Military Model Scene

Title: Rome City in Terror
Author: Victor Failmezger
Publisher: Osprey
ISBN: 978-1-4728-4129-2

Sub-titled 'The Nazi Occupation 1943-44', a paperback edition from Osprey. A 496-page soft-cover book.
There is a lot to read in this one, with the story spread across 21 chapters, plus an Epilogue which tells us what happened to so many of the individuals that we read about in the book. There is an element in this story which many readers may have heard of, and that involves the work of Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty from the Vatican, and that of the man who tried to catch him, SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer Herbert Kappler, head of the Gestapo in Rome. This part of the wider story was told in an old Hollywood movie, 'The Scarlet and the Black', but here we get a lot more detail of that story amidst everything else. There was a fear in Rome of the damage that Allied bombing might cause to the ancient city, and parts of the city were indeed targeted, while others were avoided. The Vatican occupies a rather unique place in the city of Rome, and even Hitler stopped short from interfering there. After events such as the Allied landings at Salerno, the Italian government agreed to surrender to the Allies, and Mussolini was moved out. At that time, many POWs held in camps in Italy found themselves free, as their Italian guards simply left and went home in large numbers. Hitler agreed not to fortify Rome, though it remained a vital transport hub for routes south, as Kesselring fought to block the Allied progress up the length of the Italian mainland. In Rome, the Vatican provided a safe haven for British and US diplomats, as well as German. Among the diplomats were those who provided regular intelligence to the Allies, and support for the Escape Line work for POWs. At times we see these workers dining in the same hotels and restaurants as the men who hunted them. Many Italians living in the city helped, with lodgings and food for them. However, there were increasing efforts to round up men to work on building defences in both Italy and Germany, and of course the Gestapo and SS rounded up Jews as well. Partisans also operated in the city, attacking German troops and carrying out sabotage. This could lead to reprisals, such as the murders of 335 Italians at the Fosse Ardeatine. Then there are the landings at Anzio, which stalled on the beachhead for several weeks and Romans were awaiting the Allied arrival. Then they finally saw liberation on 5th June 1944 without a battle in the city itself, and an achievement overshadowed somewhat by the Normandy invasion on 6th June that same year.
In simple terms, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. A book packed with detail of so many facets to the story, and told by an author who clearly loved the times he lived in the city during the course of his career. One of the things I liked was in the Epilogue, where we read about what happened to most of the key players in the story, from all sides. It's a story with religious connections, British and American agents (let's call them spies), soldiers, Italian patriots and fascists, a bombing campaign, the Gestapo and SS all tied in with the rich history of Rome itself. A small selection of archive photos, and some maps which will help you if you want to visit and perhaps walk in the footsteps of a few of these stories, to see where these events happened.
Thanks to Osprey for the review copy.

Robin