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Charles T. Horner Jr.
Charles Thompson Horner Jr. (May 6, 1916 – April 4, 1992) was a highly decorated officer of the United States Army who served in the 16th Infantry Regiment (United States), 16th Infantry Regiment, U.S. 1st Infantry Division from July 1940 to February 1946 and held every position from Platoon Leader to Regimental Commander. As a leader in the "Big Red One", he participated in the North Africa, Sicily, and the European Campaigns and three amphibious landings; the invasions of North Africa (Operation Torch), Sicily (Operation Husky), and Europe (Operation Overlord) where he commanded the 3rd Battalion, 16th Infantry on Omaha Beach. Major combat engagements *Operation Torch (Invasion of North Africa): November 1942 *Tunisia Campaign: November 1942 - May 1943 **Battle of the Kasserine Pass: February 1943 **Battle of El Guettar: March - April 1943 *Operation Husky (Invasion of Sicily): July - August 1943 **Battle of Troina: July–August 1943 *Western Front **Normandy Campaign ***Ope ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Doylestown is a borough and the county seat of Bucks County in Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northwest of Trenton, north of Center City, Philadelphia, southeast of Allentown, and southwest of New York City. As of the 2020 census, the borough population was 8,300. History Like most of the region, the area of Doylestown was inhabited by the Lenape people until the arrival of the Europeans. Doylestown's origins date to March 1745 when William Doyle obtained a license to build a tavern on what is now the northwest corner of Dyers Road and Coryell's Ferry Road (now Main and State Streets). Known for years as "William Doyle's Tavern," its strategic location, at the intersection of the road (now U.S. Route 202 in Pennsylvania, U.S. Route 202) linking Swede's Ford (Norristown, Pennsylvania, Norristown) and Coryell's Ferry (New Hope, Pennsylvania, New Hope) and the road (now Pennsylvania Route 611, PA Route 611) linking Philadelphia and Easton, Pennsylvania, Ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat. Since 1993 it has been awarded specifically for 'highly successful command and leadership during active operations', with all ranks being eligible. History Instituted on 6 September 1886 by Queen Victoria in a royal warrant published in ''The London Gazette'' on 9 November, the first DSOs awarded were dated 25 November 1886. The order was established to reward individual instances of meritorious or distinguished service in war. It was a military order, until recently for officers only and typically awarded to officers ranked major (or equivalent) or higher, with awards to ranks below this usually for a high degree of gallantry, just short of deserving the Victoria Cross. Whilst normally given for service un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of The Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in Europe. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region between Belgium and Luxembourg. The primary military objectives were to deny further use of the Belgian port of Antwerp to the Allies and to split the Allied lines, which potentially could have allowed the Germans to encirclement, encircle and destroy the four Allied forces. Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, who since December 1941 had assumed direct command of the German army, believed that achieving these objectives would compel the Western Allies to accept a peace treaty in the Axis powers' favor. By this time, it was palpable to virtually the entire German leadership including Hitler himself that they had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Hürtgen Forest
The Battle of Hürtgen Forest (german: Schlacht im Hürtgenwald) was a series of battles fought from 19 September to 16 December 1944, between American and German forces on the Western Front during World War II, in the Hürtgen Forest, a area about east of the Belgian–German border. It was the longest battle on German ground during World War II and is the longest single battle the U.S. Army has ever fought.Regan, ''More military blunders,'' p.178. The U.S. commanders' initial goal was to pin down German forces in the area to keep them from reinforcing the front lines farther north in the Battle of Aachen, where the US forces were fighting against the Siegfried Line network of fortified industrial towns and villages speckled with pillboxes, tank traps, and minefields. The Americans' initial tactical objectives were to take the village of Schmidt and clear Monschau. In a second phase the Allies wanted to advance to the Rur River as part of Operation Queen. ''Generalfeldmars ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Aachen
The Battle of Aachen was a combat action of World War II, fought by American and German forces in and around Aachen, Germany, between 2–21 October 1944. The city had been incorporated into the Siegfried Line, the main defensive network on Germany's western border; the Allies had hoped to capture it quickly and advance into the industrialized Ruhr Basin. Although most of Aachen's civilian population was evacuated before the battle began, much of the city was destroyed and both sides suffered heavy losses. It was one of the largest urban battles fought by U.S. forces in World War II, and the first city on German soil to be captured by the Allies. The battle ended with a German surrender, but their tenacious defense significantly disrupted Allied plans for the advance into Germany. Background By September 1944, the Western Allies had reached Germany's western border, which was protected by the extensive Siegfried Line. On 17 September, British, American, and Polish forces laun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Cobra
Operation Cobra was the codename for an Offensive (military), offensive launched by the United States First United States Army, First Army under Lieutenant General Omar Bradley seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Invasion of Normandy, Normandy campaign of World War II. The intention was to take advantage of the distraction of the Nazi Germany, Germans by the British and Canadian attacks around Caen in Operation Goodwood,Trew, p. 64 and thereby break through the German defenses that were penning in their forces while the Germans were unbalanced. Once a corridor had been created, the First Army would then be able to advance into Brittany, rolling up the German flanks once free of the constraints of the bocage country. After a slow start, the offensive gathered momentum and German resistance collapsed as scattered remnants of broken units fought to escape to the Seine. Lacking the resources to cope with the situation, the German response was ineffectual and the entire N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Omaha Beach
Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors designated for the amphibious assault component of operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded German-occupied France with the Normandy landings. "Omaha" refers to an section of the coast of Normandy, France, facing the English Channel, from east of Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes to west of Vierville-sur-Mer on the right bank of the Douve River estuary. Landings here were necessary to link the British landings to the east at Gold with the American landing to the west at Utah, thus providing a continuous lodgement on the Normandy coast of the Bay of the Seine. Taking Omaha was to be the responsibility of United States Army troops, with sea transport, mine sweeping, and a naval bombardment force provided predominantly by the United States Navy and Coast Guard, with contributions from the British, Canadian and Free French navies. The primary objective at Omaha was to secure a beachhead deep, be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Troina
The Battle of Troina was an important battle that took place between 31 July and 6 August 1943, as part of the Allied invasion of Sicily during World War II. Forces of the U.S. II Corps, part of the U.S. Seventh Army, under George S. Patton, engaged in fierce fighting around the town of Troina in the central portion of Sicily along the Caronie Mountains. The battle focused around the numerous hills and mountains surrounding Troina which the Germans had heavily fortified and used as bases for direct and indirect fire. Background On 29 July 1943, after 20 days of combat, it was clear to both the Allied and German high commands that Sicily was lost and 80,000-100,000 American and British troops would break through the German and Italian Etna Line. The US 7th Army commander, Lieutenant General George S. Patton Jr, had ordered the US 1st and 9th Infantry Divisions to be moved into the valley to attack the city of Troina. Generals Omar Bradley (the commander of US II Corps) and Patt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of El Guettar
The Battle of El Guettar was a battle that took place during the Tunisia Campaign of World War II, fought between elements of the Army Group Africa under General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim, along with Italian First Army under General Giovanni Messe, and U.S. II Corps under Lieutenant General George Patton in south-central Tunisia. It was the first battle in which U.S. forces were able to defeat the experienced German tank units, but the followup to the battle was inconclusive.Haycock p. 42 Background The U.S. II Corps had been badly mauled in its first encounter with Axis forces in Tunisia during a series of battles that culminated in the disastrous Battle of the Kasserine Pass in late February 1943. Erwin Rommel—poised on the threshold of a complete tactical victory—turned from the battle to return to his eastward-facing defenses at the Mareth Line when he heard of the approach of Bernard Montgomery′s British 8th Army. Thus the battle concluded with the U.S. forces still ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of The Kasserine Pass
The Battle of Kasserine Pass was a series of battles of the Tunisian campaign of World War II that took place in February 1943 at Kasserine Pass, a gap in the Grand Dorsal chain of the Atlas Mountains in west central Tunisia. The Axis forces, led by ''Generalfeldmarschall'' Erwin Rommel, were primarily from the ''Afrika Korps'' Assault Group, the Italian ''Centauro'' Armored Division and two Panzer divisions detached from the 5th Panzer Army, while the Allied forces consisted of the U.S. II Corps (Major General Lloyd Fredendall), the British 6th Armoured Division (Major-General Charles Keightley) and other parts of the First Army (Lieutenant-General Kenneth Anderson). The battle was the first major engagement between U.S. and Axis forces in Africa. The American troops were numerically superior, but inexperienced and poorly led; they suffered many casualties and were quickly pushed back over from their original positions west of Faïd Pass. After the early defeat, element ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tunisia Campaign
The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the World War II, Second World War, between Axis powers, Axis and Allies of World War II, Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. The Allies consisted of British Empire, British Imperial Forces, including a Sacred Band (World War II), Greek contingent, with United States, American and Military history of France during World War II, French corps. The battle opened with initial success by the Nazi Germany, German and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italian forces but the massive supply interdiction efforts led to the decisive defeat of the Axis. Over 250,000 Wehrmacht, German and Royal Italian Army during World War II, Italian troops were taken as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war, including most of the Afrika Korps. Background Western Desert The first two years of the North African campaign, war in North Africa were charact ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Normandy landings. A 1,200-plane Airborne forces, airborne assault preceded an amphibious warfare, amphibious assault involving more than 5,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June, and more than two million Allied troops were in France by the end of August. The decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion in 1944 was taken at the Washington Conference (1943), Trident Conference in Washington, D.C., Washington in May 1943. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed commander of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, and General Bernard Montgomery was named commander of the 21st Army Group, which comprised all the land forces involved in the invasio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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