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Blood on the Shores

2,339 hits since 25 Aug 2021

Casemate Publishers writes:

Men of Armor is based on decades of research and hours of interviews with veterans of the 756th Tank Battalion, providing a vivid narrative that puts the reader in the turret of B Company's Shermans as they ride into battle.

Special Duties Pilot is John M. Billings' story of a remarkable lifetime of flying, both in peace and in war, piloting 39 secret missions behind enemy lines including the 'Real' Inglorious Bastards.

The Summer of '63: Vicksburg and Tullahoma is a compilation favorite stories from the public historians behind the popular Emerging Civil War blog, anthologized, revised, and updated, together with several original pieces and illustrations.

Also newly arrived is Casemate's Leadership in Action series that highlights the lives and careers of some of America's greatest military heroes, all the way from soldiers to generals. These are available in paperback.

Men of Armor – The History of B Company, 756th Tank Battalion in World War II

Part One: Beginnings, North Africa, and Italy
Jeff Danby

Vivid narrative that unfolds at the individual tanker's level, following key members of the unit through campaigns.

After the shocking fall of France in June 1940, the U.S. Army embarked on a crash program to establish a new armored force. One of the units formed was the 756th Tank Battalion (Light), activated at Fort Lewis in June 1941. Because of severe equipment shortages, the new battalion trained without tanks for several months, but by early 1942 were equipped with new M3 light tanks. While companies A and C took part in Operation Torch, B was withheld for lack of cargo space in the transport ships and rejoined the battalion two months later in North Africa. The units undertook reconnaissance missions following the landings in Salerno.

In December 1943, the battalion was ordered to upgrade to a medium tank (Sherman) unit. Given less than a month to reorganize and train in M4s, the battalion was sent into the Mignano Gap on January 11, 1944, and supported the 34th Infantry Division in the capture of Cervaro and Monte Trocchio. Later in January, B Company supported the troops of the 100th Battalion on bloody but ill-fated attempts to cross the Rapido River – finally, at the third attempt, the battalion established a secure bridgehead across the Rapido. During the next two days, the nearby town of Caira was also captured, opening a clear avenue for an attack on Cassino.

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Special Duties Pilot

The Man who Flew the Real 'Inglorious Bastards' Behind Enemy Lines
John M Billings

If there was ever a man who was born to fly, it is John M. Billings. He took his first plane ride in 1926, began taking piloting lessons in 1938, and joined the U.S. Army Air Force in July 1942. After training, he was assigned to fly Consolidated B-24 Liberator long-range bombers. He joined the 825th Bombardment Squadron of the 484th Bombardment Group. After flying fifteen daylight strategic bombing missions, Billings was selected for assignment to the 885th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) (Special).

The most eventful and dangerous of Billings’ 39 secret missions with the 885th was his assignment in February 1945 to clandestinely insert a three-man OSS team, code-named Greenup, into Austria. The drop zone selected for the Greenup insertion was located on a glacier in a valley surrounded by mountains in the middle of the snow-covered Alps. Billings and his crew finally found the weather in the Alps clear enough to spot the drop zone, slip their unwieldy B-24 between the mountain peaks and descend to an altitude just a few hundred feet above the moonlit snow. On Billings’ signal, the OSS agents parachuted right on target.

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The Summer of '63: Vicksburg and Tullahoma

Favorite Stories and Fresh Perspectives from the Historians at Emerging Civil War

The fall of Vicksburg in July 1863 fundamentally changed the strategic picture of the American Civil War, though its outcome had been anything but certain. Union general Ulysses S. Grant tried for months to capture the Confederate Mississippi River bastion, to no avail. A bold running of the river batteries, followed by a daring river crossing and audacious overland campaign, finally allowed Grant to pen the Southern army inside the entrenched city. The long and gritty siege that followed led to the fall of the city, the opening of the Mississippi to Union traffic, and a severance of the Confederacy in two.

The public historians writing for the popular Emerging Civil War blog, speaking on its podcast, or delivering talks at its annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge in Virginia, always present their work in ways that engage and animate audiences. Their efforts entertain, challenge and sometimes provoke readers with fresh perspectives and insights born from years of working at battlefields, guiding tours, presenting talks, and writing for the wider Civil War community.