Preface
In World War II historians in uniform followed the U.S. Army’s combat forces in almost all theaters of operations, their primary duty to interview battle participants in order to enrich and complete the record of the war. Added to the organizational records of the Army units, the combat interviews obtained by these historians produced an unprecedented amount of source material. Rich in detail of small units in action, it provided an opportunity to show what actually happened in battle.
The volumes of UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II dealing with the war in the Pacific are rich in such detail. In those dealing with the war in the European and Mediterranean theaters, the scale of treatment is such that the history can rarely follow the action of small units. One of the objects of this volume is to achieve a microscopic view of battle in those theaters by focusing on the battalions, companies, platoons, and squads that fought in the front lines.
The AMERICAN FORCES IN ACTION* series has already presented fourteen volumes which are primarily small unit actions, but these are concerned almost exclusively with infantry in battle. Another object of this volume is to present actions in which the role of other arms and services can also be presented, providing a better picture of the interrelation of small parts on the battlefield, in as great a variety of tactical situations as possible.
The choice of actions to be included was limited by the kind of source material available for the specific purposes of the volume. Although interviews and unit records are present in abundance, only in a few instances can the small unit level be sustained through an entire operation or to a natural conclusion.
In many respects the actions chosen are representative of scores of battles in their respective theaters, for all three are made up of failures as well as successes. Out of a combination of actions such as these, large-scale victories or defeats are compounded. Squads, platoons, companies, battalions, and even regiments and divisions,
* Published by the Historical Division, War Department Special Staff.
experience local reverses as well as successes to decide the over-all course of war.
Each of the three studies presents an operation that constitutes but one of many in which the units and individuals described took part. Their performance in other engagements may have been more brilliant. It should be kept in mind that one action seldom is the basis for a military reputation. Further, a number of factors that often vitally influence a battle action—some of them unrecognized even by the participants—inevitably remain a mystery. The availability of materials and the type of objectives dictated the choice of actions to be recorded, not the individuals or the units. Their assistance in producing information and criticizing the manuscript is indicative of a loyal desire that others profit from their experiences.
While the authors are aware of the vital contributions supply and administrative units perform in the long-range scale of victory, their story lies in the administrative and logistical histories and in the volumes of the technical services of the series, UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II. Likewise, the story of command decision in higher headquarters lies in the campaign volumes. One of the actions, “River Crossing at Arnaville,” has already been described at a higher level in Hugh M. Cole, The Lorraine Campaign;* the two others, “Break-through at Monte Altuzzo” and “Objective: Schmidt,” will appear in higher-level accounts, minus the detail of these presentations, in subsequent volumes of UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II.
Both “Objective: Schmidt” and “River Crossing at Arnaville” were written primarily from combat interviews and unit records prepared by persons other than their author. “Break-through at Monte Altuzzo” was written by the historian who obtained the interviews and who made a number of trips to retrace the battle on the ground with surviving participants. Responsibility for editing the Altuzzo study to meet the requirements of this volume, for planning the volume, and for selection of studies to be included was mine.
In preparing this volume, Dr. Mathews and I were assisted immeasurably by the expert professional guidance of the members of the Office of the Chief of Military History. We wish particularly to recognize the contributions of Mr. Joseph R. Friedman, for his highly professional services as editor of the volume; of Mr. Wsevolod
* Published by the Historical Division, Special Staff, U.S. Army.
Aglaimoff, for his maps and for his counsel, based not only on his knowledge of military cartography and European terrain but also on his experience in battle; of Miss Margaret E. Tackley, for her exhaustive research in selection of photographs; of 1st Lt. George L. Frenkel and Mr. Britt Bailey, for considerable assistance with German materials; of Mrs. Pauline Dodd, for her invaluable work as copy editor; and of the following, both in and out of the Office of the Chief of Military History, who did so much to make this volume the cooperative enterprise that it is: Miss Norma E. Faust, Dr. Alfred Goldberg, Lt. Col. John C. Hatlem, Mr. David Jaffe, Mrs. Lois Riley, Mr. Royce L. Thompson, Mr. Ralph H. Vogel, Lt. Col. Charles A. Warner, and Miss Lucy E. Weidman. Additional credits to the officers and men who produced the source materials are to be found in the footnotes and bibliographical notes.