A Dangerous Assignment: An Artillery Forward Observer in World War II

by William B. Hanford

Rare memoir of a risky job performed by relatively few troopsHonest and observant narrative describes the good, bad, and ugly of the warCovers World War II's closing months in eastern France and GermanyCpl. Bill Hanford had one of the U.S. Army's most dangerous jobs in World War II: artillery forward observer (FO). Tasked with calling in heavy fire on the enemy, FOs accompanied infantrymen into combat, crawled into no-man's-land, and ascended observation posts like hills and ridges to find their targets. But beyond the usual perils of ground combat, FOs were specially targeted by the enemy because of their crucial role in directing artillery fire. Hanford spent much of his time fighting in the Vosges Mountains in eastern France and then in Germany in late 1944 and early 1945.

Genres: World War II

258 pages, Paperback

First published June 13, 2008

Reviews

[Michelle Tomasek]

I was fortunate enough to meet the author, Mr. William Hanford, a WWII war hero. I got to hear first hand some of his experiences that are also described in the book.

[Jens]

It has a good story with insights on the general experience as a front soldier in WW2, as much as there are technical nuggets to take away about the use of Fire Support. Recommend.