You Can't Get Much Closer Than This: Combat with the 80th “Blue Ridge” Division in World War II Europe

by A.Z. Adkins Jr., Andrew Z. Adkins III

After graduating from The Citadel in May 1943, Andrew Adkins, Jr. immediately attended the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School, where he was commissioned and sent on to the 80th Infantry Division, then undergoing its final training cycle in the California-Arizona desert. Upon reaching the division, 2d Lieutenant Adkins was assigned as an 81mm mortar section leader in Company H, 2d Battalion, 317th Infantry Regiment. When the 80th Infantry Division completed its training in December 1943, it was shipped in stages to the United Kingdom and then on to Normandy, where it landed on August 3, 1944. There, Lieutenant Adkins and his fellow soldiers took part in light hedgerow fighting that served to shake the division down and familiarize the troops and their officers with combat.

The first real test came on August 20, 1944, when the 2d Battalion, 317th Infantry, attacked high ground near Argentan during the Allied drive to seal huge German forces in the Falaise Pocket. While scouting for mortar positions in the woods, Andy Adkins ran into a group of Germans and shot one of them dead with his carbine. This baptism in blood taught him the answer to a question every novice combatant wants to He was cool under fire, capable of killing when facing the enemy. He later wrote, "It was a sickening sight, but having been caught up in the heat of battle, I didn't have a reaction other than feeling I had saved my own life." Thereafter, the 2d Battalion, 317th Infantry, took part in a succession of bloody battles across France. Ineptly led through the tenures of several battalion commanders, the unit suffered grievous losses even as it took hills and towns away from brave and well-led German veterans. In the course of fighting graphically portrayed in this soldier's memoir, Andy Adkins acted with remarkable skill and courage, placing himself at the forefront of the action whenever he could. His extremely aggressive delivery of critical supplies to a cut-off unit in an embattled French town earned him a Bronze Star Medal, the first such award in his battalion. You Can't Get Much Closer Than This is at heart a young soldier's story of war. In vibrant, piercing terms, a junior officer's coming of age in battle is the compelling focus of page after page of action sequences.

Table of Contents

PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CHAPTER 1: THE MAKING OF A SOLDIER
CHAPTER 2: FIRST TASTE OF BATTLE
CHAPTER 3: CROSSING THE MOSELLE
CHAPTER 4: HILL 382 (ST. GENEVIEVE)
CHAPTER 5: VILLERS-LES-MOIVRON
CHAPTER 6: SIVRY, FRANCE
CHAPTER 7: MEDICAL EVACUATION AND RECOVERY
CHAPTER 8: BACK TO THE FRONT
CHAPTER 9: THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE
CHAPTER 10: THE RELENTLESS, BITTER COLD WINTER
CHAPTER 11: THE SIEGFRIED LINE
CHAPTER 12: R&R IN PARIS
CHAPTER 13: MARCHING ONWARD
CHAPTER 14: CROSSING THE RHINE
CHAPTER 15: MOVING FAST
CHAPTER 16: BUCHENWALD
CHAPTER 17: NUREMBERG
CHAPTER 18: THE END OF THE WAR

APPENDIX 1: THE 80TH INFANTRY DIVISION
APPENDIX 2: INFANTRY ORGANIZATIONS

GLOSSARY
NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX

Genres: World War II, Military Fiction, History

288 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2005

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Describing his experiences as a mortar platoon commander with the 317th Infantry Regiment, Lt. A. Z. Adkins provides an interesting glimpse of life on the front lines of the Allied advance through France and - ultimately - into Germany. Essentially a compiled journal, the narrative is mostly free of stylistic flourishes and instead offers an almost stream-of-consciousness account of the day-to-day rigors faced by Lt. Adkins, his men, and his fellow officers. Perhaps not the smoothest read, You Can't Get Much Closer Than This is nonetheless a valuable work for those interested in reading first-hand accounts of our World War II veterans.

[Alan Tague · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great battle by battle narrative of World War II written by someone literally in the trenches. I must admit my rating is greatly influenced by the fact the author recounts the same journey my father took during this terrible war as a member of the 317th Infantry, Company E. So many details and descriptions that were new to me as my father was part of the greatest generation that seldom discussed their memories of this horrific war.

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good WW11 book but just too wordy for my taste. Yes, I would recommend this book to the WW11 buffs. It did bog down some with (as far as I'm concerned) with too many details that made it confusing and difficult for a clean understanding of what was being said.

[Sonny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent account of Lt. Andrew Adkins experiences with Combat Company H, 317th Infantry Regiment, 80th Division of the U. S. Army during the latter part of WWII.

[Bill Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author's father, A.Z. Adkins, Jr., in 1984 and about five years prior to his death in 1989, gave the author a ring binder which contained a journal he had kept during his service during WWII with the U.S. Army unit mentioned in the title. The events documented in that journal are presented in this book in a narrative fashion, divided into eighteen chapters, beginning with Mr. Adkins' months as a cadet at The Citadel at the time of Pearl Harbor, his subsequent training at Camp Leguna in the Arizona-California desert, and his eventual shipping out to England and then to France at around D-Day +60. As a Second Lieutenant, Adkins was in command of a mortar company which fought a long succession of fierce battles over their trek through France, Germany, and into Austria from August 1944 right up until Germany's surrender in early May 1945. Along the way we become fairly acquainted with several of Adkins' fellow officers and infantrymen, some of whom survive to the end of the telling, and others who do not. As the story progresses, we gain a strong sense of the brutality of both the battles they fought and the conditions under which they fought them, the imminent threat of death or serious injury which followed them at all times, and the brotherhood which developed among these men. It's a compelling story told in a frank, forthright way and it moves along in just the right pace - in fact, there were several instances where I might have wished events had been related in just a bit greater detail. If the book suffers from anything, it is the difficulty inherent in attempting to accurately but simply convey a sense of complex troop positioning, movement and direction from battle to battle. I've found this to be problematic in other books detailing battlefield experiences and other than providing maps or illustrations along with each new development I'm not sure how this can be remedied. Honestly, for some reason I wasn't expecting a great deal from this prior to getting into it, but I'm very glad I read it and consider it to have been worthwhile. It held my keen interest from beginning to end. The author's treatment of the experiences outlined in his father's journal has done them both a great justice

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Lt. Andy Adkins was wounded during the fighting at Sivry, France, in October 1944, and sent back first to Paris, then to London, for treatment and recovery, he had time to start writing down all his experiences in World War II to date: his enlistment after graduating from the Citadel in 1943, basic training as a mortar platoon leader, sailing to England, and joining the war on D+60 when his outfit, the 80th Infantry Division, stepped ashore at Omaha Beach and moved inland to join the battle for France.

Luckily, once started, and after rejoining his unit in November 1944, Adkins kept up his diary whenever possible, even during the frozen hell of the Battle of the Bulge, the crossing of the Rhine, and the final pursuit of the remnants of the German Army through Germany and into Austria. Decades later, Adkins' son Andy III would use that diary, plus letters his father had sent home, and of course interviews with his father himself, to craft this excellent first-person battle narrative.

Thanks to the copious notes and Adkins' recall, and unlike so many other WWII memoirs that are interesting but short on details, this book includes copious place names and dates, so it is easy to follow the movements and travails of H Company on the map and to compare Adkins' narrative to other official histories, fitting his memories into the bigger picture of what the US Army was accomplishing in those days.

The book could do with a few more details maps like the one that shows the area of the Moselle crossing area at the beginning of the book; but Adkins' attention to detail makes it easy to track the narrative on modern maps. This, plus the fast-paced action and Adkins' unsparing inclusion of funny, touching, or horrifying anecdotes makes this one of the better WWII memoirs I've read.

[Gilbert Durochez · Rating 5 out of 5]

60 mm memories: Vietnam

This book brought back memories of my war, Vietnam. I fought with the 3/9th Marines, 3rd Marine Division, 60mm mortar squad. I started out as an ammo bearer and worked my way up to gunner during my tour in Vietnam. We were close as brothers in war. We had good and bad times together. We fought to stay alive and for each other also. We were wet, scared, hungry, and thirsty most of the time but we survived the monsoon and heat of the jungle. Death don't mean nothing, we would say. They called us "Death from Above". I was always proud of my squad when we fired a mission to save a patrol or " bird dog" night watch outside our perimeter. It was kill or be killed. May others not see the death and destruction witnessed by some of us in war.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spirited account

The author wrote this in the first person and it's obvious that he has a lot of personality. This is not a dry historical account but instead a personal experience. I had just finished another book about this same unit and this was a good choice to read next. I highly recommend this book.

[Sgt Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a retired soldier. Service in Vietnam and Desert Storm. I am fascinated with all of the every day experiences of all previous soldiers. This book was filled with many day-to-day experiences of The Greatest Generation who fought in Europe.
A good book for me.

[Edward L · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Review

This story chronicles the comradeship and heart of the WWII infantry soldier. These men would do anything to support their fellow soldiers. The bonds between them were unbreakable.

[chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best personal accounts i have read about WW2

[WILLIAM ENGLISH · Rating 5 out of 5]

the best squad level book I’ve read about WW2 combat

This is the best first person account of WW2 that I have read …from wading ashore at Normandy to the end of the war.

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

My dad served with the 317th and never said a lot about th war. After he passed away I found his letters to my mom. The letters were pretty much day to day mundane activities but when they are juxtaposed to the actual events that occurred in the war it leaves a great deal to the imagination of what my dad saw and felt.

[Bill Cronin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty balanced and descriptive, these infantry guys were tough.