World War II in Color: The Italian Campaign and the Road to Rome, 1944

[ButteMT61]

http://life.time.com/history/world-war-ii-in-color-the-italian-campaign-1944/#1

"Ask a dozen military historians to name the single most pivotal European battle or campaign of World War II — the one operation that saw the war’s momentum irrevocably swing from the Axis to the Allied powers — and you’ll get a dozen answers. Did the pendulum shift as early as the Battle of Britain? During the liberation of Paris? The Battle of the Bulge? The varieties of ways one might conceivably measure momentum, from the numbers of casualties sustained (or inflicted) to the more esoteric notion of “troop morale,” makes a definitive answer impossible..."

 

[DesertDan]

Thanks for the FYI. It is so striking to see color pictures from that era.

 

[ButteMT61]

Thanks for the FYI. It is so striking to see color pictures from that era.

Agreed. Actually, it looks less "real". That's what we get for growing up with mostly B&W photos of WWII!

 

[Jeff M]

Thanks for the link.
I'm currently reading the 3 volume series "Liberation Trilogy" by Rick Atkinson.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in history...it's a very well written, engrossing account of the US involvement in the European Theater in WW2.
Just finished Volume 2....about the campaign in Sicily/Italy.
So much I was unaware of.
Great to see photos of battle sites talked written about in the book. Particularly Monte Casino.

 

[ButteMT61]

Jeff - good info - I need to look those up as I'm currently finished reading my current stock.
Always love finding new pics and stories of WWII. All these years later still new finds. Incredible.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

The invasion of Sicily prompted Hitler to pull SS panzer divisions out of Russia right in the middle of the Battle of Kursk (!!!) and send them to Italy thus causing the Germans to lose momentum and forcing them to call off Operation Citadelle (the Kursk offensive) which left them open when the Soviets launched their counteroffensive codenamed Operation Bagration.

 

[ButteMT61]

Well, my Comrades and I have the "Battle of the Caucasus" this fall. Nothing more fun than beating up on some Germans...As the Soviets gain in popularity and numbers, we add more battles. Have to look into Op Bagration.

 

[Jeff M]

Jeff - good info - I need to look those up as I'm currently finished reading my current stock.
Always love finding new pics and stories of WWII. All these years later still new finds. Incredible.

I've been enjoying the books.
The first is "An Army at Dawn"...about the campaign in North Africa.
The second, "The Day of Battle"..about Sicily/Italian campaigns.
The last, "Guns at Last Light", the European campaign from Normandy thru the fall of Germany.

Been powering through the books. Just started the last one a few days ago. Engrossing.