{"title":"Gina M Dinicolo","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"black-panthers-book-gina-m-dinicolo-9781594162817","title":"The Black Panthers","description":"Deployed to the European front in November 1944, the 761st Tank Battalion was almost immediately ambushed by a veteran German force. Despite suffering heavy casualties, the unit cut its way out of the trap. Quickly battle hardened, the tankers continued to see intense combat and fought  side-by-side with Patton's Third Army when Germany launched its last-ditch offensive through the Ardennes in December. The 761st helped check the German advance, cut resupply routes to the enemy forces surrounding beleaguered Bastogne, and drove the enemy back, recapturing towns crucial to the final defeat of Nazi Germany.  In The Black Panthers: The 761st Tank Battalion in World War II historian Gina M. DiNicolo tells the full history of this important American fighting unit, from its inception to its deactivation soon after the war. Relying on extensive archival research, including documents that had not been consulted in previous accounts, and personal interviews with surviving soldiers and family members, the author describes the unit s training, deployment, and combat, as well as individuals, such as future baseball star Jackie Robinson, who served briefly with the unit stateside, their commander, Maj. Paul Bates, a white officer who fought against institutionalized racism while struggling with his own demons, and Sgt. Ruben Rivers, who gave his life to protect his fellow soldiers, one of only seven African American men awarded the Medal of Honor for World War II heroism.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49735001276689,"sku":"NGR9781594162817","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50832608690449,"sku":"GOR010532423","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53429136720145,"sku":"CIN1594162816VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1594162816.jpg?v=1751182117"},{"product_id":"black-panthers-book-gina-m-dinicolo-9781594161957","title":"The Black Panthers","description":"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 original 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 asualties 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 Battalion 761: The True Story of General Patton's Black Panthers 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.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49873012982033,"sku":"GOR010914117","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51890792104209,"sku":"GOR014448800","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/159416195X.jpg?v=1750719881"},{"product_id":"to-die-for-hitler-child-soldiers-of-the-third-reich-book-gina-m-dinicolo-9781036143398","title":"To Die for Hitler: Child Soldiers of the Third Reich","description":"This is the story of light, hope and promise ─ gone wrong.  A generation trained to live and die for the Reich. Of the millions of boys who ingested the ways of National Socialism between 1933 and 1945, most rushed to war eager not only to secure one Germany in her rightful place but die for the man they saw as their father, Adolf Hitler.  To Die for Hitler: Child Soldiers of the Third Reich chronicles this high-stakes era through its most brilliant─albethey notorious─leaders as well as the child soldiers they honed. Baldur von Schirach, a social climber descended from both German and American aristocracy, grew Hitler’s youth from thousands to millions. Academically gifted and streetwise Artur Axmann designed a division for them. National Socialism’s Svengali, Josef Goebbels, created the air they breathed. Loyal to one man, they groomed the legions demanded for a specific and ultimately calamitous end. It proved a tremendous and electrifying undertaking.  For youth like those of Year Group 1928, “defeat” and “surrender” were inconceivable. Rudi Schulz, left for the 12th SS Panzer Division (Hitlerjugend) at sixteen. His weeks as a “tank-hunting commando” fighting the climactic battles of northern Germany during the last month of the war proved his passion and a secret he kept for life. Spirited Robert Ullrich, whose grandfather owned a prominent Cologne bank, found excitement and camaraderie in training to fight for the Reich. Failing to mature, he clung to the Führer, keeping his California roots secret as his flak battery downed the enemy over Vienna. Cosmopolitan Gerhard Wolf devoured all things the Reich provided through cinema, public education and youth training. Proud to serve the Waffen-SS, he clawed to survive as a child prisoner. These boys fulfilled the dream promised through to its incomprehensible and tragic end.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":53026399944977,"sku":"NGR9781036143398","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781036143398.jpg?v=1769685076"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-gina-m-dinicolo.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}