The Road to Cisterna
Darby’s Rangers and Their Most Consequential Battle in World War II
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
The Road to Cisterna
Darby’s Rangers and Their Most Consequential Battle in World War II
About this book
The Road to Cisterna is the story of Darby's Rangers, an elite American army unit in World War II, selected for toughness and specially trained in beach landings and lightning raids deep behind enemy lines. Commanded by Colonel William Orlando Darby, the 1st Ranger Battalion spearheaded landings in North Africa and helped defeat German general Erwin Rommel—the Desert Fox—in Tunisia. Its success inspired the creation of two more battalions led by Darby in the invasions of Sicily and the Italian mainland. The Rangers' record of victories ended in central Italy at the Battle of Cisterna, where a force of almost sixty thousand Germans wiped them out. The German forces captured all but a few of the survivors, but many Rangers made daring escapes from prisoner-of-war camps. Of the Rangers who fought that battle, forty-six tell their stories in this book.
David Lyle Williams spent over two decades collecting the memories of Darby Rangers, enabling him to compile an unprecedentedly thorough history of the unit. Unlike previous accounts, more than 160 Rangers speak here in their own words and voices, giving an intimate picture of their combat experiences, enabling the reader to know them as individuals.
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Foreword
- Preface
- Military Rank Abbreviations
- 1 News Filters Back
- 2 Formation and Training
- 3 Dieppe: Code Name Jubilee
- 4 North Africa: Algeria
- 5 Tunisia: Sened Station and Kasserine Pass
- 6 The Battle of Djebel el Ank
- 7 The Battle of El Guettar
- 8 Sicily
- 9 Italy: Salerno to Naples
- 10 Venafro
- 11 San Pietro
- 12 Anzio Invasion
- 13 The Battle for Cisterna di Littoria
- 14 After the Battle: Survivors and Casualties
- 15 The March in Rome: A War Crime
- 16 After the March: Prison and Escape
- Epilogue: Rangers Come Home
- Afterword and Acknowledgments
- Appendix: The Calendar and the Clock
- Glossary
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
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