The Fighting First: The Untold Story Of The Big Red One on D-Day

by Flint Whitlock

Overview

The Fighting First tells the untold story of the 1st Infantry Division's part in the D-Day invasion of France at Normandy. Using a variety of primary sources, official records, interviews, and unpublished memoirs by the veterans themselves, author Flint Whitlock has crafted a riveting, gut-wrenching, personal story of courage under fire. Operation Overlord - the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944 - was arguably the most important battle of World War II, and Omaha Beach was the hottest spot in the entire operation. Leading the amphibious assault on the "Easy Red" and "Fox Green" sectors of Omaha Beach was the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division - "The Big Red One" - a tough, swaggering outfit with a fine battle record. The saga of the Big Red One, however, did not end with the storming of the beachhead. The author concludes with an account of the 1st in their fight across France, Belgium, and into Germany itself, playing pivotal roles in the bloody battles for Aachen, the Huertgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. The Fighting First is an inspiring, graphic, and often heartbreaking story of young American soldiers performing their D-Day missions with spirit, humor, and determination.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786738687
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	04/29/2009
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	770,155
File size:	18 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Flint Whitlock, a former U.S. Army officer and Vietnam War veteran, is the award-winning author of a dozen books and scores of magazine articles, most dealing with World War II. He has also appeared on History Channel, Fox News's War Stories with Oliver North, in numerous documentaries, and has been the editor of WWII Quarterly magazine since 2010.

He lectures across the country and frequently leads battlefield tours for the Smithsonian Institution, National Geographic Society, Minnesota World War II History Roundtable, Colorado National Guard, and other groups. He and his clinical psychologist wife, Dr. Mary Ann Watson, have three grown children and divide their time between Denver and Vail, Colorado.

Editorial Reviews

Whitlock (Soldiers on Skis; The Rock of Anzio) has written the first oral history of the 1st Infantry Division of the U.S. Army (a.k.a. the Big Red One). His emphasis is on the division's preparation and actual landing on Normandy's Omaha Beach in 1944. The remainder of the text briefly sketches its work in the subsequent hedgerow wars through France and Germany, as well as the fighting in the Huertgen Forest and at the Battle of the Bulge. Of course, the late Stephen Ambrose set the style for this sort of oral history, and Whitlock follows suit. Whitlock himself writes well; one is able to sense the utter fear of men knowing they may be facing almost instant death-even when the men are battle-hardened veterans of the earlier Italian campaigns. Here is the real story of Private Ryan. Readers wishing more in the way of maps, photography, and pure history can consult Ian Westwell's 1st Infantry Division: Big Red One. Recommended for public libraries. [June 6, 2004, marks the 60th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.-Ed.]-Rich Nowicki, Emerson Vocational H.S. (ret.), Buffalo, NY Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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