The Latecomers
Nathan N. Prefer, The Conquering 9th (Casemate, 2020)
In The Conquering 9th, Nathan Prefer presents an analytical narrative history of an American field army in World War II. In this case, the Ninth, it is an army strangely neglected by historians, argues Prefer. Perhaps this was because they were late arrivals to the war, but as Prefer makes clear, the Ninth certainly played its part in conquering Germany.
Unit histories, large and small, are shaped like biographies and this is no exception. Prefer describes the accelerated US mobilization for WWII with the Ninth officially born in May 1944. They moved to England then Normandy to reinforce operations after D-Day. In September, they took part in the Battle for Brittany. They also had to tidy up afterwards, an activity you don’t usually read about in books like this. The Ninth was soon saddled up again to continue the fight, despite logistical problems, this time much further north into the area of Maastricht. Once in position, they took part in Operation Queen, where minefields posed a significant threat and German resistance proved very strong. Operation Clipper followed to eliminate the Geilenkirchen salient in conjunction with the British. Besides the Germans, weather and roads proved most problematic. The Ninth also took many casualties, which were becoming harder to replace.
By December 1944, the Ninth was almost ready to cross the Roer, then the Germans attacked in the Ardennes, putting the Ninth on the defensive. With that resolved, the Ninth pushed ahead across the Roer in January with Operation Grenade. Then the race to the Rhine was on as German resistance began to crumble. In March 1945, the Ninth eliminated the Wesel Pocket. As they advanced, the Ninth also had to secure the new rear areas, which they also did effectively. Operation Flashpoint took the Ninth across the Rhine against little serious opposition. Prefer includes a chapter on Operation Varsity, the last great airborne assault of the war. That opened the Ruhr to attack, and the Ninth duly obliged, finishing with the capture of Dortmund. On the Ninth pushed against mostly ad-hoc enemy units with a sprinkling of harder troops. Their last major attack was to capture Magdeburg. The Ninth was deactivated in October 1945 after a short but distinguished career.
Prefer’s The Conquering 9th provides an illuminating insight into all aspects of the Ninth US Army from its introduction to deactivation. He ranges across the operational spectrum from army level planning to the soldier facing the enemy, integrating logistical considerations, commander biographies, and battle narratives. Prefer’s detailed narrative of events sometimes bogs down, and I had the sense he was trying to stuff the cushion a bit too full. Nevertheless, his combat descriptions are tightly written and provide the necessary flavour to keep his book moving. The result is an absorbing story that will appeal to any WWII reader, particularly those with an interest in the US army in Europe from D-Day onwards.
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