I have always been interested in the books of the Second World War, which tell the true story of so many of our military exploits in this war. I think this book by Alex Kershaw is better than any book I read on this subject. He knows how to write about his subject, using words and phrases that make the reader fully understand what they are reading, and discovers that the story is getting better. The European zone, in which our gallant military fought, contains a huge amount of information told in a great way. Felix Sparks was born and raised in Miami, Arizona, in an area where the devastating effects of the Great Depression and the rest of the nation suffered. Felix was hunting, running for traps and getting food as best he could. When he did not hunt, he studied. His military training began in the program of military training of citizens, where he learned to march and train in a very high thermal environment. He wanted to go to college, and he loved the military - everything that was military. He ventured to leave the area and found that he was asked by an army recruiter if he wanted to join the army. He decided “why not” and joined, a decision that made his life forever.
Felix Sparks, now married to a child, was preparing to drive on the transport, which turned out to be prepared in Europe, as well as possible for waging war. While on the ship, General George Patton announced that from now on they would be part of the 7th Army of the United States, and they were going ashore to attack Sicily, Italy, on small ships. None of the men knew what they were for. The sparks were part of the Thunderbird National Guard, all green recruits. The book describes some of the generals related to army and planning duties, Patton, Marshall, Eisenhower, Mark Clark and others, and how they made their battle plans, some with some and no arguments. Sparks at that time had no idea that he would advance in the ranks in order to eventually become a general, and this was far from his mind at that time. He just wanted to defeat the Germans and Italians. The many battles that he and his group had fierce, brutal and cruel, killing and wounding many people. Their drives would advance one day and lose ground the next time. The Germans were tough, while the Italians were not since they were not sure whether they would remain in this war or not. The Thunderbirds, along with the rest of the groups, climbed up the boot of Italy towards Rome. The Germans fought back on every inch of land in Italy, both sides killed and wounded thousands of people along the way. New recruits continued to raise the pipeline, adjusting to the war, as they never thought.
The description of the battles goes beyond imagination. Men dig a small hole, if no one is available, they will jump into any hole large enough to cover as many of them as possible. The sounds of the shells, coming both from the enemy and from their own parts, as they floated over their heads or landed very close to them, were such caustic and nervous jitters and terrific experiences. So that one person would exchange a notebook in one minute and kill the next one, it is not clear to those who have never fought. Sometimes friendly fire didn’t fit the sign and hit our own people. When they tried to move forward, they had to carry such huge heavy packs on their backs, in which they had equipment for survival, as well as ammunition, grenades, shovels, supplies packed in their hands, including good old spam, which was a real military ration. When they had the opportunity to rest, they went to a nearby town and, if possible, relaxed with wine, women and a song. They danced, they had sex, even though they were all warned in advance about the disease, which was so common in the whole region, because women were lonely with most of their soldiers in the war, and the demands were German the soldiers did from women
Sometimes men found excellent cache of wine, and they really liked it. But many of the heavy losses of people from so many battles were so intense that it was difficult to think it over and keep going. Blood flowing from wounded and / or killed people on both sides was everywhere. Some rivers and canals flowed in red. When people walked through the cities that they returned from the Germans, the citizens erupted in scandals of gratitude and food and drink coming out of the basements and caves. During this time, Sparks led his troops, taking part in battles. His people loved him because he cared for them and was there with them as much as possible. As they advanced through Italy and into France and Germany, they arrived at one of the Dachau concentration camps, where they discovered the most disturbing sights they had seen during the whole war. A description of bodies that had just been thrown on top of other bodies, ovens that still contained some of them that were burned, piles of clothes that prisoners had to destroy, and much more that makes the reader gasp. One of the last battles of this group was a march to Hitler’s own squad, but by the time they got there, Hitler had committed suicide.
I know that this review is long, but writing less does not give the reader a real idea that everything is contained in this super-book. You should read this. You will get the idea that the infantryman passed during World War II. The way those who lived through it lived was beyond my imagination. Praise these people for their help in giving us the freedoms that we take for granted. Believe me, they are not free.
