This account of the 452nd AAA Battalion reflects the segregation that existed in the US military until 1948. That said, during its 2 years activation, the 452nd performed admirably and was that highest scoring AAA unit supporting the US 10th Army advance across Europe from D-Day onwards. A large proportion of the book describes the rapid movement of the elements of the Battalion across Europe, but without a detailed map to follow these movements the reader gets a little lost. Also, repeated incident reports of aircraft sightings, directions of travel and ammunition expenditure mean little and do not enhance the story. The main message from the account is the fortitude of the negro enlisted men, their bravery and their dedication in performing their duty at the highest level they were able.

While the subject was intriguing, the telling of the story fell well short of the desired target. The theme of following the forgotten story of an African- American unit in WW2 and the overcoming of the prejudice they had to face was and should be known. However, the author chose to tell the story as if it were a dissertation of facts and little substance to the story. The book reads like a dry, after-action report. So many shells fired, claims for damage, and so forth. Very little of the book was really the true story, With over 1,000 personnel that served, there should have been more first-hand accounts and stories that could have been told - who were they, why did they choose to enlist and face the trials they did? So, while a great book on facts and figures, the human story is woefully missing. An okay read, but not one that grabbed me.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The 452nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion was a unit with Black American soldiers and White American officers during World War II. It trained in the US, before deploying in the UK, where it kept a watchful vigil at several important locations. The aircraft was equipped with the 40mm Bofors and the M45 Quadmount. Both were towed anti-aircraft guns used to protect designated areas or units against low-flying enemy aircraft. The battalion had four firing batteries, which were all divided into two platoons, centered around a Bofors gun and a weapon trailer, making for a total of 32 40mm Bofors guns and 32 M45 quadmounts. A substantial amount of firepower, however, the 452nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion rarely fought as a coherent unit.It spent most of its combat career attached to XII Corps, Third Army, and fought in Europe. The unit often provided anti-aircraft protection for white American field artillery battalions. Thus, each platoon was attached to a field artillery battalion, providing them with much-needed anti-aircraft protection. The cumbersome field artillery battalions, especially the heavier guns and howitzers, were a tempting target for the German Luftwaffe.

In addition to protecting the field artillery battalions, the service alongside White Americans also gave the unit an opportunity to battle with another hated foe: Jim Crow. During a strafing attack by the Luftwaffe, the white soldiers sought cover, while the Black soldiers jumped to their positions and engaged the hostile aircraft. This greatly facilitated the relations between the white and the Black unit, as well as reminding the field artillery soldiers why they needed anti-aircraft protection.

The 452nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battation ended the war with the following claims: 67 11/12 enemy aircraft destroyed, 19 enemy aircraft probably destroyed, and 11 enemy aircraft damaged.

Their legacy is one of courage, skill, and perseverance—not only in battle, but in breaking racial barriers. The United States armed forces integrated in 1948.

Among the very many accounts of the Second World War this book stands out and deserves to be widely read, not just because it sheds light on a little known fighting force that played a vital - if unsung - role in protecting the better known fighting formations from aerial attack, but also because of the light it sheds on an aspect of social history that reflects badly on the ‘land of the free’.

It’s not the reviewer’s job to summarise the account of Samuel de Korte over the part played by the 452nd AAA, or the wider discrimination experienced by black US servicemen in WW2; the details are set out clearly in the text. However, suffice to say that this book serves to highlight the casual and destructive attitude in the discrimination exhibited by many white servicemen at all levels and in all branches of the armed services.

De Korte also takes the reader on a journey through training and eventual deployment of the battalion in the ETO. If this reviewer’s experience is shared by others it’s likely that many readers will be surprised at the intensity of the engagements involving the different elements of the battalion, and the steadfastness displayed. Inevitably, based as it is on dry, official records, much of the latter part of the book is a long list of daily activities and engagements. Far from being uninteresting, however, this summary of the routine activities serves to emphasise the nature of the experiences shared by the servicemen involved.

A thoroughly recommended book.

Interesting, it rather dry history of the USArmy unit of the title. Nevertheless less, it gives the needed reminder of discrimination against Black soldiers drafted or voluntary in the services in WW2.
The narrative is slowed by the when the author’s recitation of types , calibers, and other technical specifications of the weapons in the various units and the shortcomings relative to the job they were fashioned. For the casual reader of WW 2 history there is a bit too much detail. At times it reads more like a doctoral thesis than a popular history, dry and stiff.
Summary, not exactly what I expected, but ok.