The Day of Battle: World War II in Sicily and Italy

Between July 1943 and May 1945, Allied forces pushed up through Sicily and the Italian peninsula towards Rome, fighting tooth and nail through hilly and mountainous terrain, harsh weather conditions, and a formidable German foe. Over the course of the campaign, these officers and soldiers hardened into one of the most determined and proficient fighting forces of WWII. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Rick Atkinson discusses why this controversial and deadly campaign was essential to the liberation of Europe.

Rick Atkinson is the author of the monumental Liberation Trilogy. The first volume, An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943, received the Pulitzer Prize in 2003. Other volumes in the series includeThe Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 and The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945.