Citizen Soldiers - The U S Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Sur | AudioBook

Описание: "Citizen Soldiers: The U.S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany" is a compelling non-fiction historical account by Stephen E. Ambrose, published in 1997, chronicling the experiences of American soldiers in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) from June 1944 to May 1945. Drawing from over 1,400 oral histories, letters, diaries, and interviews with GIs, Germans, nurses, and commanders like Eisenhower, Ambrose shifts focus from high-level strategy to the gritty, personal stories of ordinary "citizen soldiers"—draftees and volunteers who embodied democratic values in combat. The narrative begins immediately after D-Day on the Normandy beaches, capturing the chaos of initial assaults, the brutal hedgerow fighting in Bocage country, and the rapid advance through France, including the liberation of Paris.
Ambrose vividly depicts key campaigns: the failed Operation Market Garden, the harrowing Battle of the Bulge amid freezing Ardennes winters with high casualties, and the triumphant crossing of the Rhine via the Remagen Bridge. He highlights the soldiers' ingenuity—learning to adapt tanks for bocage warfare, enduring ration shortages, and dealing with racial tensions within units—while critiquing leadership flaws, such as wasteful replacement policies that sent undertrained youths to the front. Beyond tactics, the book explores moral contrasts: American troops' resilience and humanity versus the fanaticism of Nazi conscripts, emphasizing that these "boys from democracy" prevailed through learning on the job and a commitment to freedom over ideology.
Interwoven are human elements—fear in foxholes, camaraderie amid shelling, the role of women in medical roles, and post-battle looting—painting a panoramic yet intimate portrait of the war's toll. Culminating in Germany's surrender on VE Day, Ambrose celebrates the army's transformation from novice force to victors, underscoring that the true heroes were the citizen soldiers who fought not for glory, but survival in a just cause. At 528 pages, this accessible volume, a sequel to Ambrose's "D-Day," remains essential for understanding the human side of WWII's European campaign.