The U S Army Infantryman Pocket Manual 1941 45

A compilation of information presented in United States Army World War II training manuals and tactical documents. The battle for Europe in 1943–45 was one of the greatest military challenges in the history of the U.S. Army. Fighting against often veteran German forces from the mountains of Italy to the beaches of Normandy and the frozen forests of the Ardennes, hundreds of thousands of U.S. infantrymen had to move quickly beyond their training and acquire real-world combat skills with extraordinary pace if they were to raise their chances of survival beyond a few days. They fought in an age of total war, in which the enemy deployed heavy armor, artillery, air power, and their own infantry firepower in a battle of true equals. Without the drive and blood of the U.S. Army infantry, the Allies could not have defeated the Wehrmacht in Western Europe. Extensive documentation was provided for the in-theater U.S. Army infantryman, from booklets rather misguidedly advising on how to behave in foreign countries through to field manuals explaining core combat tactics across squad, platoon, company, and battalion levels. This pocket manual presents critical insights from many of these sources, but also draws on a broad spectrum of intelligence reports, after-action reports, and other rare publications. Together they give an inside view on what it was like to live and fight in the U.S. Army infantry during arguably the most consequential conflict in human history. Praise for The U.S. Army Infantryman Pocket Manual: ETO & MTO, 1941–45 “This guide and explanation of Army tactical doctrine is a welcome addition to Second World War literature.” —The Journal of America’s Military Past

This pocket manual provides an in-depth insight into the instruction given to US infantrymen during WWII, making use of original sources, reports and other rare publications.

Pocket manuals bring together a wealth of information from a wide variety of training manuals and tactical documents. Between 1964 and 1975, 2.6 million American personnel served within the borders of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War, of whom an estimated 1–1.6 million actually fought in combat. At the tip of the spear was the infantry, the "grunts" who entered an extraordinary tropical combat zone completely alien to the world they had left behind in the United States. In South Vietnam, and occasionally spilling over into neighboring Laos and Cambodia, they fought a relentless counterinsurgency and conventional war against the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong (VC). The terrain was as challenging as the enemy – soaring mountains or jungle-choked valleys; bleached, sandy coastal zones; major urban centers; riverine districts. Their opponents fought them with relentless and terrible ingenuity with ambushes, booby traps, and mines, then occasionally with full-force offensives on a scale to rival the campaigns of World War II. This pocket manual draws its content not only from essential U.S. military field manuals of the Vietnam era, but also a vast collection of declassified primary documents, including rare after-action reports, intelligence analysis, firsthand accounts, and combat studies. Through these documents the pocket manual provides a deep insight into what it was like for infantry to live, survive, and fight in Vietnam, whether conducting a major airmobile search-and-destroy operation or conducting endless hot and humid small-unit patrols from jungle firebases. The book includes infantry intelligence documents about the NVA and VC threats, plus chapters explaining hard-won lessons about using weaponry, surviving and moving through the jungle, tactical maneuvers, and applications of the ubiquitous helicopter for combat and support.

A detailed insight into what it was like as an infantryman during the Vietnam War, drawing on field manuals from the time, declassified primary documents and first-hand accounts.

The Special Air Service was the brainchild of Scots Guards' officer Lieutenant David Stirling, serving with No 8 Commando. He advocated a specially organised, specially equipped and specially trained unit dedicated to the 'unrelenting pursuit of excellence' that could act covertly and operate behind enemy lines to gain intelligence, destroy enemy aircraft and attack their supply and reinforcement routes. The 1st SAS Regiment was officially designated after successful raids against enemy airfields in the Middle East in 1941-1942. In May 1943 a 2nd SAS Regiment was raised in Algeria and would also serve in Sicily and Italy. SAS troopers were at the forefront of the action on D-Day, serving behind the enemy lines, assisting the French Resistance in diversionary attacks and in support of Allied armies. The SAS served with great distinction through 42 significant actions in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany until the end of the war in Europe. This new addition to the bestselling Conway pocket-book series is compiled from wartime and post-war memorandums, manuals and documents. They include unit after-action reports and lecture notes from the centres used to train special services soldiers, gathered from the Liddell Hart Military Archive, National Archives, wartime periodicals and post-war memoirs. The book covers: - training methods - weapons handling - fieldcraft - sabotage training - operations in North Africa and the Middle East (1941–1942), Sicily and Italy (1943) and France (1944–1945)

“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

An account of the early years of World War II based on extensive new research: “A genuinely fresh approach . . . exceptional” (The Wall Street Journal). James Holland, one of the leading young historians of World War II, has spent over a decade conducting new research, interviewing survivors, and exploring archives that have never before been so accessible to unearth forgotten memoirs, letters, and official records. In The Rise of Germany 1938–1941, Holland draws on this research to reconsider the strategy, tactics, and economic, political, and social aspects of the war. The Rise of Germany is a masterful book that redefines our understanding of the opening years of World War II. Beginning with the lead-up to the outbreak of war in 1939 and ending in the middle of 1941 on the eve of Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi invasion of Russia, this book is a landmark history of the war on land, in the air, and at sea. “Magnificent.” —Andrew Roberts, New York Times–bestselling author of The Storm of War

Volume two in this “expert, anecdote-filled, thoroughly entertaining” history of WWII follows The Rise of Germany as the Allied forces turn the tides (Kirkus). James Holland’s The Rise of Germany, the first volume in his War in the West trilogy, was widely praised for his impeccable research and lively narrative. Covering the dawn of World War II, it ended at a point when the Nazi war machine appeared to be unstoppable. Germany had taken Poland and France with shocking speed. London was bombed, and U-boats harried shipping on the Atlantic. But Germany hadn’t actually won the Battle of Britain or the Battle of the Atlantic. It was not producing airplanes or submarines fast enough. And what looked like victory in Greece and Crete had expended crucial resources in short supply. The Allies Strike Back continues the narrative as Germany’s invasion of Russia unfolds in the east, while in the west, the Americans formally enter the war. In North Africa, following major setbacks at the hands of Rommel, the Allies storm to victory. Meanwhile, the bombing of Germany escalates, aiming to not only destroy the its military, industrial, and economic system, but also relentlessly crush civilian morale. Comprehensive and impeccably researched, “Holland brings a fresh eye to the ebb and flow of the conflict” in this “majestic saga” of 20th century history (Literary Review, UK).