Battalion commander biography books

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Verified Purchase. What I enjoyed most was the frankness in the story. He is informed that the last group who were quartered in the bunker were blasted out by a half-track German flamethrower.

Battalion commander biography books

He vows to not let this happen to him and his men. His main concern is being a newly minted Captain, battalion commander biography books the battle-weary veterans accept him into their confidence? After a few skirmishes and shellings, his fears subside. I enjoyed this description as it only centered on their struggle rather than the grand strategy.

Some might not enjoy the nonchalance of the treatment of German prisoners or lack thereof. Remember, these men were watching their bodies being killed by men who brought a lot of death and destruction to Europe. A great addition to any WWII library. Five Stars. My father was part of the Battle of the Bulge. Sadly I did not ask him many questions about his experiences in WW2 while he was alive, so I read this book hoping to gain some insight into the life of the Army troops during this time.

MacDonald gives lots of details that I simply had to skim over, as I do not have experience in the military. But he provided a powerful sketch of the fears, dangers, and uncertainties soldiers face on the field of battle, and especially on a frozen battlefield. I am even more proud of my father's service having read this powerful first-hand account!

One person found this helpful. It stretched more than miles, from the border with the Netherlands, then south along the western border of the old German Empire, to the border with Switzerland. It had more than 18, bunkers, tank traps, and tunnels. The time MacDonald spent on the Line, about a third of the book, is described in what would seem to be boring detail, but, in a you-are-there-in-real-time manner continued throughout the book, typical of the day-to-day challenges a company commander confronted.

On 17 Januarywhile leading his company in a counterattack, MacDonald was wounded, for which he received the Purple Heart. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the small towns he mentions going through are not locatable on current maps, with many of the ones in Czechia likely having their German names changed. Unfortunately, while the book is very well-written, the graphic lack of maps makes it difficult to see what is going on at both a high and a low level, especially when describing his tactics in capturing a town.

Of note is that he gives full credit to the men serving under him, calling out their names and the towns from which they came. As well, he describes events in amazing detail. One wonders if he entered them in a diary hard to do in the thick of continuing combat or had a fantastic memory. Highly recommended! I thought this would be another WW2 book like so many others I've read but I was wrong.

What kind of story would be from a company commander. But this was different. He WAS literally in the trenches and at the front. If you're an affectionado of WW2 history do yourself a favor and read this book. I enjoyed the book and as this company commander saw the hurry up to take ground at the cost of his men. Moving forward across the German border one town after town to push for the surrender of the German army.

See more reviews. Top reviews from other countries. Translate all reviews to English. Nevertheless, it is a very good account and a worthwhile read. What was it like for a WW2 new young replacement officer who arrived in time for the final few months push into Germany? I felt like I was in his head to know his desire to establish his credibility with veterans and his fear of failing his men, his doubt about how he would react to being under fire.

When you come in contact with civilians, who can you trust? When will the Germans give up? Sometimes my men are injured or killed. Was that something that I could have prevented? The book is interesting but I found it too detailed for me to read easily. Perhaps also I am used to books that move at a faster pace. Report Translate review to English.

This book brings you from the Ardennes to the end of the war in CZ. The naming of each state were caracters come from was pretty annoying. Understandable from the writers perspective but as a reader I found it disturbing. All in all a small complaint for an easy to read and enjoyable book! This book gives you a first-hand, vivid insight into the mind of a WWII US officer, and it's horrific in its bluntness and simplicity.

At the onset of winterthe author is a year old, newly minted Captain first joining a combat unit and getting his first taste of war. He missed the battle for France and gets thrust right into the winter battles at the Siegfried line, and the Battle of the Bulge. In his mind, Germans come in one of two flavors: the docile ones who surrender, and the "fanatical killers".

His men repeatedly commit war crimes by murdering German POWs out of hand, and he does not say boo. They evict German civilians from their home in the middle of the night, and he does not say boo. German medics under the protection of a Red Cross flag are simply taken prisoner, and he still does not say boo. He is fully aware that men under his command have committed war crimes, but he considers it acceptable, because the US "will win the war anyway, so it does not matter.

These laws apply to all sides, regardless. At the end of the day, this man was a war criminal in command of war criminals. This begets the question how typical this mentality was for the US forces of that age, and what that says about the way the war at large was conducted. Report an issue. Shop this series. Rate this book. Army Tactical Leadership in the Mediterranean Theater, Steven Thomas Barry.

Examines the largely unsung leadership of U. Loading interface About the author. Steven Thomas Barry 1 book. Write a Review. Create a free account to discover what your friends battalion commander biography books of this book! Community Reviews. Search review text. Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews. Edgar Raines. Barry argues that the U.

Often superior officers flee the battlefield, then write each other up for medals. Fear is omnipresent, atrocities happen, hot showers become more than luxeries. He dreaded sending out patrols at night to collect information they had already reported to headquarters just so the rear brass could type up more reports. He and his men have little respect for the higher ranks.

The condemned the men for not having shaved or for wearing knit wool caps without their helmets, evidently an unpardonable misdemeanor, or for untidy areas around the dugouts. The officers did not inspect my 1st Platoon area, [stationed farthest foward and subjected to random shelling:] however, usually passing it battalion commander biography books with the excuse it was too far to walk, but we laughed inwardly, knowing it was the threat of enemy shelling that kept most of them away.

He was assigned company I, a group that swore action followed them around. As soon as they were pulled from a an intense sector, it quieted down. When they were assigned to a previously quiet area, the Germans would attack with a bayonet charge or something smilar. Following several months in relatively static defensive positions, his company is quickly rounded up and sent to back up the 99th Inf.

Division that had been counterattacked and mauled after they had attempted to take some dams to prevent their destruction. MacDonald's account of moving to the front in snow, setting up his men with not enough ammunition, the chaos and opacity of battle is simply amazing. They say it's that way," and he motioned with one arm to the east. They maintained closest contact with companies on their flanks; some with Battalion, very little with Division, Corps is almost unimportant.

Maps and map reading ability was crucial. The British had been given responsibility for mapping Europe; they were forced to use mostly WW I maps, but updated them with aerial reconnaissance whenever possible. The aerial map readers provided some astonishing information. They could recognize defensive positions by noticing darker grass.

Dew would fall off barbed wire nourishing the grass underneath the wire more effectively hence making it more visible from the air. What's amazing to me is how well MacDonald did with his men, perhaps a tribute to the training he had received. The story is recounted in such a matter-of-fact way, that the day-to-day horrors somehow become that much more memorable for their ordinariness.

Note: a really nice foldout map accompanies the History Book Club edition. Supurb memoir of a Company Commander who joins his unit as a replacement in the fall of He earns a Silver Star for holding back the German advance at the southern edge of the "Bulge" longer than anyone thought possible, then drives through to meet the Russians on the Elbe.

Without a pause, he's transferred to Third Army thrusting deep into Czechoslovakia, and makes it past Pilsen when the war ends and he again meets the Russians. Like anyone, especially a replacement Captain, he's terrified he won't perform in battle; that he won't earn the respect of his men. Steady on the outside, and often called upon by his Colonel for dangerous advances, he thinks to himself "Here it comes, here it comes," over and over each time he goes on the attack.

It must have worked. This isn't a grunt's eye view, nor is it the big picture. It's in between, and Charles McDonald is a perceptive writer: I could "see" most of the tactical situations he describes. What the book lacks is significant personal connection between the author and his men, or even his family, or girl, back home. All is eclipsed by the responsibilities of a Company Commander--and, facing daily barrages from German 88mm guns, I can't say I blame him.

Cold War Conversations Podcast. Real life at the sharp end of World War 2. However this is different from many memoirs in that he does mention atrocities, and the flaws in officers and men, although names are changed. This is not grand strategy, indeed grand strategy is an irrelevance where he and his men are. Macdonald concentrates on the realities for a green junior officer in command of an infantry company, whilst coping with sleeplessness, hunger, dirt, stress, and danger.

Apparently it is still required reading at West Point. Great World War 2 memoir by a young replacement company commander who has to lead battle-hardened men into battle and passes all his tests despite early self doubt. Little Timmy. I have even meaning to read this book for years but kept putting of getting a copy. Recently a friend gave ma a box of books and there was a copy in the box.

I figured that was a sign I needed to read it finally. Excellent first hand account war story. Very readable and it brings you right into what the writer experienced. Very recommended. Author 21 books 1, followers. He begins his war in the autumn of as a young replacement captain assigned to command a veteran company. In the early days of his time on the line, he struggles to gain the respect of the men he commands and worries about how he will react to war.

His unit spends time on the Siegfried Line, and participates in the Battle of the Bulge. After an injury, Mac is assigned to a new company and with the arrival of spring pushes into Germany and then into Czechoslovakia, fighting until May of He was usually near the front line but not in a foxhole. He saw more of the big-picture than the privates did, but was also much more aware than higher-ranking officers of the individual deaths each push brought.

The account includes some tense moments, some sad moments, some funny moments, and the reminder that war is not easy on those who participate. I thought it was a great ending, until I remembered Czechoslovakia's status during the Cold War. For the people living there, having the US Army in town was probably the best week from until Jamie Smith.

This book has been a staple of military professional reading lists since it came out inand it is easy to see why. For one thing, there is nothing extraneous about it. MacDonald never mentions his childhood, his family, the girl he left behind, or even his previous Army experience. It begins with him as the newly appointed commander of I Company, 23rd Infantry, detraining with his men and forming up to march to the front lines.

It ends when the war in Europe ends. Throughout the book MacDonald maintains a clear focus on his experiences, the men he fought with, and how he solved the tactical problems of implementing orders from above. The other lesson that MacDonald teaches is that it is alright to be scared and confused, because combat is always scary and the fog of war makes even simple things confusing.

He also agonized over the fate of men sent on patrols, especially when he knew there was no purpose to them: the soldiers would only find things that the staff already knew. And yet, every battalion commander biography books could mean a booby trap, a mine, a sniper, mortar barrage or machine gun strafe. It was a hell of a thing to ask men to put their lives on the line for the sake of a report that no one would ever read.

On the front lines fear was ever-present, and the key was to learn to live with it, to use it to force you to think about what you were doing without letting it incapacitate you. At one point it was down to fifty men, which is especially depressing considering that a full strength infantry company would have had men, of whom were front line soldiers three rifle platoons and one weapons platoon of 38 men each.

The other forty or so would have been cooks and clerks and medics and communications specialists who would not normally have been in combat, so for I Company to have been down to 50 men suggests that it had essentially run through its fighting strength. Any movement during the day brought quick and accurate fire down on them. Each side sent out patrols, called in artillery support, killed a few of the enemy and lost a few of their own.

It was a quiet sector. When they were relieved MacDonald noted that their replacements were from a division fresh off the boat, so new that they were still wearing their neckties as they moved into position. Almost as an aside, he mentions that they were from the th Division, and leaves it to the reader to know what that meant, that the th was destroyed days later in the initial German assault of the Battle of the Bulge, resulting in one of the largest surrenders of US troops in history.

These included Kurt Vonnegut, who would reference the battle and its aftermath in Slaughterhouse-Five. Moving to new positions I Company received drafts of replacements and wounded men returning to duty, until it was back up to full strength, and even over-strength in officers. They were moving to support a push into the Ruhr to take control of the dams there when the Germans unleashed their attack in the Ardennes.

The German assault broke American lines throughout the sector, and he lost contact with the companies on his left and right, and then with his battalion command. Facing overwhelming pressure, short of ammunition, cut off, and under attack by tanks when he had no anti-tank weapons, he held out for as long as he could and then ordered the few men he still had contact with to fall back.

It looked like his company had been destroyed and he wondered whether he would be court martialed for abandoning his position. As it turned out, most of his men had already bugged out without waiting for orders, and he had held out far longer than could have been expected, slowing the German advance. Instead of a court martial he eventually received the Silver Star and almost all of his company survived to be reconstituted when order was restored.

By that time he was no longer with them, having taken a bullet to the leg and been evacuated to a hospital. By the time he was returned to duty I Company had a new commander, and he was given command of G Company, which he would lead to the end of the war. He gives place names for every village and town they passed through, almost a day by day account of their movements.

I was surprised how much of Germany they crossed between January and May In the end they were almost as far east as Berlin. Those last months included days of rapid advance, but the Germans fought on tenaciously, and there was bitter fighting yet to do. Having seen men under his command killed, he had no sympathy for the Germans, soldiers or civilians.

Wounded Germans were sometimes left behind, to almost certain death, and he was unconcerned when American artillery fire obliterated towns. He even mocked one elderly couple trying to save their burning house, yelling at them that Hitler did this, blame Hitler. MacDonald was not by nature a cruel man, but war makes beasts of us all. Destroyed property did not count for much when put up against his own dead soldiers.

The war ends with his battalion in Czechoslovakia, amid the wildly celebrating population. The reader gets a sense once more of foreshadowing, since we know, as those happy Czechs did not, that the scourge of Nazism was about to be replaced by the iron fist of Stalinism. The book does an excellent job showing what it was like to be there in the midst of the fighting and dying.

MacDonald and the soldiers he describes feel like real real people rather than simplistic recruiting poster images of heroism, stoicism, and courage.