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Battle Hardened: An Infantry Officer's Harrowing Journey from D-Day to V-E Day
An Infantry Officer's Harrowing Journey from D-Day to VE-Day tells the story of an American soldier's growth from a 2nd Lieutenant eager to prove his worth in battle to a skilled and resolute commander over the course of the Northern European Campaign. Craig Chapman delves deep into the personal recollections and mental state of Bill Chapman as he fought against the Nazis, enduring frontline combat and witnessing horror on a massive scale. Lieutenant Chapman maintains his sanity by isolating his emotions from the chaos of the battlefield, and the young officer turns into a hard-edged warrior who dispassionately orders men to risk their lives yet still manages to hold onto his humanity.
- GenresWorld War IIHistory
600 pages, Hardcover
Published November 20, 2017
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67 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 26, 2017
I was so very fortunate to preview this book during it’s final stages of publication. My father, Tallie J. Crocker was Bill’s Company Commander during the D-Day invasion, and they served together in the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division throughout the victorious march across Europe.
Craig has done an outstanding job of presenting the challenges that our fathers and their men faced during the war. It is amazing that these young men engaged fully in this horrendous conflict - they truly were part of the "Greatest Generation". The book’s focus on platoon and company level operations, allows the reader to gain an excellent understanding of what war is like at the lowest level - the fear, emotions, and pride that they experienced fighting through each day to survive and advance the allies’ cause and defeat the evil Nazi empire.
The story provides many examples of the resilience of our troops and their ability to adapt their tactics to the tasks at hand and not be constrained by dated techniques. Craig offers an excellent example regarding night operations. Initially, the U.S. forces refused to initiate night combat operations, but they soon understood that the Germans realized it and were using that fact to gain an advantage against them. They innovated their tactics and developed fighting techniques that effectively allowed them to gain the advantage and win conflicts that earlier would have been lost.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in understanding World War II from a low-level perspective. The narrative carries the reader from war preparations in the states all the way through their victorious return home. The author weaves the tale, and the reader learns to understand and truly respect the heroes that dedicated their young lives to protecting the freedom this great country enjoys.
Robert H. Crocker
Craig has done an outstanding job of presenting the challenges that our fathers and their men faced during the war. It is amazing that these young men engaged fully in this horrendous conflict - they truly were part of the "Greatest Generation". The book’s focus on platoon and company level operations, allows the reader to gain an excellent understanding of what war is like at the lowest level - the fear, emotions, and pride that they experienced fighting through each day to survive and advance the allies’ cause and defeat the evil Nazi empire.
The story provides many examples of the resilience of our troops and their ability to adapt their tactics to the tasks at hand and not be constrained by dated techniques. Craig offers an excellent example regarding night operations. Initially, the U.S. forces refused to initiate night combat operations, but they soon understood that the Germans realized it and were using that fact to gain an advantage against them. They innovated their tactics and developed fighting techniques that effectively allowed them to gain the advantage and win conflicts that earlier would have been lost.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in understanding World War II from a low-level perspective. The narrative carries the reader from war preparations in the states all the way through their victorious return home. The author weaves the tale, and the reader learns to understand and truly respect the heroes that dedicated their young lives to protecting the freedom this great country enjoys.
Robert H. Crocker
May 1, 2018
This is a summary of a review I posted at Amazon. I came from a Marine Corp family and spent a few years in it myself. I also have a personal connection with someone who reviewed a draft of the book before publication.
In some ways, Battle Hardened reminds me of the central question in John Keegan’s The Face of Battle, “what’s it like to be in combat?” In Battle Hardened, the question is examined in the reconstructed experience of the author’s father.
Capt. Chapman’s earlier life is narrated mostly as a prelude to show how he came to be where he was on D Day. The book's real strength is the narrative of Capt. Chapman’s training, staging and especially battle experience, which provides detailed context and shows the reader what Capt. Chapman did and how and why he did it. The book happens to be a pretty good read for anyone interested in what ground combat looked like in France, Belgium and Germany.
Capt. Chapman’s attention to the details of the challenges he faced was a major contributor to his survival from the Normandy invasion to VE day. The book captures that well. Artillery, mortar and machine gun placement and management, troop management, exposed and unexposed movement through various kinds of terrain, integration with the available support and with tactical and strategic imperatives – these considerations are detailed in the narrative. The book provides enough explanatory material that familiarity with military terminology isn’t necessary to follow events on the ground, but if you have little interest such things and how they related to Capt. Chapman’s actions, you may miss part of the book’s value.
The maps supplied in the book are sufficient to follow the action, but if you are an enthusiast, check the “Websites” section of the bibliography for the citation to digitalarchive.mcmaster.ca, where there is a library of WWII topographic maps, from which the examples in the book were drawn. Although it takes patience to locate the relevant maps (unless you’re familiar with France), you can view them online, or download them (JP2, moderate detail needing special software, or TIF, very high detail, 15-minute download per map, readable in Windows Photo Viewer). I regret I didn’t know about this until I finished the book.
I enjoyed Battle Hardened. Bear in mind, however, that it is a serious attempt to depict accurately what happened on the ground. It requires some engagement from the reader.
In some ways, Battle Hardened reminds me of the central question in John Keegan’s The Face of Battle, “what’s it like to be in combat?” In Battle Hardened, the question is examined in the reconstructed experience of the author’s father.
Capt. Chapman’s earlier life is narrated mostly as a prelude to show how he came to be where he was on D Day. The book's real strength is the narrative of Capt. Chapman’s training, staging and especially battle experience, which provides detailed context and shows the reader what Capt. Chapman did and how and why he did it. The book happens to be a pretty good read for anyone interested in what ground combat looked like in France, Belgium and Germany.
Capt. Chapman’s attention to the details of the challenges he faced was a major contributor to his survival from the Normandy invasion to VE day. The book captures that well. Artillery, mortar and machine gun placement and management, troop management, exposed and unexposed movement through various kinds of terrain, integration with the available support and with tactical and strategic imperatives – these considerations are detailed in the narrative. The book provides enough explanatory material that familiarity with military terminology isn’t necessary to follow events on the ground, but if you have little interest such things and how they related to Capt. Chapman’s actions, you may miss part of the book’s value.
The maps supplied in the book are sufficient to follow the action, but if you are an enthusiast, check the “Websites” section of the bibliography for the citation to digitalarchive.mcmaster.ca, where there is a library of WWII topographic maps, from which the examples in the book were drawn. Although it takes patience to locate the relevant maps (unless you’re familiar with France), you can view them online, or download them (JP2, moderate detail needing special software, or TIF, very high detail, 15-minute download per map, readable in Windows Photo Viewer). I regret I didn’t know about this until I finished the book.
I enjoyed Battle Hardened. Bear in mind, however, that it is a serious attempt to depict accurately what happened on the ground. It requires some engagement from the reader.
May 21, 2022
In 1945, there was a maxim that the Most Dangerous man in the world- was an American Second Lieutenant with Binoculars and a Walkie Talkie- so tremendous was the firepower available to him with a simple radio request. One such young man was Captain Bill Chapman, who led units of the Fourth Infantry Division (the IV or Ivy Div) from D-Day to the ruins of the Reich. Bill led a heavy weapons platoon at first but kept moving up-through leading a fully company for a while to Battalion and Regimental posts- by following, adjusting and then perfecting combat assault techniques that are still in use to this day, and that made good use of the American style of warfare- overwhelming firepower always brought to bear on the enemy and minimising one's own casaulty exposure. Craig Chapman, Bills infantry officer son, and the author of several Military History books, clearly traced his father's path through Europe, as well as interviewing other witnesses, and going over documents, to make this a personal and tactical tour of American operations in NW Europe in 1944-45. Filled with Maps, diagrams and a curated B/w picture collection, this book show you how the Military work was done- sometimes on a squad by squad level as a young man proved his mettle in the cauldron of WWII.
And I am not kidding about firepower. My father did a lot of the same training- and was once set to be one such young many with a cool new Radio and an physics student's understanding of US Army "Time on target" parabolas- before being grabbed by the Corps of Engineers to build air bases. . So Bill's training joining up and training period played very true. When he gets to France- he soon realises the role his heavy weapons (Machine Guns and Mortars, later Bazookas) play in attacks against German veterans-and learns to keep them very mobile in their Jeeps or trucks until needed- then overwhelm the defenders with volumes of fire. As he gets control of more elements- he's able to develop a winning formula - MORE FIREPOWER. We also see his Commanders first fighting using regiments formally (Two battalions up-one in reserve) but beginning to play with Combat Commands (splitting a division into 2 Regimental Combat Teams)- and even later putting together "German-style" Kampfgruppe or Battlegroups- when they get real comfort with Armoured warfare- and the Germans are on their last legs. Throughout- author Chapman critiques his father's performance and fills in the other part of the story. A very compelling read- albeit perhaps a bit technical for some general readers. I really enjoyed it.
With a little bit of adult themes and some graphic wound passages, I think a 12/13 year old Junior reader with a WWII interest would be able to keep up. For the Gamer/modeler/Military Enthusiast- purest on point content. The Gamer gets one challenging scenario after another- although I suggest getting more of your own maps and matching them- with cheat codes on how to win as an Infantry Officer debriefs you each time. The Modeler gets a lot of great diorama and build ideas- literally every few pages. The Military Enthusiast is in on the birth of real American Combat Doctrine- Utilising Speed, Logistical Support, combined arms but always Firepower. At one point Bill's assault in a wooded area is using up the entire divisional allotment of ammo for the day- but when the Quartermaster sees how effective it is- and how few of Bill's boys are getting hurt- he just makes sure to keep it coming! The lessons in effective defense taught by the Germans in the early chapters, as American officers get up to speed, are repaid in kind in the later chapters as the US Army learns to harness its weapons and manpower together. I think the Military History buff will want to have this one on the WWII, US Army, D-Day, Battle of the Bulge and VE-Day shelves on their library.
And I am not kidding about firepower. My father did a lot of the same training- and was once set to be one such young many with a cool new Radio and an physics student's understanding of US Army "Time on target" parabolas- before being grabbed by the Corps of Engineers to build air bases. . So Bill's training joining up and training period played very true. When he gets to France- he soon realises the role his heavy weapons (Machine Guns and Mortars, later Bazookas) play in attacks against German veterans-and learns to keep them very mobile in their Jeeps or trucks until needed- then overwhelm the defenders with volumes of fire. As he gets control of more elements- he's able to develop a winning formula - MORE FIREPOWER. We also see his Commanders first fighting using regiments formally (Two battalions up-one in reserve) but beginning to play with Combat Commands (splitting a division into 2 Regimental Combat Teams)- and even later putting together "German-style" Kampfgruppe or Battlegroups- when they get real comfort with Armoured warfare- and the Germans are on their last legs. Throughout- author Chapman critiques his father's performance and fills in the other part of the story. A very compelling read- albeit perhaps a bit technical for some general readers. I really enjoyed it.
With a little bit of adult themes and some graphic wound passages, I think a 12/13 year old Junior reader with a WWII interest would be able to keep up. For the Gamer/modeler/Military Enthusiast- purest on point content. The Gamer gets one challenging scenario after another- although I suggest getting more of your own maps and matching them- with cheat codes on how to win as an Infantry Officer debriefs you each time. The Modeler gets a lot of great diorama and build ideas- literally every few pages. The Military Enthusiast is in on the birth of real American Combat Doctrine- Utilising Speed, Logistical Support, combined arms but always Firepower. At one point Bill's assault in a wooded area is using up the entire divisional allotment of ammo for the day- but when the Quartermaster sees how effective it is- and how few of Bill's boys are getting hurt- he just makes sure to keep it coming! The lessons in effective defense taught by the Germans in the early chapters, as American officers get up to speed, are repaid in kind in the later chapters as the US Army learns to harness its weapons and manpower together. I think the Military History buff will want to have this one on the WWII, US Army, D-Day, Battle of the Bulge and VE-Day shelves on their library.
February 17, 2022
Two stars is a pretty harsh rating and I was reluctant to rate it so low. Why?
The book's author is the son of a decorated (Silver Star) infantry officer (Bill Chapman) who landed at Utah Beach and fought across France into Belgium and then Germany, right up to the end of the war. Bill was wounded twice yet returned to his unit as he felt a strong obligation to his comrades and the mission.
Bill left behind many conversational memories as well as a cache of letters to his wartime bride (the author's mother).
So, you have to truly be amazed at the perils endured by an infantry officer, whose battalion started with 35 officers on D-Day and only four (4) remained at war's end. 180 total officers cycled through the battalion - presumably a preponderance were killed or wounded.
Chapman set out to document his father's wartime experience and ended up documenting his father's regimental (or often, the battalion's history) while leavening it with stories from his father's personal experiences (that included being part of the liberation of Paris). As such, the majority of the book reads like "Company F moved out at 0900h and advanced to across the road. Small arms fire greeted the unit. Company G then attacked from the flank while Bill registered the mortar fire on the enemy position." And paragraph after paragraph of this stuff. And chapter after chapter. The dominant source material was clearly the regimental/battalion after-action reports.
The most interesting chapters were when his father, Bill, was in training, deploying, recovering from wounds, an action where he won the Silver Star in Normandy, and immediate post-war in Germany. This is because you got a strong sense of the man and his thoughts.
The book is a labor of love from his son who did a herculean amount of primary research to put this all together. For family members of the 4th Infantry Division veterans, it will be insightful. For military history buffs who read non-specialist histories, there are more interesting books about individual soldiers from the reader's point-of-view (example: see books by Kershaw like this The Longest Winter: The Battle of the Bulge and the Epic Story of World War II's Most Decorated Platoon .
I did learn a few things such as how mortars are sighted and coordinated with observers and how heavy machine guns can be used for indirect fire (Bill Chapman was a heavy weapons platoon leader until March 1945 when he became an infantry company commander).
There are many maps which are basically highlighted salient place names and positions over faint army topographical maps of particular actions. However, the narrative references hundreds of place names of which only a few are shown on these maps. There are no overall maps showing movement across days/weeks so your Western Theatre geography/chronology needs to be pretty good to put the narrative into context.
There are also a nice collection of photos.
Again - 5 stars for effort and love on the part of the author; 2 stars for readability and general interest.
The book's author is the son of a decorated (Silver Star) infantry officer (Bill Chapman) who landed at Utah Beach and fought across France into Belgium and then Germany, right up to the end of the war. Bill was wounded twice yet returned to his unit as he felt a strong obligation to his comrades and the mission.
Bill left behind many conversational memories as well as a cache of letters to his wartime bride (the author's mother).
So, you have to truly be amazed at the perils endured by an infantry officer, whose battalion started with 35 officers on D-Day and only four (4) remained at war's end. 180 total officers cycled through the battalion - presumably a preponderance were killed or wounded.
Chapman set out to document his father's wartime experience and ended up documenting his father's regimental (or often, the battalion's history) while leavening it with stories from his father's personal experiences (that included being part of the liberation of Paris). As such, the majority of the book reads like "Company F moved out at 0900h and advanced to across the road. Small arms fire greeted the unit. Company G then attacked from the flank while Bill registered the mortar fire on the enemy position." And paragraph after paragraph of this stuff. And chapter after chapter. The dominant source material was clearly the regimental/battalion after-action reports.
The most interesting chapters were when his father, Bill, was in training, deploying, recovering from wounds, an action where he won the Silver Star in Normandy, and immediate post-war in Germany. This is because you got a strong sense of the man and his thoughts.
The book is a labor of love from his son who did a herculean amount of primary research to put this all together. For family members of the 4th Infantry Division veterans, it will be insightful. For military history buffs who read non-specialist histories, there are more interesting books about individual soldiers from the reader's point-of-view (example: see books by Kershaw like this The Longest Winter: The Battle of the Bulge and the Epic Story of World War II's Most Decorated Platoon .
I did learn a few things such as how mortars are sighted and coordinated with observers and how heavy machine guns can be used for indirect fire (Bill Chapman was a heavy weapons platoon leader until March 1945 when he became an infantry company commander).
There are many maps which are basically highlighted salient place names and positions over faint army topographical maps of particular actions. However, the narrative references hundreds of place names of which only a few are shown on these maps. There are no overall maps showing movement across days/weeks so your Western Theatre geography/chronology needs to be pretty good to put the narrative into context.
There are also a nice collection of photos.
Again - 5 stars for effort and love on the part of the author; 2 stars for readability and general interest.
January 12, 2018
Awesome book. The author did an amazing job of researching and then masterfully telling his father’s true story in the liberation of Europe. The title of this book is perfect, as the reader is taken through the inspiring story of Bill Chapman’s battle hardening war campaigns from D-Day through the Allied victory in Europe. If you’re interested in the lives of WW II American Infantry in the European Theater this book is an absolute must-read. The author covers everything from tactics to the mental fortitude needed for combat. It is a very personal account of not only Bill Chapman’s experiences, but that of his men.
Readers that enjoy WWII history may be especially interested in adding this book to their reading list. Battle Hardened: An Infantry Officer's Harrowing Journey from D-Day to V-E Day is great story an excellent read. Highly recommended.
Readers that enjoy WWII history may be especially interested in adding this book to their reading list. Battle Hardened: An Infantry Officer's Harrowing Journey from D-Day to V-E Day is great story an excellent read. Highly recommended.
June 1, 2018
Battle-Hardened is a valuable addition to the WWII lexicon - it's history told through the experiences of a common soldier, the author's father, an infantry officer. With the story-telling skill of a novelist and the perspective of an historian, Chapman has produced a riveting account of the action in the ETO from D-day to VE-day. The day-to-day activities of the Ivy Division are mundane, absorbing and harrowing all at once - a perfect reflection of the experience of war. And the changes in Bill Chapman's personality as he becomes battle-hardened are both heroic and tragic. There's something here for everyone from the reader with a casual interest to the dedicated WWII buff.
June 27, 2018
The author made a valiant effort to record Bill's brave journey through World War II. Sadly this books misses the mark. It reads more like a history book than a personal account of the war. I love war books, but this felt cold and impersonal with fact and history leading the way and lacking the much needed heart and feeling.
August 7, 2018
A great view from the round of life in the trenches for an infantry officer in World War Two Europe. There are a bunch of these books. This one was very good. A little heavy on detailed tactics that were hard to follow even with the maps provided. This story did cover divisions not as well represented in the available books.
June 13, 2018
Amazing story
This is yet another great personal history of a wwii infantry officer. In spots it seems long and you wonder how people endured the constant battle without losing it. Remarkable men.
This is yet another great personal history of a wwii infantry officer. In spots it seems long and you wonder how people endured the constant battle without losing it. Remarkable men.
March 19, 2019
Well written, engaging story. Hard to put it down.
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