No Sacrifice Too Great: The 1st Infantry Division in World War II

American Military Experience

by Gregory Fontenot

The U.S. 1st Infantry Division (1st ID), familiarly known as the Big Red One, adapted to dynamic battlefield conditions through­out the course of its deployment during World War II by inno­vating and altering behavior, including tactics, techniques, and procedures. Both the Division’s leaders and soldiers accom­plished this by thinking critically about their experiences in combat and wasting little time in putting lessons learned to good use. Simply put, they learned on the job—in battle and after bat­tle—and did so quickly.

In telling the Division’s WWII story, which includes an extensive photographic essay featuring many previously unpublished im­ages, Gregory Fontenot includes the stories of individual mem­bers of the Big Red One, from high-ranking officers to enlisted men fresh off the streets of Brooklyn, both during and after the conflict. Colonel Fontenot’s rare ability to combine expert anal­ysis with compelling narrative history makes No Sacrifice Too Great an absorbing read for anyone interested in the military his­tory of the United States.

 

Genres: World War II

616 pages, Hardcover

Published June 14, 2023

Reviews

[Russell Glenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colonel (U.S. Army, retired) Gregory Fontenot's history of his army's 1st Infantry Division in World War II is a model for the genre. Weaving combat operations (with which Fontenot is intimately familiar, his having commanded an armor battalion during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm) and preparations for those undertakings, No Sacrifice Too Great will please military history aficionados, neophytes, or researchers requiring an excellent supporting source. It is neither merely an academic history nor popular retelling. This is instead a fine blend of both, one that informs regarding events, provides analysis reflecting the author's professional past, and brings the personal experiences of individual soldiers to the fore.

[Catherine Mustread · Rating 3 out of 5]

History Happy Hour discussion podcast July 27, 2024 : The story of how the men of this division learned how to adapt, improvise and innovate on the job as they took on the Nazis on two continents.