The combat history of the 82nd Airborne in World War II, from their first
perilous drop on 9th July 1943 as the opening salvo in Operation Husky, the
invasion of Sicily, to their victory parade up Fifth Avenue in January 1946. The
82nd Airborne Division - known as the "All-Americans" - parachuted into history
as America’s first airborne division to see combat. Always at the forefront of
some of the heaviest fighting in World War II, the 82nd helped spearhead the
Allied drive to victory. This book is the first to tell the full combat history
of these gallant All-Americans -- from their first perilous night drop into
Sicily to their acclaimed victory parade up New York's 5th Avenue in 1946.
Currently, the 82nd remains the only active American parachute division. The
82nd Airborne Division — dubbed the All-Americans during the First World War,
when Sgt. Alvin York was among its soldiers — parachuted into history on July,
9, 1943, as the opening salvo in Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. This
book, the first to tell the full story of the 82nd — America’s first airborne
division to see combat, and the only American parachute division still active
today — follows these all-Americans from their first perilous drop to their
victory parade up 5th Avenue in January 1946. Once into the thick of the action,
the soldiers of the 82nd were never out of it; and All American, All the Way
follows them from Sicily to Salerno to the treacherous mountains around Naples.
Here the narrative forks, as the bulk of the division left Italy for England to
prepare for the invasion of Normandy, leaving behind one regiment, the 504th
Parachute Infantry, to take part in the disastrous assault on Anzio. All
American brings to harrowing life the division’s exploits on June 6, 1944,
where, after spearheading the airborne invasion, the paratroopers proved
invaluable as shock troops and were pulled out of combat only to mount the
airborne invasion of Holland—the campaign immortalised in A Bridge Too Far. We
witness the airborne forces’ daring daylight jump deep behind Nazi lines, only
to see their initial success erased by the failures of the armoured division
that followed. And we see the 82nd, barely a month later, thrust back into
action when the Battle of the Bulge came roaring out of the Ardennes. From the
shore of Sicily to the beaches of Normandy, from the Rhine to the Elbe to the
German surrender and the US occupation of Berlin, this is military history at
its best, often told in the words of the soldiers themselves. It is a fitting —
and long overdue — tribute to the valorous service of one of America’s most
celebrated fighting divisions.
NOW HALF-PRICE!
