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Title details for The Day of Battle by Rick Atkinson - Available

The Day of Battle

The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944

#2 in series

by Rick Atkinson
Rick Atkinson
Audiobook (Includes supplementary content)
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
The harrowing story of one of history's most compelling military campaigns.
In An Army at Dawn—winner of the Pulitzer Prize—Rick Atkinson provided a dramatic and authoritative history of the Allied triumph in North Africa. Now, in The Day of Battle, he follows the American and British armies as they invade Sicily in July 1943, attack Italy two months later, and then fight their way, mile by bloody mile, north toward Rome.

The Italian campaign's outcome was never certain; in fact, President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, and their military advisors bitterly debated whether an invasion of the so-called soft underbelly of Europe was even wise. But once underway, the commitment to liberate Italy from the Nazis never wavered, despite the agonizing price. The battles at Salerno, Anzio, the Rapido River, and Cassino were particularly ferocious and lethal, yet as the months passed, the Allied forces continued to drive the Germans up the Italian peninsula. Led by Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, among the war's most complex and controversial commanders, American troops became increasingly determined and proficient. With the liberation of Rome in June 1944, ultimate victory in Europe at last began to seem inevitable.

Drawing on extensive new material from a wide array of primary sources, and written with great drama and flair, The Day of Battle is narrative history of the first rank.

  • Creators

  • Series

    The Liberation Trilogy

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 2, 2007

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780743569644
      • File size: 293359 KB
      • Duration: 10:11:09

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      This book is the second in the author's trilogy on the war in Europe. It is authoritative and highly detailed. And that's its weakness in audio. Even this abridged version is too full of minutiae, which slows down the pace of the reading. After all, does the listener really need to hear that an Allied invasion involved dozens of this, hundreds of that, and thousands of a third thing? As narrator, the author is capable enough. The slight gravel in his voice evokes the weariness of the battlefront troops. But his unrelenting dour tone grows tiring at this length. Listeners keenly interested in the war in Europe will enjoy this work, but those with only a casual interest might do well to look elsewhere. R.C.G. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      The Allied invasion of Sicily and Italy in 1943 began the first incursion into the Hitler-Mussolini European stronghold. Narrator Jonathan Davis reads DAY OF BATTLE like an allegorical epic about a just war. He senses the author's unique, almost poetic, writing style and uses a quiet, well-controlled inflection to make it sound Homeric. The narrative technique creates a near lyrical cadence unusual for a modern war story. The author identifies the speakers at each occasion, so Davis need not use distracting characterizations to differentiate their words from the words of the writer. General George Patton led American forces into Italy, and few biographies of WWII leaders so well portray the man whose prodigious ego created both his fame and infamy. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from July 30, 2007
      Atkinson surpasses his Pulitzer-winning An Army at Dawn
      in this empathetic, perceptive analysis of the second stage in the U.S. Army's grassroots development from well-intentioned amateurs to the most formidable fighting force of World War II. The battles in Sicily and Italy developed the combat effectiveness and the emotional hardness of a U.S. Army increasingly constrained to bear the brunt of the Western allies' war effort, he argues. Demanding terrain, harsh climate and a formidable opponent confirmed the lesson of North Africa: the only way home was through the Germans: kill or be killed. Atkinson is pitilessly accurate demonstrating the errors and misjudgments of senior officers, Field Marshal Sir Harold Alexander, Gen. Mark Clark and their subordinates commanding corps and divisions. The price was paid in blood by the men at the sharp end: British and French, Indians and North Africans—above all, Americans. All that remained of the crew of one burned-out tank were the fillings of their teeth, for one example. The Mediterranean campaign is frequently dismissed by soldiers and scholars as a distraction from the essential objective of invading northern Europe. Atkinson makes a convincing case that it played a decisive role in breaking German power, forcing the Wehrmacht onto a defensive it could never abandon.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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