Fifth Army at War

General Mark W. Clark's Fifth Army olds the record for the longest continuous period in action against the enemy in World War II and for being the first American formation to land on Hitler's "Festung Europa" even thought it was not an all-American force, The Fifth Army was probably the most international of all the Allied armies - composed of British, New Zealand, Indian, Canadian, South African, French, Brazilian, and Italian contingents. It is to their credit that such a mix of nationalities was able to function so efficiently and, for the most part, with such good sense and friendliness. They followed the example set by their first commander, Gen. Mark W. Clark, and his successor, Gen. Lucian K. Truscott. The Fifth Army came into being in North Africa in early 1943. It first went into action at Salerno in September of that year, and from then on was never out of action until the war was won in Italy. In addition to having to face a determined, well-equipped, and skillful enemy, who was master of the slow withdrawal, the Fifth Army had to fight in rocky, inhospitable mountains, through two severe winters - in battle conditions probably worse than anywhere else in Europe. As one soldier wrote: "These things....constitute war and battle: rain and mud, cold and discomfort...of digging and of sleepless nights and tiring days of being afraid and of being hungry, of repairing roads and of building bridges, of being lonely...of an endless number of little things". In this latest addition to Scribner's' highly acclaimed "At War" series, Colonel Forty once again demonstrates his flair for the evocative portrayal of soldiers in action.