Flint Whitlock

Operation Husky, the combined American and British air and sea invasion of Sicily in July 1943, was one of World War II’s most critical campaigns with General George S. Patton Jr., inarguably America’s most dynamic, courageous, and controversial commander of World War II, at the center. In this new work, author Flint Whitlock covers the history of Operation Husky as it unfolded, with much of the Allied leadership facing internal conflict. The largest amphibious assault to date came at a crucial moment, and both the planning and execution presented many conflicts for the Allies. Despite the success of Operation Torch in North Africa, the U. S. was still considered not fully tested or trusted by their British partners, and Stalin was clamoring for the Allies to open a second front to take the pressure off his Soviet Union. Patton's dreams of martial glory and his all-consuming desire to best his chief Allied rival, General Bernard Montgomery, head of the British Eighth Army, to the ultimate prize—the port of Messina—often clouded his judgment. His primary motivation, however, was to prove to “Monty” and other dismissive British generals that the American soldier was as good, if not better, than his British counterpart. Using Patton’s personal letters and diaries, Whitlock reveals the scathing opinions he held of Montgomery and almost everyone else in the Allied hierarchy (Eisenhower, Marshall, Clark, Bradley, and Alexander, among others)—even Adm. H. Kent Hewitt, USN, whose Eighth Fleet carried Patton’s troops to the beaches and supported them once on shore. In fact, it was the guns from Hewitt’s warships that halted the fierce German and Italian attacks that nearly threw the Americans back into the sea. From Tunisia to the landing beaches on the south coast of Sicily to the final fight for Messina, this book chronicles how Husky would prove pivotal for both sides. The operation was criticized by some historians as a wasteful effort by the Allies that squandered valuable troops and resources while allowing many of the Italian and German troops to escape in the battle’s final days—an “Axis Dunkirk.” Here, Whitlock makes the case that Husky caused the downfall of Benito Mussolini and the neutralization of fascist Italy, and opened the second front to help Stalin. Moreover, the fight for Sicily proved the worth of American soldiers and seamen—as well as combined Army-Navy planning and logistics capabilities. Ultimately, lessons learned from Husky would be integrated into the Operation Overlord plan launched against France’s Normandy coast the following year.

In 1942, at the beginning of World War II, the US Army built its most unusual military post for its most unusual division in a high, remote, Rocky Mountain valley 100 miles west of Denver, Colorado. Located at 9,250 feet above sea level, Camp Hale was the training home of the famed 13,459-man 10th Mountain Division, which trained in mountain warfare techniques for two years--and almost missed the war. After they were finally deployed for combat in early 1945 in the Northern Apennine Mountains of Italy, the young men of the 10th never lost a battle or gave up a foot of ground. And, after the war, many of the veterans returned home to create America's ski and winter sports industry. Building Camp Hale was an incredible feat of wartime engineering and construction. To transform the wild, alpine meadow into an Army camp, 10,000 civilian construction workers were hired to scrape away the vegetation; level the valley floor; install roads and water and sewer lines; build 1,000 structures and two ski areas; and relocate a highway and railroad line--all within seven months and at a cost of $31 million (over a half billion dollars in today's money). Yet Camp Hale was demolished two years after it was built.

The Allied landings at Anzio, on the Italian coast, six months before the Normandy invasion were intended as an "end run" around the stalemate that had developed in Italy. The planners hoped that the Allied invasion would surprise the Germans and threaten their defensive line in southern Europe. But the invasion stalled a few miles inland and the Allies faced a five-month bloody fight. In the end, American and British troops accomplished one of the great defensive stands of all time, turning defeat into victory. Using previously unpublished archival material, including memoirs from American, British, and German veterans, award-winning historian Flint Whitlock reveals the entire allied and German campaign, never forgetting the experiences of the soldiers in muddy, freezing, water-filled foxholes, struggling to hold off endless waves of infantry assaults, aerial bombardments, and artillery barrages. Desperate Valour is the first comprehensive account of the unrelenting slugfest at Anzio and a stirring chronicle of courage beyond measure.

Chosen by WWII History magazine as one of the Best Books of the Year. In the dark days after Pearl Harbor, the small, illequipped arm of the Navy known as Submarine Force would stand between the shattered U. S. Pacific Fleet and the might of the Japanese Navy. Unfortunately, the spirit and courage of the Submarine Force is being forgotten as the veterans of that force pass into history. To preserve their heroic tales of war beneath the sea, critically acclaimed author and military historian Flint Whitlock, in collaboration with decorated World War II submarine veteran Ron Smith, set out on a journey of more than two years to interview submariners and to record their accounts before the memories of their endeavors are lost forever. These are their stories.

Although most accounts of the Civil War's New Mexico campaign have focused on the Confederate effort, Distant Bugles, Distant Drums brings to life the epic march of 1,000 men recruited from Colorado's towns, farms, and mining camps to fight 3,000 Confederate soldiers in New Mexico. Drawing on previously overlooked diaries, letters, and contemporary newspaper accounts, military historian Flint Whitlock brings the Civil War in the West to life. Distant Bugles, Distant Drums details the battles of 1,000 Coloradans against 3,000 Confederate soldiers in New Mexico and offers vivid portraits of the leaders and soldiers involved - men whose strengths and flaws would shape the fate of the nation. On their way to Colorado in search of gold and silver for the Confederacy's dwindling coffers, Texan Confederates won a series of engagements along the Rio Grande. Hastily assembled troops that had marched to meet them from Colorado finally turned them back in an epic conflict at Gloriéta Pass. Miners, farmers, and peacetime officers turned themselves overnight into soldiers to keep the Confederacy from capturing the West's mines, shaping the outcome of the Civil War. Distant Bugles, Distant Drums tells their story. Southwest Book Award Winner from the Border Regional Library Association

During World War II, prisoners of war were required by the Geneva Conventions to be treated according to established rules. But in late 1944, when a large number of Americans were captured or surrendered during the Battle of the Bulge and elsewhere, their captors had different plans. Those who were Jewish or from some other "undesirable" ethnic or religious group were separated from their fellow captives and sent to the brutal slave-labour camp at Berga. Until now, the story of what these men endured has been a well-guarded secret.

The Fighting First recounts the untold story of the 1st Infantry Division's role in the invasion of France at Normandy. Using primary sources, official records, interviews, and unpublished memoirs by the veterans themselves, Flint Whitlock has crafted a riveting, gut-wrenching, personal story of courage under fire. Operation Overlord,the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944,was the most important battle of World War II, and Omaha Beach was the hottest spot in the entire operation. Leading the amphibious assault on the Easy Red" and Fox Green" sectors of Omaha Beach was the U. S. Army's 1st Infantry Division, The Big Red One",a tough, swaggering outfit with a fine battle record. The saga of the Big Red One, however, did not end with the storming of the beachhead, but continued across France, Belgium, and into Germany itself, where the division fought in the battles for Aachen, the Huertgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. The Fighting First is an inspiring, graphic, and often heart-breaking story of young American soldiers performing their missions with spirit, humour, and determination.

Anzio was one of the greatest battles of World War II-a desperate gamble to land a large amphibious force behind German lines in Italy in the hope that the war could be shortened by capturing Rome. It also turned out to be one of the bloodiest battles in U. S. military history. Based on extensive research into archives, photos, letters, diaries, previously classified official records, and scores of personal interviews with surviving veterans of the 45th, The Rock of Anzio is written with an immediacy that puts the reader right onto the battlefield and shows us war through the eyes of ordinary men called upon to perform extraordinary deeds.