DEATH AND VALOR ON TARAWA EXCLUSIVE! MY PANZERS BROKE THE FRENCH LINE UNDERCOVER CODE BREAKERS IN DAYTON, OHIO Major General Truscott in Italy, wearing 3rd Infantry Division insignia. “ Wars aren’t SECRETS OF A GREAT won by gentlemen. LEADER They’re won by FIRST-CLASSmen who can be SONSOFBITCHES when they want to be.” —LUCIAN K. TRUSCOTT JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016 HISTORYNET.COM An Exclusive National WWII Museum Tour Led by Author & Historian Donald L. Miller May 6 – 12, 2016 Experience England through the Airfields, Towns, and Hangouts of America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany. “First class exexperienceperience ooff a lilifetimefetime ffromrom start ttoo ““ThisThis was a susuperbperb tour tthathat pprovidedrovided increincredibledible fifinish.nish. The extras arranged by Donald MilleMillerr opportunities not available in any other fformat.ormat. Every mamadede tthehe tour very speciaspecial.”l.” event and location was ffascinating.”ascinating.” - John and Janet, Bluffton, South CarolCarolinaina -Mary, AtAtherton,herton, CCAA CALL 877-813-3329 x 257 OR VISIT WW2MUSEUMTOURS.ORG TO LEARN MORE. NEW from Da Capo Press “Anyone who enjoyed Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken will love this work of history * that reads like a thriller.” “In engrossing and well-researched prose, Harding tells the story of Tony Marchione, a youngster who was determined to fi ght for his country, only to die after peace had supposedly come. A fi ve-star military read.” Y Washington Times “Harding has woven together letters, interviews with family and friends, and both Japanese and American military records to provide an intense, quietly moving, and, of course, sad chronicle of a young life cut short.” Y Booklist “[A] meticulously researched account of the days following Japan’s surrender.... For more, visit [Harding] relates his gripping account StephenHardingBooks.com of the fi ght between Japanese and American forces in breathless detail.... Impressive and inspiring.” Y Publishers Weekly A Member of the Perseus Books Group DaCapoPress.com * Andrew Roberts, author of The Storm of War CONTENTS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016 Endorsed by The National World War II Museum, Inc. FEATURES COVER STORY PORTFOLIO WEAPONS MANUAL 30 Soldier’s Soldier 48 Honor’s Cruel Price 60 Fiery Fist Tough-as-leather general Lucian Defying Hitler, a band of German Germany’s Panzerfaust put K. Truscott Jr. spawned fear and students resisted—and died for it tank-killing power at the disposal admiration CARLO D’ESTE of a single soldier JIM LAURIER 54 Storm Over the Meuse 40 Death and Valor In a top German general’s freshly 62 On Duty in Dayton on Tarawa translated memoir, the inside To crack German codes the Allies Marine Sandy Bonnyman died story of invading France gets an relied on an Ohio-born electonics intense retelling HERMANN BALCK a hero but had to wait decades wizard RONALD H. BAILEY to come home DAVID SEARS Aiming for an enemy pillbox, a Marine on Tarawa prepares to throw a hand grenade. NATIONAL ARCHIVES; COVER, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 2 WORLD WAR II DEPARTMENTS 10 World War II Today 25 Fire for Effect 74 Battle Films Japan okays foreign deployments; In evaluating armies, don’t ask Indigènes: France’s war against its rumors draw Nazi gold hunters; “Best?” or “Worst?”—ask “Why?” colonial soldiers MARK GRIMSLEY Carlo D’Este’s Reading List ROBERT M. CITINO IN EVERY ISSUE 20 Conversation 26 Time Travel 8 Mail A Jersey boy had a ringside seat Selective memory in Rothenburg 79 Challenge for the war’s last large-scale naval JAMES ULLRICH battle MICHAEL DOLAN 80 Pinup 69 Reviews 23 From the Footlocker Forgotten black soldiers brought Visit us at WorldWarII.com Curators at The National to light; India at War; digital World War II magazine World War II Museum solve dogfights await with Flying Tigers @WWIImag readers’ artifact mysteries computer game JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016 3 Michael A. Reinstein CHAIRMAN & PUBLISHER Dionisio Lucchesi PRESIDENT William Koneval ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER David Steinhafel ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Roger L. Vance EDITOR IN CHIEF Vol. 30, No. 5 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016 EDITOR KAREN JENSEN Cynthia Currie ART DIRECTOR Michael Dolan SENIOR EDITOR Guy Aceto PHOTO EDITOR Bridgett Henwood ASSOCIATE EDITOR WWII Online NEWS EDITOR Paul Wiseman Jon Guttman, Jerry Morelock HISTORIANS Visit us at WorldWarII.com David Zabecki CHIEF MILITARY HISTORIAN A Will to Win ADVISORY BOARD The audacious Major General Ernest Ed Drea, David Glantz, Jeffery Grey, John McManus, Williamson Murray, Dennis Showalter, Keith Huxen N. Harmon commanded the U.S. DIGITAL Army’s 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions. Michael Clifford DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY From the archives, by Carlo D’Este Josh Sciortino ASSOCIATE EDITOR Bridgett Henwood WEB EDITOR Dayton’s Secret: Photo Exclusive More images of industry and covert CORPORATE Stephen Kamifuji CREATIVE DIRECTOR action in America’s heartland. Karen G. Johnson BUSINESS DIRECTOR Rob Wilkins DIRECTOR OF PARTNERSHIP MARKETING Michael Zatulov FINANCE ADVERTISING Barbara Justice SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER/ADVERTISING SERVICES [email protected] Richard E. Vincent NATIONAL SALES MANAGER [email protected] Kim Goddard NATIONAL SALES MANAGER [email protected] Rick Gower GEORGIA [email protected] Terry Jenkins TENN., KY., MISS., ALA., FLA., MASS. [email protected] DIRECT RESPONSE ADVERTISING Russell Johns Associates 800-649-9800 [email protected] ©2016 HISTORYNET, LLC Let’s connect Subscription Information 800-435-0715 or WorldWarII.com Yearly subscriptions in U.S.: $39.95 World War II magazine List Rental Inquiries: Belkys Reyes, Lake Group Media, Inc. 914-925-2406; [email protected] World War II (ISSN 0898-4204) is published bimonthly by HistoryNet, LLC. 1600 Tysons Blvd, Tysons, VA 22102-4883, 703-771-9400 Follow us Periodical postage paid at Leesburg, VA, and additional mailing offices. @WWIImag POSTMASTER, send address changes to World War II P.O. Box 422224 Palm Coast, FL 32142-2224 Canada Publications Mail Agreement No. 41342519 Canadian GST No. 821371408RT0001 The contents of this magazine may not be reproduced Go digital in whole or in part without the written consent of HistoryNet LLC. World War II is available through iTunes and Zinio PROUDLY MADE IN THE USA TOP, NATIONAL ARCHIVES; NCR ARCHIVE AT DAYTON HISTORY 4 WORLD WAR II scenes of HISTORY,, signed BY HEROES Babe Heffron Visit our site to learn about each print signer! OF Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge reunite at the American IN THE COMPANY HEROES cemetery in Luxembourg. Here, they feel a presence amidst the cold. Something tells them they are not alone and this silent reunion is not the last. This powerful Matt Hall print starts at $95 mention WORLD WAR II Order at: when ordering for a bonus gift! www.ValorStudios.com 570-435-4523 (M-F, 10-5 MST) ! NEW DEFENDERS OF BASTOGNE A SNEAK PREVIEW... THE GUARDIAN Dec. 27, 1944: P-47s blast The 101st fights off a Franz Stigler escorts over Bastogne as Patton’s German assault during the B-17 “Ye Olde Pub” 3rd Army streams in. the morning of Dec. 24. during the Dec. 20 “A Higher Call” encounter. This Nick Trudgian print Visit our website to view starts at $195 signed by the full Jim Dietz painting This Nicolas Trudgian four Bulge veterans! & signed print! print starts at $95! Contributors BAILEY BALCK D’ESTE PHIL WARD SEARS ULLRICH Ronald H. Bailey (“Secret Doings in Symposium, held annually at Norwich Dayton”), who has written many books University. His most recent books are and articles about World War II, grew up Patton: A Genius For War; Eisenhower: A in Franklin, Ohio, a small town about 20 Soldier’s Life; and Warlord: A Life of Win- miles south of Dayton and its top-secret ston Churchill at War, 1874–1945. In 2011 World code-breaking project. Bailey was aston- he received the Pritzker Military Museum ished to learn that a technician suspected & Library Literature Award for Lifetime War II of enemy spy activities lived less than a Achievement in Military Writing. mile from his childhood home. Fiction David Sears (“Death and Valor on Hermann Balck (“Storm Across the Tarawa”) is a New Jersey-based historian Meuse”) wrote the memoir from which and author who writes frequently for this article is excerpted, Ordnung im World War II and other HistoryNet Chaos (“Order in Chaos”), in 1981; the publications. His most recent World German general died in 1982. The first War II feature was September/October Wherever English-language edition of his work was 2015’s “White-knuckle Countdown to published in 2015, translated by David Peace.” David has also written frequently books T. Zabecki and Dieter J. Biedekarken. about efforts to find, document, and Zabecki, World War II magazine’s chief return the remains of fallen U.S. airmen, military historian, holds a PhD in mili- soldiers, and sailors from battlegrounds are sold tary history from Britain’s Royal Military across the globe. College of Science. Biedekarken was born and educated in Germany and, after James Ullrich (“Time Travel”) is a coming to the United States as a graduate freelance travel writer, tour guide, and exchange student, became an American author. His work has been published citizen and a U.S. Army officer. in the New York Examiner, Aviation Facebook.com/ History, Renaissance, and Military, Carlo D’Este (“No Fear”) is a former among others. In addition to writing, army officer who has written seven books James teaches seminars on traveling raidingforces of military history and biography. He is in Europe independently on a budget; the cofounder and executive director of information on his lessons is at his the William E. Colby Military Writers’ website, jamesullrichbooks.com. BALCK: BUNDESARCHIV BILD 101I-732-0118-03 PHOTO BAUER 6 WORLD WAR II S FREE on ordersHIPPING over $150 ! Actual Size 30.61 mm 90% Pure Silver Before they were carved in stone, they were struck in SILVER.