Citizen Soldiers: The U.S. Army From The Beaches of Normandy to the Surrender of GermanyIn this riveting account, historian Stephen Ambrose continues where he left off in his #1 bestseller D-Day. Ambrose again follows the individual characters of this noble, brutal, and tragic war, from the high command down to the ordinary soldier, drawing on hundreds of interviews to re-create the war experience with startling clarity and immediacy. From the hedgerows of Normandy to the overrunning of Germany, Ambrose tells the real story of World War II from the perspective of the men and women who fought it. From June 7, 1944, on the beaches of Normandy to the final battles of Germany, acclaimed historian Stephen E. Ambrose draws on hundreds of interviews and oral histories from men on both sides to write a compelling and comprehensive portrait of the Citizen Soldiers who made up the U.S. Army. Ambrose re-creates the experiences of the individuals who fought the battle, from high command - Eisenhower, Bradley, and Patton - on down to the enlisted men. Within the chronological story, there are chapters on medics, nurses, and doctors; on the quartermasters; on the replacements; on what it was like to spend a night on the front lines; on sad sacks, cowards, and criminals; on Christmas 1944; and on weapons of all kinds. In this engrossing history, Ambrose reveals the learning process of a great army - how to cross rivers, how to fight in snow or hedgerows, how to fight in cities, how to coordinate air and ground campaigns, and how citizens become soldiers. Throughout, the perspective is that of the enlisted men and junior officers - and how decisions of the brass affected them. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 56
Page
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Contents
Introduction and Acknowledgments | |
Prologue | |
PART ONE THE BATTLE FOR FRANCE | |
EXPANDING THE BEACHHEAD JUNE 730 1944 | |
HEDGEROW FIGHTING JULY 124 1944 | |
BREAKOUT AND ENCIRCLEMENT July 25August 25 1944 | |
TO THE SIEGFRIED LINE August 26SeptemBER 30 1944 | |
REPLACEMENTS AND REINFORCEMENTS FALL 1944 | |
THE AIR | |
MEDICS NURSES AND DOCTORS | |
JERKS SAD Sacks ProfiteerS AND JIM CROW | |
PRISONERS OF | |
PART FOUR OVERRUNNING GERMANY | |
WINTER WAR JANUARY 1945 | |
CLOSING TO the Rhine FEBRUARY 1MARCH 6 1945 | |
THE SIEGFRIED LINE OCTOBER 1944 | |
PART TWO AT THE GERMAN BORDER | |
METZ AND THE HURTGEN Forest November 1December 15 1944 | |
THE ARDENNEs December 2023 1944 | |
THE HOLIDAY SEASON DecemBER 2431 1944 | |
PART THREE LIFE IN | |
NIGHT ON THE LINE | |
CROSSING THE RHINE MARCH 731 1945 | |
VICTORY APRIL 1MAY 7 1945 | |
THE GIS AND MODERN AMERICA AFTERWORD | |
NOTES | |
Common terms and phrases
10th Armored Division 90th Division Aachen Airborne Allied American ammunition Ardennes Armored Division artillery attack Bastogne battalion battle began Belgium bombers bombs Bradley bridge British Bulge Captain casualties Christmas Colby combat command Corps crew crossing D-Day December Eisenhower Eisenhower's Lieutenants enemy fighting fire foxhole France front line German soldiers going ground gunner hedgerow Hitler hole Hugh Ambrose Hurtgen Ibid infantry Infantry Division interview by Hugh jeep Ken Hechler killed kilometers Luftwaffe machine guns medics memoir meters mortar moved night Normandy offensive officers panzerfaust paratroopers Patton Peiper pillboxes pilot plane platoon POWs prisoners radio recalled Regiment Remagen replacements Rhine rifle river road sergeant SHAEF shells Shermans shooting shot Siegfried Line snow squad surrender Third Army told took trench foot Trois-Ponts troops trucks U.S. Army U.S. First Army Utah Beach vehicles veterans village weapons Wehrmacht Weigley wounded