Larry Alexander (2) (1951–)

Just finished Larry Alexander’s In the Footsteps of the Band of Brothers: A Return to Easy Company Battlefield With Sergeant Forrest Guth.

A solid 4 Star read with a slightly different take on the men of Easy Company of the 506th of the 101st Airborne. The story follows not only the men of Easy Company but specifically the war of Sergeant Forrest Guth.

As all good history on Easy Company it start with their training at Toccoa under Lieutenant Herbert Sobel and Lieutenant Dick Winters and somewhat rehabilitates the image of Sobel and credits him with the excellent training of Easy Company and forging them into an above average fighting unit, but Guth frequently points out many of men and units fought just as well but they are Heralded due to Stephen Ambrose’s book Band of Brothers and the subsequent HBO miniseries.

The story goes from Toccoa, to Fort Benning, to Aldbourne in England with the culmination being their jump into Normandy the evening before the Normandy Landing on the day of days.

Some of the highlights of the book are the textbook attack on Brecourt Manor to Carentan, the failed Operation Market Garden which was epic in scope but fell short in execution.. A highlight outside of the attack on Brecourt Manor is of course The Battle of the Bulge and ending largely with Forrest Guth final European action at Haguenau.

If you are looking for a definitive history of Easy Company this is not it and you would better turn your attention to Stephen Ambrose’s Band of Brothers or Larry Alexander’s Biggest Brother: The Life of Major Dick Winters, the Man Who Led the Band of Brothers but for a more personal touch this falls right in with other accounts from the men of Easy Company and is well worth your time to read.… (mehr)