Draftee Division: The 88th Infantry Division in World War II

By John Sloan Brown

Book Overview

Of the ninety divisions with which the United States Army fought World War II, the all-draftee 88th Infantry Division -- the Blue Devil Division -- was the forty-ninth activated. Activation to embarkation for combat duty in Europe took the Blue Devils only sixteen months, a record in 1943 that was virtually unmatched in World War II.The draftee division's readiness was not proven by speed of training, however, it was proven in combat. At 2300 hours (11:00 PM), 11 May 1944, the Blue Devils, along with fifteen other Allied divisions, hurled themselves against the Nazis' vaunted Gustav line. On 4 June, elements of the 88th were the first of the Allied forces to enter Rome.Once again, the American citizen-soldier had shown himself to be more than a match in combat for his enemies.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813115817
• ISBN13: 9780813115818
• Release Date: January 1986
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Kentucky
• Length: 225 Pages
• Weight: 1.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.0" x 1.0" x 6.5"