1361399
9780963244819
America's semi-centennial look at the liberation of Fortress Europe. Artillery troops, constituting fewer than 10% of U.S. forces, inflicted most German casualties in their sector. The European Theatre of Operations is viewed by the artillery battalion which was attached to eight divisions & whose terrain varied from the left flank to the right flank of U.S. forces. In this wartime experiment, the men were sent directly to their wartime assignments from the reception center. The combat performance of this battalion became a testing ground for the necessity of a "boot camp." Liberating enslaved people for 268 continuous days had a remarkable effect on the soldiers. One anecdote is from an artillery observer who was with the troops that liberated Dachau. The Millen Castle Affair on the Dutch-German border terminated the careers of 35 senior German officers. The close-range direct-fire artillery duel at Nuremberg evidenced U.S. military excellence. Numerous first-person anecdotes & input from more than 100 veterans are included. U.S. & European homefront reactions to developments are cited. To order: Bull Run of Vermont, 7 Deborah, South Burlington, VT 05403-7816. $21 plus $3 P&H.Armstrong, Frank H. is the author of 'Payoff Artillery-Wwii The Wide Ranging Combat of the Battalion That Fought Under Five Armies and Eight Divisions in the European Theatre' with ISBN 9780963244819 and ISBN 0963244817.
[read more]