Share <Embed>

Buy New

$7.50

List Price: $13.00
Save: $5.50 (42%)

$7.50 + $3.99 shipping

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

Ships from and sold by AceBook.

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Ship to:

Select a shipping address:

Buy Used

$6.48

+ $0.00 shipping

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by Thriftbooks

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Fatal Decision: Anzio and the Battle for Rome Paperback – June, 1992

by Carlo D'Este (Author)

17 customer reviews

See all 9 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$7.99

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

—

$32.00

$5.91

Paperback

"Please retry"

$15.28

$10.93

$1.74

Paperback, June, 1992

$7.50

$7.40

$2.50

Fatal Decision is a powerful, dramatic, moving, and ultimately definitive narrative of one of the most desperate campaigns of World War II. In the winter of 1943-44, Anzio, a small Mediterranean resort and port some thirty-five miles south of Rome, played a crucial role in the fortunes of World War II as the target of an amphibious Allied landing. The Allies planned to bypass the strong German defenses along the Gustav Line and at Monte Cassino sixty miles to the southeast, which were holding up the American and British armies and preventing the liberation of Rome. By taking advantage of Allied command of the sea and air to effect complete surprise, infantry and armored forces landing at Anzio on January 22 were expected to secure the beachhead and then push inland to cut off the two main highways and railroads supplying the German forces to the south, either trapping and annihilating the German armies or forcing them to withdraw to the north, thus opening the way to Rome.

But the reality of one of the most desperate campaigns of World War II was bad management, external meddling, poorly relayed orders, and uncertain leadership. The Anzio beachhead became a death trap, with Allied troops forced to fight for their lives for four dreadful months. The eventual victory in May 1944 was muted, bitter, and overshadowed by the Allied landings in Normandy on June 6. Mixing flawless research, drama, and combat with a brilliant narrative voice, Fatal Decision is one of the best histories ever written of a World War II military campaign.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Fatal Decision: Anzio and the Battle for Rome

$7.50 + $3.99 shipping Only 1 left in stock - order soon. Ships from and sold by AceBook.

Frequently bought together

Total price: $33.60

These items are shipped from and sold by different sellers. Show details

Buy the selected items together

This item:Fatal Decision: Anzio and the Battle for Rome by Carlo D'Este Paperback $7.50
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by AceBook.
$3.99 shipping
Bitter Victory: The Battle for Sicily, 1943 by Carlo D'Este Paperback $10.82
Only 9 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
Patton: Genius for War, A by Carlo D'Este Paperback $15.28
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Carlo D'Este

24

Paperback
$10.82
Carlo D'Este

198

Paperback
$15.28
Matthew Parker

35

Paperback
$11.13
Lloyd Clark

23

Paperback
$14.28
Carlo D'Este

33

Hardcover
94 offers from $0.30
Mark Bowden

660

in Southeast Asia History
Hardcover
$19.49

Special offers and product promotions

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In January 1944 an Allied task force landed at Anzio on Italy's west coast, its mission to draw German forces away from the Cassino bottleneck and open the way to Rome. The landing was only lightly opposed but the Germans soon counterattacked, and for five months U.S. general John Lucas's Anglo-American VI Corps fought desperately to retain its fragile beachhead. D'Este's account of this bloody struggle and the subsequent capture of Rome is well researched and vividly told. The political, strategic and tactical aspects of the campaign are carefully reviewed, as are the dynamics of leadership on both sides. D'Este ( Decision at Normandy ) sorts out the still-simmering controversy over whether Lucas missed a great opportunity by not attempting to capture Rome early in the campaign when it was presumably undefended. First-class military history. Illustrations.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

A meticulous audit of Operation Shingle, the WW II campaign designed to win Rome for Allied forces at an acceptable cost. D'Este (Bitter Victory, Decision in Normandy) provides a panoramic overview of the planning, preparation, and execution of the 1944 assault on Anzio, a Mediterranean port about 30 miles south of Rome. The aim of the amphibious thrust was to bypass strong German defenses along the so-called Gustav line and at Monte Cassino, which had stalled American and well as British armies in their drive to liberate Rome. In D'Este's persuasive view, the strike failed in its objectives for lack of decisive leadership. For example, instead of issuing firm orders, General Sir Harold Alexander made gentlemanly instructions which Mark Clark (commander of the US Fifth Army) often ignored. Nor did Clark prod subordinates to seize highways and rail lines that supplied Wehrmacht forces under the able command of Field Marshal Albert Kesselring. At any rate, the Anzio beachhead became a death trap in which Allied troops fought for their lives in rain and mud for over five dreadful months. When opposition finally crumbled under air and sea pounding, Clark neglected to pursue, let alone destroy, retreating German soldiers, so great was his ambition to be the first man into Rome. In a crowning irony, the recapture of Italy's capital was almost wholly overshadowed by the D-day landings in France. In D'Este's book, blame for the botched Anzio expedition is widely shared. Among others meriting censure, he singles out a meddlesome Winston Churchill, who sowed confusion in the Allied ranks and raised unrealistic expectations. A vivid account of a campaign that attests to the high cost of miscalculation and overconfidence in matters military. (Sixteen pages of maps--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product details

Paperback: 608 pages
Publisher: Perennial; First PB Edition, First Printing edition (June 1992)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 006092148X
ISBN-13: 978-0060921484
Product Dimensions: 1.5 x 5.2 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 17 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,741,813 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #8373 in Books > History > Europe > Italy
- #10285 in Books > History > Military > Strategy
- #51451 in Books > History > Military > World War II

Would you like to tell us about a lower price?
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?

NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Start reading Fatal Decision: Anzio and the Battle for Rome on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars

5 star		59%
4 star		35%
3 star		6%
2 star		0%
1 star		0%

Write a customer review

See all verified purchase reviews

Top customer reviews

Masterful presentation of the Anzio battles undermined by e-book conversion

ByMihai-Vlad Nageaon May 13, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Content-wise I would easily rate this title as "5 stars", I barely left it out of my sight until finished, unfortunately its conversion to e-book format is not top-notch.
Things to improve:
- the map resolution needs to be increased at least to allow the text descriptions to be readable (current version is a foggy nightmare with lossy compression visual artefacts at 100% zoom)
- it would really help to transform the inline note references from normal text to links (otherwise a cumbersome series of clicks, lookups and bookmarking is needed just to read a note and return)
- the index should be dropped altogether, since the page numbers are no longer relevant (there is a disclaimer about this, followed by the recommendation to use the e-book reader search function instead)
- there are also some pesky spelling errors, not many but enough to spoil that "e-book conversion" rating

0Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Anzio ww2

ByJane Athanuson March 28, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

A second book on Anzio for family of a deceased vet of Anzio ww2 to help them understand why he would never sleek of the horrors endured in this fight.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

Part of WW2 Forgotten History

ByMark J. Motleyon January 18, 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

The Campaign in Italy was tough and often overlooked. This diluted the German forces ,but not their spirit. A hard fought campaign again needing overwhelming odds to come out victorious.

0Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOOD AND BAD LEADERSHIP

ByJorge F. Mon March 17, 2010

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I read this after Reading "Warlord" by the same author. Other reviewers have summarized the contents quite well, so I will avoid repeating what they've already said.
However, I feel I must warn the reader about a couple of things:
First, this is military history, with an emphasis on the word "Military". If you get tired from reading things like: "On the morning of February 3rd, British Army [X] started their planned maneuver to outflank German Division [Y], moving along the southern edge of Ridge [R] and attempting to reach Via [A], when suddenly Division [Y] opened fire on the British left flank", stay away from this book. Second, although there are nine (!) appendixes to the book, I felt a small glossary of acronyms was necessary, for the author uses are quite a few of them throughout the book. Also, the inclusion of a small appendix outlining the sizes of platoons, companies, battalions, etc. would have been very helpful in order to have a better picture as one reads.
Other than that, "Fatal decision" is an interesting, enjoyable read (chapter 18 alone is almost worth the price of the book), and a good choice if you want to learn about the Italian Campaign of 1943-1944.
One final warning: This is NOT a book about Cassino and the bloody battles fought there. Although Cassino and Anzio were part of the same Allied Strategy, The events in Cassino are only brought up as reinforcement to what was happening on the Anzio beach-head. But for Anzio, this book is indeed a fine, fine choice.

0Comment 7 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

A Provocative Unusually Profound Historic Tome

Byfranklin c. white jr.on February 10, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The Italian people have always been of extremely high interest to me. This author vigorously produces a robust, modern historian's style that catapults one right into the intricate environs of WWII Italy. I appreciate historians who capture the edgy flavor of modern circumstances and believe me this person comes up with a sterling performance spinning his tale of contemporary angst.