Combat Jump

Combat Jump PDF Author: Ed Ruggero
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0060088761
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
Follows the paratrooper invasion of Sicily in 1943 that set the groundwork for the Fortress Europe attack, citing the challenges that were presented to Dwight Eisenhower's troops, the consequences had they failed, the force's training activities, and their encounters with German Wehrmacht. Reprint.

Combat Jump

Combat Jump PDF Author: Ed Ruggero
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0060088761
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
Follows the paratrooper invasion of Sicily in 1943 that set the groundwork for the Fortress Europe attack, citing the challenges that were presented to Dwight Eisenhower's troops, the consequences had they failed, the force's training activities, and their encounters with German Wehrmacht. Reprint.

Airborne

Airborne PDF Author: E. M. Flanagan
Publisher: Presidio Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 504

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Book Description
The United States Army’s experiment with airborne forces started at Fort Benning, Georgia, in early 1940 with a single platoon of paratroopers. From this tiny seed grew the mighty American airborne legion that spearheaded America’s attack against Nazi Germany in Sicily and Normandy. Ultimately this branch included an airborne corps headquarters, five full airborne divisions, and several independent battalions and regiments. On the nights of June 5 and 6, 1944, the parachutes and gliders of six regiments of American airborne infantry filled the dark sky over Normandy. Paratroopers and glidermen of the 101st Airborne Division Screaming Eagles were literally dropping into battle for the first time, harbingers of the vast Allied D-day armada. Moments later, they were joined by the veteran All Americans of the 82d Airborne Division, who had first jumped into combat almost a year earlier in Sicily. For the American airborne troopers, the road to victory in Europe led through the ill-conceived Arnhem campaign and on to the Bulge, where the American paratroopers saved the day for the Allies. The 17th Airborne Division “bounced the Rhine” in the last airborne operation in Europe and fought across Germany until VE Day with their band of brothers. In the Pacific, the Angels of the 11th Airborne Division saw hard combat in the Philippines. The independent 503d Regimental Combat Team fulfilled General MacArthur’s promise to return when it daringly parachuted onto the small area known as Topside on the rocky fortress island of Corregidor. Following World War II, the airborne fought with distinction in Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf War. Along the way American paratroopers have also given yeoman service on smaller battlefields such as the Dominican Republic, Grenada, and Panama. Written by a former paratrooper, Airborne is the definitive combat history of these elite forces.

Jump Commander

Jump Commander PDF Author: Mark Alexander
Publisher: Casemate Pub & Book Dist Llc
ISBN: 9781612000916
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Col. Mark James Alexander was the only airborne officer to lead three different battalions into combat in World War II, successively commanding the 2d and 1st Battalions, 505 Parachute Infantry Regiment, and the 2nd Battalion, 508 PIR, of the 82nd Airborne Division. A legend in his own time, he fought in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and France, and even after being seriously wounded in Normandy, insisted on playing a role in the Battle of the Bulge. Airborne Generals Gavin and Ridgway recognized Alexander's superior battle skills and were more than happy to use him to plug holes in the ranks. His reputation excelled among the rank and file, right down to the lowest private. He led from the front, pressing the attack while simultaneously looking out for his men. In Sicily, Alexander's battalion landed 25 miles from its drop zone, into a network of Italian pillboxes, upon which the Colonel personally directed fire, thence captured hundreds of prisoners. Dropped into the desperate inferno at Salerno, he refused to give ground against German counterattacks, forming his paratroopers against enemy efforts to push Allied forces back into the sea. At Normandy one seasoned lieutenant, John "Red Dog" Dolan, 505 PIR, called him "the finest battalion commander I ever served under," after Alexander had led the 1/505 for ten days through the bloody battle for La Fière Bridge and Causeway. Alexander's passion and truest talent was leading men in the field, and he insisted on sharing their risks. On one occasion in Normandy he and his runner (he went through several) were caught behind German lines and encountered a platoon of SS. Opening fire, the Colonel killed or wounded several and brought the rest in as prisoners. An 88mm shell finally got the best of him, shrapnel tearing through his lungs, and while the 82nd was engaged in the Bulge, Alexander was only allowed to run its base camps in France— despite his protests—as General Gavin noted that he was still coughing up blood. This memoir is based on the transcription of hundreds of hours of recorded interviews made by Alexander's grandson, John Sparry, over a period of years late in his life. Providing valuable insight into the beloved commander who led three of the most storied battalions in the US Army, Jump Commander also contains a wealth of new detail on 82nd Airborne operations, and casts insight on some of the most crucial battles in the ETO. This highly readable and action-packed narrative may well be the last remaining memoir to be written in the voice of a major airborne officer of the Greatest Generation.

U.S.A. Airborne

U.S.A. Airborne PDF Author: Bart Hagerman
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
ISBN: 0938021907
Category : Parachute troops
Languages : en
Pages : 522

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Book Description


Four Hours of Fury

Four Hours of Fury PDF Author: James M. Fenelon
Publisher: Scribner
ISBN: 1501179381
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
“Compellingly chronicles one of the least studied great episodes of World War II with power and authority…A riveting read” (Donald L. Miller, New York Times bestselling author of Masters of the Air) about World War II’s largest airborne operation—one that dropped 17,000 Allied paratroopers deep into the heart of Nazi Germany. On the morning of March 24, 1945, more than two thousand Allied aircraft droned through a cloudless sky toward Germany. Escorted by swarms of darting fighters, the armada of transport planes carried 17,000 troops to be dropped, via parachute and glider, on the far banks of the Rhine River. Four hours later, after what was the war’s largest airdrop, all major objectives had been seized. The invasion smashed Germany’s last line of defense and gutted Hitler’s war machine; the war in Europe ended less than two months later. Four Hours of Fury follows the 17th Airborne Division as they prepare for Operation Varsity, a campaign that would rival Normandy in scale and become one of the most successful and important of the war. Even as the Third Reich began to implode, it was vital for Allied troops to have direct access into Germany to guarantee victory—the 17th Airborne secured that bridgehead over the River Rhine. And yet their story has until now been relegated to history’s footnotes. In this viscerally exciting account, paratrooper-turned-historian James Fenelon “details every aspect of the American 17th Airborne Division’s role in Operation Varsity...inspired” (The Wall Street Journal). Reminiscent of A Bridge Too Far and Masters of the Air, Four Hours of Fury does for the 17th Airborne what Band of Brothers did for the 101st. It is a captivating, action-packed tale of heroism and triumph spotlighting one of World War II’s most under-chronicled and dangerous operations.

To be a Paratrooper

To be a Paratrooper PDF Author: Gregory Mast, Hans Halberstadt
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781610607599
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 150

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Book Description
The paratrooper, first used extensively in World War II, gives an airborne force a tactical edge. Inserted into the battlefield from the air, the paratrooper can go into areas not accessible by land. He can evade enemy fortifications and force an army to spread its defenses to protect areas that normally would be safe by virtue of geography. This book describes what it takes to be a paratrooper. From parachute training to operating as part of an airborne force, readers learn about the tactics, the training, and the mental and physical attributes that make these special forces some of the most respected and honored elite soldiers in the military.

The Soviet Airborne Experience

The Soviet Airborne Experience PDF Author: David M. Glantz
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1428915826
Category : Government publications
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
Contents: The Prewar Experience; Evolution of Airborne Forces During World War II; Operational Employment: Vyaz'ma, January-February 1942; Operational Employment: Vyaz'ma, February-June 1942; Operational Employment: On the Dnepr, September 1943; Tactical Employment; The Postwar Years.

Four Stars of Valor

Four Stars of Valor PDF Author: Phil Nordyke
Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group USA
ISBN: 161060072X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 495

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Book Description
Hailing from the big cities and small towns of America, these young men came together to serve their country and the greater good. They were the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division (the All Americans). Phil Nordyke, their official historian, draws on interviews with surviving veterans and oral history recordings as well as official archives and unpublished written accounts from more than three hundred veterans of the 505th PIR and their supporting units. This is history as it was lived by the men of the 505th, from their prewar coming of age in the regiment, through the end of World War II, when they marched in the Victory Parade up Fifth Avenue in New York, to the postwar legacy of having been part of an elite parachute regiment with a record unsurpassed in the annals of combat.

LIFE

LIFE PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
LIFE Magazine is the treasured photographic magazine that chronicled the 20th Century. It now lives on at LIFE.com, the largest, most amazing collection of professional photography on the internet. Users can browse, search and view photos of today’s people and events. They have free access to share, print and post images for personal use.

Infantry in Battle

Infantry in Battle PDF Author: Infantry School (U.S.)
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1428916911
Category : Infantry drill and tactics
Languages : en
Pages : 428

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Book Description