- Table View
- List View
Union Soldier of the American Civil War
by Denis HambuckenThis book provides a glimpse at the lives, weapons, and equipment of these soldiers through a collection of artifacts and exacting reproductions. As 1862 dawned, the Civil War, the conflict that had started the year before and that most Americans thought would last only a few months, showed no signs of ending. Hundreds of thousands of men across the divided nation enlisted in state volunteer regiments that poured into the sprawling military camps around Washington, DC, Richmond, Virginia, and other strategic locations. Within a year, thousands of these courageous men had lost their lives on bloody battlefields or died in disease-ridden encampments. This book provides a glimpse at the lives, weapons, and equipment of these soldiers through a collection of artifacts and exacting reproductions. While other books examine the War Between the States from a political, tactical, or military perspective, these books focus on the day-to-day life and the human experience of the men themselves, the Union and Confederate soldiers who enlisted and often fought to the death for their beliefs and those of their home regions of the young United States. Illustrated with full-color photography and historical documents, engagingly written and thoroughly explained, these books are the perfect addition to children’s and adults’ library collections, school libraries, and personal libraries of interested readers and history lovers of all ages.
Union Soldiers in the American Civil War: Facts and Photos for Readers of All Ages
by Lance J. HerdegenSome Confederates called him a “Bluebelly,” “Mudsill,” and even a “Lincolnite” (for President Abraham Lincoln), but the name that has carried down through the decades is simply “Billy Yank.” Author Lance Herdegen tells his fascinating multi-faceted story in Union Soldiers in the American Civil War. Union Soldiers offers a complete guide for Civil War enthusiasts of all ages. Herdegen employs nearly 100 photographs coupled with clear and concise prose broken down into short, easy to understand chapters to better understand these men. Coverage includes such varied topics as the organization of the Union Army, learning to be soldiers, winter campaigning, photography, sick call, nurses, religion, discipline, prisoner of war camps, weaponry, uniforms, as well as numbers and losses and the strengths of the various Union armies. It also examines the participation of U.S. Color Troops and the role played by African Americans during the Civil War. This handy reference book includes a list of Civil War points of interest, some bookshelf suggestions, and a glossary of Civil War terms. Experienced Civil War buffs will find Union Soldiers in the American Civil War an invaluable quick reference guide, and one that makes an excellent gift for introducing the Civil War to anyone of any age.
Unipolarity and the Evolution of America’s Cold War Alliances
by Nigel R. ThalakadaThalakada argues that the principal purpose of US alliances have shifted since the end of the Cold War from containing communist expansionism (balance of power) to preserving and exercising US power (management of power).He also looks across all US alliances highlighting the trend from regionally-based to more globally-active alliances.
Uniquely Okinawan: Determining Identity During the U.S. Wartime Occupation (World War II: The Global, Human, and Ethical Dimension)
by Courtney A. ShortUniquely Okinawan explores how American soldiers, sailors, and Marines considered race, ethnicity, and identity in the planning and execution of the wartime occupation of Okinawa, during and immediately after the Battle of Okinawa, 1945–46.
Unit 416
by J. Leon Pridgen II A. John VinciFive tough as nails men. One hard-assed Sergeant. The only chance to change their lives. These are the men of Unit 416. Push them hard and they push harder. Things are about to get deadly—but with the skill and swagger of Unit 416, no mission is impossible…Born and raised in America’s hardest streets, five men are faced with the ultimate choice: continue their lives of crime and incarceration or serve their country and join the Army. Master Sergeant Keeble is faced with no good choice: be the leader of a new section called Unit 416 or take him and his surgically-repaired leg out of the game for good. At first, all Keeble has to work with is a ragtag group of men with no regard for the rules and a huge chip on their shoulders. But as the men go through training and more together, they form a group so tight, so formidable, that nothing can break them apart. And when a secretive CIA directive leads them straight into the heart of Uzbekistan to infiltrate an arms cartel, Unit 416’s men will need all the grit, tough—and heart—they have in order to see this mission home.
Unit 731
by Hal GoldThis is a riveting and disturbing account of the medical atrocities performed in Japan during WWII.In the first part of Unit 731: Testimony, author Hal Gold draws upon a painstakingly accumulated reservoir of sources to construct a portrait of the Imperial Japanese Army's most notorious medical unit, giving an overview of its history and detailing its most shocking activities. The second half of the book consists almost entirely of the words of former unit members themselves, taken from remarks they made at a traveling Unit 731 exhibition held around Japan in 1994-95.
Unit 731
by Hal GoldThis is a riveting and disturbing account of the medical atrocities performed in Japan during WWII.In the first part of Unit 731: Testimony, author Hal Gold draws upon a painstakingly accumulated reservoir of sources to construct a portrait of the Imperial Japanese Army's most notorious medical unit, giving an overview of its history and detailing its most shocking activities. The second half of the book consists almost entirely of the words of former unit members themselves, taken from remarks they made at a traveling Unit 731 exhibition held around Japan in 1994-95.
Unit X: How the Pentagon and Silicon Valley Are Transforming the Future of War
by Christopher Kirchhoff Raj M. ShahShortlisted for the 2024 Financial Times Business Book of the Year A riveting inside look at an elite unit within the Pentagon—the Defense Innovation Unit, also known as Unit X—whose mission is to bring Silicon Valley&’s cutting-edge technology to America&’s military: from the two men who launched the unit.A vast and largely unseen transformation of how war is fought as profound as the invention of gunpowder or advent of the nuclear age is occurring. Flying cars that can land like helicopters, artificial intelligence-powered drones that can fly into buildings and map their interiors, microsatellites that can see through clouds and monitor rogue missile sites—all these and more are becoming part of America&’s DIU-fast-tracked arsenal. Until recently, the Pentagon was known for its uncomfortable relationship with Silicon Valley and for slow-moving processes that acted as a brake on innovation. Unit X was specifically designed as a bridge to Valley technologists that would accelerate bringing state of the art software and hardware to the battle space. Given authority to cut through red tape and function almost as a venture capital firm, Shah, Kirchhoff, and others in the Unit who came after were tasked particularly with meeting immediate military needs with technology from Valley startups rather than from so-called &“primes&”—behemoth companies like Lockheed, Raytheon, and Boeing. Taking us inside AI labs, drone workshops, and battle command centers—and, also, overseas to Ukraine&’s frontlines—Shah and Kirchhoff paint a fascinating picture of what it takes to stay dominant in a fast-changing and often precarious geopolitical landscape. In an era when America&’s chief rival, China, has ordered that all commercial firms within its borders make their research and technology available for military exploitation, strengthening the relationship between Washington and Silicon Valley was always advisable. Today, it is an urgent necessity.
United Nations Peacekeeping in the Post-Cold War Era (Cass Series on Peacekeeping #18)
by Nicholas Rees John Terence O'NeillThis new study questions whether peacekeeping fundamentally changed between the Cold War and Post-Cold War periods. Focusing on contrasting case studies of the Congo, Cyprus, Somalia and Angola, as well as more recent operations in Sierra Leone and East Timor, it probes new evidence with clarity and rigour. The authors conclude that most peacekeeping operations - whether in the Cold War or Post-Cold War periods - were flawed due to the failure of the UN member states to agree upon achievable objectives, the precise nature of the operations and provision of the necessary resources, and unrealistic post-1989 expectations that UN peacekeeping operations could be adapted to the changed international circumstances. The study concludes by looking at the Brahimi reforms, questions whether these are realistically achievable and looks at their impact on contemporary peace operations in Sierra Leone, East Timor and elsewhere.
United States Army Armored Divisions of the Second World War (Images of War)
by Michael GreenThe routing of the British and French Armies in May and June 1940 by the Wehrmachts armored divisions caused a major rethink by the US Armys senior leadership. The result was the formation of the two armored divisions in July 1940; the first named Old Ironside and second designated Hell on Wheels.In 1941, a further three armored divisions were created; the third (Spearhead), the fourth (remained unnamed) and the fifth called Victory. The following year seven more were created, the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth. The final two armored divisions formed in 1943 numbered the sixteenth and twentieth. All but one of these powerful formations went on to see service in the European Theatre of Operation (ETO); the exception being the 1st armored Division that served in North Africa, Sicily and Italy.These fourteen divisions proved their effectiveness against the Axis forces. In this carefully researched book military historian and much published author Michael Green explains their operational and fighting doctrine. Equipment enthusiasts will appreciate the lavish images and informed captions of the armored fighting vehicles and other equipment employed.
United States Army In WWII - The Pacific - Guadalcanal: [Illustrated Edition] (United States Army in WWII)
by Samuel Milner[Includes 3 charts, 36 maps and 107 illustrations]"The successes of the South Pacific Force," wrote Admiral Halsey in 1944, "were not the achievements of separate services or individuals but the result of whole-hearted subordination of self-interest by all in order that one successful 'fighting team' could be created." The history of any South Pacific campaign must deal with this "fighting team," with all United States and Allied services. The victory on Guadalcanal can be understood only by an appreciation of the contribution of each service. No one service won the battle. The most decisive engagement of the campaign was the air and naval Battle of Guadalcanal in mid-November 1942, an engagement in which neither Army nor Marine Corps ground troops took any direct part.This volume attempts to show the contribution of all services to the first victory on the long road to Tokyo. It does not describe all ground, air, and naval operations in detail but it does attempt, by summary when necessary, to show the relationship between air, ground, and surface forces in modern warfare.
United States Army Special Forces In DESERT SHIELD/ DESERT STORM: How Significant An Impact?
by Major William M. JohnsonThis study investigates the contributions made by the U.S. Army Special Forces (SF) during the Persian Gulf conflict. Particular emphasis is placed on each mission performed by the SF during operations DESERT SHIELD/ DESERT STORM. Emphasis is placed initially on the building-block foundation of how a Special Forces Group (Airborne) is organized, paying particular attention to the operational A-detachment and the makeup of the SF soldier, which is paramount to this study. Brief accounts and descriptions are made of the various missions assigned to SF's coalition warfare support, which involved providing "ground truth" and close air support to the Arab-allied units, border surveillance; direct action; special reconnaissance; and combat search and rescue. This provides a base of knowledge into the myriad of operations conducted by the SF during Operations DESERT SHIELD/STORM. The study concludes by examining published quotes from key leadership within the Department of Defense which provides this study with a measurable means of determining what significance the missions executed by the SF did have on the success of DESERT SHIELD/STORM.
United States Army in WWII - Europe - Breakout and Pursuit: [Illustrated Edition] (United States Army in WWII)
by Martin Blumenson[Includes 33 maps and 97 illustrations]The campaign in the summer of 1944 related in this volume included some of the most spectacular ground action of the U.S. Army during World War II. It began with the slow and costly hedgerow fighting against determined German efforts to contain the Normandy beachhead; it entered its decisive stage when the breach of German defenses permitted full exploitation of the power and mobility of U.S. Army ground troops; and it reached the peak of brilliance with successive envelopments of principal German forces and the pursuit of their remnants north and east to free most of France, part of Belgium, and portions of the Netherlands. By late Aug. the war in the west appeared to be almost over, but the tyranny of logistics gave the enemy time to rally at the fortified West Wall and delay surrender for another eight months.Covering the period 1 July to 11 Sep. 1944, Breakout and Pursuit takes up the story of the European campaign at the time when the Allies considered their cross-Channel beachhead well established on the Continent. How the Allies exploited the initial success of their landings and drove from the shores of Normandy to the German border is the subject of the volume.The events of the period comprise a rich variety of military experience. Virtually every sort of major operation involving co-ordinated action of the combined arms is found: the grueling positional warfare of the battle of the hedgerows, the breakthrough of the main enemy position, exploitation, encirclement, and pursuit, as well as a number of actions falling under the general heading of special operations--an assault river crossing, the siege of a fortress, and night combat, among others. In their variety and complexity, these operations frequently bring into sharp focus the delicate problems of coalition warfare.
United States Army in WWII - Europe - Cross-Channel Attack: [Illustrated Edition] (United States Army in WWII)
by Gordon A. Harrison[Includes 4 charts, 31 maps and 62 illustrations]Cross-Channel Attack has been planned and written as the introduction to the history of those campaigns in 1944 and 1945 which led to the destruction of the German armies in the west. It provides necessary background for the study of all the campaigns in the European Theater of Operations. The narrative of operations ends on 1 July 1944, with the Allies firmly established in Normandy. The concluding chapters show the successful fruition of plans and preparations reaching back as far as January 1942; but the seizure of the Norman beaches and the establishment of a lodgment area are only a beginning, a point of departure for the drive to the Elbe and the Baltic. Although Cross Channel Attack includes discussion of certain problems of high command and logistics, a more complete treatment is accorded these subjects in two volumes now under preparation in this series: The Supreme Command and Logistical Support of the Armies.Whether the reader approaches the book with the justified pride that he was a member or supporter of the winning team, or whether he reads to learn, is a matter for him to decide. The victor tends to prepare to win the next war with the same means and methods with which he won the last. He forgets the difficulty of reaching decisions, the planning problems, his faltering, his unpreparedness. The vanquished is wont to search far afield for new and improved methods, means, and equipment. The accomplishments of those who fought in this period were indeed great, as were the sacrifices. But from the national viewpoint it would seem desirable to read this volume with the self-critical eye of the vanquished as well as with the pride of the victor, an approach which the thoughtful reader will not find difficult.
United States Army in WWII - Europe - Riviera to the Rhine: [Illustrated Edition] (United States Army in WWII)
by Robert Ross Smith Jeffrey J. Clarke[Includes 35 maps and 77 illustrations]Riviera to the Rhine examines a significant portion of the Allied drive across northern Europe and focuses on the vital role played in that drive by the U.S. 6th Army Group, commanded by General Jacob L. Devers, and its two major components, the American Seventh Army, under General Alexander M. Patch, and the French First Army, under General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny. Had these forces not existed, Eisenhower's two northern army groups, those commanded by Field Marshal Sir Bernard L. Montgomery and General Omar N. Bradley, would have been stretched much thinner, with their offensive and defensive capabilities greatly reduced. In such a case the German offensive of Dec. 1944 might have met with greater success, easily postponing the final Allied drive into Germany with unforeseen military and political consequences. Riviera thus should balance the greater public attention given to the commands of Montgomery and Bradley by concentrating on the accomplishments of those led by Devers, Patch, and de Lattre and, in the process, by highlighting the crucial logistical contributions of the southern French ports to the Allied war effort.Finally Riviera is the study of a combined, Franco-American military effort, one which frequently saw major combat units of each nation commanded by generals of the other on the field of battle. Although outwardly similar, each national component had its own unique style, and a deep appreciation of one another's strengths and weaknesses was vital to the success of the combined force. National political considerations also played a significant role in the operations of the combined force as did personal conflicts within both chains of command, all of which had to be resolved primarily by the principal commanders in the field.
United States Army in WWII - Europe - the Ardennes: [Illustrated Edition] (United States Army in WWII)
by Dr Hugh M. Cole[Includes 14 maps and 96 photos]During most of the eleven months between D-day and V-E day, the U.S. Army was carrying on highly successful offensive operations. As a consequence, the American soldier was buoyed with success, imbued with the idea that his enemy could not strike him a really heavy counterblow...Then, unbelievably, and under the goad of Hitler's fanaticism, the German Army launched its powerful counteroffensive in the Ardennes in Dec. 1944 with the design of knifing through the Allied armies and forcing a negotiated peace. The mettle of the American soldier was tested in the fires of adversity and the quality of his response earned for him the right to stand shoulder to shoulder with his forebears of Valley Forge, Fredericksburg, and the Marne.This is the story of how the Germans planned and executed their offensive. It is the story of how the high command, American and British, reacted to defeat the German plan once the reality of a German offensive was accepted. But most of all it is the story of the American fighting man and the manner in which he fought a myriad of small defensive battles until the torrent of the German attack was slowed and diverted, its force dissipated and finally spent. It is the story of squads, platoons, companies, and even conglomerate scratch groups that fought with courage, with fortitude, with sheer obstinacy, often without information or communications or the knowledge of the whereabouts of friends...In recreating the Ardennes battle, the author has penetrated "the fog of war" as well as any historian can hope to do. No other volume of this series treats as thoroughly or as well the teamwork of the combined arms-infantry and armor, artillery and air, combat engineer and tank destroyer-or portrays as vividly the starkness of small unit combat. Every thoughtful student of military history, but most especially the student of small unit tactics, should find the reading of Dr. Cole's work a rewarding experience.
United States Army in WWII - Europe - the Last Offensive: [Illustrated Edition] (United States Army in WWII)
by Charles B. Macdonald[Includes 26 maps and 92 illustrations]The American armies that absorbed the shock of the German counteroffensives in the Ardennes and Alsace in the winter of 1944-45 were the most powerful and professional that the United States had yet put in the field. That this was the case was abundantly demonstrated as the final campaign to reduce Nazi Germany to total defeat unfolded.The campaign was remarkably varied. As it gathered momentum in the snows of the Ardennes and the mud and pillboxes of the West Wall, the fighting was often as bitter as any that had gone before among the hedgerows of Normandy and the hills and forests of the German frontier. Yet the defense which the Germans were still able to muster following the futile expenditure of lives and means in the counteroffensives was brittle. The campaign soon evolved into massive sweeps by powerful Allied columns across the width and breadth of Germany. That the Germans could continue to resist for more than two months in the face of such overwhelming power was a testament to their pertinacity but it was a grim tragedy as well. To such an extent had they subjugated themselves to their Nazi leaders that they were incapable of surrender at a time when defeat was inevitable and surrender would have spared countless lives on both sides.It was a dramatic campaign: the sweep of four powerful U.S. armies to the Rhine; the exhilarating capture of a bridge at Remagen; assault crossings of the storied Rhine River, including a spectacular airborne assault; an ill-fated armored raid beyond Allied lines; the trapping of masses of Germans in a giant pocket in the Ruhr industrial region; the uncovering of incredible horror in German concentration camps; a dashing thrust to the Elbe River; juncture with the Russians; and a Wagnerian climax played to the accompaniment of Russian artillery fire in the Führerbunker in Berlin.
United States Army in WWII - Europe - the Lorraine Campaign: [Illustrated Edition] (United States Army in WWII)
by Charles B. Macdonald[Includes 51 maps and 71 illustrations]This volume deals with the campaign waged by the Third Army in Lorraine during the period 1 September-18 December 1944.The present volume is concerned with the tactical operations of the Third Army and its subordinate units. The story of command and decision in higher headquarters is told only when it has a direct bearing on the campaign in Lorraine. The logistics of this campaign likewise have been subordinated to the tactical narrative. The basic unit in the present narrative is the infantry or armored division. The story of the division has been told in terms of its regiments and battalions, but swerves on occasion to the company or the platoon, just as the operations themselves turned on the exploits of these smaller units. Attention has been focused throughout the volume on the combat formations actually in the line. It is hoped, however, that the reader will gain some impression of the vital combination of arms and services which in the long run bring the infantry and the tanks to victory.
United States Army in WWII - Europe - the Siegfried Line Campaign: [Illustrated Edition] (United States Army in WWII)
by Charles B. Macdonald[Includes 19 maps and 82 illustrations]Some who have written of World War II in Europe have dismissed the period between 11 Sept. and 16 Dec. 1944 with a paragraph or two. This has been their way of gaining space to tell of the whirlwind advances and more spectacular command decisions of other months. The fighting during Sept., Oct., Nov., and early Dec.belonged to the small units and individual soldiers, the kind of warfare which is no less difficult and essential no matter how seldom it reaches the spectacular.It is always an enriching experience to write about the American soldier-in adversity no less than in glittering triumph. Glitter and dash were conspicuously absent in most of the Siegfried Line fighting. But whatever the period may lack in sweeping accomplishment it makes up in human drama and variety of combat actions. Here is more than fighting within a fortified line. Here is the Hürtgen Forest, the Roer plain, Aachen, and the largest airborne attack of the war. The period also eventually may be regarded as one of the most instructive of the entire war in Europe. A company, battalion, or regiment fighting alone and often unaided was more the rule than the exception. In nuclear war or in so-called limited war in underdeveloped areas, of which we hear so much today, this may well be the form the fighting will assume.As befits the nature of the fighting, this volume is focused upon tactical operations at army level and below. The story of command and decision in higher headquarters is told only when it had direct bearing on the conduct of operations in those sectors under consideration. The logistics of the campaign likewise has been subordinated to the tactical narrative. It is a ground story in the sense that air operations have been included only where they had direct influence upon the ground action.
United States Army in WWII - Europe - the Supreme Command: [Illustrated Edition] (United States Army in WWII)
by Forrest C. Pogue[Includes 11 tables, 9 charts, 15 maps and 65 illustrations]This Volume tells the story of the Supreme Headquarters of that Allied Expeditionary Force which seized a foothold on the German-held shores of Western Europe in 1944 and which, by the following year, had completed the liberation of all Western Europe.This is a history of coalition warfare. It is focused upon the agency in which the decisions of governments were translated into orders, and upon the decisions of General Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force. The narrative describes the plans and recounts the events, controversial or otherwise, leading up to the creation of the Supreme Command and the choice of a Supreme Commander for the cross-Channel attack. It follows the history of this great command to the surrender of Germany. It is the history not only of the decisions that led to victory, but of the discussions, debates, conferences and compromises that proceeded decisions. Controversy was inevitable in an undertaking that required the subordination of national interests to the common good. The author does not gloss over the conflicts that arose between allied nations or individuals. The picture that emerges from these pages is one of discussion and argument, but nevertheless one of teamwork. Differences of opinion and the discussion incident thereto are often the price of sound decisions.The history of the battles fought by the American armies of the Grand Alliance as they drove from the Normandy beaches into the heart of Germany is given detailed exposition in other volumes of this series, some of which already have been presented to the public. The present volume deals with the command exercised by the Supreme Allied Commander, the decisions made by the Supreme Commander and his staff, and the operations conducted under the aegis of the Supreme Headquarters.
United States Army in WWII - the Mediterranean - Cassino to the Alps: [Illustrated Edition] (United States Army in WWII)
by Ernest F. Fisher Jr.[Includes 16 maps and 94 illustrations]"Wars should be fought," an American corps commander noted in his diary during the campaign in Italy, "in better country than this." It was indeed an incredibly difficult place to fight a war. The Italian peninsula is only some 150 miles wide, much of it dominated by some of the world's most precipitous mountains. Nor was the weather much help. It seemed to those involved that it was always either unendurably hot or bone-chilling cold.Yet American troops fought with remarkable courage and tenacity, and in company with a veritable melange of Allied troop...Despite the forbidding terrain, Allied commanders several times turned it to their advantage, achieving penetrations or breakthroughs over some of the most rugged mountains in the peninsula. To bypass mountainous terrain, the Allies at times resorted to amphibious landings, notably at Anzio...The campaign involved one ponderous attack after another against fortified positions: the Winter Line, the Gustav Line, the Gothic Line...It was also a campaign replete with controversy...Most troublesome of the questions that caused controversy were: Did the American commander, Mark Clark, err in focusing on the capture of Rome rather than conforming with the wishes of his British superior to try to trap retreating German forces? Did Allied commanders conduct the pursuit north of Rome with sufficient vigor? Indeed, should the campaign have been pursued all the way to the Alps when the Allies might have halted at some readily defensible line and awaited the outcome of the decisive campaign in northwestern Europe?Just as the campaign began on a note of covert politico-military maneuvering to achieve surrender of Italian forces, so it ended with intrigue and secret negotiations for a separate surrender of the Germans in Italy.
United States Army in WWII - the Mediterranean - Northwest Africa: [Illustrated Edition] (United States Army in WWII)
by George F. Howe[Includes 11 tables, 2 charts, 34 maps and 93 illustrations]The history of initial actions in a war contains lessons of special value for the professional soldier and for all students of military problems. Northwest Africa abounds in such lessons, for it covers the first massive commitments of American forces in World War II. The continent of Africa became a gigantic testing ground of tactics, weapons, and training evolved through years of peace.The invasion stretched American resources to the limit. Simultaneously the country was trying to maintain a line of communications to Australia, to conduct a campaign at Guadalcanal, to support China in the war against Japan, to arm and supply Russia's hard-pressed armies on the Eastern Front, to overcome the U-boat menace in the Atlantic, to fulfill lend-lease commitments, and to accumulate the means to penetrate the heart of the German and Japanese homelands. The Anglo-American allies could carry out the occupation of Northwest Africa only by making sacrifices all along the line.Two campaigns occurred there: Operation TORCH which swiftly liberated French North Africa from Vichy French control, followed by a longer Allied effort to destroy all the military forces of the Axis powers in Africa. The latter concentrated in Tunisia, where the front at one time extended more than 375 miles, and fighting progressed from scattered meeting engagements to the final concentric thrust of American, British, and French ground and air forces against two German and Italian armies massed in the vicinity of Bizerte and Tunis.The planning, preparation, and conduct of the Allied operations in Northwest Africa tested and strengthened the Anglo-American alliance. Under General Dwight D. Eisenhower a novel form of command evolved which proved superior to adversities and capable of overwhelming the enemy.
United States Army in WWII - the Mediterranean - Salerno to Cassino: [Illustrated Edition] (United States Army in WWII)
by Martin Blumenson[Includes 16 maps and 94 illustrations]The focus of the American and British war effort in 1943 was on the ancient lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea where in May victory came at last in Tunisia and where in July Allied armies began a five-week campaign to conquer Sicily. The invasion of Italy in September sharpened that focus as Allied troops for the first time since 1940 confronted the German Army in a sustained campaign on the mainland of Europe.The fighting that followed over the next eight months was replete with controversial actions and decisions. These included apparent American peril during the early hours in the Salerno beachhead; a British advance from the toe of the peninsula that failed to ease the pressure at Salerno; the fight to cross a flooded Rapido River; the bombing of the Benedictine abbey on Monte Cassino; and the stalemated landings at Anzio. The author addresses these subjects objectively and candidly as he sets in perspective the campaign in Italy and its accomplishments.It was a grueling struggle for Allied and German soldier alike, a war of small units and individuals dictated in large measure by inhospitable terrain and wet and cold that soon immersed the battlefield. The methods commanders and men employed to defeat the terrain and a resourceful enemy are instructive now and will continue to be in the future, for the harsh conditions that were prevalent in Italy know no boundary in time. Nor do the problems and accomplishments of Allied command and co-ordination anywhere stand out in greater relief than in the campaign in Italy.
United States Army in WWII - the Mediterranean - Sicily and the Surrender of Italy: [illustrated Edition] (United States Army In Wwii Ser.)
by Martin Blumenson Albert N. Garland Howard Mcgaw Smyth[Includes 17 maps and 113 illustrations]This volume, the second to be published in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations subseries, takes up where George F. Howe's Northwest Africa: Seizing the Initiative in the West left off. It integrates the Sicilian Campaign with the complicated negotiations involved in the surrender of Italy.The Sicilian Campaign was as complex as the negotiations, and is equally instructive. On the Allied side it included American, British, and Canadian soldiers as well as some Tabors of Goums; major segments of the U.S. Army Air Forces and of the Royal Air Force; and substantial contingents of the U.S. Navy and the Royal Navy. Opposing the Allies were ground troops and air forces of Italy and Germany, and the Italian Navy. The fighting included a wide variety of operations: the largest amphibious assault of World War II; parachute jumps and air landings; extended overland marches; tank battles; precise and remarkably successful naval gunfire support of troops on shore; agonizing struggles for ridge tops; and extensive and skillful artillery support. Sicily was a testing ground for the U.S. soldier, fighting beside the more experienced troops of the British Eighth Army, and there the American soldier showed what he could do.The negotiations involved in Italy's surrender were rivaled in complexity and delicacy only by those leading up to the Korean armistice. The relationship of tactical to diplomatic activity is one of the most instructive and interesting features of this volume. Military men were required to double as diplomats and to play both roles with skill.
United States Army in WWII - the Pacific - CARTWHEEL: [illustrated Edition] (United States Army In Wwii Ser.)
by John Miller Jr.[Includes 2 tables, 11 charts, 22 maps and 71 illustrations]The campaign described in the present volume was important to the Army as an experience in amphibious warfare and combined operations against a formidable and still resourceful enemy. It was also of critical importance in the evolution of American strategy in the Pacific. CARTWHEEL began as an uphill fight with means that seemed inadequate to the ends proposed, even though these were limited. But it swiftly brought our forces to a crest from which we were able to launch the two powerful drives, through the Southwest and Central Pacific, that crushed Japan before we redeployed the forces directed against Germany. The campaign put to the test the principle of unity of command, and also the capacity for co-operation between two theaters, one under Army, the other under Navy command, and both under forceful and dominant commanders. By ingenious and aggressive use of the ground, sea, and air forces at their disposal they made these suffice to achieve more than had been foreseen as possible, and opened up a new vista of strategy. They took a heavy toll of the enemy's resources, established the technique of bypassing his strongholds, including finally Rabaul itself, and threw him on the defensive. This book will be of interest not only to professional officers, but also to a wide variety of other readers and students.