A Sideshow War: The Italian Campaign, 1943-1945 / the War North of Rome: June 1944-May 1945
1998; The MIT Press; Volume: 78; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
0026-4148
Autores Tópico(s)Italian Fascism and Post-war Society
ResumoA SIDESHOW WAR: The Italian Campaign, 1943-1945, by George F. Botjer. 226 pages. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, TX 1996. $29.95. THE WAR NORTH OF ROME: June 1944-May 1945, by Thomas R. Brooks. 408 pages. Sarpedon, NY. 1996. $27.50. The Allied offensive against what Winston Churchill called the soft underbelly of the European Theater, or the Italian Campaign, remains a controversial issue. With the Soviet Union calling for a second front, the Allies decided not to conduct a cross-channel invasion in 1943 but, instead, tried to divert German attention from the Eastem Front by invading Italy. George F Botjer's book provides an honest appraisal of Allied peripheral operations in Italy. Unlike most books on this topic, A Sideshow War: The Italian Campaign, 1945, does not just bestow accolades on Allied efforts, it analyzes the campaign's political, social and economic issues, concluding that both the Axis and Allies achieved their limited objectives-which was a tragedy itself from a military standpoint. As a result, the Italian Campaign was nothing more than a series of battles that adversely affected the Allies and actually helped the Germans by providing them the resource-rich northem Italian highlands. All said, it was a campaign that just did not have to happen. Regardless, the Italian Campaign continued until the war's end, generating many accounts of individual valor and determination to push Axis forces north out of Italy. On 25 May 1944, the infamous Anzio beachhead breakout and penetrating forces from the impregnable Gustav line linked and began the drive toward Rome and beyond. During this pursuit, the 5th US Army Corps furnished large forces for Operation Anvil-Dragoon in southern France, relegating the Italian Campaign to a sideshow war and, eventually-in historical terms-the forgotten war. In The War North of Rome: June 1944-May 1945, Thomas R. Brooks claims the Italian Campaign lost its appeal even sooner. Nonetheless, Brooks offers an extremely well researched and smartly compartmentalized account of the 11-month saga of bitter combat and gallant sacrifice. In contrast to Botjer's book, The War North of Rome focuses less on why the Italian Campaign was forgotten and more on why it should be remembered. With a foreword by Bob Dole, former Senator and Italian Campaign veteran, the book redresses a profound injustice by finally revealing a comprehensive account of what occurred in Rimini, Bologna and areas surrounding the Amo and Po rivers. Brooks, like Dole, served as a rifleman in the lOth Mountain Division. His writing is emotional and meticulously detailed. However, he remains dispassionately accurate when portraying Allied struggles in Italy. Of special interest is Brooks' ability to fully integrate the adventures and activities of the large mixture of Allied nationalities involved. …
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