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Martin King

The Fighting 30th Division: They Called Them Roosevelt's SS Hardcover – Illustrated, July 19, 2015

by Martin King (Author), Michael Collins (Author), David Hilborn (Author)

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...read this book mainly for the perspective of the GIs who fought and bled to give the Old hickory Division its well earned reputation. In the words of former infantryman Jim Nolan "The 30th was topnotch". ― The Journal of America's Military Past

In World War I the 30th Infantry Division earned more Medals of Honor than any other American division. In World War II it spent more consecutive days in combat than almost any other outfit. Recruited mainly from the Carolinas and Georgia and Tennessee, they were one of the hardest-fighting units the U.S. ever fielded in Europe. What was it about these men that made them so indomitable? They were tough and resilient for a start, but this division had something else. They possessed intrinsic zeal to engage the enemy that often left their adversaries in awe. Their U.S. Army nickname was the “Old Hickory” Division. But after encountering them on the battlefield, the Germans themselves came to call them “Roosevelt’s SS.”

This book is a combat chronicle of this illustrious division that takes the reader right to the heart of the fighting through the eyes of those who were actually there. It goes from the hedgerows of Normandy to the 30th’s gallant stand against panzers at Mortain, to the brutal slugs around Aachen and the Westwall, and then to the Battle of the Bulge. Each chapter is meticulously researched and assembled with accurate timelines and after-action reports. The last remaining veterans of the 30th Division and attached units who saw the action firsthand relate their remarkable experiences here for the first, and probably the last time. This is precisely what military historians mean when they write about “fighting spirit.”

There have been only a few books written about the 30th Division and none contained direct interviews with the veterans. This work follows their story from Normandy to the final victory in Germany, packed with previously untold accounts from the survivors. These are the men whose incredible stories epitomize what it was to be a GI in one of the toughest divisions in WWII.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
FOREWORDS
INTRODUCTION

PART ONE NORMANDY AND NORTHERN FRANCE
Normandy Campaign: 6 June–24 July 1944
Northern France Campaign: 25 July–14 September 1944
1 HELL IN LE BOCAGE!
2 THE “BREAKOUT”
3 “THE ROCK OF MORTAIN”

PART TWO THE RHINELAND CAMPAIGN 155
Rhineland Campaign, Part 1: 15 September 1944—15 December 1944
4 TO THE EDGE OF THE REICH
5 AACHEN!
6 ADVANCE TO THE EAST

PART THREE THE ARDENNES
Ardennes-Alsace Campaign, 16 December 1944–25 January 1945
7 THE THIN GREEN LINE
8 COUNTEROFFENSIVE

PART FOUR GERMANY AND VICTORY
Rhineland Campaign, Part 2: 26 January–21 March 1945
Central Europe Campaign: 22 March–11 May 1945
9 SETTING THE PACE 283
10 THE FINAL PUSH 292

EPILOGUE
APPENDIX A: Units of the 30th Infantry Division
APPENDIX B: US Army Organizational Structure
ENDNOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX

Print length

360 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Casemate
Publication date

July 19, 2015
Dimensions

6.1 x 1.1 x 9.1 inches
ISBN-10

9781612003016
ISBN-13

978-1612003016
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Another fantastic true story that will fascinate historians and fans of McNab - Boys Own Paper stuff."
Books Monthly

...read this book mainly for the perspective of the GIs who fought and bled to give the Old hickory Division its well earned reputation. In the words of former infantryman Jim Nolan "The 30th was topnotch".
The Journal of America’s Military Past

"An absolutely essential and core addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library World War II military history collections, "The Fighting 30th Division: They Called Them Roosevelt's SS" is an inherently absorbing read from cover to cover."
Midwest Book Review

About the Author

Martin King is a highly qualified British Military Historian/Lecturer who’s had the honor of reintroducing many US, British and German veterans to the WWII battlefields where they fought. He lives in Belgium near Antwerp where he spends his time writing, lecturing and visiting European battlefields.

He is a British citizen who has been resident in Belgium since 1981. Previous to that he attended Wakefield Technical and Arts College and followed a foundation course in Teacher Training. In 1981 he decided to continue his academic career firstly with a teacher training course at the famous Berlitz Language School, and secondly with a degree course in European History at the ULB University in Brussels, where he also began studying military history. In 2000 he was offered a position at Antwerp University.

Around this time he began writing the first draft of ‘Voices of the Bulge’, a book based on a series of one to one interviews with veterans who participated in the Battle of the Bulge. Later he was joined by co-author Michael Collins who assisted in this project. His voluntary work with veterans and the tracing the individual histories of veterans has been a labor of love for almost 20 years. He speaks fluent German, Dutch, Italian and French. Frequently in demand as a public speaker he has lectured at many British and US military bases throughout the world. His activities came to the attention of some major military documentary makers in Hollywood. The History Channel hired Martin to be their Senior Historical Consultant on their series “Cities of the Underworld”. In 2007 he began a three year assignment to work on the hit series ‘Greatest Tank Battles’, currently the most watched military documentary in the US. Shortly thereafter he accepted an invitation to work as a Presenter/Historical Consultant on the series ‘Narrow Escapes’ with Bafta Award winning documentary makers WMR.

He was recently invited to the prestigious West Point Military Academy and Valley Forge Military College in the United States. Due to his extensive work on veteran research, at Valley Forge he was honoured by being asked to officially open the ‘Eric Fisher Woods’ Library. His documentary film based on the book ‘Voices of the Bulge’ is currently in production.

Widely regarded as an authority on European Military History, General Graham Hollands referred to him as the “Greatest living expert on the Battle of the Bulge”. Fellow writer and notable historian Professor Carlton Joyce said “He really is the best on the Ardennes". Stephen Ambrose author of ‘Band of Brothers’ referred to him as ‘Our expert on the Battle of the Bulge’.

Michael Collins is an American historian who lives outside of Albany, New York. He co-authored the book Voices of the Bulge with his good friend and co-author Martin King and he is currently the historian for the 10th Armored Division Veterans Western Chapter. With help from the Western Chapter and Martin King, he fundraised and ran logistics for having a 10th Armored Division plaque dedicated next to a tank turret in Bastogne, Belgium in December, 2011 to commemorate the 10th Armored Division veterans who fought during the Battle of the Bulge. His primary interest is preserving the memory of World War II veterans through oral history and photographs.

He has lectured on the importance of oral history and the Battle of the Bulge at numerous venues including colleges, military bases, and museums. He traveled on an extensive book tour of the north eastern United States with fellow co-author Martin King which included stops at West Point Military Academy, Fort Dix, Valley Forge Military College, and the U.S. Navy Museum.

He has worked for various museums in the north eastern United States including the Destroyer Escort Historical Museum, the New York State Military Museum and Veteran’s Research Center, Irish American Heritage Museum and Connecticut’s Old State House. He currently works at Siena College in Loudonville, NY in the library’s audio-visual department.

Michael is interested in World War II history and 20th Century U.S. and European History. He received his Bachelor’s degree in history from Siena College and his Master’s degree in Public History from Central Connecticut State University.

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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 161200301X
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Casemate; Illustrated edition (July 19, 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 360 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781612003016
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1612003016
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.35 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 1.1 x 9.1 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,208,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #316 in Military Regiment History
- #610 in WWI Biographies
- #2,301 in World War I History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
190 ratings

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Martin King

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Martin King is a highly qualified Emmy Award winning British Military Historian/Author/ Lecturer who’s had the honor of reintroducing many US, British and German veterans to the WWII battlefields where they fought. He spends his most of his time writing and visiting European battlefields.

His voluntary work tracing individual histories has been a labor of love for almost 30 years. He speaks, and has a working knowledge of German Italian Dutch and French. Frequently in demand as a highly entertaining public speaker he has lectured at many British and US colleges, universities and military bases throughout the world. The History Channel hired Martin as a Historical Consultant on their series “Cities of the Underworld”. In 2007 he began a new assignment working as a Historical consultant/writer on the hit series ‘Greatest Tank Battles’, one of the most watched military documentary series ever produced. Shortly thereafter he accepted an invitation to work as a Presenter/Historical Consultant on the series ‘Narrow Escapes’ with Bafta Award winning documentary makers WMR.

He is a frequent visitor to the prestigious West Point Military Academy. Widely regarded as a leading authority on European Military History, General Graham Hollands referred to him as the “Greatest living expert on the Battle of the Bulge”. Steven Ambrose called him “Our expert in the Ardennes”. Fellow writer and notable historian Professor Carlton Joyce said “He really is the best on the Ardennes". His campaigning work for World War Two veterans recently came to attention of some leading military personnel at the Pentagon who cordially invited him to present his latest work there. Awarded ‘SERVICES TO EDUCATION’ certificates by the USAF and NATO. In 2015 his documentary feature ‘Searching for Augusta’ received no less than 7 EMMY AWARDS for ‘BEST HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY’. In 2017 his book 'THe Fighting 30th Division - They called them Roosevelt's SS' was nominated in the USA for the 'Distinguished Writer Award'. He's also an Honorary Citizen and chosen Cultural Ambassador.

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4 star		26%
3 star		10%
2 star		2%
1 star		3%

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Thomas M. Magee

The 30th has to be one of the Army's premier units and the book proves it.

Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2016

Verified Purchase

This is another critical hidden history of WWII. The book is about a National Guard Division during WWII from North Carolina and Tenn. I was astonished at what I read. This division deserves to go down in history as one of the premier units of the US Army during that time along with the 1st, 101st, 82nd, and others. I am not sure why history has forgotten them. Their contribution in various battles was the thing that separated victory and defeat.

This unit was at the right place several times in the European theater. The authors combine a mix of standard narrative and veteran accounts to paint the picture. It really makes for a unique way to look at the history. Now more onto why this unit is immortal. They were called "Roosevelt's SS" by the Germans and the name struck. The name was a way of honor. This division helped punch a whole in the German line in July 44 during Operation Cobra. Then they held two critical hills in Mortain during the German Counter Offensive. If the 30th would have broke then Patton would have been cut off in the Middle of France. Then the war would have been a different event. Their grit and determination secured victory. The division held out for six days. This was done at a cost. At times the fighting was hand to hand. One of the critical hills was hill 314. The defending Bn suffered 50% casualties in the fight.

The unit wasn't finished after that. They continued across the European front. They were one of the units that captured the German City of Aachen. That was the first major city to be captured by any allied army. The fighting was house to house. After that the division fought in the battle of the Bulge. They went up against the lead unit of the Germans during the offensive, and succeeded. Their hard innovative work in constructing a defense went a long way to thwarting the German offensive.

I think everyone needs to read this to realize that many heros of WWII have their stories yet to be told.

6 people found this helpful

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History Buff

The story of "the most outstanding" US infantry division in the ETO in WW2

Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2015

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The Fighting 30th Division tells the story of Old Hickory, a National Guard division that fought their way across Europe in WW2. The book covers all of the 30th's campaigns including their fight through the Normandy hedgerows, their famous stand at Mortain, the meat grinder at Aachen, their repulse of Kampfgruppe Peiper during the Battle of the Bulge and their final battles in Germany. Each chapter chronicles a different stage of their advance in detail with supporting maps. The veteran accounts are fantastic and really bring the story line to life. I enjoyed the book and recommend it.

28 people found this helpful

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Scott Bailey

Easy read and enjoyable

Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2016

Verified Purchase

The fighting 30th Division describes this formation in WW2 in Europe. Book has some black and white pictures and some maps of the division movement. Book describes the action by the soldiers themselves in first person then follows it with the author’s voice with the big overall pictures. One of the only books I have seen on this formation. Book also describes the units and formation of this unit. Easy read and enjoyable

12 people found this helpful

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Jack

The histories of the men was really good, but sometimes very sad

Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2016

Verified Purchase

Interesting, but hard to follow sometimes keeping the names of the person(s) discussed in the book straight. Perhaps a second reading might help that. The histories of the men was really good, but sometimes very sad. The pictures really make you understand how young most of these soldiers were. I have read several books on the various air drops in WWII. This seemed one of the most successful as far as getting people where they were supposed to be

One person found this helpful

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jimt

Very interesting and informative telling the military units who fought ...

Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2017

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Very interesting and informative telling the military units who fought in World War 11. Especially the " Battle of the Bulge" and the last days of the war as the Americans and allies fought into Germany and into Berlin.

2 people found this helpful

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J. Oneal

Great Story!!

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2016

Verified Purchase

Great story about one of the premier infantry divisions in the European Theater. Their stand at Mortain saved the breakout from the Normandy beaches and hedgerows. They were also part of the northern shoulder of the Battle of the Bulge, preventing the Germans from widening their front to the north and forcing the German attack to be much more narrow than planned.

2 people found this helpful

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William McCarter

Great book!

Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2021

Verified Purchase

I read the book because my father, William H. McCarter, was a member of either the 119th or 30 Signal before transferring to the Army Air Corps. He served in the 741st Bomb Squadron as a gunner ( tail, waist, ball). We have a photo of dad in uniform with the 30th Division shoulder patch. Very good book from veteran's viewpoint, because they spoke very rarely about the war.

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Emil Kuhn

A really good account of WWII Infantry action

Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2016

Verified Purchase

I had never heard of the 30th Division. The title of the book intrigued me and it was everything I expected and had hoped for. Not the brutality and inhuman actions of the Nazi SS, but the same fighting spirit devotion to duty and commitment to get the job done. I especially enjoyed the individual eyewitness accounts shared by the men that were there!

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

JWH

A Useful Collection of Eye-Witness Accounts of the US Army in Action in NW Europe 44-45

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 16, 2017

Verified Purchase

A useful history of the US 30th Infantry Division in WW2. It mainly consists of first-hand accounts (from a fair but not large number of individuals) who served with the formation during its battles in the Normandy, France, the Rhineland, the Ardennes and the Germany campaigns. There are a wide variation in ranks and arms of service, which helps to give a wider picture of the unit's activities. Most are very interesting: some, in particular the various medal citations, are inspiring and humbling. It isn't always flag-waving stuff in there though: there is plenty of the horror and the chaos of war too. Readers wishing to get a good selection of first-hand "tales from the front" should be very pleased with this book.
The authors tie the accounts together with a more general account of what the division was up to at any given moment, which is generally useful. However, the authorial sections often contain comment which is, at best, contentious. So, for example:
"Necessity is the mothrer of invention and innovation born of necessity was always the pervading strength of the Allies, who maintained a consumate ability to adapt their tactics to suit the environment. It was this inventive capacity that proved to be a key ingredient that contributed to their eventual success in Normandy and throughout ensuing campaigns. In the seven weeks between D-Day and 31 July 1944, despite shortcomings in combat experience and the difficult Normandy terrain, the US First Army defeated the Germans in a series of battles that placed a premium on leadership and ingenuity at the small-unit level. Using new tactics and technical improvements allowed First Army units to home in, confront, and destroy a well-prepared defender". Without qualification, the authors ascribe the US/Allied victory to ingenuity and low-level leadership: but what of superior numbers, total air superiority, vastly more artillery support and better intelligence? This kind of narrative history is the worst vehicle for coming to these kind of conclusions. And as it happens, the statistical researchers unanimously suggest that the Germans held the advantage in small-unit leadership and ingenuity. I'm not arguing that this is the case necessarily, just that the author's cocksureness cannot be justified from the material presented.
Incidentally, the book (inadvertently) shows the confusion in the name "Roosevelt's SS". It appears to have been a name given once or twice by Axis Sally, starting around the Mortain battles and repeated in the Bulge battles, although even this isn't eentirely clear. Several US witnesses in the book report that German prisoners also used the term, but in no case does this seem to be from first-hand experience. Either way, there was no indication that the Axis Sally comment applied to the 30th's particular martial talents. Obviously that doesn't mean that the 30th wasn't a highly efficient unit, just that the "Roosevelt's SS" comment doesn't seem to add much to the case. Also, to reinforce my earlier point, it is impossible from material such as this to decide whether the 30th was "better" than other good US divisions, the 88th, say, or the 4th Armoured. The book doesn't go into any depth into the German side of the battles. This is not necessarily a bad thing, just a note to readers that the book is designedly one-sided.
Highly recommended to those interested in the history of this particular division, or more generally the experience of the US Army at tactical level from Normandy to the Elbe. It is mainly a bottom-up approach, an interesting counterpoint to the history of the 88th Draftee Division: The 88th Infantry Division in World War II , which is very much from the commander's point of view.

One person found this helpful

Roy

True WW II Experiences As Told By The Soldiers Who Fought

Reviewed in Canada on July 18, 2021

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This book is an excellent account of many individual soldiers as they explain their experiences during the fighting of WW II.

Guildwoodite

Great read!

Reviewed in Canada on October 18, 2017

Verified Purchase

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Well written and a good pace. Just shows how great the "greatest generation" actually was. Bravo!

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