Roswell K. Doughty

A firsthand account of a US Army officer's part in the liberation of Europe during World War II—from North Africa into the heart of the Third Reich.

After graduating from Boston University, Roswell K. Doughty became an Intelligence Officer with the US 36th (Texas) Division. He subsequently saw action in North Africa, then at the disastrous Salerno landings in Italy—where the Allied divisions involved suffered 4,000 casualties—about which the author reveals that suspected intelligence breaches led to the Allies' plans becoming known to the Germans.

Doughty was involved in the grueling battles against the formidable German defenses of the Gustav Line, particularly in the tragic failed attempt to cross the Gari river (Battle of the Rapido River, January 1944) and the struggle to conquer Monte Cassino. After the Anzio landings and the liberation of Rome, Doughty and his infantry regiment, the 141st, took part in the invasion of Southern France in Operation Dragoon, fighting its way up the Rhône River and advancing up to the River Moselle in December 1944. In March 1945, his unit breached the Siegfried Line and crossed into the Germany itself. As an Intelligence Officer, it was also part of Doughty's duties to interrogate enemy prisoners, which led him to being involved in the capture and detention of Reichsmarschall Go¨ring and in negotiating the surrender of the still-armed and hostile German First Army in May 1945.

These are Doughty's candid recollections from his ground-level point of view. They form a story of survival and a cause for reflection about courage, camaraderie, and the nature of war.

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