Soldiers in the Sun — Michael Winston

In this second volume of the Sgt. Smith World War II trilogy, we find First Squad on the hot and rocky island of Sicily as the Allies plan to take and hold the island in order to better control shipping in the Mediterranean and as a jumping off point for the invasion of Italy. The First Infantry Division, having been bloodied in the fierce fighting in the hills and desert country of Tunisia, has learned a few hard lessons. After receiving some devastating setbacks in the Kasserine Pass from Rommel's Africa Corps, the First Division stood their ground at El Guettar and came back to beat the best the Germans could throw at them. Not only did they fight and win against the famous German 10th and 21st Panzer Divisions, the elite Hermann Goering Division, and Rommel's Africa Corps, but they then played a central role in evicting the Nazis from North Africa. Not only has the First Division earned the respect of their German opponents, but the soldiers have slowly learned to hate their enemy, who has taught them that war is a serious business, a business of killing, and they are beginning to take pride in their craft. Based upon stories my father told me, as well as documented history, we now rejoin First Squad as they invade the Land of the Cyclops, from the landing beaches at Gela to the climactic battle for Troina.