Has anybody read "A Hard Way to Make a War: The Allied Campaign in Italy in the Second World War" by Ian Gooderson? I've been adding some books on the Italian campaign to my library recently and purchased a copy of The Campaign in Italy by Eric Linklater. Unfortunately, when I received it the thing was falling apart and smelled awful so I returned it. While searching on Amazon for another copy I came across Gooderson's book and was wondering if anybody had read it and whether it's worth getting. Steve
Kopite - I have that book and have read it but frankly it's a pot boiler and compltely forgettable- three books I would recommend as being worthwhile are John Ellis - "Cassino - the hollow Victory" is way ahead of both Majdelany and Parker - "D Day Dodgers" of Dan Dancocks and Douglas Orgill's "Gothic Line" THEN I would tackle the Kiwi history as you will be well up on Italy and what we did there Cheers
Kopite, I would also suggest 'Once a Patricia ' by C. Sydney Frost. It covers in great detail the author's experience throughout the Italian Campaign as a member of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.
Thanks Tom & 17thDYRCH for your suggestions. I have the John Ellis book but wanted to read a good overview of the campaign first, before tackling the specifics. My question on the D-Day Dodgers and Once a Patricia books would be, are they specifically on the Canadian contribution or do they give you a good overall view of the campaign? BTW Tom, after reading your book recommendations on the North African Campaign in another thread, I went and bought the Crucible of War trilogy by Barrie Pitt, which I'll be reading next. Really looking forward to it. Steve
Steve- The D Day dodgers is a fair copy of the official Canadian saga in Italy and is as good as any - but an overview is the book by F.M. Carver - which is a bit dry - the Gothic Line is avery good tale of what happened which is restricted by the fact that Orgill was troop leader in the Lothian& Border Horse Tank regt - mainly on the US Army's end of that battle - which was not as viscous as the 8th Army's end of things - John Ellis' Cassino -is way ahead of all with his account of the whole situation in that area for the whole time plus the background of the Army Politics You will find that Pitt's trilogy of the North African situation is a masterly account of the political interference - victories and tragedies of those years and if I can suggest it- read that first as it was continued in Italy - so that you have your mind attuned to the final victory - as when Monty took over in the desert was the beginning of the overall strategy laid down and fought for by Alanbrooke against many odds - so perhaps you should really start at David Frasers "Alanbrooke"- this will give you the whole picture from the beginning at before Dunkirk Cheers
Steve, 'Once a Patricia ' (ISBN 0-8887-292-5) is a memoir of a Canadian junior officer. If you are looking for more of an overview of the Italian Campaign, I would go with Tom's selection.
Thanks again Tom, I took your advice and just ordered a copy of David Fraser's "Alanbrooke" and I'll start there. Then the Pitt trilogy, the Carlo D'este book on Sicily, then on to Italy for the whole nine yards! I've got a lot of reading to do.... Steve
Whilst only focusing on the Italian Campaign for the last third of the book could I give an honourable mention to the following? Sensible judgements interspersed with a good amount of veteran accounts. Eighth Army: From the Western Desert to the Alps, 1939-1945 by Robin Neillands Eighth Army: From the Western Desert to the Alps, 1939-1945: Amazon.co.uk: Robin Neillands: Books
Whilst only focusing on the Italian Campaign for the last third of the book could I give an honourable mention to the following? Sensible judgements interspersed with a good amount of veteran accounts. Eighth Army: From the Western Desert to the Alps, 1939-1945 by Robin Neillands Eighth Army: From the Western Desert to the Alps, 1939-1945: Amazon.co.uk: Robin Neillands: Books Thanks for the suggestion. Having just finished Neillands books on Normandy and the Rhine, both of which were excellent, I have ordered a copy of his Eighth Army book.
Recently taken delivery of Franz Kurowski's book -Battleground Italy, The German Armed Forces in the Battle for the "Boot", (isbn 0-921991-77-0) translated by Ian McMullen, via Abe Books. 'All aspects of the battle are covered, including the operations of the Luftwaffe and the little known war at sea of the Kreigsmarine' There are numerous maps and plenty of photographs, chapters on the main battles, and some of the units involved. Certainly looks to be a valuable resource tool.
a new book: Guglielmi Spring 1945 on Italian Front. Italian - English ISBN-13: 978-8862611985 Primavera 1945 sul fronte italiano. Atlante dei 25 giorni dall'appennino al po. (Roadrunner) The last 25 days of war in Italy full of maps, photos, day by day fightings and with a large bibliografy. Enzus
I came across a copy of "The Battle for Italy" by General William Jackson published in 1967. Has anybody read it and is it a good book on the Italian campaign?
kopite, I enjoyed Jackson's book and still refer back to it sometimes. It doesn't offer the analysis of Ellis, but gives a good overview of the whole campaign so we worth the read. Kurowski's book is of rather patchy quality. Reading his account of Salerno and after sometimes I'm not sure the two sides fought the same battle, but it is a source that is in short supply - a German perspective on the campaign.
I am surprised that nobody here has mentioned Tug of War by Shelford Bidwell and Dominic Graham. Though stronger on the British and the French than on the Americans, I think its the best history of the campaign. Graham's book Cassino (in the old Ballentine series) is also very good.
I am surprised that nobody here has mentioned Tug of War by Shelford Bidwell and Dominic Graham. Though stronger on the British and the French than on the Americans, I think its the best history of the campaign. Bidwell and Graham were officers who both served in Italy, but they had little grasp of what was really going on in Italy. For example (at page 394) they describe Italian Partisans as being "lavishly armed by the Allies, and capable of little more than murder and noisy fire-fights with fellow Italians of a different political hue". They seem not to have grasped that the Italians of 'a different political hue' that they were fighting were the die-hard ultra Fascist troops of Mussolini. Their book, published in 1986, certainly isn't the best book on the Italian campaign.
Peter G: Perhaps I ought to have amended that to 'best that I have read so far.' Tug of War is not flawless. As I said, Bidwell & Graham are stronger on the British and French than on the US Army, which I don't think they understand that well. As you point out, they almost entirely neglect the Italian background and unfairly dismiss the partisans. I'm still impressed by the quality of their writing and their analysis of operations. I certainly share their low opinion of Mark Clark, who was nearly as unpopular with Americans as he was with the British.
I can only agree with PeterG as I have had that book for some years and why it has avoided the shredder I am not too sure Cheers
I can only agree with PeterG as I have had that book for some years and why it has avoided the shredder I am not too sure Cheers What did you dislike about it, Tom?
TTH - it's been so long since I read it that I have forgotten - but the fact that it is still in my mind to shred it tells me there was something major Cheers
