Gratuit avec l'essai de 30 jours
-
Bracketing the Enemy: Forward Observers in World War II
- Narrateur(s): Bob Johnson
- Durée: 8 h et 3 min
Échec de l'ajout au panier.
Échec de l'ajout à la liste d'envies.
Échec de la suppression de la liste d’envies.
Échec du suivi du balado
Ne plus suivre le balado a échoué
Acheter pour 26,82 $
Aucun mode de paiement valide enregistré.
Nous sommes désolés. Nous ne pouvons vendre ce titre avec ce mode de paiement
Description
After the end of World War II, General George Patton declared that artillery had won the war. Yet howitzers did not achieve victory on their own. Crucial to the success of these big guns were forward observers, artillerymen on the front lines who directed the artillery fire. In Bracketing the Enemy, John R. Walker offers the first full-length history of forward observer teams during World War II. As early as the US Civil War, artillery fire could reach as far as two miles, but without an "FO" (forward observer) to report where the first shot had landed in relation to the target, and to direct subsequent fire by outlining or "bracketing" the targeted range, many of the advantages of longer-range fire were wasted. During World War II, FOs accompanied infantrymen on the front lines. Now, for the first time, gun crews could bring deadly accurate fire on enemy positions immediately as advancing riflemen encountered these enemy strongpoints. According to Walker, this transition from direct to indirect fire was one of the most important innovations to have occurred in ground combat in centuries.
Using the 37th Division in the Pacific Theater and the 87th in Europe as case studies, Walker presents a vivid picture of the dangers involved in FO duty and shows how vitally important forward observers were to the success of ground operations in a variety of scenarios.
Army Historical Foundation, Distinguished Writing Award. The book is published by University of Oklahoma Press.