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Fifth Army in Italy, 1943–1945: A Coalition at War Kindle Edition

by Ian Blackwell (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 32 ratings
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A history of the Allied coalition in Italy during World War II.

The US Fifth Army first saw action during the Salerno Landings in September 1943. While commanded by US Lieutenant General Mark Clark, from the outset one of its two Corps was the X (British) Corps; the other V1 (US) Corps.

The multi-national composition of Fifth Army is demonstrated by the French Expeditionary Corps, the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, the South African Armoured Division, the Italian Co-Belligerent forces, formations from the New Zealand Corps and the 4th Indian Division.

Clark’s Fifth Army was itself part of the Fifteenth Army Group, commanded by Field Marshal Alexander. Alexander’s light and diplomatic touch oiled the wheels of this uneasy arrangement but inevitably there were tensions and disagreements that threatened success.

The low priority accorded to Italy as compared with OVERLORD and NW Europe did not help matters. Seen as a backwater, crack units were taken away and insufficient resources allocated to the Italian Campaign. This combined with the tenacity of the Germans, the difficult terrain and the harsh climate caused real problems. Allied morale was at times particularly brittle and desertion rates worryingly high.

This superbly researched book objectively examines the performance of Fifth Army against this complex and troublesome backdrop. The author’s findings make for authoritative and fascinating reading and give food for thought about multinational cooperation in more recent conflicts.
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  1. Print length
    446 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Pen & Sword Military
  5. Publication date
    January 19, 2014
  6. File size
    8384 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Generally interesting analysis, although rather truncated in describing operations after the fall of Rome, as if nothing happened for a year or the author ran into deadline pressure. Nothing particularly new here and a large section of the 'where to land after Africa' discussion seems taken from the US Army green book.”
Russ Lockwood, Historical Miniatures Gaming Society

About the Author

Ian Blackwell is an author and historian.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00E8HPM68
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pen & Sword Military (January 19, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 19, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 8384 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 446 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 32 ratings

About the author

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Lieutenant Colonel Ian Blackwell

Lieutenant Colonel Ian Blackwell

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Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
32 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Thomas G. Matowitz Jr.
5.0 out of 5 stars The Fifth Army.
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2017
Verified Purchase
A close relative of mine served in the Fifth Army throughout the Second World War. This book has added considerably to my store of knowledge about his experiences. I found it to be very informative and worthwhile.
I highly recommend it to others wishing to learn more about this lesser known campaign.
2 people found this helpful
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Writing Historian
4.0 out of 5 stars Solid look at the Allied coalition in Italy and its leaders
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2018
Verified Purchase
I felt this book represented a workmanlike, but not spectacular or groundbreaking, study of the Allied coalition in Italy. The campaign, to include its leadership, is discussed primarily through that perspective so do not expect a detailed tactical or operational account.

The author has served in the British Army so he does have a keen sense of its historical makeup and background. Unfortunately, he fell prey to the ill-informed "outsiders" conclusion that the American Army is a fairly vanilla organization in comparison to the dramatically cosmopolitan makeup of the British Army during that period. Indeed, it is to a degree, but not all American divisions came out of the same cookie cutter mold.

He does recount in some detail the U.S. Army's employment of the Special Service Force, 10th Mountain Division, as well as Nisei and Black soldiers. But the American Army's internal differences constitute a far more complex topic. As a result, the exceptional 85th and 88th Divisions, which represent the later activating Army of the United States divisions, are not examined to the degree their battlefield accomplishments warrant.

Overall a good introductory account of the subject. Recommended with caveats regarding its Anglo-centric organizational perspective.
6 people found this helpful
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Lonnie W. Morris Jr.
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2016
Verified Purchase
rent it at library.If your intioWW2
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Craig Tx
5.0 out of 5 stars A good overview of the Italian Campaign
Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2015
Verified Purchase
A good overview of the Italian Campaign. The chronicled struggles of the 5th Army as a coalition force is very enlightening.
One person found this helpful
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Avid Reader
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2018
Verified Purchase
This book is painfully dry. It was written by a military historian, and focuses more on the foibles and infighting of the generals and politicians than it does on the military action. It also skips around subjects quite a bit, rather than following of tight timeline of the campaign in Italy. My father fought there in WWII and I was more interested in the battle action. The author is British and spends an inordinate amount of time disparaging American general Mark Clark (although technically his commentary is not unfair). OK for the true historian, but if you like military books there are better choices. Overly generous in awarding two stars.
One person found this helpful
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S. W. McElravy
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Work
Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2019
As other reviewers have mentioned this is not an operational account of Fifth Army, it is a look at coalition warfare and the politics involved.

I found it pretty easy to read and to follow. I would be very interested to learn more about the logistical issues Fifth Army had with beans and bullets. That could not have been easy..
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

phil b
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book, well delivered
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 13, 2019
Verified Purchase
This book is exactly what I wanted and was described as being like new, which it was.
It was well packed.
All in all well worth getting
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