Operational Performance Of The Us 28th Infantry Division September To December 1944

This study analyzes the operational performance of the 28th Infantry Division during a period of high intensity combat in the European Theater of Operations. The focus is on the difficulties the division experienced within its subordinate infantry units. Infantrymen, though comprising less than 40 percent of the division's total strength, absorbed almost 90 percent of all casualties. The high casualty rate within infantry units severely curtailed the operational performance of the division. The difficulties the 28th experienced were commonplace in the European theater. Compounding the problem was the inadequate number of divisions in the U.S. Army force structure. This inadequacy forced divisions to remain in combat for excessive durations, greatly increasing battle and non-battle casualties. The army's personnel system further contributed to the problems infantry divisions experienced within their infantry units. It failed to provide sufficient numbers of infantry replacements in a timely manner and there was widespread dissatisfaction with the quality of infantry replacements. This study shows that the U.S. Army failed to realize both the importance of infantry units to the war effort and the severity of combat on the modern battlefield. The result was an infantry force structure poorly designed to accomplish its wartime mission.

The Lost Soldier offers a perspective on World War II we don’t always get from histories and memoirs. Based on the letters home of Pete Lynn, the diary of his wife, Ruth, and meticulous research in primary and secondary sources, this book recounts the war of a married couple who represent so many married couples, so many soldiers, in World War II. The book tells the story of this couple, starting with their life in North Carolina and recounting how the war increasingly insinuated itself into the fabric of their lives, until Pete Lynn was drafted, after which the war became the essential fact of their life. Author Chris J. Hartley intricately weaves together all threads—soldier and wife, home front and army life, combat, love and loss, individual and army division—into an intimate, engaging narrative that is at once gripping military history and engaging social history.

Provides an in-depth history of the Battle of the Bulge, arguing that the German offensive was set to fail from its launch and precipitated Germany's defeat.

The infantry can always be found at the sharp end of the battlefield. You may be able to crush an opponent with armour or artillery, but there’s only one way to take and hold ground and that’s with riflemen – the ‘poor bloody infantry’. And it is the infantrymen of the Second World War – from all sides, Allied and Axis – who are the subject of this highly illustrated history. It uses over 400 wartime photographs plus contemporary documents and other illustrations to show the developments in equipment, training and tactical techniques and to give an insight into the experience of the infantry soldier during the conflict. Although the infantry were critical to the war effort, their contribution is often overshadowed by the more dramatic roles played by soldiers with more specialized skills – like tank crew, paratroopers and special forces. They also suffered devastating casualties, in particular during the last phase of the war in the west when around 20 per cent of an infantry division’s riflemen were likely to die and over 60 per cent could expect to be wounded. So as well as describing how the infantry fought, the authors look at the motivation which kept them fighting in awful conditions and despite brutal setbacks. The result is a thorough, detailed and revealing portrait of infantry warfare over seventy years ago.

A follow-up to the New York Times-bestselling The Cover-Up at Omaha Beach. “The second volume of the epic study breaks new ground.” —Firetrench Gary Sterne, a keen collector of militaria and co-founder of The Armourer and Skirmish magazines, has always been fascinated by the D-Day landings. In particular he was intrigued by the lack of precise information relating to the mystery of the “missing guns” of Pointe du Hoc. His research led to the finding of a map which indicated the position of an “unknown” German gun position buried in the village of Maisy. The rediscovery of the Maisy Batteries made headline news around the world and his bestselling book The Cover-Up at Omaha Beach subsequently changed the history of the Omaha sector and made many start to question the Rangers’ Pointe du Hoc mission. The Maisy site is now one of the major Normandy D-Day attractions. For the first time ever this follow-up book now offers complete Rangers history for the seven months prior to D-Day and does so using period documents, many of which have only recently been released from TOP SECRET status in U.S. Archives. The author fills in the gaps that many have only guessed at concerning the Rangers’ real missions on D-Day, he explains why a battalion commander was removed hours before the landings, why the Rangers were not briefed on their actual D-Day missions and the extraordinary role that Lt. Col. Rudder played at Pointe du Hoc. This book is a historical game-changer that pulls no punches.

With more than 1,700 cross-referenced entries covering every aspect of World War II, the events and developments of the era, and myriad related subjects as well as a documents volume, this is the most comprehensive reference work available on the war. This encyclopedia represents a single source of authoritative information on World War II that provides accessible coverage of the causes, course, and consequences of the war. Its introductory overview essays and cross-referenced A–Z entries explain how various sources of friction culminated in a second worldwide conflict, document the events of the war and why individual battles were won and lost, and identify numerous ways the war has permanently changed the world. The coverage addresses the individuals, campaigns, battles, key weapons systems, strategic decisions, and technological developments of the conflict, as well as the diplomatic, economic, and cultural aspects of World War II. The five-volume set provides comprehensive information that gives readers insight into the reasons for the war's direction and outcome. Readers will understand the motivations behind Japan's decision to attack the United States, appreciate how the concentration of German military resources on the Eastern Front affected the war's outcome, understand the major strategic decisions of the war and the factors behind them, grasp how the Second Sino-Japanese War contributed to the start of World War II, and see the direct impact of new military technology on the outcomes of the battles during the conflict. The lengthy documents volume represents a valuable repository of additional information for student research.

A historical study of the relationship between civilian and military leaders in the United States during wartime, from the American Revolution to the Iraq War. Now from one of the world's leading publishers of military history comes a breakthrough reference on one of the most important and complex aspects of U.S. national defense. U.S. Leadership in Wartime: Clashes, Controversy, and Compromise offers a comprehensive analysis of the characteristics that constitute effective leadership in war and discusses the often contentious relationships between U.S. civilian and military leadership throughout American history. U.S. Leadership in Wartime focuses on ten conflicts, including the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Vietnam War, the Iraq War, and the war in Afghanistan. Coverage for each conflict focuses on the dynamics of civilian-military relations and their impact on the course, outcome, and perception of each war under discussion. Coverage in each chapter includes an overview essay, sidebars, and detailed treatments of key engagements and battles, as well as detailed biographical essays of important figures—not just politicians and generals, but also labor leaders, business leaders, journalists, and women.