Mutiny At Salerno An Injustice Exposed

The first comprehensive account of the series of high-level blunders and deceptions that caused a large body of Montgomery's 8th Army veterans to risk execution rather than accept being 'Shanghai-ed' to a different formation. In 1943 nearly 200 combat veterans of Montgomery's Eighth Army were arrested on a charge of mutiny, quickly tried, sentenced (with 3 receiving orders for execution by a firing squad, and the rest given 7 to 12 years in prison at hard labor), but within a month all sentences were dropped. This was surely an unusual court martial, and the author reveals its own appalling details. This book is a primer on how not to lead soldiers in time of war and how not to dispense military justice. Despite the dismissal of charges, the soldiers were forced to forfeit all medals and pension benefits. The book is very well researched. The author reveals blunders long ago swept under the rug.

Saul David

Hardcover 240 pp

Book Code:  EX0003