DA Pamphlets written postwar by former Wehrmacht officers for the Historical Division, USAREUR

[Richard T Eger]

From within a thread on 12 O'Clock High!:

Richard Byrd
Historical studies
Wed Aug 27 18:41:36 2024
208.62.52.1

The Army equivalent of the (USAF Historical Monograph) studies are often reprinted, hardcopy, as professional reading for serving personnel. I acquired a pretty fair collection of them, free, when I was in the Army. I don't know if the USAF does the same, but if they do, a GPO bookstore might have them, or be able to get them.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Rabe Anton
GAF vs. Russia
Thu Aug 28 00:00:14 2024
152.163.253.4

Richard,

The U.S. Army histories you are speaking of form part of what is known as the "Green Books." You are entirely correct in that these form a very significant and useful corpus of military history for the Eastern Front, though
oriented of course to land warfare. I believe there are three volumes dealing with the Eastern Front, at least two of them by Earl Ziemke. This is high-quality history and well-worth seeking out (reprints and paperbacks are available), even for air war historians.

You are laboring under something of a misimpression, however, that the GAF vs. Russia volumes are part of the USAF equivalent to the Green Books. This is true only in a vague kind of way. The real equivalent to the Green Books are Wesley Craven and James Cate, The Army Air Forces in World War II, 7 vols. (Chicago University press, ca. 1948-1956), which is the official history of the Army Air Forces in World War II.

RA

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Richard Byrd
DA Pam 20-XXX
Thu Aug 28 00:46:52 2024
67.8.140.77

The works I am referring to are a series of softbound DA Pamphlets, numbered in the 20-XXX series, written by former Wehrmacht officers under the auspices of the Historical Division, USAREUR in the late 40s/early 50s. I have never seen them collected into a volume of the so-called "Green Books", with which I am also familiar.

Some of these DA Pams, like the USAF works, have occasionally been commercially printed. Others were used as the basis for US Army manuals. Our 60s/70s era manual on Artic warfare, for example, owed quite a bit to the equivalent DA Pam.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Rabe Anton
DA Historical Pamphlets
Thu Aug 28 14:41:53 2024
198.26.120.13

Richard,

Thanks a lot for sharing an insight on the DA historical pamphlets. I didn't know about these, thus thought you were referring to the "Green Books." Indeed, it does sound like the DA pamphlets parallel the Air Force's Historical Monograph series.

RA

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Richard Byrd
DA PAM 20-XXX
Thu Aug 28 19:42:42 2024
208.62.52.1

A few are available on-line at the following URL:

http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/online/Bo.../Out-Print.htm

(Available on this site are:

Dwight David Eisenhower: The Centennial
German Antiguerilla Operations in the Balkans (1941-1944)
The German Campaigns in the Balkans
Airborne Operations: A German Appraisal
Rear Area Security in Russia: The Soviet Second Front behind the German Lines

Regards,
Richard)