Storming Monte La Difensa: The First Special Service Force at the Winter Line, Italy 1943 (Raid, 48) Paperback – February 17, 2015

I am a great lover of this series and on the whole they never disappoint. Once again the series comes through. Most of what I knew of the special service force came from the movie The Devil's Brigade. To say the least I was sorely miss inform. The book covers the creation of the force and why it came into existence. It then covers it's most famous action and finally what happened afterwards. This is the Raid series at it's best. Covering a small units action. I highly recommend this book

Another great title from Bret! He has done an excellent job of balancing historical detail with first hand accounts and front-lines insight to engage the reader. A super short read that tells a piece of the incredible story of the men of the First Special Service Force. Truly heroes - what they accomplished is nothing short of amazing and truly inspirational. HIGHLY recommended!

In late 1943, the U.S. Fifth Army was stymied by the German-held Winter Line, a series of Italian mountain redoubts blocking the way to Rome. The German grenadiers atop Monte La Difensa in particular had turned back several assaults. Enter the First Special Service Force, a U.S.-Canadian Brigade specially trained in parachute, mountain and winter warfare. In a daring night attack up supposedly impossible cliffs, First Special Service Force took Monte La Difensa. In a vicious week-long fight, they helped secure a key mountain massive, opening the way north. This is the story of that attack."Storming Monte La Difensa" is an Osprey Raid Series book and something of a sequel to the Osprey Elite Series book "First Special Service Force 1942-44". Bret Warner authored both books; his admiration for the FSSF is obvious throughout, perhaps too much so. "Storming Monte La Difensa" briefly summarizes the formation and training of the FSSF, and their participation in the Aleutian campaign earlier in 1943. The FSSF was then deployed to the European theater, a highly trained elite unit in search of a mission. Operation Raincoat, the allied attack on the Mt. Camino hill mass, was a conventional military operation which offered an opportunity for the FSSF to prove itself. The narrative details the special preparations for Raincoat, but the heart of the story is the actual assault and the brutal fight to secure La Difensa and the follow-on objective of Mt. Rematanea. The afterword recaps what was achieved by the attack in terms of tactical gain, and in attrition of the FSSF. It is an interesting story, which does not gloss over the misuse of the FSSF by the Allied command in Italy as conventional shock troops. Recommended as an introduction to the men and the mission.

Not as engrossing, to me anyway, as some of the other Raid! titles, but I still found it enjoyable and informative.

Awesome book about this raid in Italy. I was really into it. It was very imformAtive about the tactics and the events of the raid

One of the most physically demanding special operations of WW2 - great read, great graphics!

A very excellent overview of the 1st Special Service Force and its first battle.

like it just was what hope to be

Clear and detailed history with good illustrations of the operation which was the inspiration for Hollywood’s film “The Devil’s Brigade”.

De 2ª mano pero en buen estado y buen embalaje. Librería de lance recomendable

Concise, well-written guide to the First Special Service Force and the battle of Monte La Difensa. Clear, easy to follow and not overly technical. I particularly liked the mixture of narrative interspersed with testimonials from veterans.

very good book, well written and fun to read and learn.

Good book