The following books are about the Italian campaign.
Monte Cassino Society member Antony Pittaccio was ten years old and visiting family in Cassino, when war broke out in September 1939 and the frontiers closed. Unable to leave and return home to Britain, Antony, his mother and two sisters had no choice but to stay and make what they could of the situation. At first not much changed and daily life continued as before, but as the war came closer, and Cassino became the focal point for the worst of the fighting, their lives were to change beyond imagination and become a daily struggle for survival. For the young Antony, circumstances were to change even more as he found himself adopted by the 23rd New Zealand Infantry Battalion, and moved with them through Italy as the campaign progressed.
Over the years Antony has given interviews, but it is only now, at the age of 94, that he has gathered all the memories together and written the story of his extraordinary and unique experience of the Italian campaign.
“Memories of a Young Sergeant”. Published in Great Britain by Amazon, ISBN number 979-8872581758, and available in hardback, paperback, and Kindle edition, is a fascinating story and a great read.
The Battles for Monte Cassino, Then and Now, Jeffrey Plowman and Perry Rowe
ISBN: 978-1870067737
Monte Cassino: Matthew Parker. The Story of the Hardest-fought Battle of World WW11.
ISBN: 978-0755311767
Cassino: The Hollow Victory, John Ellis. The Battle for Rome, January-June, 1944.
ISBN: 978-1854109163
Cassino: Portrait of a Battle, Fred Majdalany
ISBN: 978-0304352326
Love and War in the Apennines, Eric Newby
ISBN: 0007367894
Peace and War, Wanda Newby. Growing up in Fascist Italy.
ISBN: 0002158531
Blood and Bandages, William Earl and Liz Coward. Fighting for life in RAMC Field Ambulance 1940-1946.
ISBN: 978-1781220085
The D-Day Dodger, Albert Francis Darlington
ISBN: 978-0955060120
Ensign in Italy, A Platoon Commander’s story.
ISBN: 0850523249
The Gothic Line, Douglas Orgill.The account of the bitter, bloody campaign by the British Eighth and American Fifth Armies as they clawed their way through the Gothic Line.
ISBN: 978-0821719169
Even the Brave Falter, E.D. Smith
ISBN: 978-0709168195
The Savage Storm, James Holland. The Battle for Italy 1943.
ISBN: 978-1787636682
Adolf Hitler, My Part in his Downfall, Spike Milligan. This is the first book of seven which tells in a very funny way Spike Milligan’s life in the army which was mostly in Italy.
ISBN: 978-0241958094
War in Val d’Orcia, Iris Origo. An Italian War Diary 1943-1944.