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  • Sicily '43

  • The First Assault on Fortress Europe
  • By: James Holland
  • Narrated by: Al Murray
  • Length: 19 hrs and 50 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (40 ratings)

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Sicily '43

By: James Holland
Narrated by: Al Murray
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Publisher's Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

From the best-selling author of Normandy ‘44 comes a major new history of one of World War II’s most crucial campaigns.

Code-named Operation HUSKY, the Allied assault on Sicily on 10 July 1943 remains the largest amphibious invasion ever mounted in world history, landing more men in a single day than at any other time. That day, more than 160,000 British, American and Canadian troops were dropped from the sky or came ashore, more than on D-Day just under a year later. It was also preceded by an air campaign that marked a new direction and dominance of the skies by Allies.

The subsequent 38-day Battle for Sicily was one of the most dramatic of the entire Second World War, involving daring raids by special forces, deals with the Mafia, attacks across mosquito-infested plains and perilous assaults up almost sheer faces of rock and scree.

It was a brutal campaign - the violence was extreme, the heat unbearable, the stench of rotting corpses intense and all-pervasive, the problems of malaria, dysentery and other diseases a constant plague. And all while trying to fight a way across an island of limited infrastructure and unforgiving landscape and against a German foe who would not give up.

It also signalled the beginning of the end of the War in the West. From here on, Italy ceased to participate in the war, the noose began to close around the neck of Nazi Germany and the coalition between the United States and Britain came of age. Most crucially, it would be a critical learning exercise before Operation OVERLORD, the Allied invasion of Normandy, in June 1944.

Based on his own battlefield studies in Sicily and on much new research over the past 30 years, James Holland’s Sicily ’43 offers a vital new perspective on a major turning point in World War II. It is a timely, powerful and dramatic account by a master military historian and will fill a major gap in the narrative history of the Second World War.

©2020 James Holland (P)2020 Penguin Audio
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

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Mesmerising

From the overall strategic standpoint to tactical overviews to firsthand accounts on both sides, this book is very well researched and articulated. I highly recommend it.

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great book

great book covering aspects of the campaign as well as some history on Sicily and the mafia

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We’ll told piece of history. A thorough examination of events leading into the Sicilian campaign.

Personal anecdotes from different perspectives tie the big picture down to the every experience of soldiers and civilians on all sides of the campaign.

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Not suitable as an Audio book

I am an avid listener through Audible but some books are not suitable for just listened; this is one. You need to have a detailed map with you to understand the campaign.

Another negative is the narrator Al Murray. While he is fluent his flat undistinguishable English accent is boring and monotonous. Reading a book needs someone with some artistic flair, and different accents. The book is probably very good but for the reasons mentioned I wouldn't recommend the audio version.

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