Monday, June 8, 2009
Life of an American Soldier in Europe ( Book review )
This book is a book written from an American's point of view that talks about the triumphs and tragedies of war.
After being drafted for war, the American young men were to go to a training camp before being engaged in combat. The training was surprisingly tough for the Americans. For example, a soldier had to carry a rifle and a thirty pound pack and negotiate a 1500 foot obstacle course in three and a half minutes. The obstables contained of a eight foot wall, a flaming trench, a fence, etc.
After being trained, the soldiers are transported to a war zone, where they would be combating. During the D Day invasion, on Omaha Beach, soldiers without any combat experience were used in the invasion. The soldiers were naive and though they could wipe out the enemy and move on, but that was hardly the case. As the americans landed on the narrow beach, the Germans, used guns like 88s to pound them. The beach was a perfect killing ground. Out of the 30 soldiers in the platoon, only 1 was able to make it alive to the beach.
In the next chapter, the book gave examples of places in which battles have taken place and prevides a vivid description. The places are San Pietro and St. Lo in Italy and French respectively. After the battles, the places looked like ancient ruins. It was also described that the combat soldiers would blame the people back at home at the factories when their weapons failed or malfunctioned. When they hear that people at home were quitting their jobs to get higher pay, they were utterly disgusted and thought badly of them.
Chapter 4 describes how the terrain and the weather affects the advance of the soldiers and the conditions in which the combat soldiers are to live in. In the mountains, bombs exploding in the soil are extremely dangerous as thousands of tiny that the whites have. It also talks about the relation ship between the " whites " and the " blacks ". African-American nurses were prohibited from attending to injured white soldiers and were instead ordered to look after the injured Germans. But one " black " tank battalion, so excelled in training that General George S. Patton requested it for his dash across France. Slowly, since there was a shortage of manpower, the " blacks " slowly entered other areas previously closed to them. The attitudes of the " whites " towards the blacks started to change when they saw the African Americans perform in combat. Woman serving in the army also faced hostility from the male soldiers.
Next, the book talks about the importance of air superiority. By July 1939, radiomen had become so proficient that they could bring aircraft bombing to within 350 yards of their position. American aircrafts which spots German gatherings will inform the artillery units on the ground and the threat would be eliminated. It also goes on to explain how the Americans advanced towards the German border. It also explains how foxholes are made and the importance of the shelter it gives. The way artillery guns operate is special. They operate on a principle called " On Time, On Target " Every gun withing range of hitting the target would formulate their fire so that all shells hit the same target in a cataclysmic explosion. For example, if a commander has three targets and a hundred guns under his command, rather than split the guns up, he would train all hundred guns on the target with the top priority, then move on to the second target. The chapter also said that German tanks were superior to the American Sherman tanks and German tanks could only be destroyed when outnumbered or supported by artillery. Mail from home is a very common thing for front-line soldiers. There were also rest stations set up behind the front-lines so that soldiers can seek refuge there whenever conditions permit.
This chapter talks about Missions of Mercy. It talks about how enemy soldiers treat injured soldiers of the other country. Most of the time, soldiers do not kill injured/wounded soldiers of either side, but instead wait until the wounded are evacuated before they continue fighting. The Geneva Convention of 1929 is abided by most of the time. This chapter also gives examples when the Geneva Convention isn't abided by and wounded soldiers and medics were killed just for the fun of it. Different soldiers view medics differently. Some soldiers think that medics are cowards who does not dare to fight. But most of the soldiers view the medics as one of the most important soldiers. Medics sometimes have to run in crossfire to help the dying and wounded. That isn't at all pleasant because the medic may get her himself.
After Germany have fallen, the soldiers demanded to be sent home immediately. However, the war in the Pacific has yet to be over. Some soldiers have to be transported to the Pacific to help in the war. The soldiers would be chosen in a " lottery " system. The soldiers who are drafted for the war in the Pacific, felt their spirits drop as they had to fight another long and tiring war before going home. But, that was not to be. Even before the first wave of the soldiers had reached the Pacific, the Pacific war is already over, due to the detonation of the atom bombs.
The last chapter talks about the experiences of the war and how the war had affected the civilians who had been drafted for war. Most of the soldiers interviewed said that the experience would never be forgotten as the experience is too terrifying and severe to be forgotten easily. It is an experience that normal civilians cannot picture.
Reflections:
I hope that there will not be a need for another war . Wars=Bloodshed. War has already damaged many people and killed millions. War has much negative effects, be it to the family life or the experience who have scarred many for life. After reading this book, I can say that I have learnt much about the situations in war.
- 3:28 AM;