Glider Infantryman

Author : Donald J. Rich
Publisher : Texas A&M University Press
ISBN 13 : 1603449620
Total Pages : 286 pages
Book Rating : 4.25/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Glider Infantryman written by Donald J. Rich and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2013-01-18 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Author : Gordon L. Rottman
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 178200775X
Total Pages : 146 pages
Book Rating : 4.53/5 ( download)

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Download or read book World War II Glider Assault Tactics written by Gordon L. Rottman and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2014-03-20 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Military gliders came of age in World War II, when glider assault infantry were the forerunners of today's helicopter-delivered airmobile troops. From the light pre-war sports and training machines, several nations developed troop-carrying gliders capable of getting a whole squad or more of infantry, with heavy weapons, onto the ground quickly, with the equipment that paratroopers simply could not carry. They made up at least one-third of the strength of US, British, and German airborne divisions in major battles, and they also carried out several daring coup de main raids and spearhead operations. However, the dangers were extreme, the techniques were difficult, the losses were heavy (particularly during night operations), and the day of the glider assault was relatively brief. This book explains the development and organization of glider troops, their mounts, and the air squadrons formed to tow them, the steep and costly learning-curve and the tactics that such troops learned to employ once they arrived on the battlefield.

Author : Charles J Masters
Publisher : SIU Press
ISBN 13 : 0809330822
Total Pages : 141 pages
Book Rating : 4.29/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Glidermen of Neptune written by Charles J Masters and published by SIU Press. This book was released on 2021-06-09 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although the word gliderman does not appear in the dictionary, a brave group of World War II soldiers known as glidermen flew into combat inside unarmed and unarmored canvas-covered gliders known as "flying coffins." Charles J. Masters points out that because World War II was the first truly mechanized and armored global conflict, the role of the glidermen and their combat gliders was at best anachronistic. Fighter planes exceeded speeds of 400 miles per hour and were heavily armed with multiple machine guns. Dogfights had taken on new dimensions, eclipsing the tactics, speed, and firepower first evidenced by the fragile biplanes of World War I. Tanks achieved a lethal efficiency barely dreamed of even five years before the war. An array of weaponry never seen in any previous military engagement confronted the combat soldier during World War II.And yet there were gliders. And glidermen. Masters tells of these men and of their fragile aircraft in a war of mechanized chaos. In copious detail, he describes the gliders and the Americans who boarded them during the American D-Day glider attack, a mission that was part of the overall cross-channel plan code-named "Operation Neptune." The son of a gliderman with the 82nd Airborne Division, Masters had unique access to the surviving glidermen and comrades of his father. During the course of his research, he located and interviewed 106 of the men who had flown the D-Day mission in gliders. As an insider—in a sense almost a member of the family and fraternity of glider-men—Masters was cordially received by the members of the American airborne divisions that participated in D-Day, many of whom told him stories they had seldom told their own friends and families. Often harrowing and always riveting, the stories these men told an eager listener and researcher are very much a part of this narrative. Masters has also assembled the finest existing collection of photographs of the American D-Day glider attack. These photographs—many of which have never before been published—provide a spectacular photographic record of a little-known aspect of this war. In fact, because of the short military history of the American combat glider, most readers, including veterans of World War II, will not have seen one of these "flying coffins," even at a distance. These photographs afford the opportunity to actually examine the inside of the combat gliders used on D-Day, to observe the glidermen in action, and to witness the often tragic consequences of the glider attack.

Author : Charles J Masters
Publisher : SIU Press
ISBN 13 : 0809320088
Total Pages : 113 pages
Book Rating : 4.80/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Glidermen of Neptune written by Charles J Masters and published by SIU Press. This book was released on 1995-12-22 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Masters has also assembled the finest existing collection of photographs of the American D-Day glider attack. These photographs - many of which have never before been publishedafford the opportunity to examine the inside of the combat gliders used on D-Day, to observe the glidermen in action, and to witness the often tragic consequences of the glider attack.

Author : James L. McDonough
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 184 pages
Book Rating : 4.06/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Sky Riders written by James L. McDonough and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Gerard M. Devlin
Publisher : Robson Books Limited
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 744 pages
Book Rating : 4.50/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Paratrooper! written by Gerard M. Devlin and published by Robson Books Limited. This book was released on 1979 with total page 744 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Om amerikanske faldskærmssoldater i 2. Verdenskrig. Forfatteren har modtaget adskillige dekorationer.

Author : Alfred J. Nigl
Publisher : Silent Wings Savage Death
ISBN 13 : 9781882824311
Total Pages : 308 pages
Book Rating : 4.18/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Silent Wings, Savage Death written by Alfred J. Nigl and published by Silent Wings Savage Death. This book was released on 2007 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Jerry Lee Richlak
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780971283909
Total Pages : 457 pages
Book Rating : 4.07/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Glide to Glory written by Jerry Lee Richlak and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Gale Richard Ammerman
Publisher : Merriam Press
ISBN 13 : 1576382141
Total Pages : 274 pages
Book Rating : 4.41/5 ( download)

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Download or read book An American Glider Pilot's Story written by Gale Richard Ammerman and published by Merriam Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : James E. Mrazek
Publisher : Stackpole Books
ISBN 13 : 081170808X
Total Pages : 514 pages
Book Rating : 4.81/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Airborne Combat written by James E. Mrazek and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2011 with total page 514 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Long pursued by civilian thrill seekers and dare devils, airborne gliding came of age during World War II as one of that conflict's most dangerous combat operations. The armed forces of Axis and Allied nations developed gliders ... and flew them into battle at Eben Emael, Crete, Normandy, Arnhem, and Bastogne. [The author's] account brings to life both the men who carried out these perilous missions and the gliders that proved vital to the success of airborne attacks"--Page 4 of cover.