

They were one of the first to break through the Siegfried Line, a fortification constructed by the Germans in France. For a week, they were bombarded and lost 1800 men, but the Germans eventually gave up their effort and retreated. They held their ground against German attack in Montain, France. Roosevelt’s Shock Troops: The 30thĬleveland’s National Guard, the 30th Division, was sent to Normandy on the frontlines in 1944. He received the Purple Heart and the Silver Star, and the Bradley County Chapter of Disabled Veterans was named in his honor. A Japanese steamer, transporting him and other POWs, was hit by an American submarine. Major Jones was a POW (Prisoner of War) for three years after being captured by the Japanese. He himself returned to the battlefield to assist in routing an enemy company of 125 German soldiers. Huff then led his men to safety and reported on the positions of the enemy. He moved through a minefield to the nearest machine gun position, killed the German crew, and drew fire from other enemy crews, helping his men determine the strength and location of the enemy. After being bombarded by mortar and machine gun fire, Huff advanced alone to protect his patrol. Corporal Huff volunteered to lead a team of six men to determine the locations of German units attacking his battalion. In 1944, his battalion served as shock troops at the invasion of Anzio. He joined the Army in June 1941 and was sent overseas to England a year later. Huff received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his service as a parachute infantryman. Bradley County during World War IIĬorporal Paul B. destroyers for British bases, and creating the Lend-Lease Act, which leased war materials to Britain. did provide aid to its Allies, exchanging U.S. remained neutral at the beginning of the war as it had during World War I. War broke out in Europe and Asia, but the U.S. Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 1, 1939. In 1939, Nazi Germany moved against Poland, which finally incited an Allied response. Italy invaded and defeated Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) in 1935. Japan seized Manchuria from China in 1931. Still, the Allies did not take action.ĭuring this time, a number of other wars were rising among the would-be Axis powers. Hitler followed this up by annexing Austria and taking part of Czechoslovakia. Shortly after, he retook Rhineland from the Allies, again promising no more invasions. He reclaimed Saarland from French and British rule and claimed he would not make another attempt on France’s land holdings. Hitler set his sights on other countries.
