The Black Panthers: A Story of Race, War, and Courage―the 761st Tank Battalion in World War II - Softcover

DiNicolo, Gina M.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1594162816 ISBN 13: 9781594162817

Publisher: Westholme Publishing, 2017

Synopsis

In a Segregated Military, the African American Armored Unit That Helped Patton Check the German Advance, Close the Rhine Ring, and Spearhead a New Postwar Army
Known primarily for being the first African American armored unit to see combat in World War II and as future baseball star Jackie Robinson’s onetime outfit, the 761st Tank Battalion was forged in a devil’s cauldron of heat and prejudice at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. Here, most viewed the tankers as tokens in a racial experiment, rather than as fellow American soldiers who would actually be deployed to fight a common enemy. Led by a small cadre of white and black officers, the 761st trained to the pinnacle of its craft. The Black Panthers, as they soon were called, proved their battle prowess against other units bound for combat on the parched Texas training fields. For this, they earned a coveted assignment to fight under General George S. Patton and go head-to-head with the best of Hitler’s arsenal. Moving to the front in November 1944, trial by fire soon shook the unit to its core. Ambushed by a veteran German force, the 761st suffered heavy casualties in the confusion as they cut their way out of the trap. But the men rallied to overcome self-doubt and vindicate their losses. Quickly battle hardened, the tankers saw intense combat through November and when Germany launched its last-ditch offensive through the Ardennes in December, the 761st fought side-by-side with Patton’s Third Army. Moving swiftly, the unit helped check the German advance, cut resupply routes to the forces surrounding beleaguered Bastogne, and drove the enemy back, recapturing towns crucial to the final defeat of Germany.
In The Black Panthers: A Story of Race, War, and Courage—the 761st Tank Battalion in World War II, historian Gina M. DiNicolo tells the full and unvarnished history of this important American fighting force. Relying on extensive archival research, including documents that had not been consulted in previous accounts, and interviews with surviving soldiers and family members, the author describes the unit’s training, deployment, combat, and individuals, such as Sgt. Ruben Rivers, one of only seven African American men awarded the Medal of Honor for World War II heroism. The professionalism, dedication, and courage of the 761st and other non-white units made clear that the strength of the American army in the future lay with integration—one of the enduring accomplishments of these servicemen.

About this title

About the Author

GINA M. DINICOLO is a military historian and award-winning journalist who has written on military topics for nearly two decades. She was a contributing editor at Military Officer magazine, where more than twenty of her stories graced the publication’s cover. She is a 1984 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a degree in history, and was a career officer in the Marine Corps. She resides in Alexandria, Virginia.

From Publishers Weekly

DiNicolo, a historian and a former contributing editor at Military Officer, examines the origins, training, and triumphs of the first African-American armored unit during WWII, the 761st Tank Battalion, called "The Black Panthers." She blends declassified military documents with personal interviews to add texture and context, fleshing out the lives of unit recruits William McBurney, Paul Bates, Ivan Harrison, Trezzvant Anderson, Theodore Windsor, and Ruben Rivers (who would be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor) as they endure humiliation and harassment in Jim Crow America while the military brass debated what role the black soldier could play. DiNicolo brings readers up close with a view from the turret, inside the M3 Stuart light and M4 Sherman medium tanks with two .30s caliber machine guns and a 50 caliber gun, explaining armor tactics mixing these tracked vehicles with infantry, gunnery skills, and communications. However, the book really heats up when she writes of the intense, deadly clashes with General Patton's 761st tanks taking on the powerful German Panzer units in snowy forests and French towns. Written with fine detail and in a spirited style, DiNicolo's tribute to The Black Panthers illuminates a fighting armored unit that made both their community and their country proud.

About this edition

• Publisher: Westholme Publishing
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1594162816
• ISBN 13: 9781594162817
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352