The Day of Battle, Rick Atkinson
The Day of Battle, Rick Atkinson
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The Day of Battle
The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944

Author: Rick Atkinson

Narrator: Jonathan Davis

Unabridged: 32 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/16/2013


Synopsis

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.

About Rick Atkinson

Rick Atkinson was a staff writer and senior editor at The Washington Post for twenty years. He is the bestselling author of the Liberation Trilogy, which includes An Army at DawnThe Day of Battle, and The Guns at Last Light, as well as The British Are ComingThe Long Gray LineIn the Company of Soldiers, and Crusade. His many awards include Pulitzer Prizes for journalism and history. He lives in Washington, D.C.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Michael on June 04, 2017

While as well researched as An Army At Dawn, I found myself struggling with The Day of Battle - perhaps because of the brutality of this phase of the war which cost most casualties than the North African phase. Atkinson goes into excruciating detail about all the blunders: poor logistics, deaths by......more

Goodreads review by Rick on December 20, 2013

The follow-up to Atkinson's An Army at Dawn, The Day of Battle covers the Allied invasion of Sicily and Italy from 1943-1944. I knew little about this front, as it often gets eclipsed by the later invasion of France. It was fascinating to follow the internal struggles between the American and Briti......more

Goodreads review by William on November 18, 2008

"Day of Battle" by Rick Atkinson is volume II of his "Liberation Trilogy," a retelling of the US involvement in WWII that welds lyrical prose with detailed narrative. For Atkinson, writing a book on Sicily and Italy is a tough deal, as it is the lackluster mid-point between North Africa and France,......more

Goodreads review by A.L. on November 03, 2013

The allied campaign in Italy could be summed up in one quote, spoken by a general from New Zealand after studying a failed American attempt to breach the Rapido river, “Nothing was right except the courage.” What went wrong? Plenty. Cassino. Security lapses. Malaria. Italy’s topography. Cassino. The......more

Goodreads review by Curtiss on November 25, 2011

The second volume in Rick Atkinson's Liberation Trilogy; I can hardly wait for volume three. This volume deals with the second year of the war in the Mediterranean, including the invasions of Sicily, Salerno, and Anzio; ending with the capture of Rome the day before the Normandy landings, much to the......more