Yellowjackets! The 361st Fighter Group in World War II is a narrative history of a combat unit attached to the U.S. 8th Air Force in the European Theater of Operations from December 1943 through the end of the war in Europe.

When World War II broke out in Europe, the American army had no specialized division of mountain soldiers. But in the winter of 1939-40, after a tiny band of Finnish mountain troops brought the invading Soviet army to its knees, an amateur skier named Charles Minot "Minnie" Dole convinced the United States Army to let him recruit an extraordinary assortment of European expatriates, wealthy ski bums, mountaineers, and thrill-seekers and form them into a unique band of Alpine soldiers. These men endured nearly three years of grueling training in the Colorado Rockies and in the process set new standards for both soldiering and mountaineering. The newly forged 10th Mountain Division finally faced combat in the winter of 1945, in Italy's Apennine Mountains, against the seemingly unbreakable German fortifications north of the Gothic Line. There, they planned and executed what is still regarded as the most daring series of nighttime mountain attacks in U.S. military history, taking Mount Belvedere and the sheer, treacherous face of Riva Ridge to smash the linchpin of the German army's lines.
Drawing on unique cooperation from veterans of the 10th Mountain Division and a vast archive of unpublished letters and documents, The Last Ridge is written with enormous warmth, energy, and honesty. This is one of the most captivating stories of World War II, a blend of Band of Brothers and Into Thin Air. It is a story of young men asked to do the impossible, and succeeding.

"From the Hardcover edition.

This is a study of one of the 8th USAAF s sub-units. The 1st Combat Bomb Wing (1CBW), created on 13 September 1943, was preceded first by the 1st Bomb Wing, and then the 101st Provisional Bomb Wing, which included the 91BG as an element. By then, the 91BG was joined by the 351BG and 381BG, with the 351BG later displaced by the 398BG. The operational experience of these units virtually spanned the entire 33 months of the "Mighty Eighth s" existence and the often costly but finally successful campaign to deny Hitler s Germany the means with which to pursue its warped dreams of conquest."

During World War II 51,000 Italian prisoners of war were detained in the United States. When Italy signed an armistice with the Allies in September 1943, most of these soldiers agreed to swear allegiance to the United States and to collaborate in the fight against Germany. At the Letterkenny Army Depot, located near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, more than 1,200 Italian soldiers were detained as co-operators. They arrived in May 1944 to form the 321st Italian Quartermaster Battalion and remained until October 1945. As detainees, the soldiers helped to order, stock, repair, and ship military goods, munitions and equipment to the Pacific and European Theaters of war. Through such labor, they lent their collective energy to the massive home front endeavor to defeat the Axis Powers. The prisoners also helped to construct the depot itself, building roads, sidewalks, and fences, along with individual buildings such as an assembly hall, amphitheater, swimming pool, and a chapel and bell tower. The latter of these two constructions still exist, and together with the assembly hall, bear eloquent testimony to the Italian POW experience. For their work the Italian co-operators received a very modest, regular salary, and they experienced more freedom than regular POWs. In their spare time, they often had liberty to leave the post in groups that American soldiers chaperoned. Additionally, they frequently received or visited large entourages of Italian Americans from the Mid-Atlantic region who were eager to comfort their erstwhile countrymen. The story of these Italian soldiers detained at Letterkenny has never before been told. Now, however, oral histories from surviving POWs, memoirs generously donated by family members of ex-prisoners, and the rich information newly available from archival material in Italy, aided by material found in the U.S., have made it possible to reconstruct this experience in full. All of this historical documentation has also allowed the authors to tell fascinating individual stories from the moment when many POWs were captured to their return to Italy and beyond. More than seventy years since the end of World War II, family members of ex-POWs in both the United States and Italy still enjoy the positive legacy of this encounter.

The final part of the Lion and the Rose trilogy detailing the TF battalions of the King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment in the Great War. Established in August 1914, the 2/5th spent the next thirty months in England perfecting their ability to `form fours'; engaged in almost every sort of training other than that which they would need at the Front. When they deployed to France in February 1917, they were pitted against an aggressive and experienced foe. This book tells the story of their struggle to learn the skills necessary to survive in the pitiless arena of modern warfare and their progress to become the fighting equals of any by the end of the war. With no history written for either 57 Division or the 2/5th, this book-based on dozens of contemporary and unpublished sources, tells their story for the first time. The book contains sketch maps of the sectors the battalion fought in and accurate coordinates for all positions; previously unpublished photographs of men from the battalion; the most complete battalion roll yet compiled and narrates the individual parts played by 1,000 of the officers and men during the war.

This is the only work covering the history and lineage of Marine Attack squadrons, from the date of their activation forward, until their deactivation, or the present. Thoroughly researched, it has a complete, extensive bibliography, and the illustrations of the insignia are almost entirely from originals. Many of the photographs have never been published, and many are from the extensive photo archives of Northrup-Grumman. Historically accurate, yet lacking the dry recitation of names, dates, and facts found in other historical works, this very readable book is written to be enjoyed from cover to cover.

Formed in 1936, Panzer Regiment 8 served in both the 10th and 15th Panzer Divisions and saw action in Poland, France, and in May 1941 with the famed German Africa Corps, under the legendary Rommel. The regiment went on to serve with high distinction in every major battle fought in Africa until May 1943, when out of fuel and ammunition, the regiment's ability to fight on came to an end. This book sheds new light on the history of the German panzer arm and gives in depth detail of the lives and battles that were fought by these proud Swabian troops.

"The 22nd Maine Regiment joined General Nathaniel Banks' campaign in Louisiana, fighting at Irish Bend in two attacks on Port Hudson. Drawing on first-person accounts from soldiers, a company commander, and colonel, this military history follows the Civil War regiment from formation in 1862 to muster out in 1863"--Provided by publisher.

When on May 15, 1918 a French lieutenant warned Henry Johnson of the 369th to move back because of a possible enemy raid, Johnson reportedly replied: "I'm an American, and I never retreat." The story, even if apocryphal, captures the mythic status of the Harlem Rattlers, the African-American combat unit that grew out of the 15th New York National Guard, who were said to have never lost a man to capture or a foot of ground that had been taken. It also, in its insistence on American identity, points to a truth at the heart of this book--more than fighting to make the world safe for democracy, the black men of the 369th fought to convince America to live up to its democratic promise. It is this aspect of the storied regiment's history--its place within the larger movement of African Americans for full citizenship in the face of virulent racism--that "Harlem's Rattlers and the Great War" brings to the fore.

With sweeping vision, historical precision, and unparalleled research, this book will stand as the definitive study of the 369th. Though discussed in numerous histories and featured in popular culture (most famously the film "Stormy Weather" and the novel "Jazz"), the 369th has become more a matter of mythology than grounded, factually accurate history--a situation that authors Jeffrey T. Sammons and John H. Morrow, Jr. set out to right. Their book--which eschews the regiment's famous nickname, the "Harlem Hellfighters," a name never embraced by the unit itself--tells the full story of the self-proclaimed Harlem Rattlers. Combining the "fighting focus" of military history with the insights of social commentary, "Harlem's Rattlers and the Great War" reveals the centrality of military service and war to the quest for equality as it details the origins, evolution, combat exploits, and postwar struggles of the 369th.

The authors take up the internal dynamics of the regiment as well as external pressures, paying particular attention to the environment created by the presence of both black and white officers in the unit. They also explore the role of women--in particular, the Women's Auxiliary of the 369th--as partners in the struggle for full citizenship. From its beginnings in the 15th New York National Guard through its training in the explosive atmosphere in the South, its singular performance in the French army during World War I, and the pathos of postwar adjustment--this book reveals as never before the details of the Harlem Rattlers' experience, the poignant history of some of its heroes, its place in the story of both World War I and the African American campaign for equality--and its full importance in our understanding of American history.

This regimental history follows the 111th New York Volunteer Infantry's service from muster through victory. Drawing on many first-hand accounts and primary sources, it provides details on the towns from which the regiment was organized and the backgrounds of the men who served in its ranks. Battles in which the regiment fought, including Harpers Ferry, Gettysburg and Petersburg, are covered in detail, with close unit-level coverage as well as information on the overall strategy and the regiment's place in the greater conflict. An appendix covers in depth the October 1864 capture of 83 111th soldiers by the Confederacy and their subsequent imprisonment, during which many died from hunger and disease.

The 7th Panzer Divison was one of the outstanding armored units of World War II, and became famous during the Battle of France in 1940 with Erwin Rommel as its commander. This photographic chronicle, by famed Knights Cross holder Hasso v. Manteuffel, traces the path of the 7th PD through its entire war history on a variety of fronts.

Near the end of the Civil War, Army Chief of Staff Henry W. Halleck described the 16th New York Volunteer Cavalry as ""cowed and useless"" after they were ""cut up"" by Confederate General John Mosby's Rangers. The following April the New Yorkers made their place in history when 26 men led by Lieutenant Edward P. Doherty captured and killed John Wilkes Booth. An amalgam of three partially formed regiments, the 16th was plagued by early desertions, poor leadership and a near mutiny as its First Battalion prepared to march to northern Virginia to bolster the outer defenses of Washington in October 1863. The regiment spent most of the remainder of the war chasing Mosby's cavalry, winning a handful of tactical victories but mainly confounded by the Confederate guerrillas. Drawing on personal letters, diaries and memoirs by men of the 16th, and the recollections of Mosby's men, this deeply researched history provides fresh perspective on Mosby's exploits and the hunt for Booth.

General David Stanley's Union cavalry at Stones River in Middle Tennessee. The campaign saw some of the most desperately fought mounted engagements in the Civil War's Western Theater and marked the end of the Southern cavalry's dominance in Tennessee. This history describes the events leading up to the battle and the key actions, including the December 31 attack on Wheeler's cavalry, the repulse of General John Wharton by the 1st Michigan Engineers and Wheeler's daring raid on the rear of Williams Rosecrans' army. Amid the chaos of the fighting, a Union cavalry regiment mutinied but a third of its men defied their comrades and charged into battle.

With the beginning of the Operation Barbarossa more than 100,000 Ukrainians volunteered for the fight against Stalin and communismn. These volunteers were put into Schutzmannschafts-Bataillone under the control of the German Police. After Stalingrad however, Ukrainians were allowed to build up a division sized unit for the frontline. Around 15,000 Ukrainians were drafted and their first combat was at the Brody front in Galicia in summer 1944.

This book, a continuation of volumes one and two, completes the study of more than a hundred British regiments all of whom played more than important roles in world history. In testing times, on foreign adventures victorious, glorious and sometimes disastrous, they have helped shape the history of the British Isles. In this third volume thirty-four regiments are featured - their battle honours, badges and most famous sons - including the stories of the heroic actions of their Victoria Cross holders. Each regiment's section includes artworks and photographs illustrating insignia, uniforms and soldiers in action down through the centuries. While the tales of courage and loss are in themselves enthralling, Dorian Bond divulges many interesting facts about these unique bodies of men: how did the 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment get their acorn and oak leaf badge? Which South Staffordshire man became the inspiration for Terence Rattigan's The Winslow Boy? Did you know that a princess wrote 'The Royal Windsor' quick march for the 29th of Foot, later the Worcestershire Regiment? Covering action wherever the regiments found it, from the High Veldt of South Africa to the grim trenches of Passchendaele and from the disaster of Dunkirk to the triumph of Waterloo, Famous Regiments of the British Army Volume Three tells the stories of some of the world's most famous battles and the role these regiments played in them.

During World War II 51,000 Italian prisoners of war were detained in the United States. When Italy signed an armistice with the Allies in September 1943, most of these soldiers agreed to swear allegiance to the United States and to collaborate in the fight against Germany. At the Letterkenny Army Depot, located near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, more than 1,200 Italian soldiers were detained as co-operators. They arrived in May 1944 to form the 321st Italian Quartermaster Battalion and remained until October 1945. As detainees, the soldiers helped to order, stock, repair, and ship military goods, munitions and equipment to the Pacific and European Theaters of war. Through such labor, they lent their collective energy to the massive home front endeavor to defeat the Axis Powers. The prisoners also helped to construct the depot itself, building roads, sidewalks, and fences, along with individual buildings such as an assembly hall, amphitheater, swimming pool, and a chapel and bell tower. The latter of these two constructions still exist, and together with the assembly hall, bear eloquent testimony to the Italian POW experience. For their work the Italian co-operators received a very modest, regular salary, and they experienced more freedom than regular POWs. In their spare time, they often had liberty to leave the post in groups that American soldiers chaperoned. Additionally, they frequently received or visited large entourages of Italian Americans from the Mid-Atlantic region who were eager to comfort their erstwhile countrymen. The story of these Italian soldiers detained at Letterkenny has never before been told. Now, however, oral histories from surviving POWs, memoirs generously donated by family members of ex-prisoners, and the rich information newly available from archival material in Italy, aided by material found in the U.S., have made it possible to reconstruct this experience in full. All of this historical documentation has also allowed the authors to tell fascinating individual stories from the moment when many POWs were captured to their return to Italy and beyond. More than seventy years since the end of World War II, family members of ex-POWs in both the United States and Italy still enjoy the positive legacy of this encounter.

The study provides an in-depth, up-to-date, and scholarly analysis of the liberation war and the Sheikh Mujib Regime of Bangladesh. Situating the emergence of Bangladesh in the broader historical context of the partition of British India in 1947, the study re-examines: a) how Mujib successfully galvanized the legitimate grievances of Bangladeshi people during the united Pakistan period (1947-71) and how a highly successful guerilla warfare of Bangladeshi people led to dismemberment of Pakistan in 1971 with crucial military and political support from neighboring India; (b) how in the post-liberation Bangladesh the Mujib regime toyed with contradictory political ideologies of democracy and socialism, and eventually ended up with a one-party monolithic rule; (c) how in the economic sphere the Mujib regime vacillated between petty bourgeoisie and socialist inclinations by half-heartedly pursuing socialization of agriculture and nationalization of industries, which resulted in plundering of the economy and plunging of millions of people in famine and near-famine situations; (d) how in 1975 the assassination of Mujib and collapse of his ill-fated regime, that failed to deliver both economically and politically, evoked little sympathy from the masses; and (e) how the trial of the killers of Mujib after 21 years of his death, and the trial of the collaborators of the liberation war after four decades of the country's liberation war, orchestrated by Sheikh Hasina government, keep the nation's political discourse still sharply divided.

More than 8,000 men served in the Fifth Marine Regiment during World War I and the occupation of Germany. Marine units were among the first to arrive in war-torn Europe in 1917, and sustained greater casualties than other American units. This book tells the human story of the ""Devil Dogs"" in World War I and the years following through the recollections of veterans recorded over the past century. The influenza epidemic that raged during the war is discussed. An annotated roster of the regiment lists each Marine, with service details provided where known.

Victory on the battlefield is sometimes achieved against the odds - victory snatched from the jaws of apparently inevitable defeat. A daring counter attack, an unexpected manoeuvre, a stubborn refusal to be beaten and the impossible victory is won. In the ten dramatic episodes in this book, military historian Bryan Perrett revisits battles from the Peninsula War of 1811 to Vietnam in 1967, via colonial action in two world wars...an excellent book, informative, fascinating in detail, and above all an easy and enjoyable read - The Royal Tank Regiment Journal

This book, translated from the original Spanish, is the primary academic and historical study of the Blue Division -- a Falangist initiative involving the dispatch of some forty-thousand Spanish combatants (over a half of whom paid with their lives, health, or liberty) to the Russian Front during the Second World War. Xavier Moreno Julia does not limit himself to relating their deeds under arms, but also analyses -- for the first time -- the political background in detail: the complex relations between the Spanish government and Hitler's Germany; the internal conflicts between the Falangists and the Army; the rise and fall of Franco's brother-in-law, Minister Ramon Serrano Suner, who inspired the Blue Division and became the second most powerful person in Spain; and the attitude of General Agustin Munoz Grandes, commander of the Blue Division, who was encouraged by Berlin to seriously consider the possibility of taking over the reins of Spanish power. In the end, there were 45,500 reasons that led to joining the Blue Division -- one for each young man who decided to enlist. To understand all of the complex reasons behind their military service under German command is impossible at this juncture. It is an irrecoverable past that lies in Spanish cemeteries and on the Russian steppes. This book, based on massive documentation in German, British and Spanish archives, is an essential source of information to understand Spain in the 1940s -- an epoch when the Caudillo's power and the regime's good fortune were less secure than is often believed. Published in association with the Canada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies, LSE.

The hard-fighting 11th Michigan Volunteer Infantry was recruited from sparsely settled southwest Michigan shortly after the Civil War broke out. Mainly young farmers and tradesmen, the regiment rapidly evolved into one of the Army of the Cumberland's elite combat units, tenaciously fighting its way through some of the war's bloodiest engagements. This book - featuring a complete unit roster - tells the story of the regiment through the words of the veterans, tracing their development from a rabble of idealists into a fine-tuned fighting machine that executed successful bayonet charges against superior numbers. The narrative continues into the postwar period, discussing the ex-soldiers' careers through Reconstruction and the Gilded Age. Photographs, maps, illustrations and a statistical analysis round out this tale of courage and travail.

The 112th New York Infantry Regiment served 1,017 days during the Civil War, from 1862 to 1865. They marched in 4 states, fought in 16 battles and lost 324 men, included two regimental commanders. This unit history is based on the personal papers of Chaplain William Lyman Hyde, including his war diary, journals, reports and letters to his wife. A prolific writer, Hyde's remarkable story of service to God and country is told in his own words, providing vivid depictions of camp life, combat and its aftermath and the daily trials faced by the ""Chautauqua Regiment.

With the onset of World War II, African Americans found themselves in a struggle just to be allowed to fight for their country. Individuals like Lt. General Leslie McNair and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt fought against the military's discrimination, arguing that the nation could little afford to overlook such an important source of strength. Their eventual success took the form of a military experiment designed to determine whether African Americans were as capable as white soldiers. The 784th was one tank battalion formed as a result. Part of an effort to chronicle the history of the first African Americans to serve in armored units, this history recounts the service of the 784th Tank Battalion. Replete with observations and comments from veterans of the battalion, it paints a vivid picture of World War II as seen through the eyes of soldiers who had to confront second-class treatment by their army and fellow soldiers while enduring the horrors of war. It details the day-to-day activities of the 784th Tank Battalion, describing basic training, actual combat, occupation and, finally, the deactivation of the unit. Special emphasis is placed on the ways in which these war experiences contributed to the American civil rights movements of the 1960s.

North Carolina sent more than 125,000 men and boys to fight the Civil War. It is estimated that about 40,000 lost their lives on the battlefield or by disease. Most were sent home for burial in family plots or community churchyards but thousands could not be identified or could not be transported and were interred in unmarked graves across the country. Many never had an obituary published. Others had obituaries that included directions to the deceased's final resting place. This compilation of obituaries from North Carolina newspapers documents the date and cause of death for hundreds of soldiers, with many providing place of burial, surviving relatives, last words, accounts by comrades and details of military service.

'A humbling, inspiring account of some of the real founders of modern day Special Forces soldiering' Bear Grylls Praise for Sunday Times No.1 bestselling author Damien Lewis' SAS mission series: 'One of the great untold stories of WWII' - Bear Grylls on SAS Ghost Patrol 'A tale of bravery against desperate odds' - Sunday Times on Churchill's Secret Warriors 'True adventures laced with staggering bravery and sacrifice' - Sun on Hunting the Nazi Bomb SAS Nazi Hunters is the incredible, hitherto untold story of the most secret chapter in the SAS's history. Officially, the world's most elite special forces unit was dissolved at the end of the Second World War, and not reactivated until the 1950s. Among their last actions was a disastrous commando raid into occupied France in 1944, which ended in the capture,torture and execution of 31 soldiers. It can now be revealed that the SAS never was dissolved: it lived on, commanded personally by Churchill and hidden even from the British government. They were tasked with hunting through the ruins of the Reich for the SS commanders responsible for the murder of their comrades, including many who had escaped the failed justice of the Nuremberg trials. Along the way, they discovered before anyone else the full horror of Hitler's regime, and the growing threat from Stalin's Russia. Still studied by the SAS today and a central part of their founding myth, the story of the Nazi hunters is now told by bestselling author Damien Lewis.