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The Day of Battle
THE SECOND WORLD WAR
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19. THE DAY OF BATTLE ~ BOOK AS A WHOLE AND FINAL THOUGHTS ~ (Spoiler Thread)
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A great selection but taking lots of time to read and understand, as much as possible, the complexities of a campaign like this.Needed lots of time with maps.
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Atkinson this Saturday at New York Historical Society - tickets still available.LECTURES & CONVERSATIONS
The Day of Battle: World War II in Sicily and Italy
The Bernard and Irene Schwartz Distinguished Speakers Series
FEATURING:
Rick Atkinson
Sat, June 28th, 2014 | 9:30 am - 11:00 am $40 (members $28) node/105316
EVENT DETAILS
9 am — Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:30 am — Program
Between July 1943 and May 1945, Allied forces pushed up through Sicily and the Italian peninsula towards Rome, fighting tooth and nail through hilly and mountainous terrain, harsh weather conditions, and a formidable German foe. Over the course of the campaign, these officers and soldiers hardened into one of the most determined and proficient fighting forces of WWII. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Rick Atkinson discusses why this controversial and deadly campaign was essential to the liberation of Europe.
SPEAKER BIO
Rick Atkinson is the author of the monumental Liberation Trilogy. The first volume, An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943, received the Pulitzer Prize in 2003. Other volumes in the series include The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 and The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945.
LOCATION
The Robert H. Smith Auditorium at the New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024
Mod
I second that wow, Bentley, wish I was in NYC.
Across the continent from me -- but would be an awesome opportunity.
Mod
Bentley wrote: "Vince - wow. Thanks."Just back from the event
DOUBLE WOW!!!
It was said that it would be eventually on the website to see.
The NYHS motto/saying is "making history come alive" Atkinson really did that
Mod
message 12:
by
Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief
(last edited Jan 12, 2015 01:56PM)
(new)
-
rated it 5 stars
Mod
We are beginning The Day of Battle today January 12th.
by
Rick Atkinson
I would first like to apologize to the group as a whole. I was thrown offtrack in my reading of the Day of Battle due to a very hectic spring. I have finally finished it and here is my review.I loved it. It is decidedly unglamorous and gives real insight into the Italian Campaign. Atkinson looks not only at the generals that shaped this campaign, but also the grunts that fought and died in this "kettle of grief". Other than Cassino and Anzio, Italy rarely gets much discussion compared to D-Day, the Bulge and the War in the Pacific, but it was instrumental in defeating Germany by making D-Day easier and consuming troops and material that the Germans could not replace easily. Atkinson did a great job in illuminating this lesser-known theater of the war. I am looking forward to reading the other two books in the trilogy.
After week 14 the commentary sections seem to be closed so I will here end my commentary on this book which I have finally finished.Like Brian in msg 13 I was so impressed - I "loved it" as a work of a book but the content was hard to love.
Maybe the book so well illustrated this quote from page 573 para 1 - "combat in the Mediterranean had achieved an industrial scale"
In the final section I became more and more disenchanted with Mark Clark - his ego was too overwhelming. He went on leave to the states while the grunts sat in the mud and ducked and prayed (or not).
The Italians seem to have been fickle but were they just weak and afraid?
I appreciate more and more the freedoms I have at such great cost to so many - in WWII and other times and places. I think today if I had been born in Iran, or Syria or China and thank these guys and my lucky stars.
And I come to think to ask myself do we have to have vain generals to win - can the Grants and Eisenhowers not do it alone without the Clarks and Pattons?
And my other question, on reading this book becomes, given the difference of resources was Kesselring the best general in Italy during this campaign? I am not a military guy not a military historian nor a historian but if others want to comment on this I will be interested to hear.
Thanks to you all for your company - though I arrived so late to visit it - thru this book
Mod
No apologies are in order Brian - life is hectic and it happens.
I am just glad that you loved the book.
The History Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 (other topics)The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 (other topics)
An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943 (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
Rick Atkinson (other topics)Rick Atkinson (other topics)
*****SPOILER THREAD*****
For those of you who have completed the book and/or who want to discuss aspects of the book which are beyond our weekly assignments in the non spoiler threads, this thread is a spoiler thread where you can discuss those points. We know that some folks like to color outside the lines - so this a place for them.
If you have completed the book and would like to tell us what you thought about this selection, please feel free to discuss your opinions in a respectful way here.
However, please no links to personal reviews because we consider that self promotion. Simply post your thoughts here without the links.
Many folks read ahead of the weekly assignment and that is OK too; however, you must make sure that your posted comments on the other weekly non spoiler threads do not reflect reading ahead of the posted weekly assignment. If you would like to discuss aspects of the book further along, this is a spoiler thread where you can do just that.
We try to move along the discussion slowly on the weekly non spoiler threads but realize that some folks like to move along swiftly. So we have options for both groups of folks.
This is also the thread where you write your review of each the books in the trilogy after completing them.