Foot Soldier: A Combat Infantryman's War In Europe [Paperback]

Roscoe C. Blunt Jr. (Author), Roscoe C. Blunt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 24, 2001

Through the prism of ultimate victory, the greatest generation that fought World War II has been seen as triumphant. But the brutal reality of the war as endured by combat infantrymen has remained little documented. In Foot Soldier, Roscoe C. Blunt provides an all-too-rare glimpse into the experience of fighting at the Allied front. Nineteen-year-old "Rockie" arrived on the continent in November 1944, when burnt-out U.S. vehicles still littered the beaches. His 84th Infantry Division fought at the Roer, through the Battle of the Bulge, and at the crossing of the Rhine all the way to the Elbe; he was briefly taken prisoner by an SS Panzer unit. Drawing upon his numerous letters home and the journals he scrawled in foxholes and tents, he has given us one of the most detailed, immediate accounts of the Second World War ever written, a memoir sure to take its place among the classics of war literature.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

What was daily life like for a lowly infantryman during the last year of World War II in the European theater? Foot Soldier, Roscoe C. Blunt's memoir, tells us with unadorned candor. "Rockie" Blunt, a front line soldier with the 84th Infantry Division, fought in the Roer and the Battle of the Bulge. He suffered frostbite, severe trauma, killed many enemy soldiers, and was, briefly, taken prisoner. Blunt concentrates on the quotidian: digging foxholes in frozen earth, sleeplessness, meager meals, shelterless winter bivouacs, and exhausting marches. By the war's end, Blunt is less disturbed by the sight of battlefield dead than he is elated by the discovery of fresh-baked baguettes. Foot Soldier, self-effacing and infused with a healthy skepticism about "the brass," is a rough-edged marriage of Studs Terkel's Working and Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage. --H. O'Billovitch

From Publishers Weekly

"I am not a backslapping, let's belly up to the bar and relive the war type," writes Blunt, who became an award-winning New England crime journalist after earning the Bronze Star and other commendations for his infantry serviceAand it shows. There are many WWII officers' memoirs, some from infantrymen, crowding the shelves, but this disturbing and immediately gripping book may be unique among them. In September of 1944, Blunt, nearly 30, was sent with the 84th ("Railsplitter") infantry division down through Scotland, England and France to the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium. While the typical blow-by-blow descriptions of combat and ruminations on the horrors of war are all here, Blunt's unsparing, matter-of-fact recordings of German and U.S. atrocities (including executions of prisoners on both sides) and his equally unsparing reportage of his reactions to it (obsessive plundering of corpses for "souvenirs," torturing enemy prisoners under his guard, a one-man game of soccer with the head of a dead SS officer), all with only selectively engaged self-reflection, make this a truly chilling account. We don't, however, doubt Blunt's credibility or sense of justice for a minute, particularly given his repeated heroism and vivid accounts of the sub-zero cold (and the persistent trench foot that results) and his participation in a concentration camp liberation. The book, written just after the war, ends abruptly with Blunt's tour, and our relief nearly matches his. (Dec.) Forecast: The book testifies to eye-for-an-eye atrocities in war. For some, Blunt's acts of brutality and plunder will seem justified given what he witnesses and endures. For others, it will show U.S. claims of moral superiority during the war have been greatly exaggerated. Blunt is in his mid-80s; don't be surprised if he is sought out by cable talk shows, especially given the attention the book will garner as a Military Book Club main selection.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; Third printing edition (December 24, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306810905
• ISBN-13: 978-0306810909
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #691,781 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars 84th Railsplitter's view of Foot Soldier by Blunt, April 12, 2006

By 

Douglas J. Harvey (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Foot Soldier: A Combat Infantryman's War In Europe (Paperback)

To list all the statements in Roscoe Blunt's book "Foot Soldier" that are factually incorrect would take more space
than a review should use. I will cover only one action, the Roer River crossing. I made this crossing with the first assault in a boat at 0330 23 February 1944. I was a member of the 1st Battalion Headquarters Company Antitank Platoon 334th Regiment 84th Division. For the Roer crossing I was part of a bazooka team attached to Rifle Company C. This operation is accurately portrayed in the 334th Regimental History "Fortune Favored the Brave", Mannheimer Grossdruckerei, August 1945. My name PFC Douglas J Harvey on page 136 establishes that I was in this attack. The Divisional History "The 84th Infantry Division in The Battle Of Germany" states Blunt's Regiment, the 333, crossed the Roer River on the 24th on the well-established bridgehead. His account indicates tanks were crossing at the same time. The first tanks crossed noon of the 24th establishing that he was not in the first wave. Only two air attacks by individual aircraft, ME 262s, one of which was shot down, are mentioned in the 84th divisional history. However, artillery hits were frequent. Blunt's stories of throwing grenades, being strafed by waves of planes, and hand to hand fighting after crossing on the foot bridge are pure fantasy. This all supposedly took place 36 hours after the initial attack of which I was a part. I had difficulty in reading all of Blunts book because of my frequent anger by his distortion of facts. No star was not an option or I would have used it.

Douglas J Harvey
PFC 1st Battalion Headquarters Company Antitank Platoon 334th Regiment 84th Infantry Division

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars reading roscoe blunt is like reading about a gadfly, April 10, 2004

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Foot Soldier: A Combat Infantryman's War In Europe (Paperback)

here is an infantryman using a 1 1/2 ton truck supposedly to carry various types of 57mm shells and other ordinance, he, to carry loot that he shows like a kid finding a prize in a crackerjack box. and his the youngest soldier to win the sharpshooters badge?c'mon roscoe, where and when, that was a stateside award in about your 4th week of basic.have you heard from any railsplitters lately,? i have., l, like you, a former gun corporal 335th reg't 3rd battalion anti tank platoon. what did i bring home? the honor of being a railsplitter. the heroes who stopped the german push after they circled bastogne to the north. if they crossed the ourthe river and through us, they were on their way to antwerp our main supply port. but the 84th held and held even though exhausted from weeks of combat in the 9th army at geilenkirchen outside aachen on german land, before being rushed south to the ardennes to plug the gap.... did i read your book? yep bought it right here may 03Foot Soldier: A Combat Infantryman's War in Europe

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ficticious WWII account, January 28, 2008

By 

Doughboy white7 (Atl Bch Fl.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Foot Soldier: A Combat Infantryman's War In Europe (Paperback)

I started reading this book inspite of the fact that all the 84th veterans I know said it was "Pure B.S." I could not finish it because it was obviously fabrication. In my years of researching what the 84th did, specifically the 2nd Btn 333 in which my dad was a 1st Sgt I have not been as disappointed as when I read this book. To all those who thought it was so inspiring, wouldn't the truth be more inspiring? Mr Blunt did serve with the 84th. It would have been nice to find out what he really did.