The 756Th Tank Battalion in the Battle of Cassino, 1944

The 756Th Tank Battalion in the Battle of Cassino, 1944 PDF Author: Roger Fazendin
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 9781475921243
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
Roger Fazendin spent the last three years of his life collecting memories from his 756th Tank Battalion brothers who survived WWII and the Battle of Cassino. Fazendin's design was to give the comrades who fought in that battle, and their families, a full picture of "what the hell went on". Battle action is fast and disjointed; each soldier's grasp of the action is limited by the intense focus required by his specific orders, hardware, and survival imperatives. This book is a collection of material from over fifty survivors, with a half dozen primary contributors, into a coherent series of narratives. The results make for riveting reading. What is unique about this book is the fact that it is written by the men themselves-not by the commanders, not by historians, not by the military. It is a record written by mature men about the thoughts and memories recorded in their young minds while they were surviving the chaos and madness of unrelenting battle in terrible winter weather. Fazendin's additions of context and historical record make for a wise and compelling assembly of the experiences of one battle. Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.

The 756Th Tank Battalion in the Battle of Cassino, 1944

The 756Th Tank Battalion in the Battle of Cassino, 1944 PDF Author: Roger Fazendin
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 9781475921243
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 250

Get Book

Book Description
Roger Fazendin spent the last three years of his life collecting memories from his 756th Tank Battalion brothers who survived WWII and the Battle of Cassino. Fazendin's design was to give the comrades who fought in that battle, and their families, a full picture of "what the hell went on". Battle action is fast and disjointed; each soldier's grasp of the action is limited by the intense focus required by his specific orders, hardware, and survival imperatives. This book is a collection of material from over fifty survivors, with a half dozen primary contributors, into a coherent series of narratives. The results make for riveting reading. What is unique about this book is the fact that it is written by the men themselves-not by the commanders, not by historians, not by the military. It is a record written by mature men about the thoughts and memories recorded in their young minds while they were surviving the chaos and madness of unrelenting battle in terrible winter weather. Fazendin's additions of context and historical record make for a wise and compelling assembly of the experiences of one battle. Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.

The 756th Tank Battalion in the Battle of Cassino 1944

The 756th Tank Battalion in the Battle of Cassino 1944 PDF Author: David D. Redle
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Cassino, Battle of, Cassino, Italy, 1944
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description


Men of Armor

Men of Armor PDF Author: Jeff Danby
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 163624016X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 533

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Book Description
Winner, 2022 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Awards, Unit History This second volume follows on from the first in recounting the WWII history of B Company, 756th Tank Battalion in vivid detail. The outfit, since upgraded from M5 light tanks to M4 ‘Sherman’ mediums, claws through some of the toughest battles of WWII—from a horrific stalemate at Cassino in February 1944, through the bloody Operation Diadem May breakout, to the stunning capture of Rome on 4 June 1944. This unique multi-volume history covers the full spectrum of experiences of the men in one tank company from inception in June 1941 through the occupation of Germany in 1945. An American tank company in WWII consisted of only five officers and approximately 100 enlisted men—all living, traveling and fighting in seventeen tanks, two jeeps, one truck, one half-track and one tank retriever. Uniting the official record with the rich, personal accounts of the participants, the reader is swept along a highly detailed and shocking journey chronicling the evolution of American armor doctrine and tank design from June 1941 through VE Day. The B Company tankers often fought at a disadvantage—struggling to survive a myriad of battlefield challenges and triumph against enemy armor better armed and better protected. What was once envisioned as a warfare of sweeping armored formations managed by West Point lieutenant colonels and ROTC captains quickly devolved into small unit street fights relying more and more on the initiative, resourcefulness and cunning of lowly OCS lieutenants and combat-seasoned sergeants. The journey is long, unforgiving and brutal, and 47 tankers would be lost along the way.

The 756th Tank Battalion in The Battle of Cassino, 1944

The 756th Tank Battalion in The Battle of Cassino, 1944 PDF Author: Roger Fazendin
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 0595282121
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
Roger Fazendin spent the last three years of his life collecting memories from his 756th Tank Battalion brothers who survived WWII and the Battle of Cassino. Fazendin's design was to give the comrades who fought in that battle, and their families, a full picture of "what the hell went on". Battle action is fast and disjointed; each soldier's grasp of the action is limited by the intense focus required by his specific orders, hardware, and survival imperatives. This book is a collection of material from over fifty survivors, with a half dozen primary contributors, into a coherent series of narratives. The results make for riveting reading. What is unique about this book is the fact that it is written by the men themselves-not by the commanders, not by historians, not by the military. It is a record written by mature men about the thoughts and memories recorded in their young minds while they were surviving the chaos and madness of unrelenting battle in terrible winter weather. Fazendin's additions of context and historical record make for a wise and compelling assembly of the experiences of one battle. Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.

Tank Attack at Monte Cassino

Tank Attack at Monte Cassino PDF Author: Jeffrey Plowman
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1526764938
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 182

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Book Description
Early morning, 19 March 1944. Tanks manned by New Zealanders, Indians and Americans launch a daring attack along a narrow mountain track on German positions north of Monte Cassino. So began one of the most audacious Allied attempts to break through the Gustav Line and advance on Rome – and it almost succeeded. Yet the extraordinary story has seldom been told, and it has never been told before in the vivid detail Jeffrey Plowman brings to this new account. Using operational orders, combat reports, unit diaries, post-battle photos from private and public archives and the graphic personal accounts of those who took part, he describes the construction of Cavendish Road and the course of the entire operation that followed. The planning for the attack and the men involved are described in a gripping and clear-sighted way, as is the attack itself – its initial rapid success and its ultimate failure. Eighty years later Jeffrey Plowman reveals exactly what happened and shows how and why this bold thrust against the German strongpoints at Monte Cassino, which could have turned the course of the battle, ended in retreat. His book also features a visitor’s guide that covers the length of Cavendish Road from the village of Caira to Massa Albaneta, linking each spot with the events described in the narrative.

The Infantry's Armor

The Infantry's Armor PDF Author: Harry Yeide
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 0811743799
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
Tanks, amphibian tanks, and amphibian tractors in action in all theaters, from Africa and Europe to the Pacific. How the battalions fought the war, often in the tankers' own words. Crystal-clear maps.

The Battles for Monte Cassino

The Battles for Monte Cassino PDF Author: Jeffrey Plowman
Publisher: After the Battle
ISBN: 1399077104
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1187

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Book Description
The Battles for Monte Cassino encompassed one of the few truly international conflicts of the Second World War. A strategic town on the road to Rome, the fighting lasted four months and cost the lives of more than 14,000 men from eight nations. Between January and May 1944, forces from Britain, Canada, France, India, New Zealand, Poland and the United States, fought a resolute German army in a series of battles in which the advantage swung back and forth, from one side to the other. From fire-fights in the mountains to tank attacks in the valley; from river crossings to street fighting, the four battles of Cassino encompass a series of individual operations unique in the history of the Second World War.

Armored Thunderbolt

Armored Thunderbolt PDF Author: Steve Zaloga
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 0811704246
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
• Hundreds of photos, including many never published before with riveting accounts of armored warfare in World War II • Compares the Sherman to other tanks, including the Panther and Tiger • Author is a world-renowned expert on the Sherman tank and American armor Some tank crews referred to the American M4 Sherman tank as a "death trap." Others, like Gen. George Patton, believed that the Sherman helped win World War II. So which was it: death trap or war winner? Armor expert Steven Zaloga answers that question by recounting the Sherman's combat history. Focusing on Northwest Europe (but also including a chapter on the Pacific), Zaloga follows the Sherman into action on D-Day, among the Normandy hedgerows, during Patton's race across France, in the great tank battle at Arracourt in September 1944, at the Battle of the Bulge, across the Rhine, and in the Ruhr pocket in 1945.

Men of Armor, Part One: Beginnings, North Africa, and Italy, Part I

Men of Armor, Part One: Beginnings, North Africa, and Italy, Part I PDF Author: Jeff Danby
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 1636240143
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 405

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Book Description
“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

Day of the Panzer

Day of the Panzer PDF Author: Jeff Danby
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 1935149601
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 393

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Book Description
“[An] excellent popular history . . . a sprightly and evocative tribute to the troops of Operation Dragoon” (Publishers Weekly). This is a rarely detailed, “you are there” account of World War II combat, describing a brief but bloody tank/infantry action in August 1944. Based on six years of research—drawing from interviews, primary documents, and visits to the battlefield—The Day of the Panzer transports the reader into the ranks of L Company, 15th Regiment, Third Infantry Division, and its supporting M4s of the 756th Tank Battalion as they grapple head-on with the Wehrmacht. On August 15, 1944, L Company hit the beaches in southern France, joined by the tank crews of 2nd Lt. Andrew Orient’s 3rd Platoon, all veterans of Cassino. Despite logistical problems, the Third Division forged north through the Rhône River valley, L Company and its supporting tanks leading the regimental charge—until they faced a savage counterattack by the Germans and a rampaging Panther tank . . . In this book, the minute-by-minute confusion, thrill, and desperation of WWII combat is placed under a microscope, as if the readers themselves were participants. “Through his well-wrought prose, Danby paints a detailed picture of deadly fighting and stunning victory” (WWII History). “One of the most interesting and absorbing battles histories that this reviewer has ever read . . . remarkably realistic and personal.” —History Book Club “The excellent descriptions of infantrymen, tankers and supporting troops from the 15th’s Cannon Company using M8 self-propelled howitzers and the three inch gun armed M10s of the 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion make for good reading.” —War History Online