No Victory in Valhalla: The untold story of Third Battalion 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment from Bastogne to Berchtesgaden

No Victory in Valhalla: The untold story of Third Battalion 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment from Bastogne to Berchtesgaden

No Victory in Valhalla: The untold story of Third Battalion 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment from Bastogne to Berchtesgaden

No Victory in Valhalla: The untold story of Third Battalion 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment from Bastogne to Berchtesgaden

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Overview

In late November 1944, after 71 days on the line in Holland, the 506th PIR was withdrawn having suffered heavy losses during Operation Market Garden, and each paratrooper was looking forward to three months rest, recuperation, and restructuring. However, this was not to be. On December 16, 1944, the Germans launched a huge offensive. The Battle of the Bulge had begun and the 101st Airborne were deployed to halt the German onslaught in the most incredible chapter of their wartime experiences. Bitter fighting in dreadful conditions saw the Third Battalion 506th PIR reduced to the size of a company before its eventual relief on January 17. The division as a whole was awarded a Unit Citation for its heroic defense of Bastogne – a first in the history of the US armed forces. With little time to recuperate, the battalion then fought on across Europe, taking part in the reduction of the Colmar Pocket, the Ruhr Pocket, and assisted in the liberation of several concentration camps in Germany. The Third Battalion finished the war occupying Hitler's mountain retreat of Berchtesgaden, held on readiness for deployment to the Pacific until Hiroshima and Nagasaki precipitated the Japanese surrender. Based on extensive interviews and first-hand accounts, and with the support of Ed Shames and other veterans, No Victory in Valhalla is the final dramatic part of the combat story of the Third Battalion 506th PIR. Using the words of “Screaming Eagles” themselves, it gives the reader a frank portrayal of the realities of the toughest fighting of World War II.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781472809230
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date: 10/20/2014
Series: General Military
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 384
Sales rank: 179,846
File size: 26 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

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 injury. Always enthusiastic about military history, several years after leaving 10 Para Ian became interested in World War II US Paratroopers. After 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, which led to the critically acclaimed Tonight We Die As Men, co-written with Roger Day. This, his second historical work, continues their story.

Col. Ed Shames is a 'Band of Brothers' veteran. He received a battlefield commission into E ('Easy') Company of the 506th PIR on 13 June 1944 in Carentan, France. He survived the war before eventually retiring as a Colonel. He is an active member of veterans' societies.
Ian Gardner served for five years in Support Company, 10th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment. Always enthusiastic about military history, several years after leaving 10 Para Ian became interested in World War II US Paratroopers. After a visit to Normandy in 2000 he decided to focus on the 3rd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which led to the critically acclaimed trilogy Tonight We Die As Men, Deliver Us From Darkness and No Victory in Valhalla. He is also the author of Airborne: The Combat Biography of Ed Shames of Easy Company. He is married with two grown-up children and lives near Aldershot in Hampshire.

Table of Contents

Foreword Ed Shames 9

Preface George Koskimaki 10

Acknowledgments 12

Introduction James "Pee Wee" Martin 16

1 "Johnny, we hardly knew you" 19

Camp Chalons, Mourmelon-le-Grand - November 28 - December 18, 1944

2 "Ghost front" 38

December 17-19, 1944

3 "Today is the only reality" 81

December 20, 1944

4 "Epitaph for a generation" 105

December 21-24, 1944

5 "The deep six" 130

The worst winter in 50 years

6 "Steel whirlwind" 152

Post-Christmas breakthrough

7 "Hell night" 171

Clearing the Fazone Woods - January 9, 1945

8 "Salute the new dawn" 190

The final attacks on Foy and Noville - January 13-17, 1945

9 "After the storm" 217

Alsace Lorraine and the Colmar Pocket - January 21- February 25, 1945

10 "Home alive in '45" 232

Return to Mourmelon - February 26-April 2, 1945

11 "Setting sons" 243

The Ruhr, western Germany - April 3-24, 1945

12 "Striking back" 250

The plight of the 3rd Battalion POWs - June 1944-May 1945

13 "Candle for the dead" 272

Southern Bavaria - April 28-May 3, 1945

14 "The roaring silence" 290

Berchtesgaden, Austria, and France - May 4-November 30, 1945

Epilogue 338

Bibliography 341

Glossary 343

Index 344

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