Anzio Beachhead: 22 January-25 May 1944 - 157 pgs.

Anzio Beachhead , fourteenth in the series of studies of particular combat operations, is the story of how VI Corps of the American Fifth Army seized and held a strategic position far to the rear of the main fighting front, in the Italian campaign of 1944. Since VI Corps included British as well as American units, and the high command in Italy was in British rather than in American hands, the battle to maintain the Anzio beachhead was an Allied rather than an exclusively American operation. Essentially, this narrative of Anzio is confined to the first six weeks of bitter struggle to hold the beachhead against German attacks designed to drive the Allied forces from their foothold, a period which ended on 3 March. Thereafter, until the Allied offensive of May, the Anzio beachhead was a static and relatively quiet front. Then the beachhead forces spearheaded the drive that led to the capture of Rome. Only a sketch of this final and decisive phase of the Anzio operation is included in this narrative.

The European Theater of Operations: The Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge by Hugh M. Cole - 759 pgs.

This volume deals with the crucial period of the campaign conducted in the Belgian Ardennes and Luxembourg, generally known as the Battle of the Bulge. Although the German planning described herein antedates the opening gun by several weeks, the story of the combat operations begins on 16 December 1944. By 3 January 1945 the German counteroffensive was at an end, and on that date the Allies commenced an attack that would take them across the Rhine and into Germany.

Handbook On German Military Forces - 654 pgs.

In March, 1945, the U.S. War Department issued a restricted document called Handbook on German Military Forces . The restricted classification was removed in 1953, but the handbook has until now remained virtually unknown. The book is a massive compendium of information on every aspect of Hitler's forces. It gives credence to the contention that by 1945 U.S. Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall may have known more about the German military than did Hitler himself.

Exceptionally well organized and exhaustively detailed, the handbook examines German military personnel from the lowest levels to the High Command. It describes the Wehrmacht's administrative structure, unit organization, field tactics, fortification and defense systems, weapons and other equipment, and uniforms and insignia.

Moreover, it presents this abundance of information in a manner that is remarkable for its depth and clarity. The book contains an astute analysis of the psychology of the German soldier and charts the ways in which the attitudes of Hitler's men changed over the course of the war. It also considers the strengths and weaknesses of the German weapons systems, describes how Allied soldiers could make use of captured weapons, and offers advice on how Allied military personnel might avoid being captured themselves. Hundreds of tables, organizational charts, and illustrations, some in color, add further value to the book.

Omaha Beachhead (6 June-13 June 1944) - 209 pgs.

Omaha Beachhead was prepared in the field by the 2d Information and Historical Service, attached to First Army, and by the Historical Section, European Theater of Operations. Although as published this book contains no documentation, the original manuscript, fully documented, is on file in the War Department. It is based on complete unit reports and records, on interviews, and on available enemy records. Some unit records for the period concerned are inadequate, and despite all care used in research and assembly of the materials, it is recognized that the information is not complete in all details and may involve minor errors of fact. Before a final official history of the campaign in France is prepared, the gaps should be filled and the errors corrected. This can be done only if individuals who possess additional information will furnish it to the War Department. Readers are therefore urged to send directly to the Historical Division, War Department, Washington 25, D. C., all comments, criticisms, and additional data which may help in the preparation of a complete and definitive history of this operation.

Pictorial Record: The War Against Germany-Europe and Adjacent Areas - 453 pgs.

In the narrative volumes of the United States Army in World War II series, it is possible to include only a limited number of the thousands of pictures taken by photographers of the U.S. armed forces. The Pictorial Record, a subseries of three volumes, has therefore been compiled to show in greater detail the conditions under which the combat forces lived, the methods by which they were trained, the weapons they and their opponents used, the terrain over which they fought, and the support they received from the technical branches of the U. S. Army, the U. S. Army Air Forces, and the U.S. Navy. Two volumes of the subseries deal with the war against the European Axis and the third covers the war in the Pacific and in the China-Burma-India Theater.

Each volume is arranged in sections that follow the course of the war chronologically; the written text has been kept to a minimum, each section having a brief introduction recounting the major events covered therein. The three volumes together give a comprehensive pictorial survey of the U.S. Army's operations in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the Far East, and the Pacific.

Pictorial Record: The War Against Germany and Italy-Mediterranean and Adjacent Areas - 466 pgs.

In the narrative volumes of the United States Army in World War II series, it is possible to include only a limited number of the thousands of pictures taken by photographers of the U.S. armed forces. The Pictorial Record, a subseries of three volumes, has therefore been compiled to show in greater detail the conditions under which the combat forces lived, the methods by which they were trained, the weapons they and their opponents used, the terrain over which they fought, and the support they received from the technical branches of the U. S. Army, the U. S. Army Air Forces, and the U.S. Navy.

Two volumes of the subseries deal with the war against the European Axis and the third covers the war in the Pacific and in the China-Burma-India Theater. Each volume is arranged in sections that follow the course of the war chronologically; the written text has been kept to a minimum, each section having a brief introduction recounting the major events covered therein. The three volumes together give a comprehensive pictorial survey of the U.S. Army's operations in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the Far East, and the Pacific.

ST - LO (7 July- 19 July 1944) - 149 pgs.

Twelfth in the series of studies on particular combat operations, St-Lo is the story of a corps in the First Army during the bitter July battle that led up to and made possible the great breakthrough from the Normandy beachheads. This was the period of the most intense hedgerow fighting. XIX Corps' part in it has been chosen to illustrate this type of combat. The record of other First Army units in this operation have been covered only in outline.

The European Theater of Operations: The Last Offensive by Charles B. MacDonald - 546 pgs.

The Last Offensive chronicles the operations of all five U.S. armies from early 1945 to V-E Day. Special attention is given to Operation GRENADE and the sweep to the Rhine; the seizure of the Remagen bridge; the multiple crossings of the Rhine; and the employment of airborne troops in Operation VARSITY. The story ends with the drive to the Elbe and juncture with the Soviets and, in the south, with the occupation of Germany's Alpine Redoubt.

Utah Beach To Cherbourg (6 June-27 June 1944) - 261 pgs.

Utah Beach to Cherbourg, thirteenth in the series called AMERICAN FORCES IN ACTION , is the last of three narratives dealing with the U.S. military operations in Normandy. Intended as a companion volume to Omaha Beachhead, published in 1946, the present study rounds out the account of the landings at corps-level and below and relates the course of VII Corps combat operations which resulted in the capture of Cherbourg on 27 June 1944.

From the Introduction:

World War II was the largest and most violent armed conflict in the history of mankind. However, the half century that now separates us from that conflict has exacted its toll on our collective knowledge. While World War II continues to absorb the interest of military scholars and historians, as well as its veterans, a generation of Americans has grown to maturity largely unaware of the political, social, and military implications of a war that, more than any other, united us as a people with a common purpose. Highly relevant today, World War II has much to teach us, not only about the profession of arms, but also about military preparedness, global strategy, and combined operations in the coalition war against fascism.

During the next several years, the U.S. Army will participate in the nation's 50th anniversary commemoration of World War II. The commemoration will include the publication of various materials to help educate Americans about that war. The works produced will provide great opportunities to learn about and renew pride in an Army that fought so magnificently in what has been called "the mighty endeavor." World War II was waged on land, on sea, and in the air over several diverse theaters of operation for approximately six years.

The following essay is one of a series of campaign studies highlighting those struggles that, with their accompanying suggestions for further reading, are designed to introduce you to one of the Army's significant military feats from that war. This brochure was prepared in the U.S. Army Center of Military History by George L. MacGarrigle. I hope this absorbing account of that period will enhance your appreciation of American achievements during World War II.