The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 (The Liberation Trilogy Book 2)

The Day of Battle is the second volume of Rick Atkinson's trilogy on the liberation of Europe in World War II. It chronicles the Allied campaigns in Sicily and Italy from 1943 to 1944, following American and British forces as they invade Sicily in July 1943 and advance northward toward Rome. The Italian campaign's success was uncertain at the outset. Roosevelt, Churchill, and their military advisers debated whether invading the so-called soft underbelly of Europe was strategically sound. Once committed, however, the Allies remained determined to liberate Italy from Nazi control, despite severe casualties. The battles at Salerno, Anzio, and Monte Cassino proved particularly difficult and costly. Under the command of Lieutenant General Mark Clark, American forces gradually pushed German troops up the peninsula. The liberation of Rome in June 1944 marked a turning point, suggesting ultimate victory was within reach. Atkinson draws on extensive primary source material to provide a detailed narrative account of this major military campaign.