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THE
ROCK OF ANZIO
From Sicily to Dachau: A History of
the 45th Infantry Division
Westview
Press. 1998
(496 pages, 55 photos, 26 maps)
SYNOPSIS:
March with the 45th Infantry Division—the “Thunderbirds,”
a division made up of National Guardsmen from Colorado, Oklahoma,
New Mexico, and Arizona—as they battle their way across
hot, rocky Sicily; prevent the Germans from splitting the
Allied invasion force at Sicily; endure the frozen hell of
winter mountain combat near Monte Cassino; and save the Anzio
beachhead from annihilation in one of World War II's bloodiest
battles. Under constant attack for four months, the "citizen
soldiers" of this National Guard unit, which included
thousands of Native Americans, held their position against
seemingly endless "human wave" attacks by the Germans.
From
Italy the 45th went on to blaze a path through southern France
and into Germany, finally liberating the notorious Dachau
concentration camp outside of Munich in one of the most controversial—and,
until the publication of this book—secret actions of
the war. Based on extensive research and interviews with scores
of veterans, The Rock of Anzio is
written with an immediacy that puts the reader onto the battlefield
and shows us war through the eyes of ordinary men called upon
to perform extraordinary deeds during four amphibious assault
landings and 511 days of grueling combat.
MAIN
SELECTION OF THE MILITARY BOOK CLUB, FEB. 1998
READ
AN EXCERPT:
Lieutenant
Colonel Felix Sparks and First Lieutenant William P. Walsh's
I Company moved out and headed for the Dachau camp gate, totally
unprepared for what they were about to encounter. Between
the town and the camp, Sparks's men saw a string of thirty-nine
railroad cars standing on the track. Some were open-top gondola
cars, others were enclosed boxcars, and a few more were old
third-class passenger carriages. There was no engine.
If ever the American soldier needed confirmation of the reasons
why he
was in uniform, why he was at war, why he was required to
put his life on
the line day after day, enduring all hardships and discomfort
and danger, it
was contained in these thirty-nine railroad cars. Here was
the very
embodiment of the evil Nazi regime that he had sworn to vanquish.
As they cautiously approached, the familiar, sickening stench
of death
greeted them. An officer gave an order and a soldier moved
forward in a
running crouch toward the nearest car, looked in, covered
his mouth and
nose with his hand, then motioned the rest of the men forward.
In each car were piles of rotting human corpsesa total of
2,310 men,
women, and children, to be exacteither naked or partially
clad in
blue-and-white striped concentration camp uniforms.
Private First Class John Lee was one of the first men on the
scene. He
said, "We had seen men in battle blown apart, burnt to
death, and die many
different ways, but we were never prepared for this. Several
of the dead
lay there with their eyes open...It seemed they were looking
at us and
saying, 'What took you so long?' "
(from
The Rock of Anzio, ©copyright 1998
by Flint Whitlock)
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WHAT
THEY SAID:
“At
last we have a book that does the Battle of Anzio justice.
After reading Flint Whitlock's masterful account, I felt as
I had done after seeing Saving Private Ryan:
it was as though I'd been there. I was shattered, drained
and yet filled with intense admiration for those men who'd
taken everything the finest of the Wehrmacht and SS could
throw at them––week in, week out. Not only did
they take it...but they got up out of their foxholes and gave
it back in spades. Although our year has just started, it
is going to take one hell of a book to beat out The
Rock of Anzio for the Military Book Club's 'Book
of the Year' Award. If you buy only one book this year, this
should be it!”
—Michael
Stephenson, Editor, Military Book Club
“I
know of no other division history as well-written and meticulously
researched as The Rock of Anzio.... From
my own experience, I well understand the amount of work that
went into its creation.”
—Carlo
D'Este, author of Patton: A Genius for War;
Fatal Decision; Bitter Victory, and more
“By
the author's own admission, The Rock of Anzio
covers considerably more ground than that one momentous battle
in Italy. It is, at the same time, a complete history of the
45th Infantry Division and an accurate chronology of one of
the fiercest battles of World War II. Unlike other unit histories,
The Rock of Anzio is more than a parochial
division history; it is a stark and realistic view of war
as seen by those who were there.... It is a well-written and
interesting account of the war in Italy.... From the effects
of 'Anzio Annie,' a large German railway gun, to the controversy
surrounding the 45th's liberation of the Dachau concentration
camp, Whitlock's book captures the immediacy of combat so
horrific and heroic that it will be remembered forever by
those who read it. Without a doubt an essential part of most
military and historically minded readers' libraries.”
—World
War II magazine
“Whitlock,
like Stephen Ambrose in his recent Citizen Soldiers, makes
a campaign vivid through the frequent quotations from the
memoirs, diaries, letters, and oral interviews with the veterans
of the 45th Division.... Interest is heightened by selections
from the many Native Americans in this outfit.... Whitlock
first leads readers into the grand strategic picture and then
down through headquarters to the Tommies and GIs and their
young officers on the line. An excellent read, lively and
informative.”
—Choice
“A
textbook on bravery.... Whitlock captures the graphic depth
of the superhuman efforts by the Thunderbirds to survive and
succeed.... For students and soldiers, this book is a primer
on bravery.”
—National
Guard magazine
“Whitlock
is thorough in his descriptions of the history and actions
of the 45th and its adversaries, describing what was happening
on both sides of the battle lines.... Flavored with a regional
angle, The Rock of Anzio approaches World
War II from the viewpoint of the local boys––our
neighbors, fathers, and grandfathers...our heroes.”
—Grand
Junction (CO) Sentinel
“This
book is a towering cenotaph to the men of the 45th Division....”
—James
Bird, 45th Division veteran
“The
best book I have read that gives a true insight to combat.”
—Dr.
Robert LaDu, 45th Division veteran
“As
a former member of the 45th Infantry Division, I have enjoyed
reading The Rock of Anzio. I am presently
reading it with interest for the second time...because I cannot
believe that the author has captured so accurately the horror
of those days without having experienced it himself....”
—Jeremy
Waldron, 45th Division veteran
“My
father was a member of the 45th from North Africa to 'somewhere
outside of Rome,' where an artillery shell took him out. He
never talked much about it and took most of his personal stories
with him this past January. This book gave me a chance of
closure on this, as I finally got to know the reason for the
silence.”
—Bill
Fields, son of a 45th Division veteran (Amazon.com review)
“My
father-in-law was in the 45th from North Africa until Munich.
The personal stories detailed throughout allow the reader
a brief glimpse of what the soldiers in the 45th endured in
fighting for our country.... I couldn't put it down....”
—A
reader in North Carolina (Amazon.com review)
“My
late grandfather was a Thunderbird, and seldom talked of his
World War II days. After reading this book, I now know why.
I can only imagine what it must have been like to live for
days on end in a wet foxhole, always cold and miserable....
The Rock of Anzio tells the story that my
grandfather was never able to tell, a story that should be
told.”
—Paul
Magnanti (Amazon.com review)
“The
Rock of Anzio kept my interest from cover to cover.
I have read many unit histories, and this work is the most
complete.... I also never knew of the conflict between the
Thunderbirds (45th Division) and the Rainbows (42nd Division)
over the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp (even
having visited it). The author does a great job––buy
this book!”
—Capt.
Mitch Reed (Amazon.com review)
“My
father served with the 45th Division from June 1941 until
the end of the war.... Although my father described some of
his war experiences to me as I was growing up, he has not
been willing to go into much detail. As a result of reading
this book, my father and I have had several detailed conversations
about the war and his experiences; these conversations have
been a rewarding experience for my father and me.”
—Richard
Foster, son of a 45th Division veteran
“The
best book on World War II I've ever read.”
—John
Steinle, President, Colorado-Wyoming Museum Curators Association
ORDERING
INFORMATION:
Westview
Press/Perseus Books, 1998
5500 Central Avenue
Boulder, CO 80301-2877
(303) 444-3541
ISBN 0-8133-33997
Price: $22.00 softcover
Amazon.com
Barnes
and Noble
Indiebound.org
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