{"product_id":"82nd-airborne-stephen-smith-9781612005362","title":"82nd Airborne: Normandy 1944","description":"On August 15, 1942, the 82nd Airborne became the US Army's first airborne division. Commanded by Major General Matthew B. Ridgway, they trained exhaustively for their new role, which involved parachuting from C-47s and insertion by Waco CG-4A gliders. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn April 1943 the 82nd was shipped overseas to Casablanca, North Africa, and on July 9 made its first combat drop as part of Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. A second operation--night parachute drops onto the Salerno beachhead on September 13 and 14--provided more experience, and in December, the bulk of the division left for the United Kingdom and training for D-Day. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eReorganized with two new parachute infantry regiments, the 507th and the 508th, joining the 505th, the division dropped onto the Cotentin peninsula between Ste-M re- glise and Carentan on the night of June 5-6, in a mission codenamed Boston. Their glider-borne component, the 325th GIR, arrived the next day. Widely dispersed on landing, the division overcame its problems and strong German defenses to take the important town of Ste-M re- glise. Further intense action along the Merderet River ensured that the Utah beachhead wasn't compromised, and subsequently, the division fought on losing 5,245 troopers killed, wounded, or missing. When withdrawn after 33 days of action, the division could be satisfied it had performed heroically and helped establish the Allied forces' foothold in France. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe Past \u0026amp; Present Series reconstructs historical battles by using photography, juxtaposing modern views with those of the past together with concise explanatory text. It shows how much infrastructure has remained and how much such as outfits, uniforms, and ephemera has changed, providing a coherent link between now and then.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Stephen Smith, Simon Forty\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1612005365\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781612005362\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Casemate\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/11\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 64\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.40lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.70h x 7.20w x 0.10d","brand":"Stephen Smith","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43984603775231,"sku":"9781612005362","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_f34a5f0b-5c7a-4745-bd9b-bc43c547021f.jpg?v=1683273213","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/82nd-airborne-stephen-smith-9781612005362","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}