The Savage Storm: The Battle for Italy 1943
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- Create Date：2023-11-19 13:21:29
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：James Holland
- ISBN：080216160X
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Brendan Dowd （History Nerds United）
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If there is one thing everyone can agree on in 1943 is that everyone was mad at the Italians， even the Italians。James Holland's The Savage Storm looks at the invasion of Italy in 1943 from various different perspectives。 This part of the war does not get nearly as much ink spilled as the invasion of Normandy and Holland drives home a main reason why this is true。 The invasion of Italy was an under-supported bit of chaos。 The Italians were getting out of the war but lying to everyone about it inc If there is one thing everyone can agree on in 1943 is that everyone was mad at the Italians， even the Italians。James Holland's The Savage Storm looks at the invasion of Italy in 1943 from various different perspectives。 This part of the war does not get nearly as much ink spilled as the invasion of Normandy and Holland drives home a main reason why this is true。 The invasion of Italy was an under-supported bit of chaos。 The Italians were getting out of the war but lying to everyone about it including themselves。 The Allies expected to do a lot with a little and the Germans were just responding to Hitler's changing whims。 Holland tells this story from a high level but also leans heavily into smaller stories of soldiers and civilians just trying to survive。 There are literally dozens of characters we are introduced to and these are often the best parts of the book。However， the sheer number of characters can also be a frustrating。 There are so many people to keep track of that the reader is often pulled out of the narrative to jump to another character。 Multiple times， I wanted to stay with an Italian resistance fighter or a soldier trying to hold a bridge。 Instead， the reader is torn out of that thread and dropped back into a different story。 It's a testament to Holland that this doesn't ruin the book。 It can be irksome but not fatal。 Also， this is mainly a problem in the early portions。 By the end when the reader has been introduced to nearly everyone， it's less noticeable。 In the end， the good far outweighs any of the bad。（This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Grove Atlantic。） 。。。more
Nick Harriss
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This made an excellent follow up the equally good "Sicily 43" from the same author。 He has a great ability to combine the big picture， the lives of individual soldiers and frontline tactical matters。 The Italian campaign gets little coverage in general histories of WW2 - James Holland addresses this gap in great style。 This made an excellent follow up the equally good "Sicily 43" from the same author。 He has a great ability to combine the big picture， the lives of individual soldiers and frontline tactical matters。 The Italian campaign gets little coverage in general histories of WW2 - James Holland addresses this gap in great style。 。。。more
Jim Carter
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The Italian campaign was indeed a long and drawn out affair。 What was supposed to be a swift march up the leg of Italy to Rome ended up a debilitating slog through terrain and winter conditions that didn't suit the highly mechanised Allied forces and favoured the German defenders。 This， I believe， is the first of two books that James Holland will be writing on this campaign， that ends， without being a spoiler， at the beginning of 1944 with Monte Cassino and Anzio to no doubt be covered in the ne The Italian campaign was indeed a long and drawn out affair。 What was supposed to be a swift march up the leg of Italy to Rome ended up a debilitating slog through terrain and winter conditions that didn't suit the highly mechanised Allied forces and favoured the German defenders。 This， I believe， is the first of two books that James Holland will be writing on this campaign， that ends， without being a spoiler， at the beginning of 1944 with Monte Cassino and Anzio to no doubt be covered in the next book。James Holland has used a number of personal diaries from the time， not only from both sides of the opposing forces， but from some civilian sources too。 Whilst these bring a real sense of being 'in the moment' ， their use concentrates， perhaps， too close on a group of individuals。 It may be because I have had other things on my mind these past weeks， but I felt like I was on autopilot reading this and not taking it all in。 However， I can't think that this would be as consistent an impression as it was and there must be something in that line of thought？ For me， The Savage Storm hasn't had the grip of say， Normandy '44 for example。 Hence for the first time I have had to drop a couple of stars， but I look forward to the next book in any case。 。。。more
Jim Beaumont
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A superb narrative that engages you into the lives of the characters and their circumstance。 It flows brilliantly， bounces you along with the ebb and flow of tales of pity and hope。Unfortunately， from a personnel perspective this misses much of what I was hoping for （46th Div） but that’s my issue。 If your looking for a chrono-narrative of the campaign by units involved， this probably isn’t for you。I do however believe that there is an error in the map of the landing beaches and the designations A superb narrative that engages you into the lives of the characters and their circumstance。 It flows brilliantly， bounces you along with the ebb and flow of tales of pity and hope。Unfortunately， from a personnel perspective this misses much of what I was hoping for （46th Div） but that’s my issue。 If your looking for a chrono-narrative of the campaign by units involved， this probably isn’t for you。I do however believe that there is an error in the map of the landing beaches and the designations of the X Corp landings。 The author even mentions the name/s in the narrative， yet the map incorrectly designated them as just Red/White/Green。 。。。more
Rob Shipman
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I’ve really mixed views on this。 On the one hand it’s a brilliantly written account of the early Italian campaign， on the other， the use of only letters and diaries as sources really limits the scope。 Two of the three divisions at Salerno were British， but they’re barely mentioned for the entire book。 I’ve a vested interest as my grandfather was in 46Div， and would love their story told。 To me this feels like a missed opportunity to tell the story of what our grandfathers went through。
James
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James Holland has written another masterful study of a World War II campaign in The Savage Storm: the Battle for Italy 1943。 He is as adept at putting the reader in a foxhole with the PBI （poor bloody infantry） as he is showing the decision-making process of the high command on both sides。 He clearly shows how the Italian campaign， after Sicily， grew into an unanticipated slugfest that played to the German's advantage given the nature of the mountainous terrain which favored the defender。 Highly James Holland has written another masterful study of a World War II campaign in The Savage Storm: the Battle for Italy 1943。 He is as adept at putting the reader in a foxhole with the PBI （poor bloody infantry） as he is showing the decision-making process of the high command on both sides。 He clearly shows how the Italian campaign， after Sicily， grew into an unanticipated slugfest that played to the German's advantage given the nature of the mountainous terrain which favored the defender。 Highly readable， empathetic， and revealing， especially in terms of how one poor decision can lead to another。 Holland is sympathetic to the American General Mark Clark， a view not held by all historians。 While I might not agree with his view of Clark's actions （or lack thereof） I was happy to read a differing viewpoint。 Overall， highly recommended。 I received an electronic ARC of this work from the publisher。 。。。more
William Harris
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