The Sword of St. Michael The 82nd Airborne Division in World War II

by Lofaro, Guy

• ISBN13: 9780306820236
• ISBN10: 0306820234
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-08-30
• Publisher: Da Capo Press

Summary

The 82nd Airborne Division spent more time in combat than any other American airborne unit of World War II, and its fierce battlefield tenacity earned it the reputation of one of the finest divisions in the world. Yet no comprehensive history of the 82nd during World War II exists today. The Sword of St. Michaelcorrects this significant gap in the literature, offering a lively narrative and thoroughly researched history of the famous division. Author Guy LoFaro, himself a distinguished officer of the division, interweaves the voices of soldiers at both ends of the chain of command, from Eisenhower to the lowest private. Making extensive use of primary sources, LoFaro offers a work of insightful analysis, situating the division's exploits in a strategic and operational context.

Author Biography

Guy LoFaro is an 82nd Airborne Division combat veteran and former West Point history professor. He lives in Atlanta.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Table of Equivalent Ranks	p. xiii
Maps	p. xiv
Introduction	p. 1
Our Whole Future is in the Air	p. 7
A Breed Apart	p. 15
Men of a Particularly High Order	p. 27
A Whole New Dimension to Soldiering	p. 45
A Small Phalanx in a Vast, Strange Land	p. 55
A Self-Adjusting Foul-up	p. 77
A Very Rugged Delivery	p. 103
Taking off for the Gates of Hell	p. 125
A Force upon which the Fifth Army could Depend	p. 147
A Terrible and Handsome Sight	p. 175
Alles Kaputt! The Americans are Killing Everybody!	p. 199
You Crossed that Causeway	p. 221
Can't Anything Stop those Men?	p. 243
A Lasting and Firm Faith in the Airborne	p. 263
We'll need Two Divisions to do that	p. 279
A Sunday Drive in an Airplane	p. 301
The Germans were Everywhere	p. 325
The Finest Division in the World Today	p. 351
Even the Gods were Weeping	p. 377
You are Looking at the Survivors	p. 409
To Turn the Tide	p. 433
Singing the Blues about the Right Flank	p. 457
Making Monkeys out of the Germans	p. 469
Another Nasty Job	p. 495
Present at the End	p. 525
Epilogue: Soldiers Recently Engaged in War	p. 553
Notes	p. 561
Bibliography	p. 713
Index	p. 727
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