Among the firsts : Lieutenant Colonel Gerhard L. Bolland's unconventional war : D-Day 82nd airborne paratrooper, OSS special forces commander of Operation Rype

Author / Creator

Bolland, Matthew T., author

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Summary

The war of the doubly pioneering Lieutenant Colonel Gerhard L. Bolland--82nd Airborne paratrooper on D-Day and senior OSS field operative on Operation Rype--in his own words. During World War II, t...

The war of the doubly pioneering Lieutenant Colonel Gerhard L. Bolland--82nd Airborne paratrooper on D-Day and senior OSS field operative on Operation Rype--in his own words. During World War II, the United States government developed and employed several new unconventional methods of fighting, among them the dropping of paratroop units behind enemy lines, and covert and sabotage operations undertaken by the Office of Strategic Services. Minnesotan and West Point graduate Lieutenant Colonel Gerhard Bolland was involved in both of these "firsts." On D-Day, he parachuted behind enemy lines, jumping out of the 82nd Airborne lead aircraft with General James Gavin. After fighting with the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment for 33 days straight, he returned to England and became involved with the OSS Scandinavian Section. He served as field commander for Operation Rype, the only American military undertaking in Norway during World War II. Bolland's first-hand account of his unconventional war reveals the struggles, successes, failures and ultimate victories of these new methods of fighting. --

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