Dogface Soldiers U.S. Infantry Riflemen and the War against Hitler’s Wehrmacht in the Mediterranean and Northwestern Europe By Marco Büchl 2016 Translation: Schnellübersetzer GmbH (J. Buschman) Originaltitel: Dogface Soldiers. Die Frontsoldaten der US-Infanterie und der Krieg gegen Hitlers Wehrmacht im Mittelmeerraum und in Nordwesteuropa. Von Marco Büchl. Erschienen im Böhlau Verlag ISBN 978-3-205-20217-2 Published with support from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF): PUB 320-G28 Open access: Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 1 Table of Contents Preface ....................................................................................................................... 5 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 9 2 The American Way of War: socio-cultural and mass psychological dualisms between the U.S. and its military forces.................................................................... 24 2.1 Regulars – citizen soldiers .............................................................................. 25 2.2 Conscription – volunteer service ..................................................................... 28 2.3 Mobility – power .............................................................................................. 30 3 Between the wars: demobilization, isolationism and reactions to the crisis in Europe ................................................................................................................................. 32 4 From defensive to offensive planning .................................................................... 38 4.1 Political will: Franklin Delano Roosevelt .......................................................... 38 4.2 Grand design: George Catlett Marshall ........................................................... 41 4.3 Strategic conception: Albert Wedemeyer ........................................................ 46 4.4 Victory Program .............................................................................................. 48 5 The right way, the wrong way, the Army way ........................................................ 55 5.1 The draft .......................................................................................................... 56 5.2 Mobilization of the Army of the United States within the framework of the Mobilization Training Program .............................................................................. 59 Induction ............................................................................................................ 60 Reporting for duty .............................................................................................. 61 Training ............................................................................................................. 63 Field maneuvers ................................................................................................ 67 5.3 Army of the United States: vintage 1941/42 .................................................... 70 Demography of the Army of the United States .................................................. 71 The Great Depression ....................................................................................... 73 2 Chickenshit ........................................................................................................ 76 5.4 Overseas deployment ..................................................................................... 79 6 Digression: African Americans in the Army of the United States ........................... 82 6.1 Case study: Black Buffaloes – 92nd Infantry Division ...................................... 86 6.2 Case study: manpower crisis 1944/45 ............................................................ 88 7 The American occupation of Great Britain ............................................................. 93 7.1 Planning … ..................................................................................................... 95 7.2 Realities ........................................................................................................ 100 8 Dogface soldiers .................................................................................................. 113 8.1 On the front lines ........................................................................................... 114 8.2 Critical factor: topography ............................................................................. 122 8.3 Catalyst: Bill Mauldin ..................................................................................... 124 Life ................................................................................................................... 125 Cartooning ....................................................................................................... 132 8.4 Journalistic connectionrelay: Stars and Stripes ............................................. 138 8.5 Origin ............................................................................................................ 141 9 Up Front … with Mauldin ..................................................................................... 145 9.1 Sicily: Bloody Ridge (October 17, 1943) ....................................................... 149 9.2 5-in-1s (December 11, 1943) ........................................................................ 162 9.3 An excuse for cowardice (January 19, 1944) ................................................ 171 9.4 Cold injury, ground type (March 2, 1944) ...................................................... 182 9.5 Lili Marleen … (March 31, 1944) ................................................................... 189 9.6 Italy: SHINGLE – a stranded whale (June 5, 1944) ...................................... 198 9.7 A door that opens only one way (July 15, 1944) ........................................... 212 9.8 The shorn women (summer 1944) ................................................................ 223 9.9 Northern France: a quartermaster’s purgatory (September 15, 1944) .......... 234 9.10 The brass .................................................................................................... 263 Inspirin’ (December 5, 1944) ........................................................................... 265 3 Beautiful View (September 25, 1944) .............................................................. 271 Changes (November 23, 1944) ....................................................................... 275 10 The greatest generation? ................................................................................... 281 List of abbreviations ................................................................................................ 284 Bibliography ............................................................................................................ 287 Sources ............................................................................................................... 287 Country Guides ................................................................................................... 287 Operational documents ....................................................................................... 288 Literature ............................................................................................................. 289 United States Army Command and General Staff College .............................. 289 United States Army Center of Military History ................................................. 290 Monographies ..................................................................................................... 293 Periodicals .......................................................................................................... 298 Audio sources ..................................................................................................... 311 Films ................................................................................................................... 312 4 Preface It is my belief that the history of the dogface soldiers, most often blended nebulously within the pop history of the much-admired Greatest Generation, forms one of the American nation’s most significant instruments of cohesion. In addition, it is a key element in the popular origin myth of the American Century. Finally, it also forms the basis of a momentous and serious misjudgment in the critical reception and political analysis of that period, namely that the conduct of wars on the (infantry) battlefield can be bearable for those who are actually involved in it. Even if, as is increasingly maintained, the American Century is nearing its end, the role of the United States in international cooperation and international conflicts will remain highly significant in the foreseeable future and cannot be ignored by serious observers. American history thus needs to be included on the reading lists of all those who see themselves as observers, analysts, commentators and critics of international relations and of the position of the United States in such relations. This publication will try to contribute to that aim. A simple reckoning of the availability of, and demand for, a wide range and great number of infotainment and media products on the American market, whether in written text or in audio