Download or read book Lions of Carentan The written by Volker Griesser and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2011-10-06 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although it is known that Allied airborne forces landed into a German buzzsaw on D-Day, far less is known about the troops they encountered in the dark night of June 6, 1944. One of the formations they encountered was a similarly elite group of paratroopers, who instead of dropping from the skies fought on the defensive, giving their Allied counterparts a tremendous challenge in achieving their objectives. This is the complete wartime history of one of the largest German paratrooper regiments, 6th , from its initial formation in the spring of 1943 to its last day at the end of the war. With numerous firsthand accounts from key members, reporting on their experiences, they describe the events of 1943Ð45 vividly and without compromise. These accounts reveal previously unknown details about important operations in Italy, Russia, on the Normandy Front, Belgium, Holland, the last German Parachute drop in the Ardennes, and the final battle to the end in Germany. With over 220 original photographs, many from private collections and never before published, this book fully illustrates the men, their uniforms, equipment and weapons. Also included is an appendix with maps, battle calendar, staffing plans, a list of field and post-MOB-numbers, and the Knight's Cross recipients of the regiment. Having earned the respect of the Allied forces who fought against it during World War II, this work will inform current readers of the full record of Fallschirmjger Regiment 6, and why the Allied advance into German-held Europe was so painstaking to achieve.
Download or read book No Better Place to Die written by Robert Murphy and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2009-04-07 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The you-are-there story of one of the most ferocious small-unit combats in US history . . . As part of the massive Allied invasion of Normandy, three airborne divisions were dropped behind enemy lines to sew confusion in the German rear and prevent panzer reinforcements from reaching the beaches. In the dark early hours of D-Day, this confusion was achieved well enough, as nearly every airborne unit missed its drop zone, creating a kaleidoscope of small-unit combat. Fortunately for the Allies, the 505th Regimental Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division hit on or near its drop zone. Its task was to seize the vital crossroads of Ste Mère Eglise, and to hold the bridge over the Merderet River at nearby La Fière. Benefiting from dynamic battlefield leadership, the paratroopers reached the bridge, only to be met by wave after wave of German tanks and infantry desperate to force the crossing. Reinforced by glider troops, who suffered terribly in their landings from the now-alert Germans, the 505th not only held the vital bridge for three days but launched a counterattack in the teeth of enemy fire to secure their objective once and for all, albeit at gruesome cost. In No Better Place to Die, Robert M. Murphy provides an objective narrative of countless acts of heroism, almost breathtaking in its you are there detail. No World War II veteran is better known in 82nd Airborne circles than Robert M. (Bob) Murphy. A Pathfinder and member of A Company, 505th PIR, Bob was wounded three times in action, and made all four combat jumps with his regiment, fighting in Sicily, Italy, Normandy, and Holland. He was decorated for valor for his role at La Fière, and is a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor. After the war, he was instrumental in establishing the 505th RCT Association. A selection of the Military Book Club
Download or read book Rendezvous with Destiny written by Leonard Rapport and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 872 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book To the Last Man written by Randolph Bradham and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2012-07-16 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Surely one of the best works in regard to the Normandy invasion . . . truly a vital contribution to World War II literature.” —Lt. Colonel Robert A. Lynn, Florida Guard Through thoughtfully constructed research, Bradham vividly presents the battle for Normandy’s Cotentin Peninsula—one of the most important and yet understudied operations of World War II. This book provides a detailed overview of the battles that make up the Cotentin Peninsula Campaign, an important part of the invasion of Normandy. While historians often cite specific examples of the fighting that took place on the peninsula, most treat the battles as individual events or singular parts of the overall Normandy campaign. In this work Bradham takes a different approach, focusing on the unique set of battles that had to be fought in order for the Allies to secure their foothold on Normandy. Bradham not only discusses the strategy used to secure the peninsula, but also gives detailed accounts of the major battles and tactical doctrine that was developed to fight them. Along the way he provides biographical information on the main actors, explaining how key personality traits along with personal relationships influenced their conduct while in battle. In doing so, the author outlines the effect of the campaign on the overall conduct of the war.
Download or read book Utah Beach to Cherbourg 6 June 27 June 1944 written by United States. Department of the Army. Office of Military History and published by . This book was released on 1948 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Paratrooper Generals written by Mitchell Yockelson and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2023-06-14 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A military history detailing the key role two US Army special forces commanders and their infantry divisions played in during the second world war. Generals during World War II usually stayed to the rear, but not Matthew Ridgway and Maxwell Taylor. During D-Day and the Normandy campaign, these commanders of the 82nd “All-American” and the 101st “Screaming Eagle” Airborne Divisions refused to remain behind the lines and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with their paratroopers in the thick of combat. Jumping into Normandy during the early hours of D-Day, Ridgway and Taylor fought on the ground for six weeks of combat that cost the airborne divisions more than forty percent casualties. The Paratrooper Generals is the first book to explore in depth the significant role these two division commanders played on D-Day, describing the extraordinary courage and leadership they demonstrated throughout the most important American campaign of World War II.
Download or read book Cross Channel Attack written by Gordon A. Harrison and published by BDD Promotional Books Company. This book was released on 1993-12 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses the Allied invasion of Normandy, with extensive details about the planning stage, called Operation Overlord, as well as the fighting on Utah and Omaha Beaches.
Download or read book Fields of War Battle of Normandy written by Robert J Mueller and published by French Battlefields. This book was released on 2014 with total page 475 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A complete guide to Normandy Battlefields providing the history, places, and people who made victory in the Second World War possible. Recipient of 7 National book awards. On 6 June 1944, 156,000 American, British, and Canadian servicemen fought ashore on beaches along the Normandy coast or landed from the air to begin wresting back Nazi occupied Europe. The D-Day invasion was the largest amphibious landing in history. Although successful, it was only precursor to months of the deadly fighting necessary to dislodge stubborn German defenders from the Norman countryside and eventually liberate France. As a visitor s guide, Fields of War: Battle of Normandy presents the actual locations of key events in the struggle to free France from German occupation. Each battlefield visit begins with a succinct history of events followed by a description of the intense military action that determined success or failure. Extensive detailed maps illustrate the flow of the battle across the landscape and the units that participated. Detailed driving instructions and GPS co-ordinates direct visitors to each battlefield site. Descriptions of museums, memorials, cemeteries, and surviving artifacts are given along with their hours of operation. Mailing, email, and web addresses are also provided.
Download or read book If Chaos Reigns written by Flint Whitlock and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2013-05-07 with total page 657 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A gem of a book that highlights the ‘fog of war’ as seen by American, British, and Canadian airborne units when they parachuted behind enemy lines.” —WWII History Magazine “Gentlemen, do not be daunted if chaos reigns; it undoubtedly will.” So said Brigadier S. James Hill, commanding officer of the British 3rd Parachute Brigade, in an address to his troops shortly before the launching of Operation Overlord—the D-Day invasion of Normandy. No more prophetic words were ever spoken, for chaos indeed reigned on that day, and many more that followed. Much has been written about the Allied invasion of France, but award-winning military historian Flint Whitlock has put together a unique package—the first history of the assault that concentrates exclusively on the activities of the American, British, and Canadian airborne forces that descended upon Normandy in the dark, pre-dawn hours of June 6, 1944. Landing into the midst of the unknown, the airborne troops found themselves fighting for their lives on every side in the very jaws of the German defenses, while striving to seize their own key objectives in advance of their seaborne comrades to come. Whitlock details the formation, recruitment, training, and deployment of the Allies’ parachute and glider troops. First-person accounts by veterans who were there—from paratroopers to glidermen to the pilots who flew them into the battle, as well as the commanders (Eisenhower, Taylor, Ridgway, Gavin, and more)—make for compelling, “you-are-there” reading. If Chaos Reigns is a fitting tribute to the men who rode the wind into battle and managed to pull victory out of confusion, chaos, and almost certain defeat.
Download or read book Citizen Soldiers written by Stephen E. Ambrose and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-04-23 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Stephen E. Ambrose, bestselling author of Band of Brothers and D-Day, the inspiring story of the ordinary men of the U.S. army in northwest Europe from the day after D-Day until the end of the bitterest days of World War II. In this riveting account, historian Stephen E. Ambrose continues where he left off in his #1 bestseller D-Day. Citizen Soldiers opens at 0001 hours, June 7, 1944, on the Normandy beaches, and ends at 0245 hours, May 7, 1945, with the allied victory. It is biography of the US Army in the European Theater of Operations, and Ambrose again follows the individual characters of this noble, brutal, and tragic war. From the high command down to the ordinary soldier, Ambrose draws on hundreds of interviews to re-create the war experience with startling clarity and immediacy. From the hedgerows of Normandy to the overrunning of Germany, Ambrose tells the real story of World War II from the perspective of the men and women who fought it.
Download or read book Utah Beach to Cherbourg 6 June 27 June 1944 written by and published by . This book was released on 1948 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book 101st Airborne written by Mark Bando and published by Zenith Press. This book was released on 2011-05-08 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A minute-by-minute and day-by-day account of the elite 101st Airborne’s daring parachute landing behind enemy lines at Normandy is accompanied by firsthand accounts from Airborne veterans and forty incredible, previously unknown (let alone published) color photos of the “Screaming Eagles” at Normandy and in Great Britain prior to the invasion. Accompanying these remarkable D-Day color Kodachromes—which were unearthed in the attic of an Army doctor’s daughter—are more than two hundred black-and-white photographs from 101st survivors and the author’s own private collection. This is an unprecedented look at an elite fighting force during one of the last century’s most crucial moments.
Download or read book The D Day Companion written by Jane Penrose and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2014-05-10 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Published to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Normandy Landings, The D-Day Companion brings together the perspectives and opinions of leading military historians from both sides of the Atlantic. Operation Overlord saw the Allied Generals Eisenhower and Montgomery pit their wits against Hitler in a bold bid to liberate continental Europe. Featuring a foreword by Major Richard Winters, real-life commander of Easy Company as featured in Stephen E Ambrose's Band of Brothers, this is a unique and incisive examination of the momentous events that surrounded June 6, 1944. Each chapter of this book focuses on a different aspect of the D-Day landings, from the build-up to the attack to the experiences of the troops on the ground.
Download or read book FIGHT AT THE LOCK Illustrated Edition written by Colonel S. L. A. Marshall and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2014-08-15 with total page 73 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes 6 maps As the tens of thousands of American troops began their approach toward the forbidding German-defended Normandy coast, their comrades in the 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions had already flown over the Channel and began dropping and gliding into enemy territory. The Airborne Divisions had a role critical to the success of the entire Normandy Landings; beyond the initial beach landing areas were miles of flooded defended ditches and waterways. If the German troops managed to defend these bottlenecks the Americans on Utah Beach, at the extreme right of the operation, would be unable to move forward and might have foundered on the beach... “According to plan, the D Day objectives of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment were well concentrated. After dropping into Normandy a little to the north and east of the city of Carentan, the regiment was to press south and westward and establish the defensive position in this direction. In detail, it was to secure the line of the lower Douve River, first by seizing the strategic lock on the Canal De Vire Et Taute at Le Barquette and then by blowing the river bridges... “From the beginning, American attention was directed at the Le Barquette lock. This unique objective and its possible military application appears to have fascinated the imaginations not only of those who planned Operation Neptune but of the commanders who were to execute it. To get to the lock first and to make certain that the enemy would have no use of it became an overriding consideration with the planning and tactical forces. American apprehensions as to what might happen if the Germans gained control of the lock superinduced one of the boldest strokes of the Normandy campaign, a stroke boldly made and tactically productive. Yet whether the emphasis placed on the position by the Allied planners was justifiable was never confirmed by the attitude of the enemy.”
Download or read book Hitler s Paratroopers in Normandy written by Gilberto Villahermosa and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2019-08-30 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A retired U.S. Army Master Parachutist, strategist, and military historian analyzes the actions of one German special forces group during World War II. In June 1944, Allied forces fighting desperately to establish a foothold in Normandy and then breakout of the confining bocage found themselves opposed by a bewildering array of formations of the German Wehrmacht. Among them were the newly formed German II Parachute Corps. This gripping new account examines the exploits of Germany’s II Parachute Corps and its commander, Eugen Meindl, from the Allied invasion on June 6 to the end of August 1944. Meindl was the epitome of the senior German airborne commander in the Second World War. Tough, experienced, and aggressive, he cared deeply for his troops. His Parachute Corps fought stubbornly for three weeks, before being forced to fall back. Trapped along with the bulk of the German Seventh Army in the Falaise pocket, Meindl and his paratroopers maintained their discipline and were selected by the Commander in Chief of OB West to lead the German breakout to the east. That they managed to do so, despite suffering grievous losses, while so many around them died or surrendered, is a testament to their dedication and fighting ability. Theirs is a story that deserves to be told.
Download or read book June 6 1944 written by Gerald Astor and published by Dell. This book was released on 2009-01-16 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In ships and planes, they crossed the English Channel. On the other side Hitler’s army waited. And the longest day was about to begin.... In the spring of 1944, 120,000 Allied soldiers crossed the English Channel in the most ambitious invasion force ever assembled. Rangers, paratroopers, infantry, and armored personnel, these soldiers--some who had just cut their teeth in Africa and Sicily and some who were brand-new to war--joined a force aimed at the heart of Europe and Hitler’s defenses. On the morning of June 6, D-Day began. And in the hours that followed, thousands lost their lives, while those who survived would be changed forever No other chronicle of D-Day can match Gerald Astor's extraordinary work--a vivid first-person account told with stunning immediacy by the men who were there. From soldiers who waded through the bullet-riddled water to those who dropped behind enemy lines, from moments of terror and confusion to acts of incredible camaraderie and heroism, June 6, 1944 plunges us into history in the making--and the most pivotal battle ever waged.
Download or read book The Airborne in World War II written by Michael E. Haskew and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2017-08-01 with total page 435 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With one hundred and sixty photographs, maps, and illustrations, Michael E. Haskew's The Airborne in World War II is an accessible account of remarkable men and the battles that they fought. D-Day, Operation Market Garden, Battle of the Bulge—the US Airborne divisions were integral at all these major points in World War II. But they also played a significant role in North Africa, where they first saw action, and in Italy in 1943. Right on the tail of these planes, this expert history follows the airborne divisions from the redesignation and initial training of the 82nd in 1942 through to their final, momentous missions in the Pacific. Featuring the equipment, division structure, and uniforms, as well as first-hand accounts, this book is the true history popularized by such titles as Band of Brothers, A Bridge Too Far, and The Dirty Dozen.
