The Ranger Force: Darby's Rangers in World War II

by Robert W. Black

Book Overview

One of the most famous units of World War II and all of military history. First Americans to see active combat in the European theater. Expands on events described in Rick Atkinson's An Army at Dawn and The Day of Battle.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0811705218
• ISBN13: 9780811705219
• Release Date: August 2009
• Publisher: Stackpole Books
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Proud granddaughter of WWII POW-MIA Ranger

What a wonderful book! My grandfather was captured a prisoner of the Germans in Anzio. I sat down with him and read through the Anzio chapter. He was amazed at the detail accounted for in this book. After years of hearing his stories, this book provided a clearer picture of the surroundings and events that made up such a huge part of his life. My grandparents went out and purchased this book after they saw how great it was. A must-have for anyone connected to a WWII Ranger!

Required reading for any Ranger.

My Uncle, John Elias Anderson of Monson, Massachusetts, was a member of 3rd Ranger Battalion. He volunteered, and trained in England, then fought in the invasion of Northern African, South Sicily, and North Sicily, where he was badly wounded. He later spent over a year in the hospital, most of which in a full body cast. I was dissappointed when I didn't find my Uncle's name among those that Colonel Black listed. I will speak for him now as a first hand witness to his words, and my Uncle's words can be counted as gospel. In his account, his unit of Rangers trained together, but were later separated out for use as Forward Observers for the tank divisions. He was rescued from the battlefield by Jehova's Witnesses, who carried the dead and wounded from the field while wearing red robes and possessing no protection other than their own faith. My Uncle had the deepest respect for their heroism. I myself was a Supply Sergeant for Headquarters and Bravo Companies at 3rd Ranger Battalion at Fort Benning from 1990-1993. I worked in the position as an E-4 Specialist and Corporal. I was proud to have graduated from the Ranger Indoctrination Program and to stand among my fellow Rangers wearing the Black Beret. To my great dissappointment I was never allowed to attend Ranger School because of my position. Nowadays I write as well, and I often capture my Army experiences in my fantasy works. My great Uncle, is himself a character in my second novel, "The Drums of Doom." He is "Sir John Anderson of Monson, Knight of Renown." Every Ranger from their dawning days in the Revolutionary War, until the present should be honored as the Knights of America, for that is what they are. Colonel Black, I salute you! Sincerely, Erik D.J. O'Brien, Author of "Kur's Rage," and "The Drums of Doom." Kur's Rage: Part One of the Duaredheim Staff Saga

Superb account

This is an excellent account of the history of the US Army Rangers in WWII. The entire history of the Ranger organization and all the key battles are covered in great detail. I was particularly intrigued that most of the early rangers were in their mid 20s, compared to the 19 year olds who are common in the modern organization. The anecdotes are very moving. One can feel the bleak, almost hopeless despair of the brutal slogging match in Italy in 1943 and early 1944, and the heartwrenching loss at Cisterna. Equally powerful is the elation and pride one feels when reading about the heroic rescue of POWs from Cabanatuan by the 6th Rangers in early 1945. For more on that "Great Raid" see the superb Ghost Soliers.

The history is all here!

An excellent comprehensive account of all six Ranger Battalions. A highlight for Ranger relatives in Black's book is the composite listing of all Ranger's names under their designated Battalion.

The single best exposition on the topic......

Writing of a purely American unit, whose combat experiences have been forged in three and a half centuries of fighting, Robert Black traces the history of the United States Army Rangers in World War II from their conception in Northern Ireland, to their last battle in the South Pacific. Unlike the modern day soldiers who bear the same name, the Rangers of World War II were not airborne commandos; rather, these men were highly motivated, all-volunteer soldiers comprised of mostly mechanized soldiers of varying duty assignments from Patton's First Armored Division. Despite their military lineage, these soldiers served as specialized infantry soldiers with the utmost gallantry, earning their baptism under fire at Dieppe and continuing to spearhead most of the American led assaults throughout the remainder of the war. Black's style is frank and straightforward and one can quickly appreciate the candor with which he relates the story. As Black puts it, the book is "an account of men immersed in the outrage of war . . . there is comradeship, jealousy, compassion, and ruthlessness." (p. x) Black's own experiences as a Ranger in Korea with the 8th Airborne Ranger Company contributed to his successful revelation of this spirit and, at times, the book reads like a personal account rather than the well researched composition that it is. The book begins with the activation of the 1st Ranger Battalion on 19 June 1942. Black explains the unit's composition in detail, listing the "charter" members by name, position, and weapon system. (p. 19) Black then details the training that the unit undertook in the Scottish highlands. The forced marches and physical tests that the volunteers had to endure were laborious and grueling. (Even worse were the English rations that the Rangers were forced to consume while in Scotland.) At the first sign of fatigue or weakness, a volunteer was released from the battalion and returned to his original unit. Though exact numbers were not offered, the battalion's attrition rate was deplorable, but those who did make it were fit to call "Rangers." The 1st Ranger Battalion received the dubious honor of participating in America's first assault on European soil. During the Dieppe Raid, a detachment of fifty Rangers fought alongside British Commandos. It was during this assault that the first American ground soldier killed a Nazi. Corporal Franklin Koons took out a German machine gunner and was decorated by both the U.S. and the British military for this distinction. (p. 39) On the bloody beaches of Dieppe, ironically amidst a military debacle, the U.S. Army Ranger legend began and the valiance with which he fought was echoed in both the U.S. papers and across the services of every nation. Due to their superior training, ability to overcome improbable odds, and fighting spirit, the Rangers would go on to spearhead nearly every American led assault throughout the rest of the war-both