12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good military history of the Sicily campaign, October 19, 1997
By A Customer
Bitter Victory is an excellent portrayal of the Sicily campaign of WWII. It shows the battle as both the great victory it was, and as a series of mistakes and missed opportunities. The campaign as a predecessor for D-Day is presented also. I would have liked to have seen more names of officers and more information about specific units. The author is capable of being very technical, but for the most part stays away from military technical jargon. This is not a teaching treatise for West Point; nor is it fluff for an ABC mini-series. Overall, I recommend this book to those interested in the second World War. It is very unfortunate it is out of print.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Outstanding Work, March 27, 2000
I strongly agree that it is unfortunate this title is out of print. This is the book that turned me on to D'Este's writing. He has an excellent knack for enlivening his very detailed but smooth reading narrative with colorful anecdotes not often seen elsewhere. His account of the fighting around Primosole Bridge (darkly foreshadowing Montgomery's later, very similar failure during Operation Market Garden) is particularly good. There is a lack of coverage of the air and naval war around Sicily, and how operations on the Eastern Front (where the Battle of Kursk was raging) affected the German conduct of the battle, if at all. However, these are very minor criticisms, and I view this book as a classic.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Complete and Authoritative Account of the Sicily Campaign, June 27, 2009
On July 10, 1943 while the great battle in the east at Kursk was being fought, the Western Allies took their first big step to get back on the continent by landing on Sicily. Within a few days Hitler will start transferring divisions back to southern Europe to protect his southern flank.
Bitter Victory is an exhaustive and brilliant telling of not only the Sicily invasion but of one of the most discordant times between the US-British alliance. The author will describe the battle for Sicily in great detail but will also cover the friction between Patton and Montgomery and the upper echelons of British and American Commands.
The author methodically takes you step by step from the Allies choosing of strategy to follow, to the North African campaign when the Allies were first thrown together to the contentious planning of Operation Husky, to the troubled landings on Sicily. Once on the island the author delivers a detailed day to day account of the battles as Patton and Montgomery move north to capture the island and the Axis forces defending it. The island was captured but much of the garrison was allowed to escape to Italy.
To get a better understanding of the invasion of Sicily, the author starts in North Africa and the Torch landings where the mistrust and animosity began. The early days of 2nd Corps under General Fredendall were not auspicious; Alexander and Montgomery looked down on the Americans from the very beginning and their attitudes wouldn't change throughout the war despite the fact that once competent commanders took over and with a little experience, the American soldier became as good a soldier as British or French etc. They both continued to undercut, and subordinate American involvement in Tunisia and later in Sicily.
The planning for Sicily was simply terrible, uncoordinated and lacking confidence. Once the airborne / amphibious landing took place in the south, Montgomery almost immediately changed the battle plan, excluding the Americans from their part in the plan. It was a terrible mistake on Montgomery's part for several reasons. First, the German resistance was stronger than Montgomery figured and the US forces would have been a big help if they were deployed as planned. Second, he underestimated Patton for Patton went ahead on his own and captured the majority of the island and beat Montgomery to Messina. The plan for the ground assault was faulty and insufficient air and sea power was not called in as well allowing most of the Axis garrison to leave through Messina and reach Italy where the Allies would have a much tougher time defeating them. These aspects and more are covered by the author.
Fifteen maps and 40 photos are included. The maps cover the key engagements on the island. The photos show mostly officers and men and a few battlefield shots. There is also an impressive Appendix that show Org charts and Order of Battle, key documents and further commentary. They're also extensive Footnotes and Bibliography as well as a useful Index if further study is desired.
The author has written the definitive account of this campaign. Mr D'Este, a veteran, knows his subject matter thoroughly and gives an excellent assessment of all aspects of it: the operational, political and personal. Eisenhower, Montgomery, Patton, Alexander and Bradley as well as some of their subordinates are discussed and appraised. A new reader after finishing this book will have a good understanding of the hardships of Operation Husky as well as the friction that grew between the two Allies. The more experienced reader will enjoy it for its sound tactical appraisal. I would highly recommend this book to anybody interested in the campaign or the early relationship of the Allies. The author's books on the Anzio landings and on Normandy are also comparable accomplishments and should be considered as well.
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