On July 10, 1943, the largest amphibious invasion ever mounted took
place, larger even than the Normandy invasion 11 months later: 160,000
American, British, and Canadian troops came ashore or were parachuted
onto Sicily, signaling the start of the campaign to defeat Nazi Germany
on European soil. Operation HUSKY, as it was known, was enormously
complex, involving dramatic battles on land, in the air, and at sea.
Yet, despite its paramount importance to ultimate Allied victory, and
its drama, very little has been written about the 38-day Battle for
Sicily.
Based on his own battlefield studies in Sicily and on much new research,
James Holland's Sicily '43 offers a vital new perspective on a major
turning point in World War II and a chronicle of a multi-pronged
campaign in a uniquely diverse and contained geographical location. The
characters involved - Generals George Patton and Bernard Montgomery
among many - were as colorful as the air and naval battles and the
fighting on the ground across the scorching plains and mountaintop of
Sicily were brutal. But among Holland's great skills is incorporating
the experience of on-the-ground participants on all sides - from
American privates Tom and Dee Bowles and Tuskegee fighter pilot Charlie
Dryden to British major Hedley Verity and Canadian lieutenant Farley
Mowat (later a celebrated author), to German and Italian participants
such as Wilhelm Schmalz, brigade commander in the Hermann Göring
Division, or Luftwaffe fighter pilot major Johannes "Macky" Steinhoff
and to Italian combatants, civilians and mafiosi alike - which gives
listeners an intimate sense of what occurred in July and August 1943.
Emphasizing the significance of Allied air superiority, Holland
overturns conventional narratives that have criticized the Sicily
campaign for the vacillations over the plan, the slowness of the Allied
advance and that so many German and Italian soldiers escaped to the
mainland; rather, he shows that clearing the island in 38 days against
geographical challenges and fierce resistance was an impressive
achievement. A powerful and dramatic account by a master military
historian, Sicily '43 fills a major gap in the narrative history of
World War II.
