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World War Two American Art
America-Art-Prints  World War Two |
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American forces during World War Two from the Philippines to Tarawa and from Normandy Landings to crossing the Rhine. US Air borne forces, 501 parachute infantry regiment, 101st Air Borne Regiment and Royal Marines are all shown in these historical military art prints. |
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Strike Attack by James Dietz. Lieutenant Colonel Robert G. Cole distinguished himself with 3d Battalion, 502 Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, during combat operations on 11 June 1944 in France. LTC Cole was personally leading his battalion in forcing the last of four bridges on the road to Carentan when his entire unit was suddenly pinned to the ground by intense and withering enemy rifle, machine-gun, mortar, and artillery fire placed upon them from well prepared and heavily fortified positions within 150 yards of the foremost elements. After the devastating and unceasing enemy fire had for over one hour prevented any move and inflicted numerous casualties, LTC Cole, observing this almost hopeless situation, courageously issued orders to assault the enemy positions with fixed bayonets. With utter disregard for his own safety and completely ignoring the enemy fire, he arose to his feet in front of his battalion, and, with drawn pistol, shouted to his men to follow him in the assault. Catching up a fallen man's rifle and bayonet, he charged on and led the remnants of his battalion across the bullet-swept open ground and into the enemy position. His heroic and valiant action so inspired his men that it resulted in the complete establishment of the bridgehead across the Douve River. The cool fearlessness, personal bravery, and outstanding leadership displayed by LTC Cole reflect great credit upon himself and are worthy of the highest praise in the military service. |
We Happy Few by James Dietz. General Omar Bradley, commanding the First U.S. Army, had waited anxiously for the linkup of Omaha and Utah beachheads before declaring success in the American sector following D-Day. He considered this final event critical before the Allied invasion of Europe could be put into full swing. His concern over the linkup delay was confirmed when he received an Ultra flash from British intelligence at Bletchley Park indicating the German high command was aware of a gap existing between the American V and VII Corps. They ordered the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division to counter attack and split the two forces. It is interesting to note that this was one of the few times that information obtained from the German Enigma Code breaking was deemed so critical it was passed to a tactical commander. Such intelligence had previously been withheld for fear of tipping the Germans to the fact their secret code system had been broken. For days the American Parachute Infantry had been engaged in combat with the German Armys 6th Parachute Regiment in the vicinity of Carentan. It was now D+7, June 13, 1944. ...what a wonderful sight it was to see those tanks pouring it to the Germans with those heavy 50-caliber machine-guns and just plowing straight from our lines into the German hedgerows with all those fresh infantry soldiers marching along beside the tanks, remembers then LT Richard Winters who commanded Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, the band of brothers. The scene, which followed, has finally been captured by renowned military artist James Dietz in We Happy Few. Infantry from the National Guards famed 29th Division, supported by the 2nd Armored Divisions Hell on Wheels, had raced forward to relieve the airborne troops from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions seizing and holding ground since their historic jump on the eve of D-Day. What a joyous occasion it had to be as the American airborne, joined by the grateful French civilians, welcomed the arriving ground troops. Clearly there was a difficult task ahead. Tragically many of the joyous American soldiers depicted in the print would not be there for another happy day, May 8, 1944, some eleven months later when Germany finally surrendered. But for a moment, they were We few, we happy few. The suffering and sacrifice of the past week was behind them, and they could briefly pause to enjoy a moment in time. This very historic moment, previously not depicted, is captured here in dramatic detail by the artist whose works continue to capture the American soldier in the best of times and the worst of times. The Band of Brothers is seen swapping tales with the Blue and Gray 29ers from Omaha Beach before heading to defensive positions in Carentan. The tankers of Hell on Wheels share smokes with the All Americans before beginning their difficult sweep across France. It is a scene which passed quickly, but is now reborn in the superb detail of this historic print. Generals Eisenhower and Bradley were greatly relieved with the news of the successful linkup. At noon on the next day, July 14, 1944, XIX Corps, comprised of the 29th and 30th Divisions, was formed and ordered to attack south to St. Lo, while protecting the critical area between V and VII Corps. V Corps with the 1st and 2nd Divisions would link up with the British and continue attacking south, while VII Corps with the 4th and newly arrived 9th and 90th Divisions would continue west to capture Cherbourg. Any chance for the Germans to split the corps seam had been eliminated. The Allies were beyond the beachhead, and Germanys fate had been sealed by American soldiers like those depicted in We Happy Few. |
We Have Returned by James Dietz. 37th Division in Manila. This remarkable print is taken from an original oil painting which was unveiled during the 117th General Conference of the National Guard Association of the United States which convened in Cleveland, Ohio, in September of 1995. The painting was commissioned by the Ohio National Guard to commemorate the role of the 37th Infantry Division in the liberation of Manila in March of 1945. The 37th Buckeye Division was organized during World War I and fought in the Meuse-Argonne offensive as well as in Flanders, earning three campaign streamers (Meuse-Argonne, Lorraine 1918, and Ypres-Lys). During the postwar years, this National Guard Division remained a pure Ohio unit. On 15 October 1940, the 37th was mobilized by President Roosevelt to train during the period of emergency brought on by the war in Europe. Within weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Division was alerted for possible deployment to Europe, but the orders were changed, and the Ohioans found themselves moving by train to San Francisco where they sailed in May of 1942 for the Fiji Islands. Their training continued until they were transported to Guadalcanal in April of 1943. In July, 1943, the 129th Infantry Regiment from Illinois joined the Division as they began offensive operations in New Georgia, followed by Bougainville Island in November. On 9 January, the Division arrived at its moment in history, going ashore at Lingayen Gulf on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. They moved to the outskirts of Manila, and for the next month fought house-to-house to liberate the city. In freeing Bilibid Prison, they found members of the Battling Bastards of Bataan, from the 200th Coast Artillery of the New Mexico National Guard, who earned the reputation as the first unit to fight in World War II. On 3 March 1945, the 37th had liberated Manila and fulfilled the words of General Douglas MacArthur. The fighting had taken its toll on the city and one official stated, Manila is dead! The Buckeye Division continued its offensive into the Cagayan Valley of northern Luzon and rested only briefly before beginning preparations for the invasion of Japan. It was many a relieved Buckeye when the news of the Japanese surrender reached the Division and their families anxiously waiting at home. |
Silencing the Guns by James Dietz. In the mid-morning hours of D-Day, June 6, 1944, the deafening sounds of gunfire resounded across the French hills, along the Channel coast and against low-hanging clouds. Amidst the fields of the French farm, Brecourt Manor, a particular cacophony erupted as a German battery of four 105mm cannons shook the soil. Five miles distant, on Utah Beach, the Breourt batterys steel rained upon American soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division as they disembarked from their landing craft. Within minutes of that first salvo, an ad hoc squad of paratroopers from Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th RI.R., 101st Airborne, departed the French village of Le Grand-Chemin with a mission to silence those guns. With each shot, the Brecourt cannons belied their locations. Three of the guns had been dug into the fields hedgerows, facing northeast toward the beaches. A fourth gun lay to the west and aimed westward to guard the batterys flank. A manmade ditch connected each position. In addition to the gun crews, 50 elite German paratroopers from the 6th Parachute Regiment defended the fields expanse. Against this opposition, Easy Companys ranking officer, 1st Lt. Richard Winters, led 12 paratroopers. Normally 120 men strong, Easy Company had been scattered about Normandy that morning during the 1:30 a.m. paradrop. At approximately 8:30 a.m., Winters deployed his men for a double envelopment assault on the westernmost cannon. On cue, Lt. Buck Compton, Platoon Sgt. Bill Guarnere, and Pvt. Don Malarkey attacked from the guns front-right. Winters, Cpl. Joe Toye, Cpl. Robert Wynn, and Pvt. Gerald Lorraine, a jeep driver from battalion HQ, simultaneously attacked the first gun from its front-left. While the assault teams created a pincer, the .30-caliber machine gun crews of Pyts. John Plesha, Walter Hendrix, Cleveland Petty, and Joe Liebgott kept the Germans pinned down with fire from head-on. From the cannons left flank, Platoon Sgt. Carwood Lipton and Sgt. Mike Ranney provided covering fire; Lipton even climbed a tree for a better field of view. Years later, Lipton remembered the attacks result: ...the Germans apparently felt that they were being hit by a large force. Those defending the first gun broke and withdrew in disorganization to a far tree line and that gun was in our hands. Having sacked the first cannon, Winters cc reorganized the team. James Dietzs painting Silencing the Guns signifies this moment. While Winters confers with Guarnere, troopers Malarkey, Compton, Wynn, and Toye deploy to deliver suppressing fire to keep the Germans on their heels. Figures representing Lipton and Ranney emerge from a background hedgerow to rejoin their comrades. Soon, Guarnere will lead a charge to capture the second gun. By the engagements end, Easy Company, with a few reinforcements, had captured and destroyed three of the Brecourt cannons. Five Dog Company troopers, led by Lt. Ronald Spiers, arrived after the third gun had been taken; they then captured and destroyed the fourth gun. For valor displayed at Brecourt, the 506th RI.R. decorated the battles participants. Compton, Guarnere, Lorraine, and Toye received the Silver Star. Hendrix, Liebgott, Lipton, Malarkey, Petty, Plesha, Ranney, and Wynn received the Bronze Star. Colonel Robert Sink, the commander of the 506th RI.R., nominated Winters for the Medal of Honor. However, according to the late Stephen Ambrose, the author of Band of Brothers, . . . because Maj. Gen. Maxwell Taylor, commander of the 101 st Airborne Division had placed an arbitrary limit of one MOH for the division in Normandy, and because Lt. Col. Robert Cole was the man picked to receive the award, Winters was downgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross... During the days following the D-Day invasion, in a grassy field in Normandy, General Omar Bradley personally awarded Winters the Distinguished Service Cross, the militarys 2nd highest award, in recognition of Winters actions and leadership in the silencing of the guns at Brecourt Manor. |
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