Overview

The gripping story of the men of 3rd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, the comrades of the Band of Brothers, from their formation through the D-Day landings and beyond, in their own words. The exploits of the 3rd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment have long been overshadowed by those of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion. Yet the actions of the 3rd Battalion during the D-Day landings were every bit as incredible. This is the astounding story of how, after suffering many immediate casualties on landing, the surviving paratroopers fought on towards their objective against horrendous odds. Using fascinating first-hand accounts of the soldiers and the French civilians who witnessed the Normandy campaign, and illustrated with black and white photographs and maps throughout, the authors offer a unique and comprehensive account of the experiences of the 3rd Battalion from training through to D-Day and beyond.

Full Product Details

Author:   Ian Gardner ,  Roger Day
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Osprey Publishing
Dimensions:   Width: 12.90cm , Height: 2.40cm , Length: 19.80cm
Weight:   0.387kg
ISBN:  

9781849084369

ISBN 10:   184908436
Pages:   352
Publication Date:   10 September 2010
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Language:   English

Table of Contents

Foreword by Ed Shames, 3rd BN, 506th PIR Acknowledgments Introduction 1. “Hit it - 13 weeks of pain” - Creation of the 506th PIR 2. “Time, gentlemen, please” - The 506th at Ramsbury, UK 3. “Here’s to your dog tags” - Preparations for D-Day 4. “Jump into the fight” - Operation Overlord 5. “God, let me live til morning” - D-Night Part 1 6. “For Christ’s sake, let’s go” - D-Night Part 2 7. “A real feeling of victory” - D-Day: June 6, 1944 8. “No word from 3rd Battalion, 506th PIR” - D-Day + 1 9. “A pitiful sight” - D-Day + 2 10. “Don’t shoot, we’re Americans” - Regrouping and consolidation 11. “Still an American paratrooper” - POWs and counterattacks 12. “I ain’t dead yet” - The battle of Bloody Gully , June 13 1944 13. “Things are pretty calm right now” - Operations on the Main Line of Resistance 14. “Go on Yank, have a drink” - Return to Ramsbury Bibliography Index

Reviews

Featured in World War II Magazine and The Daily Mail. <br> British authors Ian Gardner and Roger Day have set out to tell the story of the 3rd Battalion of the famed 101st Airborne Division's 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The objective of the battalion was to capture and secure two wooden bridges built by the Germans over the Douve River east of Carentan, as access to what became known as Utah Beach. Despite the successful achievement of this important objective by the 3rd Battalion, accomplished with heavy losses, the authors found that little had been written about the battalion. In fact, they call the 3rd a forgotten battalion, as opposed to the 2nd Battalion of Band of Brothers fame. -James C Roberts, The Washington Times (June 2009) <br> The men of the Third Battalion fought the same tough war in Europe as their far famous Band of Brothers comrades of the E Company of the Second Battalion, but their stories were largely untold until Tonight We Die as Men. Thi

The two British authors take the reader back to Toccoa, Georgia, and the initial training received (some would say endured) by the men of the 506th PIR, commanded by Col. Robert F. Sink, then on to airborne training at Fort Benning and Camp Mackall. They also flesh out the personalities mentioned in the book so that by the time the regiment is in England and preparing for its baptism of fire in Normandy, the reader has developed a fondness for each trooper... It will be hard to find a better book about a single airborne battalion in World War II. -Mason Webb, World War II

Author Information

Ian Gardner served for five years in Support Company, 10th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment as a medic, before leaving the Territorial Army in 1993 due to a parachuting injury. Ian has always loved military history but it was several years after leaving 10 Para that his interest in WWII US Paratroopers really began. Inspired by a visit to Normandy in 2000 he decided to focus on the 101st Airborne Division and in particular the 3rd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. This book is his first historical work co-written with Roger Day. He is married, has two teenage children and lives near Aldershot in Hampshire. Roger Day's family have lived in and around the village of Ramsbury for generations. Roger spent his childhood and early adult years living in the village and during that time became very interested in the wartime history of the local area. His interest in wartime history resulted in the publication, in 1999, of his first book, before co-authoring this book with Ian Gardner.

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