Early in 1944 the Allied advance was halted by the German defence of the Gustav Line. Even with the deployment of Eighth Army reinforcements from the Adriatic, every effort to capture Monte Cassino failed.Fifth Armys VI Corps amphibious landing at Anzio in January, while initially successful stalled in the face of formidable German counter-attacks and the beach-head was effectively besieged.The stalemate at Anzio and along the Gustav Line was finally broken in mid May by the Allied Spring offensive. After bitter fighting and the total destruction of the famous Benedictine Abbey, the Germans began their withdrawal towards Rome. Days later the reinforced VI Corps broke out of the Anzio bridgehead and linked up with Fifth Army units on 25 May. But by evading the Allied attempt to trap them south of Rome and despite Rome being occupied by the Allies in early June the bulk of the German 14th Army lived to fight another day. The Italian campaign had another nine costly months to run.This superbly researched account traces the course of the bitterly fought battles between January and June 1944 in words and images.

Between November 1942 and May 1945, US Army infantry units fought in eight named campaigns in the Mediterranean Theater. This title follows one soldier from enlistment in 1942, through training in a Replacement Training Center, assignment to the 1st Battalion 133d Regiment, 34th Infantry Division (Red Bull), and into combat. Among the battles covered are Fondouk Pass, Hill 609, Salerno, Monte Cassino, Anzio and the fighting in the Po Valley. A key focus is on the Heavy Weapons Company, which consisted of two machine gun platoons and one mortar platoon. The training and combat roles of the machine gunner's Military Occupational Specialty are discussed in detail.

The relationship of policy to strategy is a central issue in international studies. Using the little-known but highly relevant example of British planning for the occupation in 1945, the book provides a case-study in the practicalities of 'liberating' enemy territory. It looks at the way in which policy was developed and then reconciled with those of her Allies; how negotiations were directly affected by the existing - and expected - strategic situation; and how the military were involved in the reconstruction of Austria.

CMH 6-4. United States Army in World War 2. Includes a portfolio of maps extracted from the cloth edition. Relates the story of the last year of the Allied campaign against Germans forces in Northern Italy.