Fortunately, just this year Stackpole books has released a new edition of this classic book.  And what a book it is: this is a massive tome, weighing a couple of kilograms.  The only books in my library that rival it in size and quality of printing are my Hunnicutt books, The Battle of the Bulge Then and Now, and my editions of Jane's All the World's Aircraft and Armour and Artillery and the Naval Institute Press' Combat Fleets of the World.  If nothing else, this is a very impressive book.

 

It is certainly not a light read.  The book is broken down into two major sections.  The first section, which comprises 43 pages, has tables of organization and establishment (TO&Es) for US Infantry, Armor, Cavalry, Tank Destroyer, Field Artillery, Coast Artillery and Antiaircraft Artillery, and Engineer divisions, regiments and battalions.  Aside from a description of each type of unit and its role, detailed charts showing every man and piece of equipment assigned to each unit allow researchers to determine what was used by who.

 

The second part of the book, comprising almost 550 pages, contains unit histories for every American army combat unit formed in the Second World War from battalion level up.  The information for each unit includes cross-referencing that tells which TO&Es are applicable to the unit at which time, commanders, sub-units assigned at various times, casualties, a chronology, campaigns that the unit participated in, where the unit ended the war, and a combat narrative. 

 

The amount of research which must have gone into this book is quite staggering.  One of the appendices shows examples of the source documents which Captain Stanton worked from and some of the challenges involved in this work.  Finally, 30 pages of appendices bring the work as up to date as possible.  Perhaps the only fault I could find with the book (and this is a minor one) is that only combat units are covered.  I would have liked to see coverage of the various supply and other support units fielded by the US Army, but I suppose that would be another volume!

 

While not the sort of book which one will read from cover to cover while on the beach, this book is an essential reference for anybody with a serious interest in the United States Army during the Second World War.  Highly recommended.