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entrepreneurs like you. Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup. Hello and welcome to another episode of Battleground 44 with me, Saul David.

Today I'm talking to historian and broadcaster James Holland about the Battle of Anzio,

which opened 80 years ago this month.

James is the author of many critically acclaimed and best-selling books about World War II,

including most recently Brothers in Arms, The Savage Storm, and the forthcoming Casino 44

about the Italian campaign of that year.

He also co-hosts with Al Murray, our sister podcast, We Have Ways.

James, welcome to the podcast.

Oh, it's always always a pleasure to see you, as you know.

Now, before we talk about the Anzio landings proper, can you give me a quick resume of where the Allies have got to in Italy by the end of 1993?

Yeah, so they invade, the first invasion is by 8th Army of just the two divisions going across the straits of Messina, which are, you know, sort of tiny little, you know, it's the old Cilera and Carybdis bit from Homeric fame.

It's the tiny little channel that separates Sicily from the

kind of toenail of the toe of the boot of Italy. And they get across there, but of course it's very

mountainous there, and they're not making very quick progress. And the main event is Operation

Avalanche, which comes six days later on the night for September. And this is General Mark

Clark's US 5th Army,

but actually it's as many British as it is American troops landing on the 9th of September.

...