A vivid account of the wartime actions of L Company, 15th Infantry Regiment, Third Infantry Division, from their landing in South France through to attacking the German LXXXV Armeekorps headquarters in the small town of Allan.
An excellent popular history… a sprightly and evocative tribute to the troops of Operation Dragoon (Publishers Weekly). This is a rarely detailed, you are there account of World War II combat, describing a brief but bloody tank/infantry action in August 1944. Based on six years of research - drawing from interviews, primary documents, and visits to the battlefield - The Day of the Panzer transports the reader into the ranks of L Company, 15th Regiment, Third Infantry Division, and its supporting M4s of the 756th Tank Battalion as they grapple head-on with the Wehrmacht. On August 15, 1944, L Company hit the beaches in southern France, joined by the tank crews of 2nd Lt. Andrew Orient’s 3rd Platoon, all veterans of Cassino. Despite logistical problems, the Third Division forged north through the Rhone River valley, L Company and its supporting tanks leading the regimental charge - until they faced a savage counterattack by the Germans and a rampaging Panther tank… In this book, the minute-by-minute confusion, thrill, and desperation of WWII combat is placed under a microscope, as if the readers themselves were participants.
AUTHOR: Jeff Danby was born in 1963 in Pontiac, Michigan. As the son of a high school history teacher, Jeff grew up in a house full of books - which he read voraciously. He went on to get a B.A. Degree in History (with Honors) from DePaul University with a focus in 20th-century America. Jeff currently lives in Ohio. He is an active member of the 756th Tank Battalion Association and maintains the organisation’s website. He also maintains memberships in the Society of Third Infantry Division, and the 15th Infantry Regiment Association. 14 maps and 8 illustrations