Anzio: The Gamble That Failed

New York, NY: Curtis Books, 1963. Mass Market Paperback. Near Fine. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. Vintage. Collectible. Red gilt edges. Cover is light green with soldiers running through the water off boats. "By the end of 1943 the Allied campaign in Italy had become a stalemate as German forces stopped the Allied advance cold at Cassino. In a country where the fighting front could be no longer than the eighty-mile width of the Italian peninsula, in a region where rugged mountains impeded maneuvers and favored the defense, in an effort where Allied resources were sharply restricted and winter was looming, prospects for a swift and decisive victory were slim. Battling their way up the Italian mainland promised to be a slow and bloody affair." "In January 1944 the Allies, prodded by an eager Churchill, decided to circumvent the Germans' frontal opposition by making an amphibious landing at Anzio, a small town about an hour's drive from Rome. The resulting four-month battle has been adjudged by some as one of the most ill-conceived operations of the war and by others as one of the notorious lost opportunities of the Allied war effort. But for the thousands of Allied soldiers desperately fighting and dying in mud and freezing rain, Anzio became an epic stand on a lonely beachhead." Based on thorough study of both Allied and German records, Anzio discloses one of the most tragic battles of the controversial Italian campaign.a battle in which the great men of World War II - such as Churchill, Eisenhower, Clark, and Montgomery - are prominent figures. Complete and unabridged. 287 pages. Some rubbing on top & bottom & edges of spine and some places on outside edges. 1/2" crease on front cover across the bottom right corner. Book is nice & tight..