Acclaimed
WWII historian James Holland's new book both recasts the controversial Italian
Campaign and sets a new standard in the chronicling of war
Following
victory in Sicily, while the central command planned the spring 1944 invasion
of France, Allied troops crossed into southern Italy in September 1943,
expecting to drive Axis forces north and liberate Rome by Christmas. Italy
quickly surrendered but German divisions fiercely resisted, and the hoped-for
quick victory descended into one of the most challenging and protracted battles
of the entire war.James Holland's The Savage Storm,
chronicling the dramatic opening months of the Italian Campaign in unflinching
and insightful detail, is unlike any campaign history yet written. Holland has
always narrated war at ground level, but here goes further by chronicling
events almost entirely through the contemporary eyes of those who were there on
all sides and at all levels--Allied, Axis, civilians alike. Weaving together a
wealth of letters, diaries, and other documents--from the likes of American
General Mark Clark, German battalion commander Georg Zellner, Italian
politician Filippo Caracciolo, and many others--Holland traces the battles as they
were experienced across plains, over mountains, through shattered villages and
cities, in intense heat and, towards the end of December 1943, frigid cold and
relentless rain.
Such close-up views persuade Holland to
recast important aspects of the campaign, reappraising the reputation of Mark
Clark himself and other senior commanders of the U.S. Fifth and British Eighth
armies. Given the shortage of Allied shipping and materiel allocated to Italy
because of the build-up for D-Day, more was expected of Allied troops in Italy
than anywhere else, and a huge price was paid by everyone for each bloodily
contested mile. Putting readers vividly in the moment as events unfolded, with
characters made unforgettable by their own words, The Savage Storm is
a defining account of the pivotal months leading to Monte Cassino, and a
landmark in the writing about war.
show more
