Desperate valour: triumph at Anzio

"The Allied landings at Anzio, on the Italian coast, six months before the Normandy invasion were intended as an "end run" around the stalemate that had developed in Italy. The planners hoped that the Allied invasion would surprise the Germans and threaten their defensive line in southern Europe. But the invasion stalled a few miles inland and the Allies faced a five-month bloody fight. In the end, American and British troops accomplished one of the great defensive stands of all time, turning defeat into victory. Using previously unpublished archival material, including memoirs from American, British, and German veterans, award-winning historian Flint Whitlock reveals the entire allied and German campaign, never forgetting the experiences of the soldiers in muddy, freezing, water-filled foxholes, struggling to hold off endless waves of infantry assaults, aerial bombardments, and artillery barrages. Desperate Valour is the first comprehensive account of the unrelenting slugfest at Anzio and a stirring chronicle of courage beyond measure."--Provided by publisher.

"We have every confidence in you" January 1944 -- "One of the most complete surprises in history" January 22 (morning) -- "The whole world seemed to be marching" January 22 (afternoon) -- "A whale wallowing on the beaches!" January 23-24 -- "That one night has haunted me ever since" January 25-29 -- "They had . . . fought to the limit of human endurance" January 30-31 -- "This is one hell of a place" February 1-3 -- "The British are in serious trouble" February 4-6 -- "Do a Dunkirk while you still have time!" February 7-8 -- "What a sight a mortar barrage is" February 8-9 -- "Battle is kind of a nightmare" February 10-12 -- "Do not kill any cows!" February 13-15 -- "The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells" February 16 (morning) -- "This was the big attack" February 16 (afternoon) -- "I do not feel that I should have sacrificed my command" February 17-18 -- "The stakes are very high" February 19-March 22 -- "They liked to send us out to stir things up" March 23-May 21 -- "I told the aid man to fix me up" May 22-25 -- "Even a soldier must cry sometimes" May 26-31 -- "We entered Rome . . . amid cheers" June 1-8.