Rock of Anzio : From Sicily to Dachau: A History of the U. S. 45th Infantry Division

by Whitlock, Flint

• ISBN13: 9780813336879
• ISBN10: 0813336872
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-10-07
• Publisher: Perseus Books Group

Summary

Anzio was one of the greatest battles of World War IIa desperate gamble to land a large amphibious force behind German lines in Italy in the hope that the war could be shortened by capturing Rome. It also turned out to be one of the bloodiest battles in U.S. military history. Allied forces quickly found themselves trapped on the beachhead, forced to endure unimaginable hardships, and subjected to four months of constant German attacks.While the Germans decimated most of the Allied units at Anzio, they threw their strongest efforts against one American divisionthe 45th Infantry Division. The 45th was a National Guard unit made up of "citizen soldiers" from the Southwest, including thousands of Native Americans.Through sheer determination and against overwhelming odds, the 45th Division "Thunderbirds" saved the beachhead at Anzio from annihilation, just as they had done at Salerno six months earlier, breaking the back of the German onslaught. Eight members of the 45thincluding the first three Native Americans so honoredearned the Congressional Medal of Honor for the division's 511 days of combat.From Italy, the 45th went on to blaze a distinguished path through France and Germany, suffering some of the heaviest casualty rates of any U.S. Army unit in World War II. And in the war's final days, the 45th Infantry Division liberated the notorious Dachau concentration camp, resulting in a controversial incident in which Nazi camp guards were executed by outraged American soldiersa shocking story told here in complete detail for the first time.Based on extensive research into archives, photos, letters, diaries, previously classified official records, and scores of personal interviews with surviving veterans of the 45th,The Rock of Anziois written with an immediacy that puts the reader right onto the battlefield and shows us war through the eyes of ordinary men called upon to perform extraordinary deeds.

Author Biography

Flint Whitlock, a former U.S. Army officer, is a frequent contributor to World War II magazine and coauthor of the highly acclaimed Soldiers on Skis: A Pictorial Memoir of the 10th Mountain Division. He lives in Denver, Colorado.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Introduction	p. 1
Ancient Spirits, 1846-1943	p. 5
Those Malign Gray Slopes, 10 July-8 September 1943	p. 35
That Despondent Shore, 9-14 September 1943	p. 68
Heavy and Accursed Rain, 19 September 1943-21 January 1944	p. 98
Dangerous Waters, 22 January-2 February 1944	p. 137
The Stream of Blood, 2-15 February 1944	p. 161
The Rush of Jousts, 16 February 1944	p. 183
Abandon Every Hope, 17-18 February 1944	p. 207
The City of Flaming Red, 19-23 February 1944	p. 232
Any Respite Seemed Unsuited, 24 February-22 May 1944	p. 251
Leave This Savage Wilderness, 22 May-30 June 1944	p. 275
Dreadful Minos Stands, 1 July 1944-28 April 1945	p. 315
To the Eternal Dark, 29 April-7 May 1945	p. 351
Epilogue: Things of Beauty	p. 394
Notes	p. 415
Bibliography	p. 445
Index	p. 451
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.