Germany's fast-hitting Panzer divisions made history with their astonishing victories in the opening years of World War II, but the bulk of the Army marched into battle on foot, with their artillery and supplies following behind on horse-drawn limbers and carts. The 65th Division was typical of the front-line infantry divisions of the German Army. Raised for coastal duty in 1942, the Division went to Italy after the collapse of the Axis partnership. The 65th saw action throughout the Italian Campaign, from the soggy banks of the flooded Sangro River, to the trenches of the Anzio beachhead, to the final battles of the war in front of the Po River. Constantly short of troops, manned by war-weary conscripts, and always under attack by Allied artillery, fighter-bombers and tanks, the experience of the 65th Infantry Division was summed up by one of its soldiers in two words: INDESCRIBABLE ORDEAL. For the first time in English, this is the full war record of the 65th Infantry Division: a story of bravery, sacrifice and the limits of human endurance.
Germany's fast-hitting Panzer divisions made history with their astonishing victories in the opening years of World War II, but the bulk of the Army marched into battle on foot, with their artillery and supplies following behind on horse-drawn limbers and carts. The 65th Division was typical of the front-line infantry divisions of the German Army. Raised for coastal duty in 1942, the Division went to Italy after the collapse of the Axis partnership. The 65th saw action throughout the Italian Campaign, from the soggy banks of the flooded Sangro River, to the trenches of the Anzio beachhead, to the final battles of the war in front of the Po River. Constantly short of troops, manned by war-weary conscripts, and always under attack by Allied artillery, fighter-bombers and tanks, the experience of the 65th Infantry Division was summed up by one of its soldiers in two words: INDESCRIBABLE ORDEAL. For the first time in English, this is the full war record of the 65th Infantry Division: a story of bravery, sacrifice and the limits of human endurance.
