rocketman Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 I'm looking for a book covering the mainland Italy operations from an Allied perspective, preferably one with operational scope and yet enough detail for inspiration for scenarios. Lots of maps and pictures also a plus. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 You might take a look at Rick Atkinson's The Day of Battle. It is US-centric, so not a lot on the 8th. Army side of the campaign, but he does provide a huge amount of information and there are a lot of good, cheap used copies out there. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted May 5, 2016 Author Share Posted May 5, 2016 Thanks Michael. I will look at that, but ideally it would cover all Allied countries. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grunt_GI Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 Well, if you want a more balanced but still mostly American perspective, but with lots of detail and maps, the Green Books are also a great resource.. http://www.history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/collect/ww2-mto.html Overall, I think Atkinson's book is really good. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landser Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 3 hours ago, Michael Emrys said: You might take a look at Rick Atkinson's The Day of Battle. +1. His 'Liberation Trilogy' is very good. Atkinson's books are meticulously researched, and he moves easily from a grunt's eye perspective to the inner workings of the highest command. I agree with Michael's assessment, and he can be rather dismissive of Monty, though not of the Commonwealth armies. He gives credit where it is due, and with respect to the Italian campaign covers the contributions of various allies like Berbers, New Zealanders and Juin's French troops, who were instrumental, and perhaps even responsible for, the unhinging of the Gustav line, despite their exposed right flank. You could do far worse than picking up this book. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 4 hours ago, grunt_GI said: Well, if you want a more balanced but still mostly American perspective, but with lots of detail and maps, the Green Books are also a great resource.. The Green Books are excellent for what they are. The problem is that they can be very hard to find, especially in their original printing with all the great maps. There was an effort several years ago to digitize them with mixed results, but I don't know if those are still available for purchase. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Boss Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 I really liked Fatal Decision: Anzio and the Battle for Rome by Carlo D´Este. Mainly from the US perspective. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 a hard way to make a war by Ian Gooderson is great. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted May 6, 2016 Author Share Posted May 6, 2016 12 hours ago, grunt_GI said: Well, if you want a more balanced but still mostly American perspective, but with lots of detail and maps, the Green Books are also a great resource.. http://www.history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/collect/ww2-mto.html Overall, I think Atkinson's book is really good. The link is blocked for me (Sweden). It has happened a lot lately when trying to download free WWII books from sites like that Found in another place two books "Sicily to Cassino" and "Cassino to ?" - do they comprise the "Green Book"? Seems official like Cole's book on the Ardennes. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grunt_GI Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 9 hours ago, Michael Emrys said: The Green Books are excellent for what they are. The problem is that they can be very hard to find, especially in their original printing with all the great maps. There was an effort several years ago to digitize them with mixed results, but I don't know if those are still available for purchase. Michael https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/008-029-00550-6 This is EVERYTHING done on the US Army in World War 2 on DVD from the GPO...they are all in PDF format and include all the maps. A BARGAIN at only $11...I bought them on CD as separate volumes years ago and they are fantastic. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted May 6, 2016 Author Share Posted May 6, 2016 2 hours ago, grunt_GI said: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/008-029-00550-6 This is EVERYTHING done on the US Army in World War 2 on DVD from the GPO...they are all in PDF format and include all the maps. A BARGAIN at only $11...I bought them on CD as separate volumes years ago and they are fantastic. Looks good, but seems to be out of print/stock. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtsjc1 Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 2 hours ago, grunt_GI said: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/008-029-00550-6 This is EVERYTHING done on the US Army in World War 2 on DVD from the GPO...they are all in PDF format and include all the maps. A BARGAIN at only $11...I bought them on CD as separate volumes years ago and they are fantastic. I purchased it myself and though I have many Green Books some of the ones on the cd are very hard to find or expensive. If you can find this buy it.. They often list items as backorder but I've gotten a couple of books that were on backorder and they do get them pretty fast. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted May 6, 2016 Author Share Posted May 6, 2016 A bit further down it says: Availability Details: Pending Reprint Decision (Priced, No Stock Available in Warehouse or Retail) Just have to wait and see. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grunt_GI Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Yea I noticed that too...too bad... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnW Posted May 14, 2016 Share Posted May 14, 2016 The United Kingdom have their own book series about World War II. There are several volumes for the Mediterranean and Middle East. It is listed on Amazon as the HMSO Official History of WWII. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 (edited) On May 5, 2016 at 2:27 PM, rocketman said: I'm looking for a book covering the mainland Italy operations from an Allied perspective, preferably one with operational scope and yet enough detail for inspiration for scenarios. Lots of maps and pictures also a plus. I just started the book Salerno that sounds like the kind of thing you are asking for. Many accounts of battles with reasonably good maps and lots of them. Available from the Government Printing Office. Michael Edited May 18, 2016 by Michael Emrys 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Zaitzev Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 Are there some books on the German/Italian perspective? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fabishdFGM Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 On 5/6/2016 at 7:33 AM, rocketman said: The link is blocked for me (Sweden). It has happened a lot lately when trying to download free WWII books from sites like that Found in another place two books "Sicily to Cassino" and "Cassino to ?" - do they comprise the "Green Book"? Seems official like Cole's book on the Ardennes. You are correct about the four books for the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (Green Books). The titles are NORTHWEST AFRICA: SEIZING THE INITIATIVE IN THE WEST SICILY AND THE SURRENDER OF ITALY SALERNO TO CASSINO CASSINO TO THE ALPS 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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