Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23182 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

Glasgow Herald
'A pacy and informative addition to the military history of a much-neglected campaign'

Review
'Monte Cassino is a fitting tribute: an important and beautifully written book, told with real understanding and pathos for those who withstood the Western Allies' bloodiest encounter with the German army' (James Holland, Daily Telegraph )

'Parker has produced a deeply moving, richly detailed and fast-paced account of the most infamous British battle of the Second World War' (Saul David, Sunday Telegraph )

'Published in time for the sixtieth anniversary of the battle, Monte Cassino deserves to be widely read' (Gary Sheffield, Living History )

'Some excellent passages' (Norman Stone, Sunday Times )

'Moving and well-researched' (Economist )

'A pacy and informative addition to the military history of a much-neglected campaign' (Glasgow Herald )

Sunday Telegraph, October 12, 2003
'A deeply moving, richly detailed and fast-paced account of the most infamous battle of the Second World War.'

Customer Reviews

A well-researched, intelligent and thought-provoking history
This book deals with the Italian Campaign, from its beginnings mired in confusion, to the bitter struggles that gained the Allied forces yard after slow yard in central Italy, to the climatic, but empty, victory at Cassino, which cost 200,000 people their lives or health. Parker is very in touch with the soldier on the ground, and shows us their plight in intimate, frightening detail, often following the lives of several soldiers during the whole course of the campaign, giving us a detailed view of what each single infantryman or soldier had to suffer just to survive, never mind fight, in such an inhospitable place. Parker shows us the bravery of the Allied soldiers, and also the steadfast guts and intelligence of the Germans.

I have also read John Ellis' 'Hollow Victory' on the same subject, and, in comparison to Parker's book, Ellis is more concerned with allocating blame to the various Allied commanders who lead their soldiers so pitifully, and let petty squabbles get in the way of good strategy, but is perhaps less in touch with the single soldier's plight on the ground. Parker, I feel, gave a much better impression of what the 'Poor Bloody Infantry' suffered. Ellis gives us a more impressive view of the grand strategy behind the campaign, and also better describes the battles after Cassino, while Parker simply alludes to them. Parker tells us how it all lead up to Cassino though, so you can see the two books in many cases complement each other well, and for a complete understanding of this battle I would recommend first reading Parker's work, then Ellis'.

Both, individually, however, are very good histories, detailing a very long, very bitter, very hard-fought and hugely costly battle in a long, bitter war.

I would thoroughly recommend this book, especially for those who believe the Second World War was somehow 'easier' than the First. If you want to get as good an impression of war as you can from words and script, this book will show you.

Verdun in the mountains
I believe the best book on Monte Cassino remains John Ellis' Hollow Victory but Parker still cuts his own piece of turf on this bloody ground. Acknowledging his debt to Ellis he adds some very interesting points of view as well as introducing some new witnesses (especially the Italian civilians). I held off buying for sometime because I thought Ellis might have said it all but am glad that I decided to buy Parker as well. Monte Cassino is a story full of small advances on terrible terrain (and, hurrah, the maps are effective and numerous) and Parker keeps one aware of what it was like to hold a "quiet" bit of the front on the massif. Parker offers useful comparisons of why (for example) the Texans failed on the river crossing but the British did not. He also remembers to record the impact that these defensive victories had on the Germans. He is perhaps less concerned with apportioning blame than Ellis, but one is no less impressed by the troops that fought there.

Very thought provoking
You have to take time out to read this book, by the time Cassino was being fought the campaign in Italy had become more or less secondary, yet this battle was one of the most ferocious battles in the whole war, on a par even with Stalingrade. The sheer horror of what happened here defies belief, when the author talks of a battalion of some 250 men in which only a handful are left after 1 night you start to understand the tragedy that unfolds. You also understand the mutual respect that seems to grow between the 2 sides as on top of everything else the conditions were beyond comprehension. Parker's thorough research ensures you can read this book taking in all the facts while at the same time experiencing the feeling of utter, eyes closing & head bent, sadness.
Delicately tied into this are stories, some related after the event, others more or less as an obituary. All relay the same message of complete despair and fear that at moments transcend to levels of unparalleled courage, ( the experiences of Spike Milligan makes you nod your heard with understanding at his nervous disposition that became world famous ) such moments in history should not be forgotten.