Vanguard of the Crusade: The 101st Airborne Division in World War II [Hardcover]

Mark Bando (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2003

Contents. In an age of exaggeration and hype, when words like "great," "famous," and "legendary" are often used to describe the ordinary and slightly-above-average, it is difficult to describe the truly special. Further, when so much has been written about a subject, it is hard to find fresh perspectives and new ways to approach it.

With Vanguard of the Crusade, author Mark Bando has accomplished just these things. Through decades of painstakingly collecting and verifying first-hand accounts of some of the fiercest fighting in the European Theater, he has illuminated the personal experiences of the members of this truly and justly famous American airborne division. From their baptism of fire in the advance echelon of Operation Overlord, to capturing the first objectives of Operation Market-Garden, and defiantly holding the key crossroads at Bastogne during the German Ardennes Offensive, the exploits of the "Screaming Eagles" are expertly recounted in this heavily-illustrated single volume.

Expanding significantly on the author's previous work, Vanguard of the Crusade includes dozens of previously unpublished, rare photos as well as significantly enhanced versions of photos which have appeared in some of his works before. Historians, buffs, reenactors, and collectors alike will be fascinated by the extensive new sections about airborne equipment and parachutists' uniforms, as well as the all-new special feature segments about the major German formations defeated by the 101st in its campaigns in France, Holland, and Belgium. Ten brand new, highly-detailed maps based directly on primary source documents also support the text, which, like Bando's previous works, draws heavily on vividly-recounted, authentic anecdotes gleaned from the airborne veterans themselves.

Significance More than any of the other combatant forces in the Second World War, the US Army standardized its divisions' organization, training, and doctrine. This allowed unparalleled flexibility of employment and a consistency of battlefield performance rivaled by the tactical forces of no other army. Airborne divisions, on the other hand, were the closest thing the US Army had to specially trained and organized "assault" units, designed specifically for striking behind enemy lines and holding key terrain while isolated and cut off.

The 101st Airborne Division thus required and attracted a special kind of soldier, of whom unusual-and deadly-demands were made routinely, in training as well as combat. By chronicling the Division's combat experience through the eyes and in the words of its soldiers themselves, Vanguard of the Crusade provides priceless insights into what made this division so distinctive and the traditions it built so worthy. Perhaps one of their own, Private First Class Tex McMorries, put it best, "The best and toughest of the paratroopers were cold, fearless killers, who went to great extremes to kill the enemy." Vanguard of the Crusade is their story.

Told without a shred of sentimentality, but with an implicit and profound respect for the paratroopers and glidermen who wore the Screaming Eagle patch, the book captures the spirit and the deeds of the Division which, from Normandy to Holland to the Ardennes, was the vanguard-and a bulwark-of the Crusade in Europe.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A great book...[the author] vividly recounts the veterans' stories." -- 39/45 Magazine (France)

"Like reading the best parts of 100 veterans’ war stories while paging through their scrapbooks. What could be more absorbing?" -- World War II Magazine, January 2004

"This enthralling saga...accented by hundreds of mesmerizing photos, showcases the wartime accomplishments of the Screaming Eagles." -- World War II History Magazine, November 2005

About the Author

Mark Bando is the well-known author of three previous books about the 101st Airborne Division in World War II and of Breakout at Normandy: The 2d Armored Division in the Land of the Dead. Expanding on his previous works, Vanguard of the Crusade is comprehensive, addressing the entire WWII record of the 101st.

The author was born and raised on the west side of Detroit, Michigan, attended Cass Technical High School and later Wayne State University, as a history major. He served 25 years as a uniformed Detroit Police patrol officer, working in five different precincts and spending six years in the citywide Tactical Section, during which he heard many shots fired in anger.

Bando began interviewing World War II veterans of the 101st in 1968 and has continued to 2003, with a running total of over 930 interviews. This lifelong pursuit grew out of a recognition of the superior battlefield performance of the WWII 101st and their resulting legendary historical status. His quest has been not only to record their exceptional experiences for posterity, but also to study the combat paratroopers to discover the reasons for their great successes in battle. Uniquely, Bando has focused almost exclusively on the 101st for three decades, providing his books an abundance of rich, untold stories and a depth of detail which other researchers simply cannot match.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: The Aberjona Press (June 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971765006
• ISBN-13: 978-0971765009
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,468,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brothers in Arms, Men of Courage and Integrity, and Vanguard, April 17, 2004

By 

Mannie Liscum (Columbia, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Vanguard of the Crusade: The 101st Airborne Division in World War II (Hardcover)

Vanguard of the Crusade: The 101st Airborne Division in World War II by Mark Bando is a truly special chronicle of the 101st Airborne from its time in wait in England prior to the invasion of the Continent to the end of the war and disbanding of the Division. Vanguard stands as a tribute to those who fought with the Screaming Eagles, whether they survived the war or not.

Bando has sculpted his prose from hundreds of interviews and personal diaries (although expressly forbade in combat zones!) of 101st veterans. With often only snippets of information from any single source, Bando has been able to piece together an engaging history of combat of one of the most elite forces the Allies assembled during the Second World War. Where possible Bando has reproduced the words of the veterans verbatim within the context of larger discussions lending a feel of authenticity that many other works do not achieve. Vanguard is not written in the flowery novelette style of so many authors (e.g., Ambrose) and as such may be a "difficult" read for many less interested in historical events minus the Hollywood feel. Yet, having said that, anyone interested in how the 101st earned its reputation should not be deterred from tackling this book. It's a wonderful collection of memories and writings that is weaved into a nearly seamless single story of the Division from England 1943 to late 45 in occupied Germany. If you want HISTORY - untainted and without opinions based on hindsight of 60 years - this is it. Bando and the Editorial staff at Aberjona Press have done an incredible job checking, re-checking and verifying information and this fact alone makes this a wonderful piece of historical writing. One other subtle yet VERY effective editorial trick has been to italicize German unit names. In this way it is always clear who is who without knowing all units by heart.

Vanguard of the Crusade represents an indispensable source of fuller information that has not been pre-digested for those less patient for the complete story. Two obvious examples come to mind: First, many probably think they know the "story" of the Airborne drop in the Netherlands as part of Operation Market-Garden. However, the story told in the classic (and both well written and factually sound) A Bridge Too Far by Cornelius Ryan is quite "sanitized" and abridged with respect to the actions in which the 101st were involved. Bando does a wonderful job touching on the breadth of the combat situations in which the Screaming Eagles were involved while trying to keep Hell's Highway open. It is probably fair to assume that many people assume that the 101st fought as a single group in relatively small engagement areas during Market-Garden but Bando's text makes it clear that the reality was that of smaller groups spread over greater distances engaged in multiple hit-and-run (generally) battles with both first and second-rate German troops. Few sources (one exception being It Never Snows In September by Robert Kershaw) make this clear. Second, although the Battle of the Bulge is certainly one of the most recognized military actions of the US armed forces, and many know that the 101st Airborne Division played a crucial role, it is unlikely that many understand what the siege on Bastogne really represented in terms of combat. Contrary to "popular" depictions, the month long fierce battles around town of Bastogne were not simply one battle a la the Alamo. Certainly Bastogne was surrounded by the Germans and siege set, but many small Belgian towns like Foy, Bizory, Marvie, Longvilly, and Noville that were situated around Bastogne played a role in its defense and ultimate reversal of battle. It is important to remember not just those who fought from within Bastogne proper, but also those who battled from a distance of yards to a few miles outside Bastogne itself. It was this collective group that earned the Distinguished Unit Citation en masse for their key role in the Battle of the Bulge. Bando dedicates a large portion of his text to these lesser known but not lesser important engagements.

I found Vanguard of the Crusade to be an extremely pleasurable read. I would sit with maps of the various engagements (all the maps presented in the book can be downloaded and printed from: http://aegis-consulting.com/index.html), plot the actions while I moved through the text, and get lost in the hundreds of photographs presented that put a real face on the map coordinates and words. While it is not essential to read Vanguard in this fashion I suggest it, as it is rare that one can so lose oneself so fully in a popular historical text. I give Vanguard a hearty 5 stars for context, presentation and soul!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE Encyclopedia of the 101st. Airborne Division in WWII, July 27, 2004

By 

sp (MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vanguard of the Crusade: The 101st Airborne Division in World War II (Hardcover)

Vanguard is the most comprehensively researched work between two covers of the Screaming Eagles in WWII, from (A)ddeville to (Z)ell am See. It's the perfect mix between a scholarly presentation of the facts, and human interest war stories as told through the words of the men who were in the "dress rehearsal" for the Hollywood productions. Bando is not a cheerleader, so don't expect a spin on the facts. He's a retired policeman, an investigator/researcher and a reporter of events. He often leaves the answers to questions of right or wrong to the reader. You get the report of what happened as seen through the eyes of the men who pulled the triggers and lived through experiences that many of them still think about daily.

Bando's decades of personal interviews and research have become his trademark. There are no research assistants or hastily pumped out books to coincide with the anniversary of a well-known invasion or battle. When he writes something that isn't attributed to another author, you can be sure that it was the result of 40 years of personal research that included and continues to include traveling the country speaking to individual veterans, attending everything from company to division reunions, and regular trips to the National Archives and the battlefields of Europe, whether he's armed with a notebook, camera or metal detector. I'm never surprised when I read a quality book by another author (Richard Killblane and Jake McNiece's "Filthy Thirteen" for instance) and see Bando's name in the footnotes or bibliography.

"Vanguard" turns the spotlight over to the guys who weren't portrayed by Hollywood's A list in the movies. Men like Lt. William Russo, who could do with an 81mm mortar what a sniper could do with a scoped rifle, only to much more dramatic effect on the hapless target.

I wish I had the time to go through "Vanguard" like Manny, with my maps out, especially the ones published with Bando's 2-part article in "Armchair General" magazine, but the anecdotes on virtually every page of the book are enough to keep me turning the pages. They're stories you haven't heard before, whether the story is humorous such as when Jack Womer of "Filthy Thirteen" fame speaks of Winston Churchill urinating on his boots while he hid in a hay pile after a practice jump, or riveting like the story of one-man army Charles Santarsiero, or Joe Beyrle, who spent more combat time with a Russian armor unit after multiple escapes from German POW camps than he did with US troops. Vanguard also answers the question: "Can one paratrooper shoot 3 SS men with one round from his M-1?" The answer, of course, is "yes", and Leo Gillis did it.

If you like history more than Hollywood, and want the most accurate information available on the 101st. ABD in WWII, buy this book. Better yet, buy this one together with "101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles at Normandy". Some authors dedicate their careers to what they know, and others to what they can sell quickly. This author knows what he's talking about.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honor to the Eagle, July 25, 2005

By 

Steven C. Myers (Bedford , PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vanguard of the Crusade: The 101st Airborne Division in World War II (Hardcover)

Mark Bando has done an outstanding piece of work in his "Vanguard of the Crusade: The 101st Airborne Division in WWII."

I have read copies of this and some of his earlier work and find "Vanguard" an impressive fusion of, and significant addition to it. What's more, the author's sense of dynamic and his attention to detail reflect mastery of the subject material and reflect great honor upon the many, many superb accomplishments of the 101st Airborne Division in World War II. Bando rates a 'thumbs up' in my mind.

I was surprised at recent rating remarks that were quite critical of this book and of its publisher. I have read both of Bando's earlier works leading to "Vanguard" and believe "Vanguard" is much more than a paste-together: both as seen from detail to information and attention to detail in preparation, photos, and printing.

What the eye sees, is what it sees. In my opinion, comparison of earlier Bando publication photos shows the "Vanguard" publisher worked diligently to ensure best possible renditions - and a lot of new data - are in the book. Deterioration of the quality of archived or private photo records nearly 60 years old is inevitable. The "Vanguard" publisher, in my opinion, did his best to obtain pictures of high quality - and that might intrigue the reader, spurring him/her on to the next pages and revelations.

In the Amazon description of "Vanguard" there are plain words saying it is an improvement/expansion that draws on Bando's earlier works, with more detail, more maps, more data.

I believe the author-publisher team has created an exceptional new recounting of glory, grimaces, and ghosts of war. Hats off to Mark Bando and the Aberjona Press!