Hello all!
I am currently enrolled in APUSH ( Advance Placement United States History) and for our final project of the school year I need to read a book, listen to a lecture, and watch a video related to my chosen topic in US history.
For this project I want to research the military doctrine (hopefully the right word choice) that the US practiced in World War 2 specifically in the European Theater of war. So if any kind person would be willing to give me some good sources to read, watch, and listen I would be eternally thankful.
Sure, here's a slew of primary sources;
FM 17-42: Armored Infantry Battalion
FM 100-20: Command and Employment of Air Power
FM 17-22: Reconnaissance Battalion
FM 31-30: Tactics and Techniques of Airborne Troops
FM 17-32: The Tank Company, Light and Medium
A small disclaimer; as I've said before on this sub, especially for the US Army, a lot of what their early (40-42) manuals established was....a bit off touch with reality of the nature of the war. Many, many units threw the field manuals out the window and improvised and went with what worked based on their in theater experiences. However, the Field Manuals still established what the US Army was hoping to conduct in Europe; a fast moving war of movement in ideal terrain. This happened twice, in the period of August-September 1944 and in the final months of the war in the Ruhr-river valley.
Two books by James Jay Carafano are good for establishing the differences between the theory you can read in the FMs, and the reality on the ground. "After D-Day, Operation Cobra and the Normandy Breakout" and "GI Ingenuity" are must-reads in my book. Mr. Carafano, in both books, explains the struggle to find mobility and applicable tactics in the Norman bocage and how the US Army moulded their tactics to suit the situation.