Customer Reviews

With Utmost Spirit: Allied Naval Operations in the Mediterranean, 1942-1945

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After many years of neglect, this seems to be the time of the Mediterranean theater of operations during World War II. First came Rick Atkinson's excellent An Army at Dawn that talked about the birth of the American Army in North Africa. Now Ms. Tomblin's excellent companion on the Naval Operations.

It was in the Med that the Army and the Navy won their spurs. Although opposed by the American brass, the operations in the Med tought the Army and the Navy vital lessons that would have doomed the cross channel invasion pushed by American leaders for 1942 (Operation Sledgehammer) or 1943 (Operation RoundUp) at the latest.

It was in the Med that the US Army learned the importance of close air support (instead of the strategic long range favored by the Army Air Force). It was in the Med that the Army and the Navy really learned what years of neglect in fielding new equipment would really cost in lives. It was in the Med that the Navy really learned about amphibious operations that would later pay dividends in both the Pacific and the coast of France (both at Overloard and at Dragoon on the southern coast).

Ms Tomblin has done a truly supurb job of researching both the official documents and talking to the veterans from the Med to put together what will probably be the definitive book on naval operations in the Med.

There has been little published about the Anglo-American naval war in the Mediterranean from November 1942 to May 1945 but this is not the reason Dr. Tomblin's With Utmost Spirit is such a valuable resource. It is because her book is comprehensive and deeply researched. She brings a perspective that respects the men who served. She enriches her narrative with their memories and antidotes and does a good job blending their oral histories with the archival sources. I keep this book in a handy location because I refer to it often. Highly recommended.

I bought "With Utmost Spirit" for my brother who served aboard USS LCT #211 in the invasion of Sicily, Salerno and Anzio. After listening to him rave how this was the best book he had ever read regarding the Navel Operations in the Mediterranean theater of WWII, I also read it and concur that it is the best researched book on this subject I've ever read. Paying particular attention to the references of LCT #221, I did locate a typo on page 259 where LCT #221 was printed as LCI #221. LCI #221 was definitely in the invasion of Salerno, but the action described was definitely that of LCT #221. Gathering all the information for this book must have been a herculean task, and writing it so us laymen can understand was surely a labor of love. Thanks to Ms. Tomblin, this part of the war has been well documented.