Download or read book Gliders of World War II The Bastards No One Wanted written by Major Michael H. Manion and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-06 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study examines the role of combat gliders in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States during World War II (WWII). This thesis compares and contrasts each country with respect to pre-WWII glider experience, glider and airborne doctrine, glider pilot training, and glider production while outlining each country’s major glider operations. The author then compares the glider operations in the China-Burma-India Theater to the operations in Europe to describe the unique challenges based on the terrain and mission. Next, this thesis presents an analysis of the glider’s precipitous decline following WWII. The study concludes with recommendations for glider operations in the future based on the experiences of the past.
Download or read book Bunker Hill to Bastogne written by Briton Cooper Busch and published by Potomac Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2006 with total page 435 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: America's curiosity about elite military units is greater than ever in today's crisis-ridden world. And while numerous books have examined the various elite forces, Bunker Hill to Bastogne goes much further to show the relationship between these special units and the societies that gave birth to them. Though America in general has often regarded its military establishment as an unfortunate necessity, elite formations have nearly always emerged in moments of crisis. And while their exploits have fostered the cherished image of the individualistic but loyal rifleman-ranger, these legends have not always corresponded to reality. America's roster of heroic images has long included esteemed elite units, running the gamut from Roger's Rangers at Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolution to Berdan's Sharpshooters during the Civil War and the paratroopers of Normandy in World War II. But despite Americans' reverent regard for, and patriotic depiction of, elite units, they initially distrusted the idea of a standing army given such abuses as the quartering of soldiers in citizens' homes. Indeed, the egalitarian American spirit caused the Founding Fathers to discourage a class of emperor-making military elites. And yet, elite units did emerge during every major American conflict. But the evolution of such forces has taken place in fits and starts, with units often demobilizing after a particular crisis had passed. Only since World War II have elite units become a consistently relied-upon arm of the military for dealing with constantly erupting global crises. Bunker Hill to Bastogne is a unique and timely chronicle of the birth and evolution of elite forces and the American public's reactions to them. It shows that despite Americans' wariness of a possible military elite, their love of the fabled rifleman-ranger has seldom dwindled, though in the twenty-first century their hero might wear a green beret rather than a coonskin cap.
Download or read book Going for Broke written by James M. McCaffrey and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2013-04-30 with total page 478 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Americans reacted with revulsion and horror. In the patriotic war fever that followed, thousands of volunteers—including Japanese Americans—rushed to military recruitment centers. Except for those in the Hawaii National Guard, who made up the 100th Infantry Battalion, the U.S. Army initially turned Japanese American prospects away. Then, as a result of anti-Japanese fearmongering on the West Coast, more than 100,000 Americans of Japanese descent were sent to confinement in inland “relocation centers.” Most were natural-born citizens, their only “crime” their ethnicity. After the army eventually decided it would admit the second-generation Japanese American (Nisei) volunteers, it complemented the 100th Infantry Battalion by creating the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. This mostly Japanese American unit consisted of soldiers drafted before Pearl Harbor, volunteers from Hawaii, and even recruits from the relocation centers. In Going for Broke, historian James M. McCaffrey traces these men’s experiences in World War II, from training to some of the deadliest combat in Europe. Weaving together the voices of numerous soldiers, McCaffrey tells of the men’s frustrations and achievements on the U.S. mainland and abroad. Training in Mississippi, the recruits from Hawaii and the mainland have their first encounter with southern-style black-white segregation. Once in action, they helped push the Germans out of Italy and France. The 442nd would go on to become one of the most highly decorated units in the U.S. Army. McCaffrey’s account makes clear that like other American soldiers in World War II, the Nisei relied on their personal determination, social values, and training to “go for broke”—to bet everything, even their lives. Ultimately, their bravery and patriotism in the face of prejudice advanced racial harmony and opportunities for Japanese Americans after the war.
Download or read book World War II Glider Assault Tactics written by Gordon L. Rottman and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2014-03-20 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Military gliders came of age in World War II, when glider assault infantry were the forerunners of today's helicopter-delivered airmobile troops. From the light pre-war sports and training machines, several nations developed troop-carrying gliders capable of getting a whole squad or more of infantry, with heavy weapons, onto the ground quickly, with the equipment that paratroopers simply could not carry. They made up at least one-third of the strength of US, British, and German airborne divisions in major battles, and they also carried out several daring coup de main raids and spearhead operations. However, the dangers were extreme, the techniques were difficult, the losses were heavy (particularly during night operations), and the day of the glider assault was relatively brief. This book explains the development and organization of glider troops, their mounts, and the air squadrons formed to tow them, the steep and costly learning-curve and the tactics that such troops learned to employ once they arrived on the battlefield.
Download or read book War Stories written by Bart Hagerman and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 1993-06-01 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 17th Airborne was one of five Airborne divisions activated by the United States during WWII. Although frequently overshadowed by the more famous 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, the 17th Airborne fought with distinction alongside them in the Battle of the Bulge. This book chronicles some of the experiences of the men of the 17th Airborne on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the division's activation.
Download or read book Four Hours of Fury written by James M. Fenelon and published by Scribner. This book was released on 2020-05-12 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Compellingly chronicles one of the least studied great episodes of World War II with power and authority…A riveting read” (Donald L. Miller, New York Times bestselling author of Masters of the Air) about World War II’s largest airborne operation—one that dropped 17,000 Allied paratroopers deep into the heart of Nazi Germany. On the morning of March 24, 1945, more than two thousand Allied aircraft droned through a cloudless sky toward Germany. Escorted by swarms of darting fighters, the armada of transport planes carried 17,000 troops to be dropped, via parachute and glider, on the far banks of the Rhine River. Four hours later, after what was the war’s largest airdrop, all major objectives had been seized. The invasion smashed Germany’s last line of defense and gutted Hitler’s war machine; the war in Europe ended less than two months later. Four Hours of Fury follows the 17th Airborne Division as they prepare for Operation Varsity, a campaign that would rival Normandy in scale and become one of the most successful and important of the war. Even as the Third Reich began to implode, it was vital for Allied troops to have direct access into Germany to guarantee victory—the 17th Airborne secured that bridgehead over the River Rhine. And yet their story has until now been relegated to history’s footnotes. In this viscerally exciting account, paratrooper-turned-historian James Fenelon “details every aspect of the American 17th Airborne Division’s role in Operation Varsity...inspired” (The Wall Street Journal). Reminiscent of A Bridge Too Far and Masters of the Air, Four Hours of Fury does for the 17th Airborne what Band of Brothers did for the 101st. It is a captivating, action-packed tale of heroism and triumph spotlighting one of World War II’s most under-chronicled and dangerous operations.
Download or read book Silent Skies written by Tim Lynch and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2008-08-30 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 10 May 1940 warfare changed forever when gliders swooped down to seize the fortress of Eben Emael in Belgium ahead of the German advance. In the following five years of war, the glider evolved into a war-winning weapon capable of landing men, guns and even tanks with pinpoint precision. Across the world it became a vital element in military planning, yet no full history of glider operations has been written. Tim Lynch, in this graphic and highly readable study, gives vivid accounts of glider operations - some famous, some less well known - in every theatre of the war, in northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Far East and the Pacific. He quotes extensively from the memoirs and eyewitness accounts of the glider pilots and the troops they carried, and he traces the evolution glider tactics over the course of the war.
Download or read book India David and the Devil written by Michelee Morgan Cabot and published by Wheatmark, Inc.. This book was released on 2016-10-05 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When a beautiful eighteen-year-old aviatrix discovers a crime from behind the counter of the pharmacy where she works to pay for her flying lessons, she crosses paths with a charming, but manipulative junkie. As his crime spree seeps outwards, she unwittingly stumbles into the dark world of addiction and unfettered rage. The effects ripple across the community, showing how violence changes the individuals of a community in search of justice and closure. India, David, and the Devil is a tense psychological thriller lyrically told and grounded in the author's personal experience. Told from two perspectives -- one naïvely light, one sociopathically dark -- this story will grab you and fling you along for the ride until you beg for a landing.
Download or read book Face to Face with Wild Horses written by Yva Momatiuk and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2009 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The authors share their experiences while studying and photographing wild horses in the American West. Includes information on their habits and behavior.
Download or read book Mailing List Infantry School U S written by and published by . This book was released on 1977 with total page 1162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Western European and Mediterranean Theaters in World War II written by Donal Sexton and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2011-10-06 with total page 583 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Western European and Mediterranean Theaters in World War II is a concise, comprehensive guide for students, teachers, and history buffs of the Second World War. With an emphasis on the American forces in these theaters, each entry is accompanied by a brief annotation that will allow researchers to navigate through the vast amount of literature on the campaigns fought in these regions with ease. Focusing on all aspects surrounding the U.S. involvement in the Western European and Mediterranean theaters, including politics, religion, biography, strategy, intelligence, and operations, this bibliography will be a welcome addition to the collection of any academic or research library. Routledge Research Guides to American Military Studies provide concise, annotated bibliographies to the major areas and events in American military history. With the inclusion of brief critical annotations after each entry, the student and researcher can easily assess the utility of each bibliographic source and evaluate the abundance of resources available with ease and efficiency. Comprehensive, concise, and current—Routledge Research Guides to American Military Studies are an essential research tool for any historian.
Download or read book Air War Varsity written by Martin W. Bowman and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2017-10-30 with total page 455 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here, Martin Bowman brings us the first book on Operation Varsity to include both British and US air and ground operations, as well as the US, British and Canadian paratroop and resupply missions, all presented together in one ambitious volume.Operation Varsity-Plunder, the last large-scale Allied airborne operation of World War II, was certainly no walk-over. Varsity was the airborne part, whilst Plunder represented the British amphibious operations by the British Second Army.The airlift consisted of 541 transport aircraft containing airborne troops and a further 1,050 troop-carriers towing 1,350 gliders. The American 17th Airborne Divisions C-46 Commando transports and Waco gliders joined the British 6th Airborne Division C-54s, C-47 transport aircrafts, Horsas and Hamilcar gliders to form an immense armada that stretched for more than 200 miles across the sky. The successful air attack involved more than 10,000 Allied aircraft and was concentrated primarily on Luftwaffe airfields and the German transportation system.The combination of the two divisions in one lift made this the largest single day airborne drop in history. In this impressive account, Martin Bowman weaves firsthand testimony and a compelling historical narrative together with a variety of photographic illustrations, many of which have never been published before, in order to create a complete and fascinating record of events as they played out in March 1945.
Download or read book The Battered Bastards of Bastogne written by George Koskimaki and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2013-05-07 with total page 933 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Fleshes out in vivid detail the entire story of the Screaming Eagles’ valiant struggle . . . This is must reading for any student of World War II history” (Kepler’s Military History). The Battered Bastards of Bastogne is the product of contributions by 530 soldiers who were on the ground or in the air over Bastogne. They lived and made this history, and much of it is told in their own words. The material contributed by these men of the 101st Airborne Division, the Armor, Tank Destroyer, Army Air Force , and others is tailored meticulously by the author and placed on the historical framework known to most students of the Battle of the Bulge. Pieces of a nearly 60-year-old jigsaw puzzle come together in this book, when memoirs from one soldier fit with those of another unit or group pursuing the battle from another nearby piece of terrain.
Download or read book Churchill s Spearhead written by John Greenacre and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2010-06-19 with total page 459 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book covers the inception, growth and employment of Britains airborne forces (parachute and glider-borne formations) between June 1940 and March 1945. It takes a comparative approach and follows tailored lines of development. Each of these lines—politics and policy, equipment and technology, personnel and training, command and control and concepts and doctrine—influence each other.The contents include:Politics and Policy: The political environment within which the major decisions were made concerning the concept of development of Britains airborne forces. Churchills personal contribution, the effect of inter-service rivalry and the influence of other government departments. Equipment and Technology: The methods and obstacles of procuring and supplying the bespoke equipment required by airborne forces. The supply of combat equipment, the provision of support aircraft and the procurement of gliders. Personnel and Training: The effort incurred to man the new force and the effect of different approaches to recruitment and training. The selection and recruitment of airborne personnel, the individual training of paratroops and glider pilots and the role of collective training prior to operations. Command and Control: The ability of individuals in key appointments to influence the path of development and the operational and tactical employment of the force. The reaction and approach of higher commanders to the new capability, the selection and impact of commanders within the airborne force and the influence of the airborne staff. Concept and Doctrine: Examines the manner in which Britains airborne forces were employed and performed on operations in the Mediterranean and northwest Europe. How the development of the airborne concept was influenced by physical constraints (equipment and personnel), the ideas of higher commanders and the German example. The impact of individual commanders and physical limitations.
Download or read book Glidermen of Neptune written by Charles J Masters and published by SIU Press. This book was released on 1995-12-22 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Masters has also assembled the finest existing collection of photographs of the American D-Day glider attack. These photographs - many of which have never before been publishedafford the opportunity to examine the inside of the combat gliders used on D-Day, to observe the glidermen in action, and to witness the often tragic consequences of the glider attack.
Download or read book The Americans at D Day written by John C. McManus and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2013-05-28 with total page 506 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Impressively researched, engrossing, lightning quick, and filled with human sorrow and elation, John C. McManus's The Americans at D-Day honors those Americans who lost their lives on D-Day, as well as those who were fortunate enough to survive. June 6, 1944 was a pivotal moment in the history of World War II in Europe. On that day the climactic and decisive phase of the war began. Those who survived the intense fighting on the Normandy beaches found their lives irreversibly changed. The day ushered in a great change for the United States as well, because on D-Day, America began its march to the forefront of the Western world. By the end of the Battle of Normandy, almost one of every two soldiers involved was an American, and without American weapons, supplies, and leadership, the outcome of the invasion and ensuing battle could have been very different. In the first of two volumes on the American contribution to the Allied victory at Normandy, John C. McManus (Deadly Brotherhood, Deadly Sky) examines, with great intensity and thoroughness, the American experience in the weeks leading up to D-Day and on the great day itself. From the build up in England to the night drops of airborne forces behind German lines and the landings on the beaches at dawn, from the famed figures of Eisenhower, Bradley, and Lightin' Joe Collins to the courageous, but little-known privates who fought so bravely, and under terrifying conditions, this is the story of the American experience at D-Day. What were the battles really like for the Americans at Utah and Omaha? What drove them to fight despite all adversity? How and why did they triumph? Thanks to extensive archival research, and the use of hundreds of first hand accounts, McManus answers these questions and many more. In The Americans at D-Day, a gripping narrative history reminiscent of Cornelius Ryan's The Longest Day, McManus takes readers into the minds of American strategists, into the hearts of the infantry, into hell on earth. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
