Front Lines (Front Lines #1)(121)

Won’t be long now, I think. The Russians are in Berlin, going street by street. The Krauts will have to fold up shop, though not until Hitler’s dead, I guess. They are still in thrall to that mad bastard, even now with their cities burned down around their ears, what a goddamn waste. A lot of German units have surrendered, and what’s left is mostly old men and kids. Kids. Like we were not long ago.

It’s coming to an end, this war, but I still have a lot of story to tell. There’s Sicily and Italy and France yet to write about. A whole lot of war there.

North Africa was where we were bloodied, where we became real soldiers, but in the grand scheme of the war it was small beer. The Krauts taught us a lesson we needed to learn, though; they knocked the cockiness right out of us, that they did, and we were better soldiers for it. One hell of a lot of Krauts died in the stony hills of Sicily and Italy because we had begun to learn our profession.

The battle of Kasserine Pass will not go down in history as the finest moment in the history of the US Army. Although what’s funny is that when we were in it we didn’t know that’s what that debacle would be called. We just knew it was FUBAR. It shook me, that’s for sure, shook me all the way down to my bones. There’s nothing like the feeling of running away to feed the beast of fear inside you. That took its toll. Still does.

But that’s all down the road. We’ll get there, Gentle Reader, we will.

If you’re wondering what happened with Rio and Strand and Jack, or wondering whether Rainy ever met up with that nice Jewish boy again, or whether Jenou ever met her longed-for handsome officer, or whether Frangie and Sergeant Walter Green . . . Well, not now, that’s all for later. Right now I have to go and cause a ruckus because they’re talking about shipping me stateside. I won’t have it. I’ll go AWOL before I let that happen. I got this far with our little band, and I’ll be damned if I miss the final act. I don’t expect we’ll celebrate, celebration doesn’t feel right, but I would sure love to sit down and have a quiet beer with my pals.

Besides, like I said, there’s a lot more for me to write.





THE BATTLE OF KASSERINE PASS


“The weaknesses the Americans showed were those usually demonstrated by inexperienced troops committed to battle for the first time. Beforehand, they were overconfident . . . once committed, they were jittery . . . They lacked proficiency in newly developed weapons such as bazookas. They had difficulty identifying enemy weapons and equipment . . . They were handicapped by certain poor commanders . . . reactions were slow, cautious, and characteristic of World War I operations. Units were dispersed and employed in small parcels instead of being concentrated. Air-ground cooperation was defective. Replacement troops were often deficient in physical fitness and training. Some weapons were below par. . . . Higher commanders shirked the responsibility or lacked the knowledge to coordinate units in battle . . .”

—US Army Center for Military History

“In Tunisia the Americans had to pay a stiff price for their experience, but it brought rich dividends.”

—German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel





AUTHOR’S NOTE

I write fiction. In writing this piece of fiction I have attempted to accurately capture the flavor and the feel and as much of the detail of actual historical events as is practical, but any conflicts between my version of events and the work of historians should unquestionably be resolved in favor of those worthy academics. In writing this book I have relied on dozens of histories, memoirs, newsreels, museum exhibits, and photographic archives, but all errors or deviations from fact are mine alone.

Operation Torch and the battle of Kasserine Pass? Real. Tulsa? Real. New York City? I’m pretty sure that exists. Gedwell Falls is my own invention, though I suspect it’s located quite near Healdsburg, California. Similarly, Camps Maron and Szekely, while suspiciously close to Fort Benning, Georgia, are made up. Other things, things you might not expect, actually happened. A lot of American troops really did go to war on the luxury liner Queen Mary. And the bit about a French soldier who erected a barricade symbolique? That scene is actually based on a true story. Nothing is more unexpected than reality.

In the course of portraying the attitudes and notions of social justice prevalent in the United States in those days, I have used language and portrayed attitudes that all good people now find abhorrent. But it was another time, and I can’t whitewash history. In those days, racism and sexism and anti-Semitism were all right out there in the open. Some people had begun to see beyond those destructively irrational notions, but it was very much a work in progress. The generation that won World War II saved the world—no, really, saved the world—but they were not saints.

There’s a bunch more to be found on our website, www.frontlinesbook.com, and our Facebook page, Facebook.com/frontlinesbook, including videos, photos, maps, music, additional stories, and more.

I’m to be found on Twitter @MichaelGrantBks.

Questions of legal rights and permissions should be directed to Steve Sheppard at Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams and Sheppard, but please don’t send him fan mail—he’s a lawyer, and he’ll charge me to read it.

Thanks. Please consider checking for digital shorts wherever you buy ebooks and stay tuned for book two of Front Lines.

—Michael Grant





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