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As per title. Now nearly finished (at 10). Beautifully made about the WWII campaign in Italy. Always a little less well-known compared with the D-Day campaign. His documentary gives that campaign its well-deserved spotlight!
Try to watch it on iPlayer.
Totally agree, definitely worth a watch.
Just watched that. Superb and well worth a watch to anyone who hasn't seen it.
I'd love an afternoons chat with the 104 year-old war veteran that he interviewed. He was still sharp as a pin and had a great way with words.
Yes I watched it, I was mesmerised listening to those veteran soldiers talking could have listened for hours.
To think those lovely places that looked so calm and tranquil in the programme were complete slaughter grounds for our brave troops.
That beautiful river, to think that thousands were machine gunned in small canvas boats who either died in the hail of bullets and shell fire or drowned in that river through the sheer weight of their kit, very harrowing.
Lineker's documentary was really well-edited. The 104 y/o veteran had some memory loss regarding things he'd said a few moments before. Lineker did a great job responding in a very respectful way. That looked very honest. Great detail that they didn't cut that out.
Last year, we had Peter Jackson's documentary about WW1. To me, Lineker's program is as powerful as Jackson's. For me it's on the same level as Clarkson's documentary about his FiL during Market Garden. (But that's perhaps not fair to say - Living close to Arnhem, I know the area of Operation MG all to well, so I'm perhaps looking at it in a different way).
With this production team, I wouldn't mind seeing more documentaries with Lineker! He has more to offer than half-time comments during soccer matches.
Menno
Two of my Uncles fought at Cassino, both were wounded. One Uncle a regular soldier (who survived Dunkirk and had fought in the BEF under 'Tiger Gort'), said that the German Fallschirmjager (Para's) were the toughest troops he fought in WW2. Their trenches were so close the Germans used to throw (exchange) ration cans during the night. They're was a lot of respect for the enemy. When the British took food rations to the POW camp run by the Americans, after the fall of Cassino, they found that the Americans had not be feeding their prisoners. The wounded British Tommy's threatened the US MP's that if the rations were not distributed when they next visited, hostilities would occur!
I'll have to watch out for that show.
My wife's uncle was killed on the last day of hostilities of WWII in Italy.
Saw that. Very good!
Surprised nobody asked my grandad as he’s in the Cassino society and a veteran of the battle, great watch mind, has the honour of taking my grandad 2 years ago and the stories he had are unreal about the siege on the monastery and some other key battles around Rome, perhaps the most harrowing was the battle on the Adriatic at the sangro river crossing
Really enjoyed the show though, god bless those d day dodgers
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Great documentary, Lineker came across really well and totally respectful. A genuinely nice bloke when he's not pinching crisps.
I'm going to watch this on catch-up as I missed it when first broadcast.
There's also a really good podcast called "We have ways of making you talk" by James Holland & Al Murray and they've done some really good episodes on various campaigns including Italy and Market Garden. Well worth a listen.
I think that Lineker was the right person for this. And most reactions here are the same. Perhaps he's the ideal presenter for historical documentaries now Clarkson has left the Beeb. I wouldn't mind seeing more of him!
The Italy campaign is largely under-exposed here in Holland. True, overhere we know about Monte Casino, but only as a paragraph in a history book. That's it. I really think that I knew more about Montgomery's campaign in Northern Africa than about the Italian campaign! That was, until Lineker's documentary was on TV!
Perhaps someone from the BBC stumbles across this: I would like to see more of Lineker, with this level of craftsmanship, empathy and clear story telling!
Menno