Even as the Allies marched victoriously through Tunis in 1943 at the end of the North African Campaign, Commanders were looking across the Mediterranean for their next objective. Churchill famously described Italy as 'the soft underbelly of Europe' - and at first it looked as if his assessment was correct. The island of Pantelleria and Lampedusa were swiftly captured. The largest amphibious assault in history was thrown against Sicily and the island fell in just 38 days. Two divisions of Montgomery's 8th Army crossed the Straits of Messina and Italy immediately surrendered. However, the occupying Nazi forces decided to fight on and the Allies found themselves waging a two year war of attrition often in the worst conditions imaginable - against some of Germany's finest troops...

This is the definitive film record of the war in Italy, focusing on the battles and campaigns fought by the British 8th Army and comprised almost of entirely of front line footage recorded by combat cameramen. Much of this film has never appeared on video or DVD before and some sequences - only now discovered in the Movietone archives - have never been shown publicly before. Just some of the highlights are dramatic footage of landings from Operation Husky, Salerno, and Anzio, the 8th Army street-fighting in the outskirts of Naples, the liberation of Rome and Florence, Seafires support from British aircraft carriers, the surrender of the Italian fleet in Malta and an extensive sequence devoted to the ferocious battles for Mont Cassino..., Even as the Allies marched victoriously through Tunis in 1943 at the end of the North African Campaign, Commanders were looking across the Mediterranean for their next objective. Churchill famously described Italy as 'the soft underbelly of Europe' - and at first it looked as if his assessment was correct. The island of Pantelleria and Lampedusa were swiftly captured. The largest amphibious assault in history was thrown against Sicily and the island fell in just 38 days. Two divisions of Montgomery's 8th Army crossed the Straits of Messina and Italy immediately surrendered. However, the occupying Nazi forces decided to fight on and the Allies found themselves waging a two year war of attrition often in the worst conditions imaginable - against some of Germany's finest troops...

This is the definitive film record of the war in Italy, focusing on the battles and campaigns fought by the British 8th Army and comprised almost of entirely of front line footage recorded by combat cameramen. Much of this film has never appeared on video or DVD before and some sequences - only now discovered in the Movietone archives - have never been shown publicly before. Just some of the highlights are dramatic footage of landings from Operation Husky, Salerno, and Anzio, the 8th Army street-fighting in the outskirts of Naples, the liberation of Rome and Florence, Seafires support from British aircraft carriers, the surrender of the Italian fleet in Malta and an extensive sequence devoted to the ferocious battles for Mont Cassino...

Special Features:

• 1. British 8th Army In Venice (Mute Camera Rushes)
• 2. From Italy To D-Day; Footage of the land operations of the Western Allies an