David Kenyon Webster’s memoir is a clear-eyed, emotionally charged chronicle of youth, camaraderie, and the chaos of war. Relying on his own letters home and recollections he penned just after his discharge, Webster gives a first hand account of life in E Company, 101st Airborne Division, crafting a memoir that resonates with the immediacy of a gripping novel. From the beaches of Normandy to the blood-dimmed battlefields of Holland, here are acts of courage and cowardice, moments of irritating boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror, and pitched urban warfare. Offering a remarkable snapshot of what it was like to enter Germany in the last days of World War II, Webster presents a vivid, varied cast of young paratroopers from all walks of life, and unforgettable glimpses of enemy soldiers and hapless civilians caught up in the melee. Parachute Infantry is at once harsh and moving, boisterous and tragic, and stands today as an unsurpassed chronicle of war—how men fight it, survive it, and remember it.

“An excellent read for anyone interested in men at war, as well as for students of the airborne operations, the Italian Campaign, and the war in Europe” (The NYMAS Review). Upon the completion of the Sicily and Salerno Campaigns in 1943, the paratroopers of Col. Reuben Tucker’s 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment were among the first Allied troops to enter Naples—a ghost town at first sight. The residents soon expressed their joy at being liberated. Four weeks later, the 504th—upon the special request of Gen. Mark Clark—spearheaded Fifth Army’s drive through the notorious Volturno Valley—the Germans’ next stand. January 1944 seemed to promise a period of rest, but the landing at Anzio meant deployment for the paratroopers again, this time by ship. A bombing raid during their beach landing was a forecast of eight weeks of bitter fighting. Holding the right flank of the beachhead along the Mussolini Canal, the paratroopers earned their nickname “Devils in Baggy Pants” for their frontline incursions into enemy lines, as well as their stubborn defense of the Allied salient. In this work, H Company’s attachment to the British 5th Grenadier Guards—and the Victoria Cross action of Maj. William Sidney—are painted in comprehensive light for the first time. The story of honorary member of the 504th PIR, Italian veteran Antonio Taurelli, is also included. Using war diaries, personal journals, letters, and interviews with nearly eighty veterans, an up-close view of the 504th PIR in the Fifth Army’s Italy Campaign is here in unsurpassed detail. From the author of two previous works on the 504th PIR, The Battle of the Bridges and Blocking Kampfgruppe Peiper, this book shows that the Italian theater was second to none in terms of grueling combat, courage against formidable odds, and an extremely expert enemy.

The parachute infantry regiments were among the most highly decorated US Army units of World War II, and between them they saw action right across the world. The elite nature of these units led to them being committed to action not only in the way that had been intended; their quality tempted commanders to keep them in the line longer than their light armament justified, and they were tested to the limit. This engaging study traces the story of each of the 17 regiments, from their creation and training in the USA, through their deployments overseas, to their combat jumps and all their battles. The book is illustrated with wartime photographs, many previously unpublished, and eight full-colour plates detailing the specifics of their uniforms, insignia, and equipment practices, which often differed from unit to unit.

Part of the 82nd Airborne Division, the 507 Parachute Infantry Regiment was tasked with seizing bridges over the River Merderet on D Day.This large format colorfully illustrated new book gives a detailed history of 507 PIR for the first time. It draws particularly on the recollections of veterans of the regiment, together with many photographs published here for the first time. The 507 PIR's heroic engagements from Normandy, to the Ardennes and finally to the battle of the Ruhr Pocket are all covered in great detail.

The 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment was an airborne infantry regiment of the United States Army, first formed in October 1942 during World War II at Camp Blanding, Florida by Lieutenant-Colonel Roy E. Lindquist, who would remain its commander throughout the war. The 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment participated in Operation Overlord, jumping into Normandy at 2:15 a.m. on 6 June 1944, and was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation for its gallantry and combat action during the first three days of fighting. The Regiment also saw active service in Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands, jumping on 17 September 1944, and continued fighting the Germans in the longest-running battle on German soil ever fought by the U.S. Army, before crossing the border into Belgium. They played a major part in the Battle of the Bulge in late December 1944, during which they screened the withdrawal of some 20,000 troops from St. Vith, defended their positions against the German Panzer divisions, and participated in the assault led by the 2nd Ranger Battalion to capture (successfully) Hill 400. U.S. D-Day paratrooper William G. Lord II’s History of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which was originally published in 1948, provides an extensive and fascinating chronicle for the period from October 20, 1942 to January 1, 1946, and will appeal to discerning World War II historians and scholars alike. Richly illustrated throughout with photographs and maps, this volume also includes in its appendix a list of combat awards, unit citations, and battle casualties.

Emory Upton (1839–1881) was “the epitome of a professional soldier,” according to Stephen E. Ambrose. Indeed, his entire adult life was devoted to the single-minded pursuit of a military career. Upton was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Fifth United States Artillery on May 6, 1861, the day of his graduation from the United States Military Academy, and by age twenty-five he had risen to the rank of major general. He distinguished himself in battles at Spotsylvania, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, and Charlottesville, in Sheridan’s Shenandoah Valley campaign, and in Wilson’s celebrated cavalry raid through Alabama and Georgia at the end of the war. After the war, Upton traveled abroad as an observer for the army, an experience that resulted in his first book, The Armies of Asia and Europe. He also served as commandant of cadets at West Point and finally as commander of the Presidio in San Francisco. He was highly respected as a military tactician, and his Infantry Tactics became a widely used resource. Despite his successes, the ambitious Upton felt that his military talents were insufficiently recognized. His last book, The Military Policy of the United States, which advocated a number of sweeping changes in the organization of the American military system, went unpublished at his death by suicide in 1881. The book was finally published in 1904 at the urging of Elihu Root, Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary of war. First published in 1964, Ambrose’s thorough and well-researched study of Emory Upton’s career has proven to be an important addition to American military history as well as to the history of the Civil War.