A Footsoldier for Patton: The Story of a "Red Diamond" Infantryman with the U.S. Third Army

A Footsoldier for Patton: The Story of a "Red Diamond" Infantryman with the U.S. Third Army by Bilder, Michael. Hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781932033915.

A brutally honest depiction of day-to-day combat in World War II . . . A rarely frank account of the U.S. infantry experience in northern Europe, A Foot Soldier for Patton takes the reader from the beaches of Normandy through the giddy drive across France, to the brutal battles on the Westwall, in the Ardennes, and finally to the conquest of Germany itself. Pattons army is best known for dashing armored attacks, its commander combining the firepower of tanks with their historic lineage as cavalry. But when the Germans stood firm the greatest fighting was done by Pattons long undersung infantry—the foot sloggers who were called upon to reduce enemy strong points, and who took the brunt of German counterattacks. Michael Bilder, a member of the 5th Infantry ("Red Diamond” division), played a unique role in the Third Armys onslaught. A rifleman foremost, he was also a German-speaker, called upon for interrogations and special duties. Also a combat lifeguard, he played a key role in successive river crossings. An astute observer, he relates dozens of fascinating insights into the campaign, from dealing with German snipers to intoxicated Frenchwomen, as well as relaying the often morbid humor of combat. Laughter, for example, erupts among Bilders unit when a hated Graves Registration officer, known for robbing the pockets of the dead, gets his hand blown off by a German booby trap. When the 5th Infantry comes up against the fortress of Metz, the battle is detailed in all its horror, as is the sudden drive into the flank of the Bulge, where the Americans face their first winter battle against enemy veterans of Russia. Incidents common to the ordinary GI, but which seldom see the light of day in histories, are routinely related in this book, enriching the readers sense of the true reality of World War II combat. Table of Contents FOREWORD by Roland J. Gaul vii INTRODUCTION 1. PEACETIME INDUCTION Just a One-Year Hitch for Preparedness 2. BASIC TRAINING AND SOUTHERN MANEUVERS Learning How to Soldier 3. GOODBYE MARY, HELLO ICELAND Pawns in the Politics of War 4. THE “FBI” OCCUPIES THE ROCK The Fighting Bastards of Iceland Battle the Arctic Wasteland 5. UNDERPAID, UNDERSEXED, AND OVER THERE Training with Our Cousins Across the Pond 6. “LAFAYETTE, WE ARE HERE,” AGAIN! Bloody Combat in the Normandy Hedgerows 7. PATTON AND THE DASH ACROSS FRANCE Winning the War in Record Tme and Making It Look Easy 8. METZ THE MEAT GRINDER Paying the Price for Patton’s Folly 9. THE FORGOTTEN 5TH IN THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE Fighting and Freezing in Luxembourg 10. THE PUSH INTO GERMANY Breaching the West Wall and Wasting Time in the Ruhr 11. WAR’S END Adding Points and Avoiding Final Opportunities for Getting Killed EPILOGUE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS THE SECOND INFANTRY ROLL OF HONOR