American Eagles

For readers of Max Hastings and James Holland, and fans of Steven Spielberg's award-winning miniseries Band of Brothers.

Of the 6,600 paratroopers of the 101st 'Screaming Eagles' Airborne Division who parachuted into France in the early hours of 6 June 1944 - D-Day - some 3,500 were listed as missing by midnight that same night. Yet it was only the beginning of their 'rendezvous with destiny'.

American Eagles is the remarkable true story of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division. From their rigorous training in 'Old Jolly' (England) to their first operational jump in Normandy, Charles Whiting tells the story of this 'Band of Brothers', who fought, suffered and died in the eleven-month campaign that followed. From Normandy and Holland through to the siege of Bastogne and their final triumphant capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest in the Bavarian Alps, we gain a picture of a brave elite division which kept on getting the tough assignments.

Drawing on eyewitness accounts, painstaking research, and his own youthful experiences when his regiment was under the command of 101st Airborne in Holland, Whiting delivers a powerful account of each of the 101st's major operations during the European campaign of 1944/45. He brings to life the full horrors of war while shining a spotlight on the courage and determination of the 'Screaming Eagles' and their role in the destruction of the Nazi regime in World War Two.

"The 101st Airborne Division, which was activated on August 16, 1942, at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, has no history, but it has a rendezvous with destiny..." - Maj.-Gen. William Lee, commanding officer in 1942.