The Savage Storm: The Heroic True Story of One of the Least told Campaigns of WW2

The usual high standard of book that has become the norm for James Holland. Obviously,y well researched, well written and flows nicely. Easy to read and not tedious, and I didn't get bogged down in trivia. All the stories told were relevant and added to the book immensely.

This book is incredibly well researched. It covers the period of the first landings on the Italian mainland to just before Monte Casino. I have already ordered the next book in the series.At times it may feel like a little heavy going because of the amount of detail but it would be unfair to remove a star because of that. Much of the detail comes not only from reports and military records but diaries from both the allied and axis sides.

This is an excellent book that details the campaign in Italy during World War 2 in a very effective and detailed fashion while still being very readable

A military history of a very bitter campaign, well researched and written in a style that adds atmosphere which makes it eminently entertaining

I never appreciated before, how incredibly difficult the Italian campaign was, and this wonderful book has made me much more knowledgeable. Can't wait to read Casino.

Well written and interesting book. Excellent use of witness input to placecontext on the facts

A very good description of the early part of this campaign which I have not seen covered by any other writer.

Great book, author is always a the top of his game.His books are so interesting and facts spot on.

I liked it

A grand tragedy of close in fighting over inhospitable terrain. The PBI had the worst on either side and Rome was still an elusive target with all the fire power on the allied side. Based upon diaries from that time, also from those that did not make it.

A good narrative on the first few months of the Italian campaign. Mostly accounts of small unit actions and the issues facing the frontline troops of both sides. This is not for the reader who wants detailed accounts of overall strategy and execution of the campaign, it gives enough info to know what’s going on, but more so, it imparts the “feel” of the fighting. I happen to like Holland’s writing style, if you’ve liked any of his other books, you’ll probably like this one.

Another excellent World War II history by James Holland, author of Sicily ‘43 and Normandy ‘44. “A Savage Storm” picks up where Sicily ‘43 left off, focusing on the period from the Allied invasion of southern Italy in September 1943, through the capture of Naples and the Foggia airfields in October, and then through the end of that year. The book is in some sense a prequel to Holland’s “Italy’s Sorrow” (2008).Holland writes well, and his prose is always a pleasure to read. He does a good job of seamlessly integrating strategy, politics and logistics with the experiences of the soldiers on the ground, both Allied and German. His narrative effectively highlights the intricacies of Italy’s surrender, the shortage of landing craft that prevented the Allies from using amphibious assaults to flank the German lines of defense, the strategic importance of the Foggia airfields, and the all-consuming but unmet goal of capturing Rome before Christmas. His descriptions convey how mountainous Italy is, how the Allied line of advance was crisscrossed by rivers, and how the advantage lay with the German defenders. To make matters worse, the winter of 1943 in Italy was particularly cold and rainy, bogging the Allied armies down in mud and largely grounding the air support that had proved so decisive in North Africa and Sicily. Despite all of this, and despite the limits of logistics and the competition with Overlord for resources, the British 8th and American 5th armies made slow, steady and bloody progress up the leg of Italy until halted by prepared German defenses on the Gustav Line.Holland also explores the performance of the leading commanders, Mark Clark for the Americans, Montgomery for the British, and Albert Kesselring for the Germans. Holland makes a good case for the idea that General Clark and General Montgomery did well given the limited resources allocated to the Italian campaign and argues that Clark’s performance has been underrated and that history has been too kind to Kesselring.As usual with Holland’s books, he mines diaries and letters of Allied and German soldiers to assemble a zeitgeist of their miserable and brutal experience fighting in the mud and mountains. The immediacy this produces is both a virtue and a vice. The one criticism I have of Holland’s style is that the peripatetic movement between the experiences of different soldiers in different places makes it difficult to keep track of the bigger picture on the ground.All and all, an excellent addition to the literature about World War II in Europe.

How the under strength allied forces did so in Italy in spite of the terrible weather which diminished their superiority in the air and with mechanized forces is a miracle paid for in blood