LEADER 05024nam 2200589 a 450 001 9910967014403321 005 20251117115858.0 010 $a0-8262-6360-7 035 $a(CKB)1000000000001547 035 $a(OCoLC)613390633 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10001766 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000124895 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11140998 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000124895 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10047464 035 $a(PQKB)10067323 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3570696 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3570696 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10001766 035 $a(OCoLC)932325585 035 $a(BIP)11494288 035 $a(BIP)6476181 035 $a(EXLCZ)991000000000001547 100 $a20001006d2001 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 12$aA colonel in the armored divisions $ea memoir, 1941-1945 /$fWilliam S. Triplet ; edited by Robert H. Ferrell 205 $a1st ed. 210 $aColumbia, MO $cUniversity of Missouri Press$dc2001 215 $a1 online resource (317 p.) 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 08$a0-8262-1312-X 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index. 327 $aIntro -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- A Note on the Editing -- A Colonel in the Armored Divisions -- One. The Infantry Board -- Two. Lucky Thirteenth: I -- Three. Lucky Thirteenth: II -- Four. Eighteenth Armored Group (Amphibious) -- Five. Waves -- Six. The LST -- Seven. Guns and Bays -- Eight. To the Second Armored -- Nine. Taking Command -- Ten. They've Got a Lot of Stuff in There -- Eleven. Defeat -- Twelve. To the Seventh Armored -- Thirteen. Hunnange -- Fourteen. Recapture of St. Vith -- Fifteen. High Ground -- Sixteen. In and Out -- Seventeen. Remagen Rolandseck Bad Godesberg -- Eighteen. The Autobahn War -- Nineteen. On the Way to Giessen -- Twenty. To Hemer -- Twenty-One. The Baltic Front -- Notes -- Bibliographical Essay -- Index. 330 $aIn this fascinating memoir William S. Triplet continues the saga begun in his earlier book, A Youth in the Meuse-Argonne: A Memoir, 1917-1918. After serving in World War I, Triplet chose to become a career military man and entered West Point. Upon graduation in 1924, his assignments were routine-to regiments in the Southwest and in Panama or as an officer in charge of Reserve Officers' Training Corps units or of men sent to a tank school. All this changed, however, when a new war opened in Europe. From 1940 to1942, Triplet was assigned to the Infantry Board at Fort Benning, Georgia, where he engaged in testing new weapons and machines for the expanding army. He became a full colonel in December 1942. After leaving Benning he received posts with four armored forces: the Thirteenth Armored Division forming in the United States, an amphibious tank and troop carrier group training at Fort Ord, California, and the Second and Seventh Armored Divisions in Europe. His extraordinary abilities as a tank commander became evident in the Seventh Armored, where he took over a four-thousand-man unit known as Combat Command A. He was soon moving from triumph to triumph as he led his unit into Germany. Here was much room for professional judgment and decision, and the colonel was in his element. In the war's last days Triplet and his men fought their way to the Baltic, preventing many German troops from joining in the defense of Berlin against the advancing Soviet army. Although Triplet was recommended for brigadier general, Dwight D. Eisenhower believed the U.S. Army had enough generals to finish the war; thus, the indomitable Triplet served out the few remaining years of his career as a colonel. After retiring in 1954, Triplet moved to Leesburg, Virginia, where he soon began to mull over his military experiences. Fascinated by the history he had witnessed, engaged by the attraction of writing about it, he recorded his memories with a combination of verve, thoughtfulness, and harsh judgments concerning ranking officers he considered incompetent- generals not excluded. Through his annotations, Robert H. Ferrell provides the historical context for Triplet's experiences. Well written and completely absorbing, A Colonel in the Armored Divisions provides readers the rare opportunity to see firsthand what a real professional in the U.S. Army thought about America's preparation for and participation in the war against Germany and Japan. 606 $aWorld War, 1939-1945$vPersonal narratives, American 606 $aWorld War, 1939-1945$xTank warfare 615 0$aWorld War, 1939-1945 615 0$aWorld War, 1939-1945$xTank warfare. 676 $a940.54/8173 700 $aTriplet$b William S.$f1900-$01864194 701 $aFerrell$b Robert H$0484865 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910967014403321 996 $aA colonel in the armored divisions$94475081 997 $aUNINA