The Savage Storm: The Heroic True Story of One of the Least told Campaigns of WW2
£9.50£23.80 (-60%)
‘[A] captivating and dramatic account. . . Drawn from letters and diaries, Holland’s immersive narrative is told through the eye-level perspectives of dozens of subjects. Readers will be enthralled’ Publishers Weekly
‘Tells the story of the hard, bloody, muddy fighting that filled the rest of 1943… this excellent book reinforces Holland’s reputation as the busiest and most popular military historian of the second world war working today’ Spectator
‘A remarkable achievement by a historian at the height of his powers. Holland has successfully illustrated both the significance and the savagery of the Italian campaign… through a powerful and compelling narrative’ Military History Matters
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From the bestselling author of Brothers in Arms comes the story of the most pivotal Allies campaign of World War II.
With the invasion of France the following year taking shape, and hot on the heels of victory in Sicily, the Allies crossed into Southern Italy in September 1943. They expected to drive the Axis forces north and be in Rome by Christmas. And although Italy surrendered, the German forces resisted fiercely and the swift hoped-for victory descended into one of the most brutal battles of the war.
Even though shipping and materiel were already being safeguarded for the D-Day landings, there were still huge expectations on the progress of the invading armies, but those shortages were to slow the advance with tragic consequences. As the weather closed in, the critical weeks leading up to Monte Cassino would inflict a heavy price for every bloody, hard fought mile the Allied troops covered.
Chronicling those dark, dramatic months in unflinching and insightful detail, The Savage Storm is unlike any campaign history yet written. James Holland has always recounted the Second World War at ground level, but this version telling brings the story vividly to life like never before. Weaving together a wealth of letters, diaries, and other incredible documents, Holland traces the battles as they were fought – across plains, over mountains, through shattered villages and cities, in intense heat and, towards the end, frigid cold and relentless rain – putting readers at the heart of the action to create an entirely fresh and revealing telling of this most pivotal phase of the war.
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Praise for James Holland
‘Impeccably researched and superbly written’ Observer
‘Holland has something new to say…. Filled with insight and detail’ Neil Oliver
‘James Holland is the best of the new generation of WW2 historians’ Sebastian Faulks
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Additional information
| Publisher | Bantam (21 Sept. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 624 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1787636682 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1787636682 |
| Dimensions | 16.2 x 4.1 x 24 cm |
by Marcus Woodhouse
Still looking for a book that covers the last year of the war in Italy, as in after the liberation of Rome and the battle of Anzio, but this at least looks at the fight up the boot of Italy before the battles for Monte Casino. Worth it for that.
by Mr. N. Parry-Williams
I’ve learnt more about the conditions my father and his Gunners fought and died in than in all the other material I’ve read. Even in his own letters home, which he heavily self-censored to spare his family
by Kevin Francis
I am a big James Holland fan and also have a keen interest in the campaign in Italy, so I was looking forward to this book covering the action from the initial Allied landings in Italy up until the end of 1943. Overall, this was an engrossing and interesting read and a worthwhile addition to the coverage of the WW2 Italian campaign. The first James Holland book I read was “Italy’s Sorrow” and this can be seen as something of a prequel to that.
This is not a book for the reader interested in the detail of the tactical/operational level of the various battles covered. Rather, James combines the high-level picture of the campaign with front-line stories giving an idea of what the campaign was like for the participants at the sharp end (including Allied soldiers, German soldiers and Italians). In general, it was pretty miserable for all concerned.
James does a good job of putting the campaign into the context of the war overall and explaining why the Allies decided to go into Italy and the misconceptions behind the original decision that led to the very real difficulties the Allies ended up facing. James lays the blame very clearly on the Allied High Command for placing the various commanders and their troops in a situation that wasn’t exactly “No win” but would be a very tough proposition. In the circumstances, the Allied forces actually performed very well…but at a cost.
As in “Italy’s Sorrow” James covers the grim impact of the war on the Italian population.
I confess that much as I enjoyed reading this book, I did wonder why James wrote this book. Outside of people like me with an interest in the WW2 Italian Campaign, I don’t imagine this will appeal to a huge general audience. Here’s what James has to say in the Postscript…
“So what had been entered into as a short, limited campaign for some quick but rich rewards turned into exactly the long-drawn-out and bloody brutal battle that General Marshall had feared but none the less sanctioned. Only by looking at those first months, however, and the descent into awful attrition to which it so quickly fell does the rest of this long war in Italy start to make any sense.”
Perhaps more poignantly, James believes that the stories of those who took part in the campaign, and the sacrifices involved, deserve to be remembered.
I’ve given this 4 stars rather than 5 stars because it felt a little incomplete (even though in the hardback edition the main text runs to 476 pages and the book in total to 565 pages). It ends at a somewhat arbitrary point…Friday 31 December 1943 (“Last day of year with Fifth Army drawing up to Gustav Line and Eighth Army north of Ortona”)…but that’s probably as good a place as any for this first Act of the Italian campaign.
by Amazon Customer
The book is another masterpiece from Mr Holland. Whenever I read one of his books it’s so difficult to put down but you know that as each page is read you are nearing the end of the book and you want it to keep going
by trello
Once again a captivating read, well researched and written. The writing takes the minds eye into the story. As ever there are snippets that are new, but as someone whose father fought in Italy this has an added interest. Recommend .
by Chris B.
This author always comes up with interesting books
by Amazon Customer
The Savage Storm is truly fascinating for anyone interested in the history of WW2, or military history generally. The battle for Italy starts at Salerno which gets the most attention and rightly so because it wasn’t a foregone conclusion that the Allies would win. James Holland writes so well, it’s like reading a good thriller: but it’s factual; his research is so good. He deals with the personalities in a sympathetic way: both the top commanders and the combatants (and civilians unwillingly thrust into this battle). I can’t wait to see what comes next, in this book, after Mark Clark’s Army and the supporting forces of the Allies prevail at Salerno.
by Mark
good