The Wargamer

Steel Victory and US Army Infantry Divisions 1944–45 are remarkably complimentary books covering the US Army infantry divisions and the independent tank battalions that supported them. Both books provide an overview of the critical period 1944–45 when changes instituted by Lieutenant General Leslie J. McNair, the head of the Army Ground Forces (AGF) and an organizational genius, were imposed on an army reluctant to change.

Steel Victory

Publication Date: 12/2/2003
Book Author: Harry Yeide
Publisher: Presidio Press

US Army Infantry Divisions 1944–45

Publication Date: 3/10/2007
Book Author: John J. Sayen, Jr.
Publisher: Osprey Publishing

A Perspective From The Foxhole

US Army Infantry Divisions 1944–45 by John Sayen provides a complete overview of the evolving organization, tactics, doctrine, weapons and equipment of the US Infantry in the Pacific, Mediterranean and European theaters, from 1944 to the end of World War II. This book, Battle Orders 24, is a follow-up to Osprey’s Battle Orders 17: US Army Infantry Divisions 1942–43. The 96-page book includes a table outlining all 66 US Army infantry divisions that served during the war, and analyzes the organization of manpower and resources that turned these divisions into a war-winning army.

When General McNair took command of the newly created AGF in March 1942, he recognized that the organization tables for the 1942 infantry division were inexcusably extravagant for shipping them overseas to fight and needed to be downsized. Reduction goals of 15 percent in personnel and 20 percent in vehicles were called for, but without cutting combat effectiveness. Despite howls of protest from commanders at all levels, McNair had the support of Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall and the War Department eventually published new organization tables on July 15, 1943.

Sayen provides the historical background for this painful transition and then guides the reader through unit organization, tactics, command and control, and logistics based on the revised tables. An extended chapter covers combat operations and briefly describes three campaigns involving US Army infantry divisions: 1st Infantry Division at Omaha Beach, June 6, 1944; 28th Infantry Division in the Ardennes, December 16–19, 1944; and 6th and 25th Infantry Divisions in the Philippines, February 1–6, 1945. From rifles and bazookas and radios, to jeeps and trucks and antitank guns, US Army Infantry Divisions 1944–45 covers the infantry soldiers and their equipment during the critical offensive period of the war.

A Perspective From The Turret

While Sayen briefly discusses tanks and antitank support in his book, Steel Victory by Harry Yeide provides the heroic story of the US Army’s independent tank battalions at war in Europe. This 336-page book gives the history of the 37 tank battalions that supported the 42 infantry divisions that fought in France and Germany. Three appendices at the end of the book provide individual battalion profiles, attachment histories for each infantry and airborne division, and campaign histories for each battalion.

General McNair as head of AGF was instrumental in the creation of the independent tank battalions. In addition to his restructuring of infantry divisions, he was also a strong advocate of mobile warfare and oversaw the development of armored and airborne divisions. While cavalry officers such as Generals George S. Patton and Adna Chaffee were advocating a separate armored force of armored divisions and mechanized infantry divisions, McNair nonetheless championed the traditional infantry-support role of armor. In no small part due to his influence, armored divisions were reorganized twice in 1942–43 and the number of independent tank battalions expanded from the 15 contemplated in 1940 to 37 by war’s end. The infantry divisions would need every single one of them.

Yeide gives a broad narrative of how the battalions were created and trained, deployed overseas, and committed to battle. Unlike their counterparts in the armored divisions, the independent tank battalions received about six months of training for combat and little or no tactical training for their primary role of supporting the infantry. In most cases, tank–infantry communications had to be worked out, relationships established and re-established with each new attachment to a different infantry division, and tactics adapted to the various challenges faced in Europe such as penetrating the maze of hedgerows in Normandy. While the infantry divisions and their regiments would continually rotate units in and out of the line, the limited number of tank battalions always seemed to be rushing from one firefight to another. Yeide presents this whole story with an alternating mix of detailed personal accounts and broad operational overviews that keep the reader engaged, despite the author's overuse of the term “doughs” for soldiers.

A Wargamer's Perspective

Harry Yeide mentions “Wild Bill” Wilder in his acknowledgments, which might imply that Steel Victory contains the kind of raw material useful for generating a plethora of tactical scenarios for various games. Sadly this is not the case because small-scale maps and other details are not provided with the descriptions of units in combat. Similarly, US Army Infantry Divisions 1944–45, like other Battle Orders in the Osprey series, is a wealth of data regarding unit organization tables but lacks vivid personal accounts to bring the data alive. John Sayen covers the key role that the US Army infantry played in the diverse campaigns of the war but not down to the squad and platoon level like Yeide does. However, the two books provide helpful information and references for creating historically accurate orders of battle and realistic scenarios.

No one book is expected to cover everything. Military historians and amateur enthusiasts need several different perspectives to bring a particular subject into focus. Steel Victory and US Army Infantry Divisions 1944–45 offer two perspectives of essentially the same subject—an overview of the infantry divisions with their supporting tank battalions during the final two years of the war in Europe. Both of these books are excellent references.

Related Reading

US Tank and Tank Destroyer Battalions in the ETO 1944-45 (Battle Orders 10), Steven J. Zaloga.

US Army Infantry Divisions 1942–43 (Battle Orders 17), John Sayen.

US Airborne Divisions in the ETO 1944–45 (Battle Orders 25), Steven J. Zaloga.

About The Author

Bill is a former infantry officer with a keen interest in military history. His wargaming passion began in the 1970s with Tactics II, Third Reich and other Avalon Hill classics. Board games eventually gave way to computer games, as kids and critters took over his life. Through no fault of his own, Bill found himself playtesting for Fury Software (Strategic Command 1 & 2) and Schwerpunkt (Russo-German War, Anglo-German War), and managed to survive the experience. In his spare time when he’s not playtesting or writing manuals or developing custom scenarios, Bill sneaks away to his day job with the federal government. And he actually still plays a variety of wargames, because he’s too lazy to fish.