EUCOM Battle Knowledge Centers

Few battles compare with the famous, bitterly fought, and controversial World War Two conflict at Cassino, where German forces determined to prevent the Allies from reaching Rome. A former infantry office, who took part in this encounter relates its agonizing history, from the highest level down to the actions of individual soldiers, including the disagreements between British and American commanders and the crucial impact of Italy's geography.

Every soldier knows that geography is destiny. From the grandest of grand strategy to the smallest of small unit tactics, the 'lay of the land' has always been a key factor in military operations, whether in determining the outcome of a single hard-fought engagement of shaping the course of an entire war. Over the ages, armies have fought across every kind of terrain on earth, and in their fascinating study some of our foremost military historians explore the critical role of geography in 38 exemplary battles drawn from 25 centuries of armed conflict.

The struggle to capture Monte Cassino, the impregnable heights barring the Allied advance on Rome in 1944, was the longest land battle fought in Western Europe in World War II and among the most costly. In four separate assaults over the course of the grim six-month epic, more than 105,000 men from the Allied armies and at least 80,000 Germans became casualties, and, between the attacks, the armies of both sides endured conditions of appalling privation. In John Ellis' classic account of the battle, few of the Allied commanders, except for the Free French General Juin, emerge with credit. But the author has nothing but admiration and compassion for the courage and endurance of the common soldiers whose experiences he vividly recreates in the pages of this narrative.

In this book, Rick Atkinson provides an authoritative history of the Allied triumph in North Africa during World War II. He follows the strengthening American and British armies as they invade Sicily in July 1943 and then, mile by bloody mile, fight their way north toward Rome. The decision to invade the so-called soft underbelly of Europe was controversial, but once under way, the commitment to liberate Italy from the Nazis never wavered. The battles at Salerno, Anzio, the Rapido River, and Monte Cassino were particularly lethal, yet as the months passed, the Allied forces continued to drive the Germans up the Italian peninsula. And with the liberation of Rome in June 1944, ultimate victory at last began to seem inevitable. Drawing on a wide array of primary source material, written with great drama and flair.

This is the first book of its kind to attempt a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding how terrain has affected the outcome of warfare in history. Taking a broad sweep from mediaeval times, the English Civil Wars of the 17th century and the Napoleonic Wars of the 18th century, its primary focus is on the major battles and engagements of the century of warfare from 1850 to 1950. Examining the American Civil War, the Anglo-Zulu War, the Boer War, the Great War of 1914-1918, the Spanish Civil War and finally the Second World War, it takes a total terrain view.

Over seventy years on the terrible events and outcome of the Second World War remains hugely relevant and important. Far from diminishing interest in this truly global conflict is increasing. The internet has enabled detailed research into ancestors' war records to an extent unimaginable a decade or so ago. There have been countless thousands of books on all aspects of the War, both general in scope, of particular subjects, biographies and personal memoirs. The author of The Second World War Explained has identified the need for a concise summary covering the main events and personalities. The result is a compelling, highly readable and informing book which allows an understanding of this most dramatic yet tragic period of history. Will appeal to all age groups.