In telling the story of the U.S. Army’s 1st Division—”The Big Red One”—in World War II, Gregory Fontenot includes stories of individual Soldiers from high-ranking officers to enlisted men fresh off the streets of Brooklyn, both during and after the conflict. With an emphasis on D-Day in 1944, Fontenot shows how the division adapted to dynamic battlefield conditions throughout the course of its deployment during World War II by innovating and altering behavior, including tactics, techniques, and procedures.

 

Gregory Fontenot, a retired U.S. Army colonel, was lead author of “On Point: The United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom.” He is also author of “The 1st Infantry Division and the U.S. Army Transformed: Road to Victory in Desert Storm, 1970–1991,” winner of the 2017 Army Historical Foundation award for Unit History.

 

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