eCopyright

First published in Great Britain in 2017 by Osprey Publishing,

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This electronic edition published in 2017 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

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PB ISBN: 978 1 4728 1693 1

ePDF ISBN: 978 1 4728 1694 8

eBook ISBN: 978 1 4728 1695 5

XML ISBN: 978 1 4728 2280 2

AUTHOR’S NOTE

For brevity, the traditional conventions have been used when referring to units. In the case of US units, 2/39th Infantry refers to the 2nd Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment. The US Army traditionally uses Arabic numerals for divisions and smaller independent formations (9th Division, 743rd Tank Battalion), Roman numerals for corps (VII Corps), spelled-out numbers for field armies (First US Army). In the case of German units, 2./GR 919 refers to the 2nd Company, Grenadier-Regiment 919; II./GR 919 indicates the 2nd Battalion of Grenadier-Regiment 919. German corps were designated with Roman numerals such as LXXXIV Armee Korps, but the alternate version 84 AK is used here for clarity. Field armies were designated in the fashion 7. Armee, but sometimes abbreviated in the fashion AOK 7; the former style is used here.

Unless otherwise noted, all photographs in this book are from official US sources including the National Archives and Records Administration, US Army Military History Institute, Library of Congress, and US Army Patton Museum. The author would like to thank Kevin Hymel for his kind help on this book.

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GLOSSARY

AOK Armeeoberkommando: army high command, common abbreviation for a German field army

AR Artillerie-Regiment

FJR Fallschirmjäger-Regiment: paratrooper regiment

GFM Generalfeldmarschall: field marshal

GMC Gun Motor Carriage, often a tank destroyer

GR Grenadier-Regiment

MHI Military History Institute, Army Historical Education Center, Carlisle Barracks, PA

NARA National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD

OB West Oberbefehlshaber West: High Command West (Kluge’s HQ)

PaK Panzerabwehr Kanone: anti-tank gun

SHAEF Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (Eisenhower’s HQ)

tonne Metric ton (2,205 pounds)