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Inside Flap copy
In 1942, the 82nd Infantry Division at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, split into two new divisions. One of them, the 101st Airborne Division, immediately began intense preparations and training for a surprise landing somewhere on Nazi-occupied Europe. Ultimately the chosen location became Normandy and the date: June 6, 1944, D-Day. The division went on to become legendary as the "band of brothers," the famed Screaming Eagles of World War II. The plan had been for the airborne soldiers to be pulled out of the line after the first few days to prepare for follow on missions. The paratroopers and glidermen proved so effective as shock troops, however, that they remained at the forefront of the vicious hedgerow-to-hedgerow combat that typified the fighting in Normandy for more than a month. Particularly noteworthy was the division's capture and defense of Carentan. Ultimately the Screaming Eagles returned to England for rehabilitation in mid-July. Next up for the 101st was Operation Market-Garden, the famed "bridge too far" campaign. The division jumped into Holland in a daring daylight aerial assault on September 17, 1944, north of Eindhoven. Following its initial success, Market-Garden bogged down with the Screaming Eagles remaining in the frontlines until the end of November, when the division was withdrawn to rest areas in France. When the German surprise attack that became known as the Battle of the Bulge roared out of the Ardennes in mid-December, the 101st was one of only two divisions in strategic reserve for the allied forces. Sent to the key crossroads town of Bastogne in Belgium, the 101st was surrounded by the attacking Germans and cut off from friendly forces. If the American soldiers failed to hold the crossroads, the Wehrmacht would be able to rapidly advance their forces through Belgium and Holland to the key port of Antwerp, perhaps extending the war by years. Historic images and dramatic text from acclaimed military historian Mark Bando fill 101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles in World War II. It is a fitting tribute to the fallen men of the 101st. Never-before-published photographs and firsthand accounts capture their bold accomplishments during the war, including a brilliant stand at Bastogne where their ardent refusal to yield was famously summed up in their commander's reply to a German call for surrender: "NUTS."Back Cover copyTold through firsthand accounts and numerous never-before-published photos, this is the complete illustrated story of the World War II's Screaming Eagles. * Normandy * Hell's Highway * Bastogne * Berchtesgaden 101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles in World War II covers the division's preparations for the D-Day landings, their pivotal battles in Operation Market-Garden and the Bulge, their heroic accomplishments throughout Nazi-occupied Europe, and finally, their entry into Hitler's Eagle's Nest and the end of the war. |
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