No Victory in Valhalla

The untold story of Third Battalion 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment from Bastogne to Berchtesgaden

No Victory in Valhalla cover

No Victory in Valhalla

The untold story of Third Battalion 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment from Bastogne to Berchtesgaden

Description

The final volume of Gardner's critically acclaimed biography of the Third Battalion 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment – the sister company to the famed Band of Brothers – this book traces the battalion's actions in the frantic final days of the war in Europe.

Exhausted and battered following the disastrous Market-Garden campaign, the 506th were due three months of R&R, but were rushed back in to halt the desperate German attack during the Battle of the Bulge. When the offensive was finally halted after months of fighting the 506th pushed on into Germany where Ed Shames was the first Allied soldier to enter Dachau before the unit were sent to occupy Hitler's mountain retreat at Berchtesgarden.

Based on extensive interviews and first-hand accounts, this volume relives the struggles of the paratroopers of the renowned 'Screaming Eagles' in some of the toughest fighting of World War II, bringing the story of their defiant unit to its conclusion.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Ed Shames
Preface by George Koskimaki
Acknowledgments
Introduction by James “Pee Wee” Martin


1. “Johnny we hardly knew you”
Camp Châlons, Mourmelon-le-Grand – November 28–December 18, 1944

2. “Ghost front”
December 17–19, 1944

3. “Today is the only reality”
December 20, 1944

4. “Epitaph for a generation”
December 21–24, 1944

5. “The deep six”
The worst winter in 50 years

6. “Steel whirlwind”
Post-Christmas breakthrough

7. “Hell night”
Clearing the Fazone Woods – January 9, 1945

8. “Salute the new dawn”
The final attacks on Foy and Noville – January 13–17, 1945

9. “After the storm”
Alsace Lorraine and the Colmar Pocket – January 21–February 25, 1945

10. “Home alive in '45”
Return to Mourmelon – February 26–April 2, 1945

11. “Setting sons”
The Ruhr, western Germany – April 3–24, 1945

12. “Striking back”
The plight of the 3rd Battalion POWs – June 1944–May 1945

13. “Candle for the dead”
Southern Bavaria – April 28–May 3, 1945

14. “The roaring silence”
Berchtesgaden, Austria, and France – May 4–November 30, 1945

Epilogue
Bibliography
Glossary
Index

Product details

Published Oct 20 2014
Format Ebook (PDF)
Edition 1st
Extent 464
ISBN 9781472809223
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations 102 b/w
Series General Military
Short code GNM
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Ian Gardner

Ian Gardner served for five years in Support Compa…

Introduction

Ed Shames

Resources

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