Darby S Rangers

The exciting true story of a legendary leader and the men who fought by his side in World War II, told in his own words From the moment they hit the beaches in North Africa to their last desperate struggle at Anzio, Darby’s Rangers asked for only one thing in World War II—the chance to fight. Experts at amphibious landings, night attacks, and close combat, the Rangers were the spearhead advancing U.S. forces. And at their helm was William O. Darby, a forceful, charismatic man who inspired, and was inspired by, his troops. Against overwhelming odds in Tunisia, through the concentrated hell at Gela, on to the final kill at Messina and the Italian mainland, Darby and his Rangers led the way. Darby’s Rangers is an authentic war story, as vivid as the action itself. “Proud reading . . . of value to a new generation of military historians and ‘battle buffs.’”—Military Affairs Magazine

This title follows one recruit through commando, raiding and amphibious training in Scotland, and into action. It shows how the Rangers differed from the standard infantryman in both their combat mission and their combat skills, and how tactics were modified in the light of lessons learned. The experiences of battle covered include the Rangers' first action during the 1942 Dieppe raid, fighting elite Italian Bersaglieri units at Station de Sened and the Afrika Korps at Dernaia Pass in 1943, spearheading the invasion of Sicily and Italy in late 1943, and the gruelling combat up the Italian boot until war's end. Packed with first hand accounts, and many unpublished photographs, it provides a vivid description of life among the elite soldiers of Darby's Rangers.

Colonel William Darby was a hero by anyone's standards. His elite battalion of Army Rangers paved the way for Ranger success in subsequent wars—and left an unforgettable legacy in its wake. “Brings Darby's story to life with verve and skill.”—Evan Thomas, author of Ike’s Bluff • “Thoroughly engrossing.”—Larry Alexander, coauthor of A Higher Call • “A vivid portrait.”—Gerald Astor, author of A Blood-Dimmed Tide • “Riveting.”—John Wukovits, author of One Square Mile of Hell On a beach in Salerno in 1943, shortly after the American invasion, a staff officer stopped an Army Ranger and asked him where he might find William Darby. The soldier replied, “You’ll never find him this far back.” Darby was one of the most successful—and admirable—officers of World War II. At the start of the war he was an artillery captain and a general’s aide. But by 1945, he was a full colonel who had commanded Ranger battalions in twelve major battles, including the invasions of North Africa and Sicily, and the landings at Salerno and Anzio in Italy. Darby never led his men into a fight he wouldn’t take on personally, and his group of specially-selected, hard-trained Army Rangers became legendary for their astonishing bravery and deadliness under fire. Onward We Charge takes readers from the beachheads of North Africa to the bloody campaigns of southern Italy, and to Darby’s tragic death by German shrapnel just eight days before V-E Day. This is the true story of a man who held his own beside the greatest military figures in history.

The outlook for a victory by the Allied Powers was in doubt in 1942. When only two untested American divisions arrived in the European theatre, Gen. Lucien K. Truscott conceived the plan of organizing an American commando unit to be known as the “Rangers.” Maj. William O. Darby was placed in command of the first Ranger Battalion and proved himself an officer of such extraordinary leadership that his unit became known as “Darby’s Rangers.” The Spearheaders is an account from an enlisted man’s point of view of the intensely dramatic career of the Rangers.

"This is Darby?s own story of those climactic days, as dictated, just a few months before his death, to his friend General William H. Baumer. Baumer has added background information about the war and on Darby?s life, plus a summary of the exploits of other Ranger units"--Jacket.

Prior to Phil Stern's death on December 13, 2014, his original, unfinished, tattered wartime memoir was discovered, stashed away in an old folio box in his cluttered Hollywood bungalow. Best remembered for his iconic images of James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, and JFK's inauguration, his remarkable service during World War II as a combat photographer with Darby's Rangers has remained largely unknown. Until now. Stern's catchy 1940s lingo, honest and intimate observations, and humor, paired with his striking combat photography, transport the reader 70 years back in time to meet the hardscrabble Rangers and experience some of the key battles of the Mediterranean Theater. Snapdragon is an artifact of that time, told not by a man reminiscing in his twilight years, but by a young soldier fresh from the battlefields.

The outlook for a victory by the Allied Powers was in doubt in 1942. When only two untested American divisions arrived in the European theater, Gen. Lucien K. Truscott conceived the plan of organizaing an American commando unit to be known as the "Rangers." Maj. William O. Darby was placed in command of the first Ranger battalion and proved himself an officer of such extraordinary leadership that his unit became known as "Darby's Rangers." The Spearheaders is an account from an enlisted man's point of view of the intensely dramatic career of the Rangers. -- Back cover.

One of the most famous units of World War II and all of military history. First Americans to see active combat in the European theater. Expands on events described in Rick Atkinson's An Army at Dawn and The Day of Battle.