The author does an excellent job presenting the heart of the 'British' Eighth Army, certainly one of the most famous organizations of World War II. He takes the story from its beginning in the deserts of North Africa, to its ending at the foot of the Alps in Italy.
Except for occasional forays into the actions of other high level units which affected the 8th Army, the story is entirely told from the 8th's point of view. All the good and the bad are included, from tactics to commanders. The author impressed me with his recounting of both sides of the Army's more famous commander, General Montgomery.
Although the commanders loom large in this book, the story is really about the Army itself, and its many units from numerous countries, from Poland to India, from Canada to Brazil. And some of its more famous outfits were from Australia and New Zealand. There were even American units fighting with this army.
The story is evenly divided between North Africa, Sicily and Italy. It was only at the very end, when the Army launched its final offensive across the Po, in northern Italy, that I thought the author sped through events a bit too quickly.
The author covers the strategic decisions that both helped and hindered the efforts of this army to its final goal, as well as discussing the efforts of individual soldiers on numerous occasions. As such, it is truly a great book on a great army. Although its fame, and the space given it in the newspapers, declined as events in other theaters, especially France, made it appear that Italy was a backwater war, the fighting in Italy was even tougher than it experienced in the desert. As American troops were transferred to other fronts, famous 8th Army units even became part of the American 5th Army in Italy, assuming a greater role in the fighting while suffering terrible casualties.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and recommend it to others interested in the Mediterranean theater of war.
Except for occasional forays into the actions of other high level units which affected the 8th Army, the story is entirely told from the 8th's point of view. All the good and the bad are included, from tactics to commanders. The author impressed me with his recounting of both sides of the Army's more famous commander, General Montgomery.
Although the commanders loom large in this book, the story is really about the Army itself, and its many units from numerous countries, from Poland to India, from Canada to Brazil. And some of its more famous outfits were from Australia and New Zealand. There were even American units fighting with this army.
The story is evenly divided between North Africa, Sicily and Italy. It was only at the very end, when the Army launched its final offensive across the Po, in northern Italy, that I thought the author sped through events a bit too quickly.
The author covers the strategic decisions that both helped and hindered the efforts of this army to its final goal, as well as discussing the efforts of individual soldiers on numerous occasions. As such, it is truly a great book on a great army. Although its fame, and the space given it in the newspapers, declined as events in other theaters, especially France, made it appear that Italy was a backwater war, the fighting in Italy was even tougher than it experienced in the desert. As American troops were transferred to other fronts, famous 8th Army units even became part of the American 5th Army in Italy, assuming a greater role in the fighting while suffering terrible casualties.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and recommend it to others interested in the Mediterranean theater of war.
