Patton's Pawns: The 94th US Infantry Division at the Siegfried Line

by Tony Le Tissier

Book Overview

The 94th US Infantry Division was an organization formed late in the Second World War, made up largely of draft-deferred university students as enlisted men and an officer corps pulled together from... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0817315578
• ISBN13: 9780817315573
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: University Alabama Press
• Length: 362 Pages
• Weight: 1.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

The Advance of the 94th Division to the Rhine

I always considered Tony Le Tissier a Berlin specialist. When it was discovered he wrote a book on the newly formed US 94th ID, under General Malony, fighting in the southwest corner of Germany, was I surprised and also delighted. His books on Berlin, Halbe, the Oder have been favorites of mine. The author introduces the 94th, telling their brief history and how they started their tour in Brittany, France as a blocking formation against the ports still held by the Germans. It wasn't long before Patton moved them to the Moselle-Saar triangle to relieve 90th ID. The rest of the book describes the battle action this outfit had as it fought its way from the Moselle at Orscholz Switch to the muliple crossings of the Saar River and then to the Rhine. The timeframe for this coverage is mid January to the first week of March 1945. Patton was unduly pressing the 94th ID and the 8th AD to be the first to cross the Rhine. He wanted to beat Patch's 7th Army and Montgomery's 2nd Army over the Rhine. Hodges 1st Army just beat him with a little luck at Remagen. Some of the engagements the 94th had include: Tettinger-Butzdorf, Nennig, Sinz, Orscholz, Schloss Bubingen, Campholz Woods, Trier, Ayl Crossing, Ockfen, Serrig, Dreikopf Hill among others. The author gives a daily account of the action this division was in; much of it was in company or battalion size fights. A lot of it occurred at the multiple bridgeheads over the Saar. If you have read "Zhukov at the Oder", you will be familiar with the author's style. There is good tactical description of the engagements along with a scattering of person observations and anecdotal experiences. There are 26 maps that will help you follow the action. The maps are pretty good but I had to use a magnifying glass to study them. There are also a small group of photos. There is an Appendix, an extensive Notes section, a Bibliography and a Index. I really enjoyed this book; there is a lot of action in an area that wasn't well known to me. The book is definitely worth a read.

Accurate

Briefly, my father was in the 94th. He lived what was written. He read the book, and was pleased with its contents. Enough said.

In-depth historical chronicle

Retired British lieutenant colonel Tony Le Tissier presents Patton's Pawns: The 94th US Infantry Division at the Siegfried Line, a close-up examination of an infantry division created late in World War II, primarily of draft-deferred university students and officer corps assembled from various domestic postings. Chapters recount how the division was incorporated into General Patton's Third Army south of the Moselle-Saar Triangle, its first combat experience during the Battle of the Bulge which entailed heavy casualties from the fierce winter weather as well as the fighting, and its application in an all-out assault to break through the Siegfried Line against entrenched defenders. A handful of black-and-white photographs and maps, as well as notes, a bibliography, and an index round out this in-depth historical chronicle of this outnumbered division and the tremendous sacrifice it paid. Highly recommended.