Bitter Victory: The Battle for Sicily, 1943 - Hardcover

D'Este, Carlo

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0525244719 ISBN 13: 9780525244714

Publisher: Dutton, 1988

Synopsis

Recounts the capture of Sicily by American and British forces, describes the distrust between the two nations' officers, and assesses the mistakes in strategy that were made

About this title

About the Author:

Carlo D'Este, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel and a distinguished military historian, is the author of the acclaimed biographies Patton: A Genius for War and Eisenhower: A Soldier's Life, among other books on World War II. He lives in Massachusetts.

From Publishers Weekly:

With a veritable blizzard of primary-source support, D'Este ( Decision in Normandy ) argues that the generally ignored Sicily campaign laid the foundation and set the trends for the decisive battles that were to follow in Italy and Northwest Europe. Sicily brought together the military commanders whose leadership ultimately decided the outcome of the war (Eisenhower, Tedder, Montgomery, Bradley, Patton); comprised the first real test of the military compatibility of the British and Americans; and served as a proving ground where the U.S. Army came into its own. D'Este is critical of the committee system of coalition warfare during this formative stage of the Allied partnership, citing the lack of strategic purpose in the campaign, the failure of Allied naval and air support, and the squandered opportunities that allowed the grossly outnumbered German army to pull off "one of the most dazzling strategic withdrawals in military history." The Germans, according to D'Este, came away from Sicily convinced that they had given as good as they got. Illustrations. History Book Club alternate.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dutton
• Publication date: 1988
• ISBN 10: 0525244719
• ISBN 13: 9780525244714
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 666