The Fighting 14Th. By The Men Of The Fourteenth Field Artillery Observation Battalion. World War Ii; Us Army.

First and sole edition of this rare, well-produced unit history. Published in September 1945, it offers a comprehensive narrative of the battalion from its inception at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in 1941, to its landing in France in August 1944 and the push into Germany. Fourteenth FOB was attached to the US Fourth Armored Division, which was at the forefront of Patton's drive through France. One of the three colour maps shows that between 30 August and 21 December 1944, the 14th took part in the advance from Troyes to Bliesbruck, just over the German border, which was conducted in increasingly trying conditions summed up with grim humour: "In this sector we inhabited one hamlet after another and many fields - each one muddier than the last. We survived the amphibious warfare, but with a combination of that and the cold weather the going was hard indeed". They played a supporting role during the Battle of the Bulge, before cutting across the Low Countries and then through Germany to the Elbe, described on the accompanying map as "The Last Lap". The volume concludes with a roundup of accomplishments, letters of commendation, a selection of poems contributed by GIs, unit rosters, and decorations (including two Silver Stars). We have traced six copies only in US libraries (New York Public Library, Arizona State, US Army Field Artillery School, US Army War College, and Brown) and two in Germany (Stuttgart and Wüttembergische Landesibliothek). Quarto. Original red cloth, front cover lettered in silver and with embossed unit insignia. With 3 folding colour maps, illustrated throughout with line drawings and half-tone photographs. Binding a little worn at extremities, front free endpaper neatly excised, a few short closed tears, longer closed tear across pp. 103-4 (without loss), occasional finger soiling, some creasing, yet this remains a very good copy.