The Force : The Legendary Special Ops Unit and WWII's Mission Impossible

The Force The Legendary Special Ops Unit and WWII's Mission Impossible

Saul David, 1966-

Book - 2019

In December of 1943, as Nazi forces sprawled around the world and the future of civilization hung in the balance, a group of highly trained U.S. and Canadian soldiers from humble backgrounds was asked to do the impossible: capture a crucial Nazi stronghold perched atop stunningly steep cliffs. The men were a rough-and-ready group, assembled from towns nested in North America's most unforgiving terrain, where many of them had struggled through the Great Depression relying on canny survival skills and the fearlessness of youth. Brought together by the promise to take part in the military's most elite missions, they formed a unique brotherhood tested first by the crucible of state-of-the-art training-including skiing, rock climbing, ...and parachuting-and then tragically by the vicious fighting they would face. The early battle in the Italian theatre for the strategic fort cost the heroic U.S.-Canadian commando unit-their first special forces unit ever assembled-enormous casualties. Yet the victory put them in position to continue their drive into Italy, setting the stage for the Allies' resurgence toward victory in WWII. The unit, with its vast range of capabilities and mission-specific exercises, became a model for the "Green Berets" and other special forces groups that would go on to accomplish America's most challenging undertakings behind enemy lines. Knitting first-hand accounts seamlessly into the narrative-drawing on interviews with surviving members and their families; the memoirs, letters, and diaries of Forcemen; and declassified documents in the American, Canadian, British, and German archives -- The Force tells a story that is as deeply personal as it is inspiring.

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2nd Floor 940.541273/David Due Apr 22, 2024
Subjects
Allied Forces. > Special Service Force, 1st.
World War, 1939-1945 > Commando operations > Italy.
World War, 1939-1945 > Regimental histories > United States.
World War, 1939-1945 > Regimental histories > Canada.
World War, 1939-1945 > Campaigns > Italy.
Published
New York : Hachette Books 2019.
Language
English
Main Author
Saul David, 1966- (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
360 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9780316414531
  • Forcemen
  • "Where you from, soldier?"
  • "Germany first"
  • The plough project
  • "Push ahead with all possible speed"
  • "Frederick, you are now in charge"
  • 1-2 company
  • "Everybody fought somebody"
  • Waling and glass
  • "Suspend effort on present line"
  • "They blew up bridges, culverts, and everything"
  • "A very special force"
  • "The battle of the slabs"
  • "Their chance will come"
  • "We had a crazy bunch of guys"
  • "The objective now was perfection"
  • "We want to take as many prisoners as possible"
  • Kiska
  • "Picked men of first-class physique"
  • "We had a swell 3 decker cake"
  • "This excellent and specially trained force"
  • The Empress of Scotland
  • "There was utter destruction"
  • The winter line
  • "Met at every turn by rifle and machine-gun fire"
  • A "herculean" task
  • "Difensa or bust"
  • The defenders
  • "A wet and forbidding mountain"
  • The climb
  • "All hell broke loose"
  • "Medic! medic!"
  • "Five yards! five yards!"
  • "I don't know how we did it"
  • "Kia, return to sender"
  • "The best god-damned fighters in the world"
  • "They were best friends for the rest of their lives".
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In this action-packed tale, historian and broadcaster David recounts the WWII exploits of the Force, an unusual elite military unit. The Canadian and American militaries recruited "single men... whose occupation or hobby included lumberjack, forest ranger, hunter, trapper, north woodsman (guide), game warden, prospector and explorer" for special training and a mysterious mission. The servicemembers who volunteered (such as Capt. Bill Rothlin, "a no-nonsense former metalworker" from California, and Capt. Tom MacWilliam, a small but athletic New Brunswick schoolteacher) could scale mountains and survive extreme winter conditions. After intense training and much diplomatic red tape, they embarked on their top-secret "impossible" mission in 1943. The Allied forces had begun a slow march up through Southern Italy, only to be stymied at the German Winter Line, a fortified position blocking a passage between Mount Difensa and Mount Camino, en route to Rome. It was considered impassable by Allied leaders after several regiments tried and failed, at great human cost, to take it. So the job was given to the Force. David vividly recounts their scaling a 200-foot sheer cliff wall on a cold, blustery night; engaging in heavy battle with the German defenders; and, after sustaining many casualties, emerging triumphant, having opened the way to Rome. He works the soldiers' individual stories into the narrative, adding heart to the derring-do. This thrilling history will captivate readers. (Sept.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

Early in World War II, Canada and the United States agreed to form a small combined unit, consisting of 2,200 soldiers, for mountain and snow assaults, what we would now call special ops. They gathered and trained near Helena, MT, for two years, focusing on physical fitness and specialized tactics. In December 1943, the unit, now named the First Special Service Force, entered combat in Italy, with the mission of climbing a sheer cliff at night and surprising a superior German redoubt, part of the German Winter Line. Half of this latest book from military historian and broadcaster David (The Indian Mutiny) is an extremely detailed narrative of the group's training in Montana, followed by an equally detailed telling of the climactic assault. The unit fought at two other places in Europe, which are only mentioned in passing. The author uses soldiers' voices to good effect, but more detail about the other combat sites would have been welcome. VERDICT While the story has been related before, this well-told account of a little-known special operations unit will appeal to readers interested in World War II and fans of military history.--Edwin Burgess, Kansas City, KS

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

The story of an elite Canadian-American commando force and its assault on a critical German stronghold in World War II.David (Military History/Univ. of Buckingham; Operation Thunderbolt: Flight 139 and the Raid on Entebbe Airport, the Most Audacious Hostage Rescue Mission in History, 2015, etc.) brings together primary sources to create a vivid account of the First Special Service Force from its formation in July 1942. The author begins with a visit by President Franklin Roosevelt and his key advisers to Britain in 1942, where Gen. George Marshall heard a plan to invade Nazi-held Norway using armored snowmobiles. Because Britain lacked terrain and weather suitable to developing and testing the experimental vehicles, it would be necessary for the U.S. or Canada to adopt the program. Back in Washington, D.C., Marshall assigned the idea to 35-year-old Lt. Col. Robert Frederick, who was given carte blanche to create a force capable of putting the plan into action. Within a couple of months, American and Canadian soldiers began arriving at a camp near Helena, Montana. David follows a number of soldiers through the training regime, which dragged on past expectations as the idea for a Norway invasion took a back seat to more urgent operationswith a predictable effect on discipline. At last, the force was shipped to Italy, where the mountainous terrain seemed to fit its mission. Their first assignment was to secure a foothold on Monte la Difensa, a stronghold on the German Winter Line defending the approaches to Rome. The author follows the battle in close detail, with a focus on the memories of individual soldiers as well as the larger unit actions. David effectively captures the turmoil and chaos of the offensive as well as the incredible skill and determination of the force's assault on a target many more-experienced units had attacked unsuccessfully. The pace of the story in the early chapters is sometimes slow and overly detailed, but the payoff is a real page-turner.A solid account of a remarkable military unit whose story ought to be better known. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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