Guest of Adolf: The War of SSG Eest 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 Eest Focht, who spent 27 months as a POW during World War II.”I was a guest of Adolf!”This was how Eest Focht responded when asked about his wartime experience.Eest Virgil Focht was bo 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.Eie 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 Eest Focht’s ListsAppendix 3 Eest Virgil Focht’s ChronologyAppendix 4 Abbreviations and AcronymsEndnotesBibliography

About the Author

The account of American soldier Eest Focht, who spent 27 months as a POW during World War II.”I was a guest of Adolf!”This was how Eest Focht responded when asked about his wartime experience.Eest Virgil Focht was bo 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.Eie 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 Eest Focht’s ListsAppendix 3 Eest Virgil Focht’s ChronologyAppendix 4 Abbreviations and AcronymsEndnotesBibliography