Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Gothic Line

Subtitle: Canada's Month of Hell in World War II Italy

Author: Mark Zuehlke

Narrator: Mark Ashby

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 50 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-22-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: History, Military

Publisher's Summary:

Stretching like an armor-toothed belt across Italy's upper thigh, the Gothic Line was the most fortified position the German army had yet thrown into the Allied forces' path. On August 25, 1944, it fell to Canadian troops to spearhead a major offensive: to rip through that fiercely defended line. This gripping chronicle tells, through the eyes of the soldiers who fought there, of the 28-day clash that ultimately ended in glory for the Canadians.

Editorial Reviews:

The participation of Canadian military forces in World War II is often overlooked in most popular records, which makes The Gothic Line an undeniably enticing and revealing historic account for anyone desiring to gain a greater understanding of the Italian front and the Canadian soldiers who punched a hole through the famed Gothic Line, thus unhinging one of the greatest Axis defenses.

Clarity and historic resonance abound as Mark Ashby recounts battles of astounding odds, strategic movements across enemy terrain, and the great significance to the Allies that this month-long battle through northern Italy had in the European theater.

Members Reviews:

Another great book in a series.

This is another outstanding read about Canadian efforts during the Italy campaign. All the books in this series explain the plan and the effects in a way that makes you extremly proud of the efforts of our young men, and the wonder of how anyone survied not only the defence by the German soldiers, but the plans of the officers calling the shots. What is really wonderful is, that as you are reading along all of a sudden you are reading about someone you know from your community or that you have heard about, like Sgt. Fred Cederberg.

Gothic Line

Another great history completed by Mark Zuehlke. As always, very readable and understandable. It flows well and the chapters are short so U can read it fast. I have enjoyed reading all of his work and will continue to do so.

Good book, some annoying errors.

I enjoyed all three books (Ortona, Liri Valley being the others) in the series, however there are some sloppy errors such as refering to the Carleton and York Regiment as "English-speaking Nova Scotians" (pg. 232) when the regiment was from New Brunswick (In Ortona, pg. 363, Zuehlke even states that the regiment "hailed from New Brunswick"). Another occurs on pg.182 where talking about Cape Breton Highlanders Private Alphonse Hickey "of Whitney Pier, New Brunswick". Whitney Pier is a neighbourhood in Sydney, Nova Scotia. In Liri Valley there are numeous references to ".75 millimetre" and ".88 millimetre" guns. Overall, I enjoyed the books and would recommend them, as I think they give a fairly comprehensive look at the major Canadian operations in Italy, which is what I wanted when I bought them.

Good, but...

Another good, solid book by Mark Zuehlke. Like the two other books in this series, it consists in a mix between anecdotes and factual research, which makes for a pleasing read. However, "Ortona" was slightly better than this one. By the last 100 pages,it gets tiresome to read endless combat reports at platoon or company level - no matter how well written they are. Still, I higly recommend the book and salute Mr. Zuehlke for his overall GREAT work.

Canadians in WW2

I have not yet read this book.