War Stories III (48 page)

OSS
—Office of Strategic Services, U.S. military intelligence service created in WWII, the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

Pluto
—Abbreviation for Pipeline Under the Ocean, the cross-Channel fuel line installed between England and the continent after Normandy

PM
—Prime Minister

POW
—Prisoner of War

RAF
—Royal Air Force (Great Britain)

RAAF
—Royal Australian Air Force

RCAF
—Royal Canadian Air Force

RCT
—Regimental Combat Team, a task force formed around an infantry regiment that usually included armor, artillery, and transportation units

ROTC
—Reserve Officer Training Corps, an officer training program at civilian colleges and universities

SHAEF
—Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, Eisenhower's headquarters for the Allied invasion of Europe

SOE
—Special Operations Executive. British military intelligence organization created to support partisan activities and espionage in occupied territories

SOP
—Standard Operating Procedure

Sortie
—In military air and naval operations, pertains to an operational flight by an aircraft or the dispatch of a vessel or vessels from a port

SS
—Schutzstaffel, elite Nazi Party military personnel and units operating within the German army and organized as Waffen SS battalions, regiments and divisions

Stavka
—Staff of the Soviet Supreme High Command. Under Stalin the Stavka coordinated all military and political activities in the USSR during WWII

TD
—Tank Destroyer; a mobile armored vehicle mounting a heavy caliber gun

TF
—Task Force

Ultra
—Code name for the decryption of German radio communications by MI-6, the British secret intelligence service

USAAF
—United States Army Air Force

USS
—United States Ship, the prefix to identify a U.S. naval vessel

WASP
—Women's Airforce Service Pilot

Wehrmacht
—The German Armed Forces from 1935 to 1945

WPA
—Works Projects Administration, a “New Deal” program created by President Roosevelt to alleviate unemployment by creating public works projects during the Great Depression of the 1930s

XO
—Executive Officer

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

T
his book and accompanying DVD, a collaborative effort of FOX News Channel and Regnery Publishing, is a tribute to heroes—those who fought and won the war against Hitler. Thanks to the vision of Roger Ailes at FOX News and Marji Ross at Regnery, this multimedia chronicle of courage serves as a reminder to future generations of the sacrifices necessary to preserve this nation as the land of the free and home of the brave.

Like the two FOX-Regnery books that preceded this one, we again draw heavily on the accounts of eyewitness-participants—those who make
War Stories
an award-winning television series. Though I am blessed to host these documentaries, the real “stars” are the men and women who serve—and have served—on battlefields all over the world. The words of the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Guardsmen, Marines, merchant seamen, and civilians who fought World War II in Europe are the heart and soul of this book. Their self-effacing, matter-of-fact descriptions of battles, wounds, injuries, and privation reflect the brutal reality of war—and inspired all of us who worked on the television series and this book. Our liberty is their legacy.

Writing this book about the heroes who won World War II in Europe has been, in various ways, similar to preparing for a combat operation. To be done well, military planning requires the work of many to assimilate vast amounts of information to determine what is accurate and relevant. Time is rarely sufficient to easily carry out the task. Unforeseen events often disrupt the original plan. And as in warfare, there is always the enemy—in this case a deadline! Even the word—“deadline”—sounds ominous.

In completing this work, all of these factors applied. The volume of information about World War II in Europe is extraordinary and challenges authors far more gifted than I. Complicating an already ambitious schedule for this book about the heroes who beat Hitler were my protracted absences to document a new generation of warriors in Iraq and Afghanistan for FOX News. Thankfully, there were others—just like in the military operations we chronicle in our
War Stories
television series—willing to step into the breach to help accomplish the mission.

Much of the burden fell on the shoulders of Joe Musser, my friend, collaborator, and research partner of many years. With the help of Freedom Alliance Fellow Tom Crowe and
War Stories
executive producer Pamela Browne at FOX News, Joe pored through mountains of transcripts, tapes, and interviews from our now extensive
War Stories
archives to prepare a workable draft manuscript.

David Deis, the gifted cartographer who lent his considerable talent to the first of our World War II books—
Heroism in the Pacific
—has done so again for the European theater. His maps—and the remarkable photos selected by Andrew Stenner—illuminate the events described in these pages.

Thanks to the active engagement of Roger Ailes, Bill Shine, and Dianne Brandi, the preservation of eyewitness accounts and an accurate, documentary record of battles past and present has become a passion for the
War Stories
unit at FOX News Channel. Executive producer Pamela Browne, who has headed the unit since its inception, personally supervised the production of the DVD included in this book and exercises oversight over every episode. Producers Martin Hinton, Greg Johnson, Steve Tierney, Cyd
Upson, and Ayse Wieting spend countless hours with every hero who appears on the air and in this work. Associate producers Kelly Guernica, Jason Kopp, Michael Weiss, and Bevin Mahoney and production assistants Christina Diaz and Andrew Stenner have devoted themselves to finding material worthy of being preserved for posterity.

Peter Bregmen provided invaluable assistance with the archives at FOX Movietone News. Rich O'Brien's graphics department helps us every day—and none of this would have been possible without the help of business manager Rey Erney.

Because of my protracted absences, Ben Domenech, my patient editor at Regnery, was compelled to edit this book a chapter at a time—sent to him electronically—often from thousands of miles away. Art director Amanda Larsen, managing editor Paula Decker, and publicity director Angela Phelps all had to wait for a belatedly delivered manuscript—and still ensure that this book would make it into the hands of readers. Without their diligence—and perseverance—this book would not have been completed.

My friends Bob Barnett and Deneen Howell at Williams & Connolly helped put this great collaboration between FOX News Channel and Regnery Publishing together so that these War Stories could be told in book and DVD format. Marsha Fishbaugh, my executive assistant, and Damon Goude, my faithful travel companion, have borne the brunt of my frenetic schedule.

Betsy, my wife of thirty-seven years and best friend, gave the most to see this work finished—tolerating my lengthy travels to faraway battlefields and frequent trips to interview those who fought there. Without her support and encouragement—and that of our children and their spouses: daughters Tait and husband Tom; Sarah and husband Martin; our son Stuart and his wife, Ellen; and daughter Dornin—this book would have been impossible.

Also deserving of special recognition and praise are the authors, historians, curators, and museum directors who have participated in our European
War Stories
documentaries. The breadth and depth of their knowledge and experience has made this a better book:

BIBLIOGRAPHY

John Keegan, ed.,
Atlas of the Second World War
(New York: HarperCollins, 2003)

Dwight D. Eisenhower,
Crusade in Europe
(New York: Doubleday & Co., 1948)

E. B. Potter, ed.,
Sea Power: A Naval History
(Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1984)

James Dunnigan & Albert Nori,
Victory at Sea
(New York: Quill/William Morrow & Co., 1995)

Ken Polsson,
Chronology of World War II
(Island
Net.com
, 2005)

INDEX

Africa.
See
North Africa

Afrika Korps

Alaska

Albania

Alexander, Sir Harold

Algeria

Alison, John

All American Girls Baseball League

Allen, Terry

Allies.
See
Britain; United States

ALSIB, Operation

America First

American Civil Air Patrol

American Leader
, MV

American Legation

Anderson Shelter

Anti-Comintern Pact

anti-Semitism

Antwerp, Belgium

Anzio, Italy

appeasement

Arcadia Conference (1941)

Archer, Lee

Argentia, Newfoundland

Argentina
, SS

Argonaut Conference

Arkansas
, battleship

Ark Royal
, HMS

Arnold, “Hap”

Asia

Athenia
, MV

Atlantic Charter

Auchinleck, Claude

Audacity
, HMS

Auschwitz, Poland

Australia

Austria

Axis.
See
Germany; Italy; Japan

Axman, Arthur

Badaglio, Pietro

Balkans

Barfoot, Van T.

Barter, Douglas

Bate, David

Battle of Britain; Brothers, Peter and; casualties of; Dick, Ron and; Drake, Billy and; Leah, Charles and; London Blitz and; Operation Eagle and; Operation Sea Lion and; Quinn, Christina and; Raal, Gunther and; terror bombing and

Battle of the Atlantic; Duffy, George and; Nash, Edgar “Ed” and; Petersen, Peter and; U.S. Merchant Marines and

Battle of the Bulge; casualties of; Jamar, Emile and; Merriken, Bill and

Beer Hall
Putsch

Belgium; Operation Market Garden and

Belgrade, Yugoslavia

Bell Aircraft

Berger

Biddle, Frances

Bigham Hill, Britain

Bismarck
, battleship

black Americans

Black Thursday

Blaise, Madame

blitzkrieg
(lightning war)

Boeing Corporation

Boitnott, Joe

Bolshevism, Bolsheviks

Bordeaux, France

Bormann, Martin

Bradley, Omar; France, liberation of, and; Normandy invasion and; Operation Market Garden and

Braun, Eva

Britain: appeasement of Hitler by; Battle of Britain and; Battle of the Atlantic and; Crete and; Normandy invasion and; Operation Husky and; Operation Torch and; Soviet Union, German invasion of, and; U.S. neutrality and