Men Of Armor The History Of B Company 756th Tank Battalion In World War Ii

“With its focus on tank crew members and their commanders this is a unique addition to the literature on WWII.” —A. Harding Ganz, Associate Professor Emeritus of the Ohio State University at Newark, author of Ghost Division After the shocking fall of France in June 1940, the U.S. Army embarked on a crash program to establish a new armored force. One of the units formed was the 756th Tank Battalion (Light), activated at Fort Lewis in June 1941. Because of severe equipment shortages, the new battalion trained without tanks for several months, but by early 1942 were equipped with new M3 light tanks. While companies A and C took part in Operation Torch, B was withheld for lack of cargo space in the transport ships and rejoined the battalion two months later in North Africa. The units undertook reconnaissance missions following the landings in Salerno. In December 1943 the battalion was ordered to upgrade to a medium tank (Sherman) unit. Given less than a month to reorganize and train in M4s, the battalion was sent into the Mignano Gap and supported the 34th Infantry Division in the capture of Cervaro and Monte Trocchio. B Company also supported the troops of the 100th Battalion on bloody but ill-fated attempts to cross the Rapido river before finally establishing a secure bridgehead. The nearby town of Caira was also captured, opening an avenue for an attack on Cassino. Based on decades of research, and hours of interviews with veterans of the 756th Tank Battalion, Jeff Danby’s vivid narrative puts the reader in the turret of B Company’s Shermans as they ride into battle. “The level of detail is impressive.” —WWII History Magazine

Winner, 2022 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Awards, Unit History This second volume follows on from the first in recounting the WWII history of B Company, 756th Tank Battalion in vivid detail. The outfit, since upgraded from M5 light tanks to M4 ‘Sherman’ mediums, claws through some of the toughest battles of WWII—from a horrific stalemate at Cassino in February 1944, through the bloody Operation Diadem May breakout, to the stunning capture of Rome on 4 June 1944. This unique multi-volume history covers the full spectrum of experiences of the men in one tank company from inception in June 1941 through the occupation of Germany in 1945. An American tank company in WWII consisted of only five officers and approximately 100 enlisted men—all living, traveling and fighting in seventeen tanks, two jeeps, one truck, one half-track and one tank retriever. Uniting the official record with the rich, personal accounts of the participants, the reader is swept along a highly detailed and shocking journey chronicling the evolution of American armor doctrine and tank design from June 1941 through VE Day. The B Company tankers often fought at a disadvantage—struggling to survive a myriad of battlefield challenges and triumph against enemy armor better armed and better protected. What was once envisioned as a warfare of sweeping armored formations managed by West Point lieutenant colonels and ROTC captains quickly devolved into small unit street fights relying more and more on the initiative, resourcefulness and cunning of lowly OCS lieutenants and combat-seasoned sergeants. The journey is long, unforgiving and brutal, and 47 tankers would be lost along the way.

The story of B Co., 756th Tank Battalion from activation through to the eve of the battle for Monte Cassino, from the tanker's perspective.

Winner, 2022 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Awards, Unit History This second volume follows on from the first in recounting the WWII history of B Company, 756th Tank Battalion in vivid detail. The outfit, since upgraded from M5 light tanks to M4 ‘Sherman’ mediums, claws through some of the toughest battles of WWII—from a horrific stalemate at Cassino in February 1944, through the bloody Operation Diadem May breakout, to the stunning capture of Rome on 4 June 1944. This unique multi-volume history covers the full spectrum of experiences of the men in one tank company from inception in June 1941 through the occupation of Germany in 1945. An American tank company in WWII consisted of only five officers and approximately 100 enlisted men—all living, traveling and fighting in seventeen tanks, two jeeps, one truck, one half-track and one tank retriever. Uniting the official record with the rich, personal accounts of the participants, the reader is swept along a highly detailed and shocking journey chronicling the evolution of American armor doctrine and tank design from June 1941 through VE Day. The B Company tankers often fought at a disadvantage—struggling to survive a myriad of battlefield challenges and triumph against enemy armor better armed and better protected. What was once envisioned as a warfare of sweeping armored formations managed by West Point lieutenant colonels and ROTC captains quickly devolved into small unit street fights relying more and more on the initiative, resourcefulness and cunning of lowly OCS lieutenants and combat-seasoned sergeants. The journey is long, unforgiving and brutal, and 47 tankers would be lost along the way.

Detailed narrative of the tankers of B Company, 756th Tank Battalion, from the attacks on Cassino through to the battle of Rome.

Tanks, amphibian tanks, and amphibian tractors in action in all theaters, from Africa and Europe to the Pacific How the battalions fought the war, often in the tankers' own words Crystal-clear maps The U.S. Army's separate armored battalions fought in obscurity by comparison with the flashy armored divisions, but they carried the heavier burden in the grim struggle against the Axis in World War II. The battalions participated in every armored amphibious assault that the army conducted. They did most of the bloody work in Italy, made vital contributions in France, and constituted the entire effort in the Pacific.

Roger Fazendin spent the last three years of his life collecting memories from his 756th Tank Battalion brothers who survived WWII and the Battle of Cassino. Fazendin's design was to give the comrades who fought in that battle, and their families, a full picture of "what the hell went on". Battle action is fast and disjointed; each soldier's grasp of the action is limited by the intense focus required by his specific orders, hardware, and survival imperatives. This book is a collection of material from over fifty survivors, with a half dozen primary contributors, into a coherent series of narratives. The results make for riveting reading. What is unique about this book is the fact that it is written by the men themselves-not by the commanders, not by historians, not by the military. It is a record written by mature men about the thoughts and memories recorded in their young minds while they were surviving the chaos and madness of unrelenting battle in terrible winter weather. Fazendin's additions of context and historical record make for a wise and compelling assembly of the experiences of one battle. Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.

Independent tank battalions were small, self-contained armored units attached to larger infantry divisions as necessary during World War II. The United States Army believed this would provide infantry the firepower and protection it needed on an ever-changing battlefield. In Buttoned Up: American Armor and the 781st Tank Battalion in World War II, Westin E. Robeson explores the contribution of American armor to the Allied victory in World War II. Robeson first provides contextual background with a consideration of the history of the tank itself and the development of armor doctrine during the First World War and interwar years. He then addresses the rebirth of American armor in response to the German attacks in Europe. Finally, he focuses on a particular independent tank battalion, the 781st, as a case study of the effectiveness of armor in World War II. Buttoned Up introduces the reader to the application of American armored doctrine and provides a new understanding of the tank as a weapon.