The organizational history of field artillery 1775-2003 (Hardcover)
The organizational history of field artillery 1775-2003 (Hardcover)

Author: Janice E. McKenney

Publisher: Government Printing Office

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 9780160872877

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The Organizational History of Field Artillery, 1775-2003, traces the evolution of one of the U.S. Army's premier combat arms-field artillery, the King of Battle. Janice E. McKenney's study is a systematic account of the organization of artillery units, both field and coast (until their separation in the early twentieth century) and then field artillery alone until 2003. Tracing the development of one of the Army's most complex arms, the author highlights the rationale behind each major change in the branch's organization, weapons, and associated equipment, and lays out for all field artillery soldiers the rich heritage and history of their chosen branch. The work also complements the forthcoming revised edition of the lineage volume Field Artillery.

Big Guns, Brave Men
Big Guns, Brave Men

Author: Rodney E Walton

Publisher: Naval Institute Press

Published: 2013-05-15

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 1612511317

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Although it was the largest and final battle of the Pacific War, the Battle for Okinawa has long been overshadowed by other dramatic events in 1945. The books that have been written about it emphasize the role of infantrymen, armor, and U.S. Marines. This work takes a fresh perspective and focuses on the vital role played by the U.S. Army’s forward artillery observers—the eyes and ears of American artillery who were among the least recognized heroes of the war. According to Rodney Earl Walton, U.S. artillerymen matched Japanese gunners in intensity and surpassed them in effectiveness because their forward observers were able to provide a much shorter response time to requests for artillery support. Divided into teams consisting of four or five men led by an artillery lieutenant, these observers would spend three days on the front lines directing artillery against enemy positions, return to their artillery battery for three days, and then rotate up to the line of battle again. While trying to maximize the damage inflicted on the enemy, the men had to deal with the ever-present possibility of firing on their own forces. The ability to shift artillery fire throughout the battlefield was a new development in World War II, and its evolution is fully examined in the book. Walton, the son of one of the forward observers on Okinawa, spent more than twenty years investigating what happened to his father and other artillerymen during the conflict. Interviews with the artillerymen and the infantrymen they supported are central to his story, which is filled with gripping and sometimes humorous accounts of what happened. The work stands as a stirring tribute from the “baby boom generation” to the “greatest generation.

A Dangerous Assignment
A Dangerous Assignment

Author: William B. Hanford

Publisher: Stackpole Books

Published: 2008-06-13

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 0811746364

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Rare memoir of a risky job performed by relatively few troops. Honest and observant narrative describes the good, bad, and ugly of the war. Covers World War II's closing months in eastern France and Germany.

Pacific Time on Target
Pacific Time on Target

Author: Christopher S. Donner

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781606351208

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As a married man and Stanford graduate student nearing thirty, Christopher Donner would likely have qualified for an exemption from the draft. Like most of his generation, however, he responded promptly to the call to arms after Pearl Harbor. His wartime experiences in the Pacific Theater were seared into his consciousness, and in early 1946 he set out to preserve those memories while they were still fresh. Sixty-five years later, Donner's memoirs are now available to the public.

Bracketing the Enemy
Bracketing the Enemy

Author: John R. Walker

Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press

Published: 2013-08-08

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 0806150343

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After the end of World War II, General George Patton declared that artillery had won the war. Yet howitzers did not achieve victory on their own. Crucial to the success of these big guns were forward observers, artillerymen on the front lines who directed the artillery fire. Until now, the vital role of forward observers in ground combat has received little scholarly attention. In Bracketing the Enemy, John R. Walker remedies this oversight by offering the first full-length history of forward observer teams during World War II. As early as the U.S. Civil War, artillery fire could reach as far as two miles, but without an “FO” (forward observer) to report where the first shot had landed in relation to the target, and to direct subsequent fire by outlining or “bracketing” the targeted range, many of the advantages of longer-range fire were wasted. During World War II, FOs accompanied infantrymen on the front lines. Now, for the first time, gun crews could bring deadly accurate fire on enemy positions immediately as advancing riflemen encountered these enemy strongpoints. According to Walker, this transition from direct to indirect fire was one of the most important innovations to have occurred in ground combat in centuries. Using the 37th Division in the Pacific Theater and the 87th in Europe as case studies, Walker presents a vivid picture of the dangers involved in FO duty and shows how vitally important forward observers were to the success of ground operations in a variety of scenarios. FO personnel not only performed a vital support function as artillerymen but often transcended their combat role by fighting as infantrymen, sometimes even leading soldiers into battle. And yet, although forward observers lived, fought, and bled with the infantry, they were ineligible to wear the Combat Infantryman’s Badge awarded to the riflemen they supported. Forward observers are thus among the unsung heroes of World War II. Bracketing the Enemy signals a long-overdue recognition of their distinguished service.

A Dangerous Assignment: An Artillery Forward Observer In World War 2
A Dangerous Assignment: An Artillery Forward Observer In World War 2

Author: William B. Hanford

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2020-02-04

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 1678118966

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Merriam Press World War 2 Memoir. Corporal Bill Hanford had one of the US Army's most dangerous jobs in World War II: artillery forward observer (FO). Tasked with calling in heavy fire on the enemy, FOs accompanied infantrymen into combat, crawled into no-man's-land, and ascended observation posts like hills and ridges to find their targets. But beyond the usual perils of ground combat, FOs were specially targeted by the enemy because of their crucial role in directing artillery fire. Hanford spent much of his time fighting in the Vosges Mountains in eastern France and then in Germany in late 1944/early 1945. Rare memoir of a risky job performed by relatively few troops. Honest and observant narrative describes the good, bad, and ugly of the war. Originally published by Stackpole Books in 2008 and discontinued in 2015, this brand new edition from Merriam Press has a completely revised and improved design with additional photos. 23 photos.