DAVID P. COLLEY
David P Colley photo by Elizabeth Keegin Colley ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Click on "BIOGRAPHY" At Top Of Website Advanced praise for Colley's latest book, Decision At Strasbourg This is an exceptionally well-crafted story of high level decisions under the pressures of war. Colley has written a great book that is easy to read, rich in detail and balanced in its coverage of controversial events whose impacts reverberate even today. Just when you think you've read everything on the US Army in WWII, think again. This welcome addition to the historian's bookshelf offers fresh analysis of famous personalities like Eisenhower and Bradley, and will introduce readers to others, like Jacob L. Devers, who deserve much more attention for their service. This book will fascinate anyone interested in untold stories of conflict and leadership.---- LTC Edward G. Miller, US Army (Ret), author of Nothing Less Than Full Victory  See "The Last Detail" in the Jan-Feb 2007 issue of World War II Magazine about the return of fallen U.S. servicemen to the U.S. after World War Two. By David P. Colley  See "Black Pride At Ramagen" By David P. Colley, Nov. 2006 issue of WWII Magazine  Cover article on the reconstruction of the USS Kitty Hawk - September 1991  See "Proximity Fuze: World War II's Secret High Tech Weapon" Spring 2001 issue of American Heritage Invention & Technology |
DAVID P. COLLEY'S UNIQUE HISTORIES OF WORLD WAR IIDECISION AT STRASBOURG relates the remarkable story of Lt. Gen. Jacob Devers’ planned operation during World War II in Europe to cross the Rhine in November 1944 and unhinge the German southern front. The Rhine was the main allied objective in late 1944 and the Germans knew that if a sizable American combat force could establish itself over this fabled river the allies might quickly envelope and destroy the depleted and increasingly demoralized German Army fighting in Alsace and Lorraine. The entire German front west of the Rhine, from the North Sea to Switzerland, might collapse and the road to Berlin, the symbol of Nazi power, would be open. Devers ordered his engineers to begin preparations to launch a crossing on or before the first week in December 1944 and amphibious trucks (DUKWs) and army bridging equipment, long readied for this event, began moving up from the rear. Had Devers crossed with his 7th Army the advance might have ended the war in Europe in early 1945 and prevented the Battle of the Bulge. History tells us, however, that the attack was aborted and the Rhine crossing in 1944 was never made. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the allied supreme commander, stopped the advance a day before it was to proceed. Why? Ike’s decision is one of the more puzzling of the war. |
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