BATTLING BUZZARDS

The story of the formation of the US 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team, 1943-1945, and the training and war experiences of the men who became known as the "Battling Buzzards". With many eye-witness accounts. •Fascinating story of an elite Parachute Regiment, trained for an assault over Nazi-held Europe •Recounts bloody battles and close-quarter skirmishes culminating in the infamous Battle of the Bulge •Draws on first hand experiences of the brave men of the 517th Convinced by 1943 that the assault upon Nazi-held Europe would yield swiftly to elite troops, the US Army created parachute regimental combat teams. Drawing on daring volunteers willing to hurl themselves from airplanes and hit the ground fighting, the 517th PRCT became one of the most highly trained airborne units in the world. Blooded in northern Italy in 1944, the Battling Buzzards dropped at night in southern France for the second D-day to spearhead a savage advance through the Champagne region and then into the Alps. Gerald Astor, acclaimed author of A Blood-Dimmed Tide, draws on the words of the men of the 517th to create this gripping, action-packed account of a unit that existed for only two years but fought heroically to defeat the vaunted German forces. From its campaign in Italy to its assault in the French Alps, the Battling Buzzards helped push the Germans out of southern Europe one fierce, close-quarter battle at a time. Then, after six months of nonstop action, the exhausted, battle-hardened 517th was called into the ultimate battle — at a place called The Bulge.