Book Review: The Liberator: One World War II Soldier’s 500-Day Odyssey From the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau

A lot of what I had read about World War II focused on the exploits of Easy Company from the Band of Brothers or from Operation Market Garden. It was refreshing to read about WWII from a different perspective. In Alex Kershaw’s book, The Liberator: One World War II Soldier’s 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau, I was able to learn about the operations originating in North Africa and moving northward through Sicily, Italy, and Southern France into Germany. This book follows the footsteps of Felix Sparks, an officer of the 3rd Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. It covers the five hundred plus days that he spent on the front line.

To support this book, I have created a literature trip (lit trip) using Google Earth. You can download this KMZ file to follow along.

The Liberator is 433 pages long and very detailed. It spans 32 chapters over seven parts. The parts include:

• The Dust Bowl
• Italy
• Anzio
• France
• Germany
• The Heart of Darkness
• Last Battles

The Dust Bowl

The first part of the book begins in Miami, Ariz. when Spark is still in school during the Great Depression. Kershaw shared the struggles of growing up under challenging conditions when putting food on the table was an ordeal. Sparks was fascinated in military history and participated in the Citizens’ Military Training Program. When he turned 18, Sparks’ father sent him out to find his own path. After riding the rails for a while, Sparks enlisted in the Army where he excelled. After he left the Army, he pursued a college education in Tucson, Ariz. His college days were cut short because the United States entered World War II. The Army called Sparks back into service. This time as a 2d Lt at Fort Sill, Okla. He was assigned to the 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division.

In preparation for entry into the war, the 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division was sent to Cape Cod, Mass. to practice beach landings. They then went to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia to practice mountain warfare. They got to Virginia via a short stay in Pine Camp, New York. Pine Camp is now known as Ft. Drum. On 8 June 1943, the 45th Infantry Division departed Hampton Roads, Virginia for North Africa.

I would have loved to know more about the different training the division went through. Kershaw glossed over this. I can understand the reasoning. Kershaw wanted to get into the five hundred days in battle.

Italy

The second part of the book began with Operation Husky or the invasion of Sicily. While the book focused on Sparks and the 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, Kershaw also wrote about the perspectives of other key generals such as Eisenhower and Patton as well as other units. This helped to provide a sense of scale of the operations.

The 45th Division landed to the north and south of Scoglitti, Sicily. The division immediately made their way inland with little resistance. Kershaw shared detailed information regarding the order of battle by providing locations and dates. The names of the locations are easy to find on Google Earth as a way to follow the progress.

After intense fighting on the way to Messina, Italy, the 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division received a well-deserved rest. It was at this time, Sparks was assigned as the company commander for E Company, 2nd Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division.

In September 1943, Sparks and Easy Company joined the bloody battle at Salerno, Italy. By all accounts, the battles in Italy were quite violent. The Germans put up stiff resistance. They have several lines of defense.

Anzio

Having been relieved by another unit, the 45th Infantry Division had an opportunity to rest and gain replacements before doing a beach landing in Anzio. The landing in Anzio went quite smoothly because the Germans were taken by surprise. However, the leadership did not capitalize on their surprise and Hitler responded with total fury by throwing everything he could against the Allies.

On 15 February 1944, Sparks and Easy Company are dug in near the town of Aprilia. The 2nd Battalion was headquartered in caves about a mile south of Sparks’s position.

On the morning of 16 February 1944, all hell broke loose. The Germans made a beeline to the position that Sparks and company had held. Overwhelmed by the onslaught, Sparks and Company ended up being surrounded. During the first part of the battle, Sparks lost 100 out of 230 men. By the end of the 16th, Sparks was down to 28 men. For most of the battle, Sparks and his men were in front of the allied front lines. On 22 February, Sparks and the last 15 men were relieved and under fire retreated to the 2nd Battalion Headquarters in the caves. Still surrounded, they continued to experience withering fire.

An attempt to escape the caves was made on 23 February 1944. Sparks and 12 out of 40 men managed to return to Allied lines. Sparks was the only one from Easy Company to make it. Although later it was learned that some were captured. Over half the Regiment was lost at Anzio. The Second Battalion started with 713 men and 38 officers and was reduced to 162 men and 15 officers.

This was a costly battle. It started undermanned and lost the element of surprise.

In March 1944, Sparks had a well-deserved liberty in Naples. He returned in April 1944 to refit Easy Company with 150 replacements. Toward the end of May, Sparks was promoted to Major and placed as second in command of the 2nd Battalion in preparation of Operation Buffalo. Operation Buffalo would be a breakout from Anzio. This operation was successful and pushed the Germans north of Rome. Sparks and the battalion would now head to Salerno and Naples to rest and refit for a landing in France.

France

As Sparks and his battalion pushed into France the going was quite smooth compared to what they went through in Italy. Things were smooth until they reached the Belfort Gap and the Vosges forest. The entire staff of the third battalion was killed and Sparks assumed command. There was intense fighting in the Vosges forest with lots of casualties. At the end of the battle, Sparks and his battalion went further into France for rest and recovery. Then it was off to Germany. He was also promoted to lieutenant colonel.

Germany

The initial jump into Germany went quite smoothly. However, forces were diverted due to the German push to Antwerp, better known as the Battle of the Bulge. Sparks and his third battalion moved back into France at a town called Reipertswiller to set up a blocking force against 8 SS Divisions. The Germans surrounded the third battalion. The battalion was not allowed to retreat until five days later. In spite of efforts by Sparks, who was outside of the siege, and other battalions, they could not break through the German lines. As a result, the entire battalion was either killed or captured. This was the second battalion that Sparks had lost through overwhelming odds. At the end of this battle, Sparks was again sent back into France for rest and recovery as well as to refit a new battalion.

Two months after Reipertswiller, Sparks and his new battalion crossed the Siegfried Line into Germany. They met little resistance until they arrived at Aschaffenburg, Germany. The town was supposed to have been cleared by Patton’s Third Army but instead had over 5,000 soldiers with a fanatical leader who was intending to fight to the last man. The battle took 10 days before the Germans fully surrendered. The was another intense battle but sadly only weeks before the end of the war.

Sparks and his third battalion then made their way through Nuremberg on their way to Munich.

The Heart of Darkness

On their way to Munich, Sparks and the third battalion were diverted to Dachau based on rumors of a concentration camp. This was true. The battalion liberated the concentration camp. But it did not go without incident. About 30 guards were killed after surrendering. This is considered a war crime. Because Sparks was in charge and there was a belief he orchestrated the killing, he was investigated. After a thorough investigation, General Patton dismissed the case and released Sparks.

Last Battles

Sparks and his men spent much of their remaining days in Munich, Germany. When it was time to go, Sparks was reassigned to Reims, France to help put men on ships bound for the United States. In August 1945, Sparks jumped on a troopship bound for New York. He and his battalion had seen more than 500 days in combat.

Final Thoughts

I thought The Liberator was extremely well written and packed with great information about this part of World War II. While Kershaw focused his book of Sparks and the 45th Infantry Division, there were a number of periphery stories of other noteworthy figures who played a part along the 45th Infantry Division’s path. If you like reading about WWII, you will definitely like The Liberator

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Additional Reading

• Band of Brothers Series
• Book Review: Lightning Sky: A U.S. Fighter Pilot Captured During WWII and His Father’s Quest to Find Him
• Book Review: Arnhem: The Battle for the Bridges, 1944
• Book Review: A Bridge Too Far

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