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"The Allied landings at Anzio, on the Italian coast, six months before the Normandy invasion were intended as an "end run" around the stalemate that had developed in Italy. The planners hoped that the Allied invasion would surprise the Germans and threaten their defensive line in southern Europe. But the invasion stalled a few miles inland and the Allies faced a five-month bloody fight. In the end, American and British troops accomplished one of the great defensive stands of all time, turning defeat into victory. Using previously unpublished archival material, including memoirs from American, British, and German veterans, award-winning historian Flint Whitlock reveals the entire allied and German campaign, never forgetting the experiences of the soldiers in muddy, freezing, water-filled foxholes, struggling to hold off endless waves of infantry assaults, aerial bombardments, and artillery barrages. Desperate Valour is the first comprehensive account of the unrelenting slugfest at Anzio and a stirring chronicle of courage beyond measure."--Provided by publisher.
About the author
Flint Whitlock, a former U.S. Army officer and Vietnam War veteran, is the award-winning author of a dozen books and scores of magazine articles, most dealing with World War II. He has also appeared on History Channel, Fox News's War Stories with Oliver North, in numerous documentaries, and has been the editor of WWII Quarterly magazine since 2010.
He lectures across the country and frequently leads battlefield tours for the Smithsonian Institution, National Geographic Society, Minnesota World War II History Roundtable, Colorado National Guard, and other groups. He and his clinical psychologist wife, Dr. Mary Ann Watson, have three grown children and divide their time between Denver and Vail, Colorado.
Summary
A riveting and comprehensive account of the Battle of Anzio and the Alamo-like stand of American and British troops that turned certain defeat into victory
The four-month-long 1944 battle on Italy's coast, south of Rome, was one of World War II's longest and bloodiest battles. Surrounded by Nazi Germany's most fanatical troops, American and British amphibious forces endured relentless mortar and artillery barrages, aerial bombardments, and human-wave attacks by infantry with panzers. Through it all, despite tremendous casualties, the Yanks and Tommies stood side by side, fighting with, as Winston Churchill said, "desperate valour."
So intense and heroic was the fighting that British soldiers were awarded two Victoria Crosses, while American soldiers received twenty-six Medals of Honor--ten of them awarded posthumously.
The unprecedented defensive stand ended with the Allies breaking out of their besieged beachhead and finally reaching their goal: Rome. They had truly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
Award-winning author and military historian Flint Whitlock uses official records, memoirs, diaries, letters, and interviews with participants to capture the desperate nature of the fighting and create a comprehensive account of the unrelenting slugfest at Anzio.
Desperate Valour is a stirring chronicle of courage beyond measure.
Foreword
From award-winning military historian Flint Whitlock, the first comprehensive account of the fighting at Anzio and the Alamo-like stand of American and British troops that turned defeat into a defensive victory
