Guest of Adolf: The War of SSG Ernest V. Focht, 805th Tank Destroyer Battalion

Guest of Adolf: The War of SSG Ernest V. Focht, 805th Tank Destroyer Battalion
by: Michael H. Zang (Author)
Publisher: Casemate
Publication Date: 2024/9/15
Language: English
Print Length: 224 pages
ISBN-10: 1636244556
ISBN-13: 9781636244556
Book Description
The account of American soldier Ernest Focht, who spent 27 months as a POW during World War II.”I was a guest of Adolf!”This was how Ernest Focht responded when asked about his wartime experience.Ernest Virgil Focht was born and brought up in Tyrone, Pennsylvania. He was drafted into the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in April 1941 and assigned to the 105th Infantry Battalion (Anti-Tank). After training he participated in the Carolina Maneuvers. The National Guard unit was redesignated as the 805th Tank Destroyer Battalion, being deployed to North Africa in January 1943.Ernie was captured in his first action in February 1943, remaining a prisoner of war until May 1945 when the Russian Army liberated his camp. During these 27 months he was held in five different POW camps, and was forced to march between camps in the depths of the 1944–45 winter. Using his wartime diaries and letters home, this book offers an insight into the 805th Tank Destroyer Battalion, and the experiences of prisoners of war.Table of ContentsList of MapsList of TablesForewordPreface1 Growing Up2 Military Training3 Anti-Tank Force Development4 North Africa 1942–43 (Operation Torch)5 Sicily, Italy, and Moosburg Germany6 Stalag IIIB Furstenberg 7 Stalag IIIA Luckenwalde8 Liberation: The Way Home9 Reunion and Asheville, North Carolina10 Civilian LifeAppendix 1 105th/805th Tank Destroyer Battalion HistoryAppendix 2 Ernest Focht’s ListsAppendix 3 Ernest Virgil Focht’s ChronologyAppendix 4 Abbreviations and AcronymsEndnotesBibliography
About the Author
The account of American soldier Ernest Focht, who spent 27 months as a POW during World War II.”I was a guest of Adolf!”This was how Ernest Focht responded when asked about his wartime experience.Ernest Virgil Focht was born and brought up in Tyrone, Pennsylvania. He was drafted into the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in April 1941 and assigned to the 105th Infantry Battalion (Anti-Tank). After training he participated in the Carolina Maneuvers. The National Guard unit was redesignated as the 805th Tank Destroyer Battalion, being deployed to North Africa in January 1943.Ernie was captured in his first action in February 1943, remaining a prisoner of war until May 1945 when the Russian Army liberated his camp. During these 27 months he was held in five different POW camps, and was forced to march between camps in the depths of the 1944–45 winter. Using his wartime diaries and letters home, this book offers an insight into the 805th Tank Destroyer Battalion, and the experiences of prisoners of war.Table of ContentsList of MapsList of TablesForewordPreface1 Growing Up2 Military Training3 Anti-Tank Force Development4 North Africa 1942–43 (Operation Torch)5 Sicily, Italy, and Moosburg Germany6 Stalag IIIB Furstenberg 7 Stalag IIIA Luckenwalde8 Liberation: The Way Home9 Reunion and Asheville, North Carolina10 Civilian LifeAppendix 1 105th/805th Tank Destroyer Battalion HistoryAppendix 2 Ernest Focht’s ListsAppendix 3 Ernest Virgil Focht’s ChronologyAppendix 4 Abbreviations and AcronymsEndnotesBibliography Read more