The war beat, Europe : the American media at war against Nazi Germany

448 Pages·2017·6.23 MB·English

by  Casey

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The War Beat, Europe
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The War Beat, Europe
The American Media at War Against
Nazi Germany
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Steven Casey
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Press in the UK and certain other countries.
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
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© Oxford University Press 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
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You must not circulate this work in any other form
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Casey, Steven, author.
Title: The war beat, Europe : the American media at war against
Nazi Germany / Steven Casey.
Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2017] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016041728 (print) | LCCN 2016058936 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780190660628 (hardback : acid-free paper) |
ISBN 9780190660635 (Updf) | ISBN 9780190660642 (Epub)
Subjects: LCSH: World War, 1939-1945—Press coverage—United States. |
World War, 1939-1945—Public opinion. | Mass media—Political
aspects—United States—History—20th century. |
War correspondents—United States—History—20th century. |
War correspondents—Europe—History—20th century. |
Censorship—United States—History—20th century. |
Civil-military relations—United States—History—20th century. | Public
opinion—United States—History—20th century. |
BISAC: HISTORY / Military / World War II. | HISTORY / Military / General. |
HISTORY / United States / 20th Century.
Classification: LCC D799.U6 C38 2017 (print) | LCC D799.U6 (ebook) |
DDC 940.53/112—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016041728
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Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America
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For my parents, Margaret and Terry
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1. Going to War 11
PART I: North Africa
2. Invasion, 1942 31
3. The Advent of Ernie 47
4. Defeat at Kasserine 62
5. Victory in Tunisia 74
PART II: Bombing Germany
6. How- I- Almost- Got-Killed- Today Stories 89
7. A High- Octane Outfit 106
8. Dark Days 120
PART III: Sicily and Italy
9. Invasion, 1943 139
10. An Antidote to Complacency 159
11. Death in Winter 178
12. Anzio and Cassino 189
PART IV: Overlord
13. Fear Lay Blackly Deep Down 215
14. Invasion, 1944 229
15. Normandy Stalemate 241
16. Breakout 256
PART V: Victory
17. To Germany’s Borders 275
18. Blackout in the Bulge 294
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19. Into the Reich 312
20. Unconditional Surrender 329
Conclusion 347
Notes 355
Bibliography 403
Index 417
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I began work on this book in 2008. Since then, a number of projects and
a string of university administrative jobs have prevented me from finish-
ing it as quickly as I would have liked. I want to begin by thanking the
organizations that helped to fund this project and have waited patiently
to see it finally appear in print, especially the US Military History
Institute, which awarded me a Matthew Ridgway grant in 2009, the
British Academy, which provided me with one its Small Grants in 2010,
the Eisenhower Library, which gave me a research grant in 2013, and the
International History department at the London School of Econmics,
which provided me with two awards from its Research Infrastructure
and Investment funds.
I owe a large debt to all the staff at so many archives, especially Valerie
Comor and Francesca Pitaro at the AP Archives, Cynthia Young at the
International Center for Photography, Art Miller at Lake Forest College, Eric
Gillespie at the McCormick Archives, Richard Sommers at the US Military
History Institute, David Gobel at the Citadel, Jeffrey Kozak at the Marshall
Foundation, and Janet W. McKee at the Recorded Sound Research Center
in the Library of Congress. I would also like to thank Yvonne Kincaid at Air
Force Historical Research Agency, Diana Bachman at the Bentley Historical
Library, Diane Jacob at the Virginia Military Institute, Roslyn Pachoca at
the Library of Congress, and last but not least Dan Strieff, who all tracked
down particular documents for me.
A number of colleagues have read earlier versions of the manuscript.
I would like to thank Jim Hamilton, Ralph Levering, David Reynolds,
and Philip Woods. I have been particularly fortunate to work for a fourth
time with Susan Ferber at Oxford University Press, and I am extremely
grateful for her continued support, advice, and editing expertise. I would
also like to thank Ginny Faber for her excellent copyediting and Maya
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