Fire Mission!: The Siege at Mortain, Normandy, August 1944 [Paperback]

Robert Weiss (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2002

In August 1944, some 650 men of an understrength infantry battalion from the 30th Infantry Division fought for survival on a hill near Mortain in Normandy as the Germans launched their largest counterattack in France in World War II. For most of six days and nights, the Americans were cut off from supply lines without adequate food, water, medical supplies, or ammunition.

The decisive artillery defense, much of which was launched by forward observer Robert Weiss, has been credited with making the difference in this pivotal battle of the Normandy invasion. With only one radio, powered by dying batteries, Weiss and his team brought down a rain of brutal iron that time after time turned back the German offensive.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"What a hell of an experience! What a wonderful piece of writing!" -- from a letter to the author from Stephen E. Ambrose

From the Publisher

Moments of courage and despair, heroism and terror merge with thoughtful contemplation and historical perspective as artillery fire missions repeatedly repel attack after attack, immersing the reader in the realism of on-the-ground warfare.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Burd Street Press; 2 Revised edition (July 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572493135
• ISBN-13: 978-1572493131
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,396,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fire Mission!, June 12, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Fire Mission!: The Siege at Mortain, Normandy, August 1944 (Paperback)

Fire Mission! recalls the harrowing experiences of a 20-year old second lieutenant and his artillery unit during the critical Battle of Mortain in August 1944. This is a sober first hand account of how intelligence, bravery and sheer luck can combine to tilt the outcome of battles.

If the reader scans only the prologue and the first chapter, Fire Mission! might be dismissed as a self-congratulatory memoir written by an aging WWII veteran. Skip these pages. The meat of the book begins on page four. Weiss chronicles in unsentimental terms the role he played as a forward observer on behalf of the 30th Infantry Division. What unfolds is part historiography and part psycho-drama.

I read the book cover to cover in one sitting. It's a gripping story.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fire Mission! An Absorbing Tale, September 11, 2003

By 

John Fitchen (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire Mission!: The Siege at Mortain, Normandy, August 1944 (Paperback)

I am a longtime World War Two buff. I had always thought of artillery as sedentary, marginally responsive, and relatively ineffective. Robert Weiss's book changed all that. His description of the August 1944 Battle of Mortain is a compelling story of the value of artillery precisely guided. At Mortain, artillery was the deciding factor in the conflict. The narrative is written in a wonderfully clean and straight-forward style, with interludes of deeply pondered introspection about the blood and guts of combat and the vagaries of war. This is an absorbing book for anyone interested in World War Two, in warfare in general, or in the human spirit.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Author Shows the Importance of Artillery Support in Keeping Hill 314, August 25, 2009

By 

Dave Schranck "Dave" (Anaheim Ca) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Fire Mission!: The Siege at Mortain, Normandy, August 1944 (Paperback)

This story is the memoirs of Lt Robert Weiss, a 20 year old who had been in Normandy a month, when he was deployed on top on Hill 314 on Aug 5th as a Artillery Forward Observer for the 230th FAB. He was deployed with Easy Company of the 2nd Battalion, 120th IR of 30th ID just hours before the Germans began their offensive toward Mortain and Avranches 20 miles to the west. The main theme of the story will be the discharge of his duty as the leader of his observation crew in keeping the critical Hill 314 in American hands for the next six days.
The author does a good job in describing the terrain in his jurisdiction, his job as observer and the dedication and bravery of him and the men near him in keeping the enemy from taking that hill, southeast of the small town of Mortain. The Germans had quickly broken through the front lines and bypassed the hill in their attempt to reach the important city of Avranches, with the intent of isolating 3rd Army from 1st Army. The hill became isolated and the defenders were unable to be resupplied. For most of those 6 days, those soldiers were out of food, water, medical supplies and bazooka shells and were running out of M1 shells when the Germans started to retreat. After bypassing the hill to head west, the late arriving Germans concentrated on taking the hill for it was key in holding the area west of town. Using artillery, mortar and tank, the Germans blasted that hill for most of those six days and the author does a good job of describing the hardship experienced on that hill as well as the job Mr Weiss performed as forward observer.
This story is just a microcosm of the entire German offensive, just the sliver of the battle that involved Easy Company and the support that the 230th FAB had in helping the infantry hold that hill. I would like to suggest that you'll need to supplement your reading with Mark Reardon's "Victory at Mortain" for a more complete picture of the whole campaign.