[Homer_J_Simpson]

Selections from West Point Atlas for the Second World War
Southwest Russia, 1942: German Summer Offensive, Operations, 7 May-23 July 1942
North Africa, 1940: Rommel’s Second Offensive, 21 January-7 July 1942
India-Burma, 1942: Allied Lines of Communication, 1942-1943

[Homer_J_Simpson]

“THE MEN OF EASY COMPANY, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, U.S. Army, came from different backgrounds, different parts of the country. They were farmers and coal miners, mountain men and sons of the Deep South. Some were desperately poor, others from the middle class. One came from Harvard, one from Yale, a couple from UCLA. Only one was from the Old Army, only a few came from the National Guard or Reserves. They were citizen soldiers.”

Stephen E. Ambrose, “Band of Brothers”

That is how it starts: Camp Toccoa, Georgia in July 1942. And that is all the excerpt we will have for now. I know that certain historical purists shun the writings of Stephen Ambrose as of suspect origin. Those purists will have to avert their eyes from time to time because I am not going to leave “Band of Brothers” completely out of WWII + 70. For many of our younger readers the HBO series was their introduction to the war so including excerpts from the book and occasional references to the TV/DVD series will be good for circulation. The first part of the book covers a lot of ground, calendar wise. The first 42 pages cover the entire period from July 1942 through March 1944. The first of the five DVDs that make up the series goes all the way to June 6, 1944. So for the time being these excerpts and references will be infrequent – Homer.