The Men of World War II by Stephen E. Ambrose

兄弟连 | Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest

《兄弟连》中的兄弟连指的就是101空降师中的E连，也就是《拯救大兵瑞恩》中的瑞恩所属部队，是1942年美军最优秀的作战精英。1944年4月，美国把E连所属部队的6700名伞兵全部送往前线，由于飞机受到袭击，几乎所有的伞兵都没能在预定地点着陆。于是，E连一边寻找队伍，一边开展艰苦的战斗，死伤率高达150％（因为死伤后补充的人又再次负伤死去），但却围剿了希特勒位于西特斯加登的大本营。该连幸存的最年轻的士兵莱斯特，在世纪之交把自己作为盟军在诺曼底的难忘经历和对兄弟连战友血泪凝结的珍贵回忆，告诉了曾担任电影《拯救大兵瑞恩》历史顾问的二战史专家史蒂芬·安布罗斯，后者在对幸存者进行长时间访谈并参考了当年战士的日记和家书后，写出了《兄弟连》一书。

As good a rifle company as any, Easy Company, 506th Airborne Division, US Army, kept getting tough assignments–responsible for everything from parachuting into France early DDay morning to the capture of Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest at Berchtesgaden. In “Band of Brothers,” Ambrose tells of the men in this brave unit who fought, went hungry, froze & died, a company that took 150% casualties & considered the Purple Heart a badge of office. Drawing on hours of interviews with survivors as well as the soldiers’ journals & letters, Stephen Ambrose recounts the stories, often in the men’s own words, of these American heroes.

诺曼底1944 | D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Battle for the Normandy Beaches

1944年6月6日（D日），盟军发动了诺曼底登陆战役，是迄今为止已知的最大规模的空军和海军舰队协同进攻。斯大林曾给丘吉尔写信评价道：“这是整个战争史上从来不曾出现过的壮举。”诺曼底之战使整个二战战略态势发生了根本性转折，也在极大程度上决定了美国和欧洲此后的关系，并奠定了二战后世界的整体格局。 本书以战争中的真实人性打动了无数读者，是 “一部战争史上永远无法超越的经典杰作”。在2009年，本书荣登美国、英国、法国、西班牙、意大利等国家畅销书排行榜第一名。

It is the young men born into the false prosperity of the 1920s and brought up in the bitter realities of the Depression of the 1930s that this book is about. The literature they read as youngsters was anti-war and cynical, portraying patriots as suckers, slackers and heroes. None of them wanted to be part of another war. They wanted to be throwing baseballs, not handgrenades; shooting .22s at rabbits, not M-1s at other young men. But when the test came, when freedom had to be fought for or abandoned, they fought (from the Prologue).

Pegasus Bridge: June 6, 1944

In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, a small detachment of British airborne troops stormed the German defense forces and paved the way for the Allied invasion of Europe. Pegasus Bridge was the first engagement of D-Day, the turning point of World War II.

This gripping account of it by acclaimed author Stephen Ambrose brings to life a daring mission so crucial that, had it been unsuccessful, the entire Normandy invasion might have failed. Ambrose traces each step of the preparations over many months to the minute-by-minute excitement of the hand-to-hand confrontations on the bridge. This is a story of heroism and cowardice, kindness and brutality—the stuff of all great adventures.

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