After repulsing the German counter-attack at Salerno in September 1943, the US Fifth Army and British Eighth Army advanced up the Italian peninsula. This forced a critical decision in German strategy: to conduct a prolonged defence in southern Italy, using the complex terrain. By mid-November, the two Allied armies were approaching the Bernhardt (or Winter) Line defences stretching between the Garigliano and the Sangro rivers. Here, US Fifth Army would attack through the Mignano gap towards San Pietro Infine, while British and Commonwealth troops would seize Ortona on the Adriatic coast and Orsogna. A brutal struggle ensued, notably in the 'mini-Stalingrad' of Ortona. Italian military historian Pier Paolo Battistelli explores several key battles following the German withdrawal from Salerno and Taranto, using maps and diagrams to present an easy-to-follow overview of the multiple operations of this complex campaign. The forces of the opposing sides (including German, American, Canadian, Indian, New Zealand and British troops), and the three decisive battles fought in late 1943, are brought vividly to life in period photos and superb battlescene artworks.