An inspiring account of the Fighting First, the Suffolk Regiment in the final stage of the war in Europe. This account is based on the words of those who were there in an infantry regiment that achieved its objectives, with 178 of the 850 landed on D-Day surviving – Very Highly Recommended
NAME: Fighting Through To Hitler’s Germany, Personal accounts of the Men of 1 Suffolk 1944-45 FILE: R3380 AUTHOR: Mark Forsdike PUBLISHER: Pen and Sword BINDING: hard back PRICE: £25.00 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: Second World War, WWII, World War II, World War 2, German Army, British Army, US Army, infantry regiments, fighting retreat, VE Day, soldiers experiences, Western Front, German homeland ISBN: 1-52677-286-8 PAGES: 294, 16 page photo-plate section with images in B&W with B&W maps through the body of the book IMAGE: B3380.jpg BUYNOW: tinyurl.com/yhov7vhj LINKS: DESCRIPTION: An inspiring account of the Fighting First, the Suffolk Regiment in the final stage of the war in Europe. This account is based on the words of those who were there in an infantry regiment that achieved its objectives, with 178 of the 850 landed on D-Day surviving – Very Highly Recommended
The author has provided a vivid account of the closing months of War in Europe through the words of a County Regiment. The British tradition is to maintain only a small standing army and to build that army, and expand it for war, by building up a family of regiments that enjoy a level of autonomy. A regiment may be granted ‘Royal’ for its exemplary service. As technology advances, new regiments are created and, periodically, new Corps, such as the Machine Gun Corps, but the backbone is composed of the County Regiments, raised within the County from volunteers who live in the County. The County infantry regiments have served through the wars that have broken out in the period from the Fifteenth Century. Often, these regiments were established by wealthy landowners, but continued to hold their links with the area of original recruitment.
The 1st Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment landed on D-Day and fought their way through France, Holland and into Germany. They fought on to the last day of War in Europe and they suffered heavy losses in achieving the objectives set them. They enjoyed first class officers and rapidly built a reputation for achieving their objectives with the minimum of fuss, their commanding officers going on to distinguished careers.
The author has written in an easy and enjoyable style, painting a vivid picture of the progress of the Suffolks in those final hard fought months of WWII in Europe. There are many maps and battle plans through the body of the book, further supported by a fine 16 page photo-plate section.