History of the 101st Airborne Division

History of the 101st Airborne Division
Author: Robert E. Jones
Publisher: Turner
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2010-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781630263553

The History of the 101st Airborne Division is the epic story of the Division from its activation in August 1942 through the completion of Operation Desert Storm in April 1991. The Division's progression through the sky took decades of hard work and tens of thousands of dedicated soldiers. In World War II, the 101st became the first American troops to set foot in occupied France, when, on 6 June 1944, its paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines, clearing the way for the 4th Infantry Division landing on Utah Beach. The Division would become famous for its work in Holland during Operation Market Garden, and for its successful defense of Bastogne, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge. In Vietnam, the "Screaming Eagles" engaged in battle from 1965 to 1972, when they began their evolution to Air Mobile by deploying by helicopter. In the Gulf War, the Division fired the first shots of Operation Desert Storm by destroying Iraqi radar sites, and during ground war of the operation, they made the longest and largest air assault in history. In every engagement and during the training periods in between, the 101st Airborne Division has honored the words of its first commander, General William C. Lee, that it has a "rendezvous with destiny." This book is a fitting record of that history, and of the men who are proud to be called "Screaming Eagles."

Hell's Highway

Hell's Highway
Author: John Antal, George E. Koskimaki
Publisher:
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2008
Genre: Arnhem, Battle of, Arnhem, Netherlands, 1944
ISBN: 9781616732677

The Command Is Forward

The Command Is Forward
Author: James Haahr
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Total Pages: 438
Release: 2003-11-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 1465316167

The so-called lull in October 1944 in Lorraine was anything but that. It was Hell for the infantrymen of the 101st Regiment. We lived like animals in our holes in the ground in the mud, cold, wet, and rain under artillery barrages and sniper fire. Men were killed every day. Then came the Third Army offensive of November 8. It was Hell all over again, but there was no lull. We were still covered with mud and we were wet, cold, hungry, and miserable. After attacking one day, we had to get out of our holes and do it all over again the next morning against an enemy that contested every few yards of ground. And we did this for the next five weeks in the same conditions in the fortifications of the Maginot Line until the brief respite in Metz. The story of the 101st Infantry Regiment in Lorraine is told through first person narrative accounts of bloody and violent combat engagements.These are blended with the war diary of the 101st Infantry from August 1944 to May 9, 1945, and the first person campaign reports of the commanding generals of the two main German divisions against which the 101st fought up to mid-November, the 11th Panzer Division and the 361st Volks Grenadier Division. Photographs and maps portray some of these actions.

The 101st Airborne Division’s Defense Of Bastogne [Illustrated Edition]

The 101st Airborne Division’s Defense Of Bastogne [Illustrated Edition]
Author: Colonel Ralph M. Mitchell
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages: 118
Release: 2014-08-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782893792

[Includes 53 photos/illustrations and 11 maps] The defense of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II is one of the supreme achievements of American arms. Bastogne is deservedly identified with the finest characteristics of the American soldier, and the name Bastogne symbolizes a heroic battle. Bastogne has long held the attention of students of war, yet the battle offers new insights for soldiers with modern concerns. Colonel Ralph M. Mitchell’s study, The 101st Airborne Division’s Defense of Bastogne, reveals how a light infantry division, complemented by key attachments, stopped an armor-heavy German corps. Using original documents and reports, Colonel Mitchell traces the fight at Bastogne with emphasis on the organization, movement and, employment of the 101st Airborne Division. Although a variety of factors influenced the outcome at Bastogne, the flexibility of the 101st to reconfigure for sustained operations and to defeat strong opposition forces even when surrounded shows how properly augmented light infantry can fight and win.

Glider Infantryman

Glider Infantryman
Author: Donald J. Rich
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Total Pages: 286
Release: 2013-01-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 1603449620

A member of the famed Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division, Donald J. Rich went ashore on D-Day at Utah Beach, was wounded in the bloody conflict at Carentan, landed in a flimsy plywood-and-canvas glider on the battlefields of Holland, and survived the grim siege with the "Battling Bastards of Bastogne" during the Battle of the Bulge. Glider Infantryman is his eyewitness account of how he, along with thousands of other young men from farms, small towns, and cities across the United States, came together to answer the call of their nation. It is also a heartfelt tribute to the many thousands who gave their lives in this struggle. Coauthored by Kevin Brooks, the son of Rich's best friend and World War II comrade, Glider Infantryman covers a span of nearly three years; his return home, five months after the war's end, as a toughened bazooka gunner and veteran of five campaigns. Rich's first-person narrative includes vivid coverage of the action, featuring an especially rare account of arriving on a combat landing zone by glider. Detailed, day-to-day depiction of some of the heaviest fighting in Holland follows, including the action at Opheusden, the center of the infamous "Island." Later highlights include the Battle of the Bulge, where Rich recounts his experiences in some of the hottest defensive fighting of the European Theater, including the epic tank battles at Marvie, Champs, and Foy.

Cassidy’s Battalion

Cassidy’s Battalion
Author: Colonel Samuel L. A. Marshall
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages: 66
Release: 2015-11-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 1786255669

The chief threat to the UTAH BEACH landings was the German coastal battery located just to the westward of the village of St Martin De Varreville. It had been the target of air bombardment in the preceding days but the results were not known. The fate of the northern half of the operation could have turned on it; the assured destruction of the Battery became a chief preoccupation of the 502d Airborne Infantry Regiment led by Lt. Colonel Patrick Cassidy. Widely scattered in the drop Cassidy and the paratroops under him were still determined to succeed in their objectives. In this short monograph produced by the European Theater of Operation historian S.L.A. Marshall, which was based on the oral testimony collected from the men involved, we follow Cassidy and his men as they attempt to achieve their important objectives.

Fighting Fox Company

Fighting Fox Company
Author: Terry Poyser
Publisher: Casemate
Total Pages: 312
Release: 2014-01-19
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1612002137

“Intense . . . anyone familiar with the Band of Brothers story will want to read this book” (Military Review). Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division has become one of the most famous small units in US history. But fewer people are aware of Fox Company of that same regiment—the men who fought alongside Easy Company through every step of the war in Europe, and who had their own stories to tell. WWII vet Bill Brown decided to research the fate of a childhood friend who had served in Fox Company. Along the way, he met Terry Poyser, who was on a similar mission to research the combat death of a Fox Company man from his hometown. Together, the two authors proceeded to locate and interview every surviving Fox Company vet they could find. The ultimate result was this book, a decade in the making, offering a wealth of fascinating firsthand accounts of WWII combat as well as new perspectives on Dick Winters and others of the “Band.” Told primarily through the words of participants, Fighting Fox Company takes us through some of the most horrific close-in fighting of the war, beginning with the chaotic nocturnal paratrooper drop on D-Day. After fighting through Normandy, the drop into Holland saw prolonged, ferocious combat and even more casualties; and then during the Battle of the Bulge, Fox Company took its place in line at Bastogne during one of the most heroic against-all-odds stands in US history. As always in combat, each man’s experience is different, and the nature of the German enemy is seen here in its equally various aspects. From ruthless SS fighters to meek Volkssturm to simply expert modern fighters, the Screaming Eagles encountered the full gamut of the Wehrmacht. The work is also accompanied by rare photos and useful appendices, including rosters and lists of casualties, to give the full look at Fox Company that has long been overdue.