Fatal Decision: Anzio and the Battle for Rome

By Carlo D'Este

Book Overview

An acclaimed military historian tells the whole story of Operation Shingle--the Allied plan to bypass strong German defenses north of Naples, Italy, by landing an amphibious force on the beaches south of Rome at Anzio. 16 pages of halftones; maps; index.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060158905
• ISBN13: 9780060158903
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Harpercollins
• Length: 566 Pages
• Weight: 1.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.9" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOOD AND BAD LEADERSHIP

I read this after Reading "Warlord" by the same author. Other reviewers have summarized the contents quite well, so I will avoid repeating what they've already said. However, I feel I must warn the reader about a couple of things: First, this is military history, with an emphasis on the word "Military". If you get tired from reading things like: "On the morning of February 3rd, British Army [X] started their planned maneuver to outflank German Division [Y], moving along the southern edge of Ridge [R] and attempting to reach Via [A], when suddenly Division [Y] opened fire on the British left flank", stay away from this book. Second, although there are nine (!) appendixes to the book, I felt a small glossary of acronyms was necessary, for the author uses are quite a few of them throughout the book. Also, the inclusion of a small appendix outlining the sizes of platoons, companies, battalions, etc. would have been very helpful in order to have a better picture as one reads. Other than that, "Fatal decision" is an interesting, enjoyable read (chapter 18 alone is almost worth the price of the book), and a good choice if you want to learn about the Italian Campaign of 1943-1944. One final warning: This is NOT a book about Cassino and the bloody battles fought there. Although Cassino and Anzio were part of the same Allied Strategy, The events in Cassino are only brought up as reinforcement to what was happening on the Anzio beach-head. But for Anzio, this book is indeed a fine, fine choice.

First Rate History

This is one of the finest accounts of a military campaign that I've ever read. Carlo D'este is a fabulous military historian. D'este has done something very rare, which is simply to tell the story of a major battle,from the generals' arguments to the crazed, terrifying stories from the soldiers crouching in holes in the ground. Anzio was an operation which had already been considered and rejected. D'este shows that the responsibility for this disaster rests almost entirely upon Winston Churchill, who single-handedly rescued the battle plans from the trash and placed them on the drawing board. Unfortunately, Churchill didn't provide any solutions to the weaknesses of the plan; instead he used sleight of hand to make it appear that the plan would work and bullied his subordinates into accepting it. Most American readers are unaware of the damage that Churchill did to the Allied cause. Although he was a brilliant and essential political leader, he'd always yearned to be a successful commander in the field, and his wish to be a military hero blinded him and prevented him from listening to better qualified men and led him to drag England, and the Allies, into spectacular mistakes like the campaigns in Greece and in Norway. Although his "soft underbelly" argument, which led to the tragic and costly Italian campaign, made sense-surely the Americans and British had to do something to help while the Russians fought the Germans-one wonders whether the invasion of Italy ever justified the titanic casualties which it caused. The foreseeable stalemate on mainland Italy led logically to Operation Shingle, the landings at Anzio. D'este shows that, beyond landing the troops, Allied leadership had no real idea of what they wanted to accomplish there. Something about Italy...Churchill wasn't the only bad leader the Alllies relied on there. Mark Clark,commander of the Fifth Army,had a titanic ego and gradually came to mistrust and hate his English counterparts. One story,which D'este repeats,has him threatening to have US troops fire on any English soldiers who attempt to enter Rome ahead of the Americans. A great deal of this book is spent putting the campaign in context and in telling the stories of the men who fought at Anzio. Unlike many historians D'este has no difficulty moving back and forth between the Big Picture and the story of the poor bastard who's crouched in a ditch, terrified and praying that the enemy troops go around his position. D'este is certainly one of the finest American historian when it comes to the Mediterranean Theatre and this is his finest book.

D'Este's Best Campaign History to Date...

Since the passing of the late Stephen Ambrose, Carlo D'Este has probably assumed the mantle of America's leading World War II historian and author. This work was his fourth dealing with military events in the European theater (and in this case, the third dealing with the Mediterranean). You probably won't find a better, more detailed account of the Anzio battle than in this book. It's well researched, very detailed and a quick moving read.I gathered that D'Este believed that the Allies weren't all that allied and the Germans, outnumbered and outsupplied, simply took advantage of Allied mistakes and blunders and nearly made "Operation Shingle" a total disaster.D'Este clearly admires Mark Clark's bravery, but questions his strategic abilities. He finds Alexander personally likeable, but one of the least decisive theater commanders of the war and Kesselring, daring, resourceful and opportunistic. The General he admires most is without a doubt, Lucian K. Truscott Jr, first commander of the famous U. S. Third Infantry Division, then is elevated to 6th Corps command when Lucas is relieved. The way the author marshalls his facts, you will find it hard to disagree.But to me, the hero of the book is the ordinary land soldier, the men who endured the barbarous fighting, the nightmarish stalemate and the eventual breakout of the beachhead. This is a superb piece of military history and well worth the time it will take to read it.

Combines historical analysis with first hand accounts

Carlo D'Este has written a series of books on the often-overlooked Italian campaigns of World War II. D'Este skillfully combines detailed historical analysis with interesting first hand accounts. The result is a highly readable book. The author uses the first several chapters to set the scene and explain the historical significance of the operation. There are extended passages on the conflicts between the Allied commanders. The central section of the book describes the actual conduct of the operation. The chapters cover the battle at the tactical level and include many short personnel stories. The author moves easily from strategic conflicts between Allied generals to the day-to-day struggle of the infantrymen in the mud of Anzio. The author is not afraid to state an opinion and all views are backed up by significant evidence. This makes the work more than just a collection of war stories. The only quirk I found was D'este obvious admiration of German generals and the German military in general. While he goes to great length to point out the weakness of Allied leadership, the Germans are let off rather lightly, despite the fact that in the end they lost.