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| Over the years The First Division has strived to promote the WWII L.H.A and the hobby of living history / battle re-enactment. To do so the group has maintained high standards of presentation, discipline and safety at both public and private events. The First Division has focused its display upon Company E, 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, U.S. 1st Infantry Division. In doing so we can ensure that as far as possible the clothing, arms and equipment used gives an accurate representation of U.S. Infantry soldiers in Northwest Europe, with particular attention paid to the assault troops of D-Day 1944. Our living history activities have focused on the period around June 6th 1944. Our Training Centre is representative of those found prior to D-Day in Southern England during 1943 and early 1944. The encampments are either a pre-embarkation, or a rest area near the front after D-Day or front-line France as the event scenario dictates. This book is not a history reference book, but a record of The First Division, its members and it's displays. A record of how we have evolved since 2002 The First Division in Action, since 2002 this British Living History Group has seen many changes and new faces. With nearly a 1000 pictures trace those changes, see those special events that make this group the only 1st Division and US GI group offically approved by the currect US Army Commander and the 1st Division Museum in Cantigny, USA CLICK ON THE BOOK TO ORDER |
| D-Day by Francis Crosby. A pictorial record of D-Day using unseen front-line action shots reproduced directly from negatives held by the Imperial War Museum, each one portraying the emotion of that most famous invasion. The book follows the invasion as it develops using lengthy captions to describe the action portrayed in each photo and an introduction puts D-Day into its historical perspective. CLICK BOOK TO ORDER |
| D-Day & Normandy 65 Years On. by Rebecca Lawther. D-Day was the turning point of the Second World War and marked the Allies return to Europe. Without D-Day, the Allies would not have been able to invade Europe and end the Nazi occupation. D-Day took place on 6 June 1944 when the British, American and Canadian forces landed at five beaches in Normandy. Despite the huge loss of life, the operation was a success and the Allies broke through the German lines. This title covers the huge planning behind the operation and reveals what it was like to be there. There are guides to visiting the beaches today along with analysis of the tactics and weapons used. Starting with the operation itself, the title goes on to reveal the weeks after D-Day, which were just as vital in pushing back the German army. Published, to coincide with the 65th anniversary publicity is guaranteed for this title. CLICK BOOK TO ORDER |
| D-Day: By Those Who Were There, by Dr Peter Liddle. This unique book captures D-Day on land, sea and air with the use of previously unpublished letters, diaries, photographs and reminiscences from the veterans from Britain, America, Germany and Canada. Appropriately the RAF and Merchant Navy's experience plus the reactions of women 'in the know' are all included providing a treasure-trove of evidence on the 60th Anniversary. The reader will share each stage of the day from the experience of Paratroops and Glider-borne troops to crossing the channel by sea and the landings on each beach. CLICK BOOK TO ORDER |
| Disaster At Kasserine. by Charles Whiting Those who imagined that the arrival of a major American force in North Africa would immediately tip the balance against Rommel's Africa Korps were to be proved badly wrong. In what turned out to be a disastrously over-ambitious plan, the 1st (US) Army sailed across the Atlantic and went straight in the Operation Torch landings in Tunisia. Just how ill-prepared the GI Army and its generals were, became horrifically apparant at the Kasserine Pass. CLICK BOOK TO ORDER |
| Omaha Beach V Corps' Battle for the Normandy Beachhead by Tim Kilvert-Jones This book guides the reader through the battle for the V Corps beachhead, the fiercest and bloodiest of the Landings. A must for those inspired by Saving Private Ryan and many more. CLICK BOOK TO ORDER |
| The Battle for Sicily Stepping Stone to Victory by Ian Blackwell On the night of 9-10 July 1943, an Allied armada launched the invasion of Sicily, a larger operation than the Normandy landings the following year. Over the next thirty-eight days, half a million Allied servicemen fought the Germans and Italians for control of this rocky island, which was to become the first part of Axis homeland to fall during World War II. Despite their success in capturing the island, inter-Allied and inter-service divisions and rivalries robbed them of the opportunity to inflict a crushing defeat on the Germans and Italians, who were able to conduct a fighting withdrawal to the Italian mainland and save sizable forces to continue the war. Regarded by some as a 'blind alley', by others as the way into Europe via the 'soft underbelly', the decision to invade Sicily was and remains controversial. Notwithstanding the campaign's failure to achieve its potential, invaluable lessons were learned which contributed to success in France later. Many of the leading generals who were to take prominent roles in North-West Europe - amongst them Eisenhower, Montgomery, Bradley and Patton - brought with them the experience of Sicily. CLICK BOOK TO ORDER |
| Spearheading D-Day: American Special Units of the Normandy Invasion by Jonathan Gawne Hardcover - 288 pages First Published 16 November, 1998 Histoire and Collections; ISBN: 2908182793 The story of the American special units and how they fitted in to the overall invasion plan on D-Day This is the book that shows the others exactly how it should be done. This is without doubt the best book on the subject and the author is to be congratulated on tackling this difficult subject |
| Seven Months to D-Day: An American Regiment in Dorset by Robin Pearce Paperback - 86 pages First Published 27 October, 2000 The Dovecote Press Ltd; ISBN: 1874336849 Synopsis Interesting and informative local history about the 16th Infantry Regiment of the 1st US Infantry Division in Dorset during World War II. There are plenty of personal recollections from the American soldiers that were part of the Division at that time and pictures of the regiment in Dorset. This is good for anybody with an interest in the Big Red One |
| World War II GI US Army Uniforms 1941-45 by Richard Windrow Hardcover - 143 pages First Published 20 September, 1999 The Crowood Press; ISBN: 1861263023 An exploration of the American soldier's dress and equipment throughout World War II. Logically arranged photographic sequences show a range of uniforms and authentic weapons in characteristic use, accompanied by concise identifying and explanatory captions. Rare original uniforms and gear are posed at different seasons and in convincing settings. |
| G.I. Collector's Guide Vol 1 by Henri-Paul Enjames Hardcover 252 pages First Published December 8, 2003 Publisher: Histoire and Collections ISBN: 2913903878 Inspired by the 1943 US "Quartermaster Government Issue Supply Catalog", this collection features photographs of the American soldier's kit from 1943 to 1945. Text notes and extended captions accompany the photographs. |
| US 1st Infantry Division - "Big Red One" (Spearhead) by Ian West Paperback - 96 pages First Published 30 September, 2002 Ian Allan Publishing Ltd; ISBN: 0711029237 The oldest continuously serving division in the US Army, the 1st Infantry Division, called the Big Red One because of the red numeral '1' on the uniform shoulder patch, was the first regular army division organised in June 1917 to fight in France with the Allied armies. More than 28,000 men - including soldiers with very familiar names, like George C. Marshall, Theodore Roosevelt Jnr, and Lesley J. McNair - served with the division in World War 1. It was selected for participation in Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa, landing in Algeria on 8 November 1942. It then fought through Sicily, leaving the theatre to train for the invasion. It was part of the forces that landed on D-Day and then fought with distinction through Europe. 1st Infantry Division's battle honours are Tunisia, Sicily, Normandy, the Bulge, Germany. Postwar, the division served in Europe, Vletnam, Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Bosnia. It is currently based in Germany. |
| G.I. Collector's Guide Vol 2 by Henri-Paul Enjames Hardcover 272 pages First Published December 8, 2003 Publisher: Histoire and Collections ISBN: 13: 9782352500797 All chapters from volume 1 have been revised and updated (among others: uniforms, signal and medical equipment) and new sections have been added, including personal equipment, Stateside training, and the life of POWs in German camps. More than 1,000 new artifacts with detailed captions are featured in this completely revised new work. Volume 2 of the G.I. Collectors Guide provides a complete and unequaled source of American ground force documentation for collectors and enthusiasts alike. |
