In this Book
- The Making of a Paratrooper: Airborne Training and Combat in World War II
- Book
- 2015
- Published by: University Press of Kansas
- Series: Modern War Studies
summary
The memoir of paratrooper Kurt Gabel—a German Jew who emigrated to the US in 1938, joined the 513th Regiment of the 17th Airborne Division, and fought against his former countrymen in the Battle of the Bulge.
Gabel conveys with rare immediacy an in-depth look at the training of a paratrooper, the dangers of combat, and his transformation from romantic idealist to warrior. He vividly recounts the fire fights and such episodes as narrow escapes, separation from his battalion and his rescue by another, and the interrogation of prisoners. He tells the full story of his desperate hours on "Dead Man's Ridge" near Bastogne.
Gabel conveys with rare immediacy an in-depth look at the training of a paratrooper, the dangers of combat, and his transformation from romantic idealist to warrior. He vividly recounts the fire fights and such episodes as narrow escapes, separation from his battalion and his rescue by another, and the interrogation of prisoners. He tells the full story of his desperate hours on "Dead Man's Ridge" near Bastogne.
Table of Contents
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- Table of Contents
- pp. v-vi
- List of Illustrations and Maps
- pp. vii-viii
- Acknowledgments
- pp. xiii-xvi
- Introduction
- pp. xvii-xxii
- Part I. Training
- 1. Hollywood, 1943
- pp. 3-17
- 2. Initiation
- pp. 18-34
- 3. Fort Benning: The Frying Pan
- pp. 35-45
- 4. Parachute Basic Training I
- pp. 46-62
- 5. Parachute Basic Training II
- pp. 63-78
- 6. Jump Training: B Stage
- pp. 79-97
- 7. Jump Training: C Stage
- pp. 98-109
- 8. Jump Training: D Stage
- pp. 110-133
- 9. England
- pp. 134-150
- Part II. Combat
- 11. Mande St. Etienne (Bastogne)
- pp. 169-188
- 12. Bois de Fragette
- pp. 189-201
- 13. Toward the Our River
- pp. 202-218
- 14. To Niederwiltz, Luxembourg
- pp. 219-233
- 15. Niederwiltz
- pp. 234-247
- 16. Châlons-sur-Marne, February 1945
- pp. 248-253
- Appendix B: Some Costs of War
- pp. 274-276
Additional Information
ISBN
9780700621767
Related ISBN(s)
9780700621378
MARC Record
OCLC
557001068
Pages
304
Launched on MUSE
2016-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No