The story of a "Red Diamond" infantryman with the US Third Army * A
brutally honest depiction of day-to-day combat in Second World War, showing the
true reality of the Second World War combat.
A frank account of the US infantry experience in northern Europe, A
Footsoldier for Patton takes the reader from the beaches of Normandy through the
giddy drive across France, to the brutal battles on the Westwall, in the
Ardennes, and finally to the conquest of Germany itself.
Patton’s army is best known for dashing armoured attacks, its
commander combining the firepower of tanks with their historic lineage as
cavalry. But when the Germans stood firm the greatest fighting was done by
Patton’s long unsung infantry; the foot sloggers who were called upon to reduce
enemy strongpoints, and who took the brunt of German counterattacks.
Michael Bilder, a member of the 5th Infantry, played a unique role in
the Third Army’s onslaught. A rifleman foremost, he was also a German-speaker,
called upon for interrogations and special duties. An astute observer, he
relates dozens of fascinating insights into the campaign, from dealing with
German snipers to intoxicated Frenchwomen, as well as relaying the often morbid
humour of combat. Laughter, for example, erupts among Bilder’s unit when a hated
Graves Registration officer, known for robbing the pockets of the dead, gets his
hand blown off by a German booby trap.
When the 5th Infantry comes up against the fortress of Metz, the battle is detailed in all its horror, as is the
sudden drive into the flank of the Bulge, where the Americans face their first
winter battle against enemy veterans of Russia. Incidents common to the
ordinary GI, but which seldom see the light of day in histories, are routinely
related in this book, enriching the reader’s sense of the true reality of the
Second World War combat.
