From the acclaimed author of The Dead and Those About to Die comes a sweeping narrative of six decades of combat, and an eye-opening account of the evolution of the American infantry. From the beaches of Normandy and the South Pacific Islands to the deserts of the Middle East, the American soldier has been the most indispensable-and most overlooked-factor in wartime victory. In Grunts, renowned historian John C. McManus examines ten critical battles-from...

"In December 1944, when the Germans launched their last-ditch offensive now known as the Battle of the Bulge, they badly needed to capture the Belgian city of Bastogne as a communications center, supply depot, and springboard for their drive to Antwerp. The city's defense by the 101st Airborne is often cited as the battle's most desperate and dramatic episode, but these heroics never could have happened if not for the unsung efforts of a ragtag, battered...

This insightful chronicle takes readers inside the experiences of Americaś fighter pilots and bomber crews, an incredible assortment of men who, in nearly four years of warfare all over the globe, suffered over 120,000 casualties with over 40,000 killed. Their stories span the earth into every corner of the combat theaters in both Europe and the Pacific. And the aircraft explored are as varied, tough, and legendary as the men who flew them℗Ưf́rom...

"From the liberation of the Philippines to the Japanese surrender, the final volume of John C. McManus's trilogy on the US Army in the Pacific War"--

"Provides accounts from veterans of nearly every division (armor, infantry, airborne, marine) that saw combat in World War II. These soldiers carried out the same dirty, monotonous, dangerous job day after day and did it successfully. Not only did they do it in radically different circumstances against different enemies, but they themselves often came from completely different regional or ethnic backgrounds."