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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but a bit Top-Heavy in Approach, September 27, 2005
This review is from: Anzio 1944: The Beleaguered Beachhead (Campaign) (Paperback)
Stephen Zaloga's Anzio 1944, #155 in Osprey's Campaign series, provides a solid, if conventional account of one of the more controversial Allied operations in the Second World War. Zaloga states in the introduction "the Anzio Operation presents a classic study of ambitious political objectives doomed by limited military resources." British Prime Minister Churchill and US 5th Army Commander General Clark were not satisfied to merely outflank the German defenses on the Gustav Line with the intended amphibious operation - they wanted Rome. Although Zaloga's narrative summary is solid, his over-emphasis on the role of senior decision-makers ignores the misery down at the trench level in this very bitter campaign and does not provide readers with any feel for the tactical-level combat.
In the section on opposing commanders, Zaloga's top-heavy approach is most evident and it reduces the value of this component. On the German side, Zaloga only covers the theater commander (Kesselring) and the two army commanders (von Mackensen and Vietinghoff), with little real mention of the commanders of the 1st Fallschirmjager Corps or 76th Panzer Corps (von Choltitz). On the Allied side, Zaloga only covers the theater commander (Alexander), army commander (Clark) and corps commander (Lucas), with only slight asides to Truscott or the British tactical-level commanders. The Opposing Armies section is also rather abbreviated and provides none of the incisive analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of each side that Zaloga normally delivers. Although Zaloga provides many photographs of the Allied 1st Special Service Force, he fails to discuss its strength or special capabilities or even mention that it was a joint US-Canadian unit. Overall, the British contribution at Anzio gets rather short shrift in this volume. However, the Opposing Plans section is longer than usual and effectively puts the initial Allied landings into their proper operational context, with apt mention of German intelligence failures and Allied misgivings about the operation.
As usual for the Osprey Campaign series, the maps and artwork are quite good. The five 2-D maps are: strategic situation in Italy, January 1944; Anzio beachhead, 1 February 1944; Operation Seitensprung, 28 February - 3 March 1944; Operation Buffalo, 23-24 May 1944; the Race for Rome, 31 May - 1 June 1944. The three 3-D maps are: Operation Shingle, 22 January 1944; Battle for the Thumb, 3-11 February 1944; Operation `Fischfang' 16-20 February 1944. The three battle scenes are: He-177 bombers launching Hs-293 missiles at the Allied fleet; the US 45th Infantry Division fighting for `the factory,' 11 February 1944; and German Panther tanks and B-IV demolition vehicles moving up to the front. Zaloga's order of battle data is decent, particularly for the German counterattacks, but is a bit weak on the Allied side (particularly in mentioning units that arrived later in the beachhead).
Zaloga's campaign narrative is particularly adept at assessing Allied actions and German reactions. Unlike some other historians, Zaloga does not criticize Lucas for failing to seize the Alban Hills or Rome - which would have exposed his small forces to defeat in detail - but does fault him for not securing better defensive positions, such as Cisterna. Zaloga also states that the Allies seriously underestimated the German ability to reinforce the bridgehead area and that Kesselring did not flinch in the face of a surprise amphibious landing and divert troops from the main line of resistance at Cassino. Furthermore, German air and missile attacks negated much of the usual Allied naval gunfire support and poor weather reduced air support. Muddy, water-logged terrain negated armor on both sides and reduced the battle to a series of slugging matches in the mud, dominated by artillery. In essence, Anzio degenerated into a First World War-style battle and was just as inconclusive. Although the Germans tried three times to smash the Allied beachhead - and came close - the ample supply of artillery ammunition and the ability to mass corps artillery saved the Allies from disaster. Anzio is a difficult campaign to study, but Zaloga's narrative provides a comprehensible summary.
My only real concern with Anzio 1944 - and this is made in full recognition of the constraints of the Osprey series - is that this volume does not make any effort to depict the tactical level, which reduces the value of this account. Given that most of the fighting at Anzio involved a few German divisions against a few Allied divisions, I find it a glaring omission that the actual front-line soldiers are omitted; why is there not a single first-person account from somebody who actually fought at Cisterna or the `Factory?' Zaloga might have noted that Audie Murphy was in the 1-15th Infantry near Cisterna and his book would have been a good source of one or two accounts of small-unit action at Anzio While the discussions about Churchill and Clark and Kesselring are fine for strategic context, this volume fails to convey the sheer misery of this campaign for the infantry that fought in it.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Overview of the Campaign, May 5, 2008
This review is from: Anzio 1944: The Beleaguered Beachhead (Campaign) (Paperback)
This book provides an excellent introduction to the Anzio Campaign. Anzio was an interesting operation in that the landings were envisioned as a way to bypass the Gustav Line and break open the deadlock in Italy. Sadly, the attack was launched too far behind the front line and with too few troops to succeed. Although a linkup was eventually established and Rome liberated soon after, the Anzio beachhead did little more than serve as a means to tie down some Axis forces.
This book covers the entire campaign from Operation Shingle through the fall of Rome. The scale of description is generally at the battalion to divisional level. The writing is very clear and the objectives and flow of operations are easy to follow. The only downside is a lopsided presentation style. The initial time periods from Jan 22 until March 3 are covered in excellent detail, while the remaining periods (mainly Operation Buffalo to the Race to Rome) are rushed; indeed the period from March 4 until May 23 are covered in several short sentences. As always with Osprey books the visuals are outstanding. The 2D maps and photographs are fantastic and the 3D maps are of the newer, more detailed and useful Osprey style. I recommend this book to readers interested in gaining an overview of the Anzio Operations and for more serious students of military history looking for a quick desk reference on the subject.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
The Troubles at Anzio, July 30, 2009
This review is from: Anzio 1944: The Beleaguered Beachhead (Campaign) (Paperback)
I thought the accounting of this campaign was great but, once again, I suggest that if the author had a few more pages it would have been a wee bit better.
The book starts with a 2-D map of the strategic situation at the time of the landing. With Rome at the top and the 5th Army at the Gustav Line at the bottom, Anzio is in the middle. The text begins with background info of the political situation of the Allies as well as the strategic setting in the Med. The main topics include Churchill and Clark which the author is critical of. While discussing Churchill, the author explains the imperialistic agenda that the Prime Minister follows in regards to the Med and the Middle East. This aspect was excellent and convincing but it came at the expense of a reduced statement of the stalemate at Monte Cassino.
The Chronology that follows was very good, covering the period from 11/8/43 to 6/5/44.
In Opposing Commanders, Kesselring, Mackensen and Vietinghoff are discussed while Lucas, Truscott and Darby are covered for the Allies. Alexander and Clark are briefly mentioned. This chapter was adequate but Opposing Forces was a bit thin, a victum to page limitation. The Opposing Plans for both sides was very good and gave the reader a headstart as what to expect in the campaign. A full page 2-D map of the beachhead on 2/1 complees the chapter.
Mr Zaloga devotes 61 pages to the campaign which begins with the Anzio landing and ends with Clark entering Rome. Besides the good coverage of the German attempts to push the Allies back into the sea, there are three 3-D maps to help depict the action. The first map shows the 3 distinct landing zones. The second map is the Battle for the Thumb, the British salient. The map was good with helpful comments but it was flawed with some of the action was placed in the crease. The final 3-D map was of Operation Fischfang, another attack against the British sector. Moving on, another German offensive was Operation Seitensprung. A nice 2-page map shows the axes of attack along the front line and completes this narrative. This operation also ended in stalemate but at great cost to both sides.
In late May, the Allies begin Operation Buffalo which has for its main objective Cisterna and Highway 7 which leads to Alban Hills. A 2-D map shows troop movements of this action. The last 2-D map show the breakout and the race to Rome. Clark had a chance to trap the 10th Army but ignored this tactical victory for the glory of liberating Rome - poor judgement.
The author's conclusions are concise and to the point. He is critical of the strategic and tactical planning and execution of this campaign from the command level, with extra criticism bestowed on Churchill, Clark and to a lesser degree on Alexander for their errors of judgement and execution.
Besides the maps, there are many photos and three color illustrations. This campaign was covered very well and is highly recommended.
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