome of this operation.
Throughout the book there are accounts from both sides. The subtitle of the book is the friction of war, and it is apparent between the British and American generals.
The glory seeking Mark Clark was really more like a presidential election campaign candidate looking for photo opportunities whenever he could. His grandiose attitude didn’t go down too well with the British, and actually had the gall to tell them that Rome was theirs and British troops were ordered not to advance on Rome or else!
There is a list of characters at the beginning, and only the King Of Italy and the two faced prime minister are mentioned. They don’t appear much in this book.
Anzio could have ended as a disaster because of the stiff resistance by German troops. Maybe later on, indecision and lost opportunities cost them, when they had made early gains over the Allies. This campaign, apparently a dress rehearsal for Overlord, which was going ahead despite the outcome of this operation.
Throughout the book there are accounts from both sides. The subtitle of the book is the friction of war, and it is apparent between the British and American generals.
The glory seeking Mark Clark was really more like a presidential election campaign candidate looking for photo opportunities whenever he could. His grandiose attitude didn’t go down too well with the British, and actually had the gall to tell them that Rome was theirs and British troops were ordered not to advance on Rome or else!
March 31, 2022
In January 1944 Allied troops landed on the shores of western Italy, the beginning of a long deadly campaign to take back Rome from the Germans. The amphibious landing, as planned, took the Germans by surprise. However, in-fighting, petty jealousies, and the lack of information flowing down through command gave the Germans time to assemble and assault. Over time, little has been written about his deadly campaign that took 7000+ lives and with large numbers of wounded and missing. Lloyd's narrative gives the men of this battle the respect and honor they deserve. His research is spot on and the writing/ story-telling gripping.
Highly recommended to those who have interest in WWII.
Highly recommended to those who have interest in WWII.
January 16, 2009
I picked up this book at an airport because my great-uncle was killed near Lanuvio just before the liberation of Rome. This is an incredibly easy read especially considering I know very little of the campaign or local geography. Clark necessarily follows the Italian campaign at the larger organizational levels, but he heavily peppers his treatment with personal accounts from the many perspectives of the fighting. Letters and diaries from generals to privates and civilians make the action very real in a show and tell way. This is a very readable illustration of a tragically lesser known battle history overshadowed by D-Day.
July 2, 2020
Extremely well written
This is a well documented book about a series of battles that got overshadowed by the battle of Normandy. I had an uncle that was killed at Anzio so this book was a great interest to me.
This is a well documented book about a series of battles that got overshadowed by the battle of Normandy. I had an uncle that was killed at Anzio so this book was a great interest to me.
April 8, 2009
I gave this book to my Father in Law, who was at Anzio with the U.S. Navy. He devoured it.
March 21, 2024
My grandfather fought and was wounded in Anzio. This book was a great insight into what them guys went through.
March 18, 2023
3.5 stars.
I have a healthy respect for the author for putting in a clearly immense amount of effort into writing a book on a topic that gets largely overlooked in WWII. He taught me much and gave well-deserved recognition to many men who quite possibly have been forgotten.
I think it is fair to compare this book to “Band of Brothers” by Stephen Ambrose. A good director could take this book and make it into a great mini-series, perhaps not quite though due to the broad study of an entire Army Group as opposed to a single Rifle Company.
It was a rather difficult read. It required much focus. Without an education in military science or military history it would be quite unenjoyable for the average reader. The amount of first hand accounts mixed with the broad overview of operations both enhanced the book and made it more difficult to read. Props to the author though for making the effort to find so many first hand accounts.
I have a healthy respect for the author for putting in a clearly immense amount of effort into writing a book on a topic that gets largely overlooked in WWII. He taught me much and gave well-deserved recognition to many men who quite possibly have been forgotten.
I think it is fair to compare this book to “Band of Brothers” by Stephen Ambrose. A good director could take this book and make it into a great mini-series, perhaps not quite though due to the broad study of an entire Army Group as opposed to a single Rifle Company.
It was a rather difficult read. It required much focus. Without an education in military science or military history it would be quite unenjoyable for the average reader. The amount of first hand accounts mixed with the broad overview of operations both enhanced the book and made it more difficult to read. Props to the author though for making the effort to find so many first hand accounts.
September 26, 2020
Excellent book describing the action and stalemate on the Italian Front in World War II. Some of the bloodiest battles of the war were fought over the rugged Italian peninsula and the Anzio invasion and beachhead was suppose to break the deadlock and speed the advance to Rome. It did neither. Clark does an excellent job of explaining the leadership problems with both the British and the Americans, and the poor dogfaces who paid for their mistakes with their lives. Staying alive in the beachhead was a daily struggle, with every inch open to enemy fire from artillery. Clark captures their struggle and their eventual breakout in great detail, and how even that was botched due to poor leadership at the highest levels on the American side.
August 22, 2020
I bought this book expecting a detailed account of the battle of Anzio. What I got instead is the first 25% of the book detailing what lead up the landings and the last 10% detailing what happened after the breakout. Considering that the book ended when my Kindle showed 70% I feel 1/2 the book not being about the battle to be disappointing. While background and context are important this is way overboard.
The accounts of actions in the battle seemed vague and skimmed over. More detail could have been devoted to the actions of the people who fought there. The accounts of what lead up the the battle, and quotes from Churchill, Kesselring and the Allied Commanders were more detailed than the battle itself. It feels that even when the Author gets around to talking about the Battle there are more details and quotes from the commanders than about the battle itself.
There are also numerous typos in the book making it very annoying to read.
The accounts of actions in the battle seemed vague and skimmed over. More detail could have been devoted to the actions of the people who fought there. The accounts of what lead up the the battle, and quotes from Churchill, Kesselring and the Allied Commanders were more detailed than the battle itself. It feels that even when the Author gets around to talking about the Battle there are more details and quotes from the commanders than about the battle itself.
There are also numerous typos in the book making it very annoying to read.
November 11, 2020
Loaded with misspelled words and typos
This is a very interesting look at the Anzio invasion. It has one very disturbing flaw -- it is filled with typos and misspellings. Page after page they show up. Hitler is spelled "Hider." Gentlemen is spelled "gendemen." Battle is spelled "batde." These mistakes don't occur once but over and over. This unprofessional effort should be an embarrassment to the author, the editors, typesetters, proofreaders (if there were any) and the publisher. Very sloppy production.
This is a very interesting look at the Anzio invasion. It has one very disturbing flaw -- it is filled with typos and misspellings. Page after page they show up. Hitler is spelled "Hider." Gentlemen is spelled "gendemen." Battle is spelled "batde." These mistakes don't occur once but over and over. This unprofessional effort should be an embarrassment to the author, the editors, typesetters, proofreaders (if there were any) and the publisher. Very sloppy production.
August 25, 2022
Well researched and informative book. The read was 4 stars, but the typos (especially since it was published by a publishing house) brought it down to 3 stars. In about a third of the book, every word that should be spelled with ‘tl’ was spelled with a ‘d’ Hitler became Hider, etc. If I had written a research paper with as many typos, the prof would have had me redo it with the spellcheck on (if not just a bad grade!)
There wasn’t anything new in this book that I haven’t already read in other books about Anzio. The best part was in the last little story in the author’s notes at the end of the book.
If you haven’t read other books about Anzio and can get over the typo’s this is a good book for research and information.
There wasn’t anything new in this book that I haven’t already read in other books about Anzio. The best part was in the last little story in the author’s notes at the end of the book.
If you haven’t read other books about Anzio and can get over the typo’s this is a good book for research and information.
October 8, 2018
I knew nothing about this campaign in World War II, ashamed to say. This is a detailed account of planning and procedures that are involved in a battle like this. The generals, ah the generals, and the recollections of the soldiers in the line of fire bring this history to life. It’s not the kind of book I normally read and, although well done, just not my cup of tea, so was gonna go for two stars, then I read the Epilogue.
August 19, 2023
The battle for Italy has sometimes been called a sideshow of a sideshow. While this may be true for the liberation of Rome - Hitler was not looking for a second Stalingrad and had the German troops quickly withdrawn- this was certainly not the case with the fighting to the south of Rome along the Gustav line. In short: the battle for Italy and particularly Anzio was a bloody mess that lasted almost 6 months at the cost of thousands of lives.
August 30, 2024
Like many, I knew very little about Anzio, or the war in Italy, which effectively ended with the fall of Rome the day before the Normandy invasion. This is a reasonable brisk read, with many quotes from the combatants, photos, and maps. My primary takeaway is that the Generals, and politicians kept copious notes and diaries, in order to defend themselves from disaster, which it pretty much was. Would like to visit Monte Soratte.
July 31, 2017
This was a good book that discussed everything from grand strategy down to individual soldier experiences. Was the operation a failure? I would say it really wasn't, although it's original objective was not achieved, it was successful in pushing the Germans further back in Italy. It's original objective was probably never achievable due to the weak forces landed on the beach.
August 23, 2024
Actual writing was fine but the structure of the narration was very blunt. He’d name some random private in the 3rd Division then mention him just by his last name three pages later, for example. Jamming American and German perspectives together from one paragraph to the next. Not terrible, but could have been better.
Glad I stuck it through, though. Last chapter saved the whole book.
Glad I stuck it through, though. Last chapter saved the whole book.
March 20, 2023
Good account if the battle
Was a very good account and analysis of the campaign but needed a editor. Too many spelling errors. Unfortunately too many books today appear to use electronic editing and it tells with same mistake recurring again and again.
Was a very good account and analysis of the campaign but needed a editor. Too many spelling errors. Unfortunately too many books today appear to use electronic editing and it tells with same mistake recurring again and again.
October 4, 2024
My first book on Anzio and I throughly enjoyed it.
Gives a really good insight into the battle and the struggle for Rome, post beach head break out.
Mark Clark was clearly a bit of a tool, and Lucas unfairly treated.
Great book overall.
Wasn't prepared for the final sentence in the book. 😔
Gives a really good insight into the battle and the struggle for Rome, post beach head break out.
Mark Clark was clearly a bit of a tool, and Lucas unfairly treated.
Great book overall.
Wasn't prepared for the final sentence in the book. 😔
August 29, 2018
Review is here. Stellar book.
https://misterfweem.blogspot.com/2018...
https://misterfweem.blogspot.com/2018...
December 23, 2019
Well written account of an extremely important battle just before D-Day.
November 7, 2022
This book has a lot of information and is obviously well-researched. It is written in a boring manner.
July 31, 2025
The story was excellent but the typos of words were legion. Someone should have proofread it before it was released.
June 12, 2020
Excellent detail
Anzio was a vicious fight after a slow start. I enjoyed the commentary and the soldier’s stories. Attracting mountains, cliffs, ridges and streams is very difficult = why do it at all?
Anzio was a vicious fight after a slow start. I enjoyed the commentary and the soldier’s stories. Attracting mountains, cliffs, ridges and streams is very difficult = why do it at all?
March 17, 2015
Excellent story on the Anzio campaign. There has been a split as to the question "Was it a victory or worth the price paid in life?" I believe that it was one of the most hard fought struggles of WW2 and probably the least known of any of the moments in WW2. The 5 months of battle were grinding and heroic on both sides and the Germans from their entrenched defensive positions and with the aid of poor weather and terrain held off the allies in the first 2 months of battle. I think the decision to not thrust forward in the early days when reinforcements had not begun to come ashore was the right decision by the allies. Yes, it did take much longer and with more life lost, but the Germans could have countered easily if the allies were stopped when their reserve strength and positioning was vulnerable. Definitely worth the read and this is just one more reason I love WW2 history, the bravery of the American soldier puts me in awe, and I thank them for their sacrifice with every page turned. My only negative for this retelling (and many like it) is the confusing non-designation of which army they are describing. I would have wanted to know if it was the US, English or German army that was being described right from the first sentence of a passage, and not have to decipher the unit after a few paragraphs. One major reason I liked this book was the commentary of soldiers who were on the battlefield and retelling their experiences.
March 31, 2013
I have not read much on the Italian theatre in WWII, so picked this one up because I am going to Italy this Summer (I love to seek out and visit WWII sites when I visit Europe.) One of the best things about this book were the great maps in each chapter. The author gave a very detailed account of troop movements (both German and Allied) and almost all of the details mentioned were on the maps. (It drives me crazy to read WWII battle accounts with inadequate maps.) Clark did a good job of tracking down both Allied and German veterans of the Anzio related campaigns and collecting information from both sides, giving a good account of what the leaders on each side were thinking and what they believed about the plans of the other side. The most disturbing parts of this account were (i) the insistence of politicians who knew far less about the military situation than the generals in the field
to direct military strategy and (ii) the ego of some of the generals (e.g. Mark Clark) who were often more concerned about their own PR than they were about the lives of their men or doing the best for the military situation. Overall, the invasion of Italy in early 1944 was a grueling, hard fought campaign. The hardships endured by the men involved were every bit a difficult as those faced by the veterans of the northern European campaign.
to direct military strategy and (ii) the ego of some of the generals (e.g. Mark Clark) who were often more concerned about their own PR than they were about the lives of their men or doing the best for the military situation. Overall, the invasion of Italy in early 1944 was a grueling, hard fought campaign. The hardships endured by the men involved were every bit a difficult as those faced by the veterans of the northern European campaign.
March 6, 2012
I very much enjoyed Clark's book on Anzio. It's difficult not to blame Churchill for insisting on the Anzio offensive, resulting in tremendous casualties and the eventual, yet strategically insignificant, capture of Rome. Clark lays out the big picture but then seasons it with the stories of the men who fought there. Clark quotes Ernie Pyle's description of surviving an artillery attack on Anzio, one which I remembered reading in Pyle's book, Brave Men. In the end, I can understand Churchill's belief that the Italian campaign might end the war sooner. The same cannot be said for General Mark Clark, the egomaniac, who ignored his orders, wasting an opportunity to destroy the German units, in order to capture Rome. He shifted the attack into the teeth of the German defensive line, causing tremendous, unnecessary losses. After making it to Rome, he informed the Eighth Army that any British troops entering Rome would be shot. What a disgusting, execrable man.
Read the epilogue. It took my breath away.
Read the epilogue. It took my breath away.
May 6, 2015
There were places in this book that I had to skip because they were like a grocery list - this army went here, that army went there, another army was in between...fortunately, there weren't many such paragraphs. I would have gotten more out of it if I had kept a map beside me. Where the author truly shines, though, is in his use of primary sources. He quotes from the journals of many men who fought at Anzio, and those sources made the battle come alive. Clark is English; I don't know if that has anything to do with it, but he is very biased against the American commanders John Lucas and Mark Clark. From what the author includes, both of these commanders bear a lot of blame for the many casualties in this campaign - Lucas because of his over-caution and Mark Clark because of his desire for personal glory. Overall, this book taught me a lot about the campaign and left me with a stronger Spenser of the great debt we owe to the men who fought in WWII.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews