Originally published in 1958 and now available for the first time in paperback, this classic of modern military history tells the exciting true story of the fall of St. Lo, the first major objective of the invading American armies in Normandy in June of 1944. Although St. Lo was intended to be taken within days of the landing, stubborn German resistance postponed the town's fall until July 18. The author describes the bloody action that took place in the thirty days in between as he led his battalion -- dubbed "The Indestructible Clay Pigeons" -- through the daunting combat.
Following the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, the First US Army engaged in a six-week struggle to break out of the Normandy beach-head. The hedgerow country of lower Normandy, called the Bocage, presented unanticipated tactical problems since it proved to be ideal for German infantry defense. This book examines the brutal attritional struggle in June-July 1944 to overcome the determined German defense and secure St Lô. The city was the site of a crucial cross-roads and was thus a vital target for the invading Allied forces; the initial bombing attacks were so severe that the journalist and poet Samuel Beckett would later report that it had been 'bombed out of existence in one night'. The attack by ground forces turned into a brutal attritional struggle to overcome the determined German defense. Using full-colour artwork, photographs and maps, this is the engaging story of one of the key engagements in the Battle of Normandy.
By 1945, the US Army had sixty-eight infantry divisions, forty-two of which fought in the great campaign in northwest Europe that began with the amphibious landings on D-Day and ended eleven months later with Germany's surrender. Beyond the Beachhead examines the experience of one infantry division, the 29th, during forty-five days of combat from Omaha Beach on D-Day to the liberation of St. Lt. Using interviews, official records, and unit histories and supplementing his narrative with meticulously detailed maps, Balkoski follows the 29th from the bloody landings at Omaha through the hedgerows of Normandy, illustrating the brutal realities of life on the front line. Expanded edition includes a new chapter on the final battles of the Normandy campaign.
In The Americans at D-Day, the first volume of this series, John C. McManus showed us the American experience in Operation Overlord. Now, in this succeeding volume, he does the same for the Battle of Normandy as a whole. Never before has the American involvement in Normandy been examined so thoroughly or exclusively as in The Americans at Normandy. For D-Day was only one part of the battle, and victory came from weeks of sustained effort and sacrifices made by Allied soldiers. Presented here is the American experience during that summer of 1944, from the aftermath of D-Day to the slaughter of the Falaise Gap, from the courageous, famed figures of Bradley, Patton, and Lightnin' Joe Collins to the lesser-known privates who toiled in torturous conditions for their country. What was this battle really like for these men? What drove them to fight against all sense and despite all obstacles? How and why did they triumph? Reminiscent of Cornelius Ryan's The Longest Day, The Americans at Normandy takes readers into the minds of the best American strategists, into the hearts of the infantry, into hell on earth. Engrossing, lightning-quick, and filled with real human sorrow and elation, The Americans at Normandy honors those Americans who lost their lives in foreign fields and those who survived. Here is their story, finally told with the depth, pathos, and historical perspective it deserves. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Balkoski's acclaimed multi-volume history of the U.S. 29th Infantry Division in World War II covers the division's vital role in the U.S. Army's November offensive, which Gen. Omar Bradley hoped would get the Allies to the Rhine River by Christmas. A riveting story of heroism and tragedy.
Designed with the more visual needs of today's student in mind, this landmark encyclopedia covers the entire scope of the Second World War, from its earliest roots to its continuing impact on global politics and human society. Over 1,000 illustrations, maps, and primary source materials enhance the text and make history come alive for students and faculty alike. ABC-CLIO's World War II: A Student Encyclopedia captures the monumental sweep of the "Big One" with accessible scholarship, a student-friendly, image-rich design, and a variety of tools specifically crafted for the novice researcher. For teachers and curriculum specialists, it is a thoroughly contemporary and authoritative work with everything they need to enrich their syllabi and meet state and national standards. Ranging from the conflict's historic origins to VJ Day and beyond, it brings all aspects of the war vividly to life—its origins in the rubble of World War I, its inevitable outbreak, its succession of tumultuous battles and unforgettable personalities. Students will understand what the war meant to the leaders, the soldiers, and everyday families on home fronts around the world. Featured essays look at Pearl Harbor, the Holocaust, the atomic bomb, and other crucial events, as well as fascinating topics such as signals intelligence and the role of women in war. A separate primary source volume provides essential source material for homework, test preparation or special projects. With a wealth of new information and new ideas about the war's causes, course, and consequences, World War II will be the first place students turn for the who, what, when, where, and—more importantly—the why, behind this historic conflict.
“It was the [allied armies’] valor, their endurance, and their ability to adapt that won the battle of Normandy and launched the liberation of Western Europe.” —from Normandy: The Real Story For decades, it’s been the conventional wisdom that “brute force” alone beat the German army at Normandy. Now a definitive new history, coauthored by a highly decorated field commander, proves otherwise. Using archival data, oral histories, and exclusive new interviews, Normandy: The Real Story takes the reader deep into the minds, hearts, and souls of the allied armies to show how—despite the shortcomings of their superiors and the inferiority of their weaponry—they destroyed two well-equipped German armies and won the war. Here is the crucial summer of 1944 as seen by both sides, from the British spy, code-named “Garbo,” who successfully misled the Nazis about the time and place of the D-day landings, to the poor planning for action after the assault that forced the allies to fight for nine weeks “field to field, hedgerow to hedgerow.” Here too are the questionable command decisions of Montgomery, Eisenhower, and Bradley, the insatiable ego of Patton. Yet, fighting in some of the most miserable conditions of the war, the allied soldiers used ingenuity, resilience, and raw courage to drive the enemy from France in what John Keegan describes as “the biggest disaster to hit the German army in the course of the war.” Normandy is an inspiring tribute to the common fighting men of five nations who won the pivotal campaign that lead to peace and freedom.
The 29th Infantry was on the front lines on D-Day, Battle of Normandy, and was the first division to cross the Elbe into Germany. When, on January 17, 1946, the 29th Infantry Division was deactivated, 28,776 soldiers had been killed, wounded, taken prisoner or missing. In September 1944, Joseph H. Ewing joined the famed 29th Infantry Division of the Maryland-Virginia National Guard as the unit was readying to storm the port city of Brest, France. In Germany, he led his rifle platoon in making an assault crossing of the Roer River at Julich, which led to the division’s drive on Munchen-Gladbach. During quiet periods on the Roer, Col. Ewing typed and edited a newspaper he titled Chin Strap. The scant-copy newspaper was circulated within the company and also caught the eye of battalion headquarters. The publication earned Col. Ewing the nicknames “Strap” and “The Strap.” At the end of World War II, Col. Ewing was assigned to Fort Meade and the War Department Historical Division in the Pentagon, and decided to author the official history of the 29th Division in World War II. This fascinating account of the division’s wartime history is the result of Col. Ewing’s combat experience and civilian career in journalism.
