The Mortarmen

Michael Connelly

Jul 2006 · Trafford Publishing

About this ebook

The Mortarmen is an untold story of world War II. The book details the fighting history of the men of the 87th Chemical Mortar Battalion. The battalion was armed with the powerful 4.2 mortars and following its landing on Utah Beach on D-Day fought in every major engagement in France, Belgium, and Germany.

The 4.2 mortar battalions were the most sought after fire support units in Europe. The 87th was in combat for 326 days and the book follows each of the four companies as they participate in the Battle for Normandy, the fight for Cherbourg, the battles of Aachen and the Hurtgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulge, and finally the crossing of the Rhine and the final victory in Germany.

The book contains excepts of diaries and quotations from the men who fought in the unit and from some of the German soldiers who opposed them. It is a story of heroism, tragedy, and the triumph of soldiers fighting for freedom.

Veterans of the 87th Speak out about The Mortarmen:

"The author has performed admirably in depicting the complete story of the 87th Mortar BN from training camps thru D-Day and the entire WWII operations in Europe.

"A great contribution to WWII History, comparable to Stephen Ambrose's story of E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division in 'Band of Brothers'."

1st Lt. Sam Deal
B Company
87th Chemical Mortar Battalion

__________________

"I browsed your book first, and now am reading it line by line slowly. You have done the most wonderful job in the writing, You have brought back all the feelings, the fear, the wonder, the comradeship; all of those feelings and more. I thank you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Alexander Cannon
Pvt. B Company
87th CMB

Ratings and reviews

Not what I was expecting from this author. More like something you would read in a history class.

About the author

Michael Connelly was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 21, 1956. He graduated from the University of Florida in 1980 where he majored in journalism and minored in creative writing. After graduation, he worked at newspapers in Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, specializing in the crime beat. In 1986, he interviewed survivors of a plane crash with two other reporters and the magazine story subsequently written on the crash was on the short list for the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. This story led to a job as a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times. After three years there, he began writing his first novel. His first novel, The Black Echo, was published in 1992 and won the Edgar Award for best first novel. He is the author of the Harry Bosch series, the Jack McEvoy series, and the Mickey Haller series. He has won numerous awards including the Anthony Award, Macavity Award, Shamus Award, Dilys Award, Nero Award, Barry Award, Ridley Award, Maltese Falcon Award (Japan),.38 Caliber Award (France), Grand Prix Award (France), Premio Bancarella Award (Italy), and the Pepe Carvalho Award (Spain).