Download or read book After Action Report 1 August 1944 9 May 1945 Volume II written by United States. Army. Army, 3rd and published by . This book was released on 1945 with total page 750 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Endkampf written by Stephen G. Fritz and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2004-10-08 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In "Endkampf," Stephen G. Fritz offers a gripping portrait of the collapse of a society that "chillingly narrates the last desperate days of Nazi Germany, illustrating the terror of the last weeks of World War II" (Jerry Cooper). 32 photos. 6 maps.

Download or read book Sabers through the Reich written by William Stuart Nance and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2017-05-08 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Sabers through the Reich, William Stuart Nance provides the first comprehensive operational history of American corps cavalry in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during World War II. The corps cavalry had a substantive and direct impact on Allied success in almost every campaign, and served as offensive guards for armies across Europe, conducting reconnaissance, economy of force, and security missions, as well as prisoner of war rescues. From D-Day and Operation Cobra to the Battle of the Bulge and the drive to the Rhine, these groups had the mobility, flexibility, and firepower to move quickly across the battlefield, enabling them to aid communications and intelligence gathering, reducing the Clausewitzian "friction of war."

Download or read book American Thunder written by Richard C. Anderson Jr. and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2024-05-14 with total page 751 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If the machine gun changed the course of ground combat in the First World War, it was the tank that shaped ground combat in World War II. The tank was introduced in World War I in an effort to end the stalemate of the machine gun versus barbed-wire trenches, and by World War II, the tank’s mobility and firepower became a rolling, thundering difference-maker on the battlefield. In this detailed, deeply researched, and heavily illustrated book, tank expert Richard Anderson tells the story of how the United States developed its armored force, turning it into a war-winning weapon in World War II that powered American ground forces and supplied armies around the world, including the British and Soviets. For decades, American tanks of World War II have been undervalued in comparisons with German and Soviet tanks—and it’s true that the best of American armor tended to underperform the best of German and Soviet armor during the war. That’s because the U.S. had a different goal: not only to create battleworthy tanks like the Sherman, and to develop other tanks, but also to supply American allies with serviceable, combat-ready tanks. The United States did all this, but until now the complete story of American tanks in World War II has yet to be told. Anderson’s book is deeper and more thorough a chronicle of American tanks in World War II than has ever been done. This book is colorful, vivid, and thought-provokingly insightful on how the U.S. produced a tank force capable of conducting its own battlefield efforts and sustaining key allies around the world. This will be the go-to volume on American tanks for years to come.

Download or read book Against the Panzers written by Allyn R. Vannoy and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-09-02 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Eight World War II battles are examined here from the perspective of the U.S. Army infantrymen who were facing German Panzers. The battles were chosen from those fought from August 1944 through January 1945, a time of rapid advances and intense combat. They include a variety of engagements: river crossings, defensive operations, assaults on towns, and others.

Download or read book The Liberators of Pilsen written by Bryan J. Dickerson and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2018-01-29 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Formed in July 1943 at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas, the 16th Armored Division was the last U.S. armored division to be activated in World War II, the last deployed to the European Theater and the last to see combat. As the war in Europe was coming to an end, General George S. Patton chose the division to spearhead a daring advance into Czechoslovakia. In its first and only combat operation, the 16th liberated the city of Pilsen, forever endearing itself to the Czech people. Poised to continue to the capital city of Prague, the division was halted not by German resistance but by political rivalries between the Western powers and the Soviet Union. Official U.S. Army records and veteran accounts tell the story of the unit's brief two-year existence and its successful mission.

Download or read book Spearhead written by Adam Makos and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2020-05-19 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, LOS ANGELES TIMES, AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER “A band of brothers in an American tank . . . Makos drops the reader back into the Pershing’s turret and dials up a battle scene to rival the peak moments of Fury.” —The Wall Street Journal From the author of the international bestseller A Higher Call comes the riveting World War II story of an American tank gunner’s journey into the heart of the Third Reich, where he will meet destiny in an iconic armor duel—and forge an enduring bond with his enemy. When Clarence Smoyer is assigned to the gunner’s seat of his Sherman tank, his crewmates discover that the gentle giant from Pennsylvania has a hidden talent: He’s a natural-born shooter. At first, Clarence and his fellow crews in the legendary 3rd Armored Division—“Spearhead”—thought their tanks were invincible. Then they met the German Panther, with a gun so murderous it could shoot through one Sherman and into the next. Soon a pattern emerged: The lead tank always gets hit. After Clarence sees his friends cut down breaching the West Wall and holding the line in the Battle of the Bulge, he and his crew are given a weapon with the power to avenge their fallen brothers: the Pershing, a state-of-the-art “super tank,” one of twenty in the European theater. But with it comes a harrowing new responsibility: Now they will spearhead every attack. That’s how Clarence, the corporal from coal country, finds himself leading the U.S. Army into its largest urban battle of the European war, the fight for Cologne, the “Fortress City” of Germany. Battling through the ruins, Clarence will engage the fearsome Panther in a duel immortalized by an army cameraman. And he will square off with Gustav Schaefer, a teenager behind the trigger in a Panzer IV tank, whose crew has been sent on a suicide mission to stop the Americans. As Clarence and Gustav trade fire down a long boulevard, they are taken by surprise by a tragic mistake of war. What happens next will haunt Clarence to the modern day, drawing him back to Cologne to do the unthinkable: to face his enemy, one last time. Praise for Spearhead “A detailed, gripping account . . . the remarkable story of two tank crewmen, from opposite sides of the conflict, who endure the grisly nature of tank warfare.” —USA Today (four out of four stars) “Strong and dramatic . . . Makos established himself as a meticulous researcher who’s equally adept at spinning a good old-fashioned yarn. . . . For a World War II aficionado, it will read like a dream.” —Associated Press

Download or read book No Sacrifice Too Great written by Gregory Fontenot and published by University of Missouri Press. This book was released on 2023-06-21 with total page 630 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The U.S. 1st Infantry Division (1st ID), familiarly known as the Big Red One, adapted to dynamic battlefield conditions throughout the course of its deployment during World War II by innovating and altering behavior, including tactics, techniques, and procedures. Both the Division’s leaders and soldiers accomplished this by thinking critically about their experiences in combat and wasting little time in putting lessons learned to good use. Simply put, they learned on the job—in battle and after battle—and did so quickly. In telling the Division’s WWII story, which includes an extensive photographic essay featuring many previously unpublished images, Gregory Fontenot includes the stories of individual members of the Big Red One, from high-ranking officers to enlisted men fresh off the streets of Brooklyn, both during and after the conflict. Colonel Fontenot’s rare ability to combine expert analysis with compelling narrative history makes No Sacrifice Too Great an absorbing read for anyone interested in the military history of the United States.

Download or read book The Human in Command written by Carol McCann and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 439 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book brings together experienced military leaders and researchers in the human sciences to offer current operational experience and scientific thought on the issue of military command, with the intention of raising awareness of the uniquely human aspects of military command. It includes chapters on the personal experiences of senior commanders, new concepts and treatises on command theory, and empirical findings from experimental studies in the field.

Download or read book In Final Defense of the Reich written by Stephen M Rusiecki and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2010-10-15 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In April 1945, the American 71st Infantry Division exacted the final vestiges of life from the Reich’s 6th SS Mountain Division in central Germany. This analysis of the battle demonstrates that the Wehrmacht’s last gasp on the Western Front was anything but a whimper as some historians charge. Instead, Stephen Rusiecki argues, the Nazis fought to exact every last bit of pain possible. The book follows the histories of both the German and American divisions from their inceptions until their fateful confrontation and serves as a testament to the human experience in war, from the perspective of the soldiers and the civilians who suffered the brunt of the fighting.

Download or read book The Exclusion of Black Soldiers from the Medal of Honor in World War II written by Elliott V. Converse and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-06-14 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this study, commissioned by the Army, was to document the process by which the Congressional Medal of Honor was awarded from December 7, 1941, through September 1, 1948; to identify units in which African Americans served; to identify by name all black soldiers whose names were submitted for the medal and to document any errors in the processing of their nominations; and to compile a list of all black soldiers who received the Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest award. Based on this work, in January 1997 President Clinton awarded seven African Americans the Medal of Honor. The authors were selected by Shaw University of Raleigh, North Carolina, to conduct this study under a United States Army contract.

Download or read book Fighting Fox Company written by Terry Poyser and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2014-01-19 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Intense . . . anyone familiar with the Band of Brothers story will want to read this book” (Military Review). Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division has become one of the most famous small units in US history. But fewer people are aware of Fox Company of that same regiment—the men who fought alongside Easy Company through every step of the war in Europe, and who had their own stories to tell. WWII vet Bill Brown decided to research the fate of a childhood friend who had served in Fox Company. Along the way, he met Terry Poyser, who was on a similar mission to research the combat death of a Fox Company man from his hometown. Together, the two authors proceeded to locate and interview every surviving Fox Company vet they could find. The ultimate result was this book, a decade in the making, offering a wealth of fascinating firsthand accounts of WWII combat as well as new perspectives on Dick Winters and others of the “Band.” Told primarily through the words of participants, Fighting Fox Company takes us through some of the most horrific close-in fighting of the war, beginning with the chaotic nocturnal paratrooper drop on D-Day. After fighting through Normandy, the drop into Holland saw prolonged, ferocious combat and even more casualties; and then during the Battle of the Bulge, Fox Company took its place in line at Bastogne during one of the most heroic against-all-odds stands in US history. As always in combat, each man’s experience is different, and the nature of the German enemy is seen here in its equally various aspects. From ruthless SS fighters to meek Volkssturm to simply expert modern fighters, the Screaming Eagles encountered the full gamut of the Wehrmacht. The work is also accompanied by rare photos and useful appendices, including rosters and lists of casualties, to give the full look at Fox Company that has long been overdue.

Download or read book The Sword of St Michael written by Guy LoFaro and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2011-08-30 with total page 786 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 82nd Airborne Division spent more time in combat than any other American airborne unit of World War II, and its fierce battlefield tenacity earned it the reputation of one of the finest divisions in the world. Yet no comprehensive history of the 82nd during World War II exists today. The Sword of St. Michaelcorrects this significant gap in the literature, offering a lively narrative and thoroughly researched history of the famous division. Author Guy LoFaro, himself a distinguished officer of the division, interweaves the voices of soldiers at both ends of the chain of command, from Eisenhower to the lowest private. Making extensive use of primary sources, LoFaro offers a work of insightful analysis, situating the division's exploits in a strategic and operational context.

Download or read book African Americans in the United States Army in World War II written by Bryan D. Booker and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2024-10-17 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The political, economic and social landscapes of the United States in the early 1940s were split by one overriding factor--race. This book explores the ways this separation extended to the military forces and the impact segregation had on World War II. Beginning with an overview of African Americans and the military from the inception of the United States and a brief history of the African American role in World War I, the focus moves to between-the-wars movements such as the Protective Mobilization Plan promoting racial integration of the military. The main focus is the African American role in World War II and the stigma that remained despite their valor. Groups discussed include the Women's Army Corps; tank destroyers; separate infantry regiments such as the 24th, 65th, 364th, 366th and 372nd; and the 2nd cavalry. Also included is a list of African American World War II veterans belatedly (and mostly posthumously) awarded medals of honor on January 13, 1997.

Download or read book Fire Support Employment In The Rhine River Crossing At Remagen Germany written by Major Jeffrey L. Shafer and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-06 with total page 117 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study is an historical analysis of the procedures and doctrine used by the III Corps Artillery during the First U.S. Army’s crossing of the Rhine River at Remagen, Germany. This study examines the actions of III Corps Artillery in the employment, organization for combat, and command and control of artillery units at Remagen. The fire support procedures employed by the field artillery are compared with those prescribed by published doctrine and unit standing operating procedures. This comparison is used to evaluate the adequacy of doctrine and the need for standing operating procedures to supplement the published doctrine. The development of standing operating procedures from lessons learned during earlier combat is examined to show how the doctrine allowed flexibility and standardization that was evident throughout the army. This standardization continues to serve as a model for fire support operations in today’s emerging combined arms doctrine. The study concludes with lessons learned: (1) Centralized command and control of field artillery should be under the headquarters that is best organized to control a large number or units, (2) doctrine and standing operating procedures are useless unless leaders develop and execute plans that are in accordance with the principles established and practiced, (3) the tendency to establish standing operating procedures that violate or contradict doctrine should be avoided, (4) a need for more liaison officers was evident at Remagen as well as through the war and continues to exist today even with improved technology, (5) the redundancy of tasks outlined in doctrine provides the flexibility needed to accomplish the fire support mission during a fast moving battle, and (6) field artillery units should practice several tactical missions and not just the standard mission associated with peace time organizations.

Download or read book Hitler s Mountain written by Arthur Mitchell and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2007 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This work examines the political events that took place in Obersalzberg from the 1920s until the U.S. Army returned control of the area to the German government in 1995. Concentrating primarily on the years when Hitler was in residence, it discusses hisoriginal acquaintance with Berchtesgaden and focuses on the symbolism of self-identity and public perception"--Provided by publisher.

Download or read book Fire and Steel written by Peter Caddick-Adams and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022-06-06 with total page 928 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The final volume in one of the most acclaimed works of military history of this generation. Here is Peter Caddick-Adams' third volume in his trilogy about the final year of the Western front in World War Two. Fire & Steel covers the war's final 100 days-beginning in late January 1945 and continuing until May 8th, 1945, when the German high command surrendered unconditionally to all Allied forces. Caddick-Adams' previous two volumes in the acclaimed series-Sand & Steel, which covers the invasion of Normandy in June 1944, and Snow & Steel, the definitive study of the Battle of the Bulge, the German's final offensive in the war-have set the stage for this concluding volume. In these final months of World War Two, all of Germany is ablaze, from daily bombing runs launched from just across its borders and incessant artillery fire from the east. In the west, the Allied progress was inexorable, with Eisenhower's seven armies taking on Germany's seven armies, town by town, bridge by bridge. With his customary narrative verve and utter mastery of the material, Caddick-Adams does these climactic final months full justice, from the capture of the Ludendorff Railway Bridge at Remagen, to the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, to the taking of Munich on Hitler's birthday, April 20th, and through to VE Day. Fire & Steel ends with the return of prisoners, demobilization of servicemen, and the beginning of the occupation of Germany. A triumphant concluding volume to one of the most distinguished works of military history of this generation.