The Clay Pigeons of St. Lô [Paperback]

Glover S. Johns Jr. (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0811726045 | ISBN-13: 978-0811726047 | Publication Date: March 1, 2002

Originally published in 1958 and now available for the first time in paperback, this classic of modern military history tells the exciting true story of the fall of St. L", the first major objective of the invading American armies in Normandy in June of 1944. Although St. L" was intended to be taken within days of the landing, stubborn German resistance postponed the town's fall until July 18. The author describes the bloody action that took place in the thirty days in between as he led his battalion dubbed "The Indestructible Clay Pigeons" through the daunting combat.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Col. Glover S. Johns, Jr., was a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, Class of 1931. In 1943, while serving as Military Attach‚ in Costa Rica, he applied for an assignment in the European theater, where he served with the 29th Infantry Division. Johns was awarded a Silver Star and Bronze Star Medals, each with Oak Leaf Cluster, as well as the Purple Heart. Joseph Balkoski is a historian specializing in the history of D-Day and the Normandy campaign during World War II. He is the author of Beyond the Beachhead: The 29th Infantry Division in Normandy (0811726827).

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811726045
• ISBN-13: 978-0811726047
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,122,325 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #85 in Books > History > Asia > Laos

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Infantry battalion faces Hitler's elite in drive on St Lo., January 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Clay Pigeons of St. Lo (Paperback)

This is truly an outstanding book on infantry action in WW2. The book focuses on the month long drive to take the town of StLo in the opening round of the Normandy campaign.

Specifically it focuses on a battalion of the 115th Inf, 29th Div that Major Johns takes over in June '44. The action is very fast paced, Johns is a good story teller and reveals his relationships with both his superiors and subordinates in great detail.

The book is more than just a "leadership textbook" however, the war's human toll is shown as well. The action takes place in hedgerow country, where tanks, artillery and airpower have limited effect, the adverseries are mostly from Hitler's elite Falschirmjager, so it is a tough fight the whole way. During the battles,Johns loses the bulk of his staff, and I think all his original line company commanders, wounded or KIA. This is infantry warfare before BC's hovered above the battlefield like immune gods in Hueys and staff and support were miles away. Major Johns faces all the same hardships as his men. I hope they reprint this book, mine is getting pretty dog-eared.

On another note, Colonel Glover S. Johns is highly praised by David Hackworth in his excellent work, "About Face". He was Hackworth's commander in 1961 and led the 1/18th Inf task force into Berlin (under JFK's personal orders) when the cold war was at its hottest, and was featured in an issue of Life magazine that year.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Biased, and Proud, October 10, 2000

By 

Lee Johns (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Clay Pigeons of St. Lo (Paperback)

My mother, Mrs. Glover S. Johns, Jr., who recently celebrated her 84th birthday, called me today to advise that a friend had just stopped by her home in Austin, TX. with word of this site and the fine reviews of "The Clay Pigeons of St.Lo", written by my father Colonel Glover S. Johns, Jr. We would like to thank those of you who have treasured this book - a labor of love, pride, dedication and, at times, agony - as much as we have. I want to take this opportunity to salute and thank all those who served with my father and those have shown support for my mother since the Colonel's death in 1976. My father lived "The Clay Pigeons of St.Lo" and gave the book what he gave battle and his men: his very best. It is, indeed, a timeless and monumental work - monumental in its testimonials, monumental in its anonymity, and monumental in its unheralded magnitude. Lee Johns, son of Colonel G.S. Johns, Jr. - one of America's finest Fighting Sons.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Unique World War II Memoir, February 17, 2001

By 

Grant Waara (Lusk, Wyoming, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Clay Pigeons of St. Lo (Paperback)

This memoir is unlike any other memoir of World War II that I have ever read. Johns relates the stress, the worry, the fear, the exhaustion, the humor and the camaraderie with the ease of a seasoned storyteller. For the unseasoned reader, Johns's device of telling his story in the third person will take some getting use to, but that's done after only a few pages. More telling was Johns' own reasons for using third person, "people who fight wars up close to the enemy are not the same while they are fighting as they were before and after...His (Johns) life during that time always seemed that of another person." After that, "Clay Pigeons" is a fast read. Sadly, Bantam books never reprinted this now forgotten classic. Let's hope someone will do such a service and bring this book back. It demands a reprint.