Evening star., 1947-09-21
| CONQUER: THE STORY OF
NINTH ARMY
HThe Infantry Journal Press
Washington; $4.50.)

w LIN 1ft1bD1Es
This is the official history of the
9th United States Army, prepared
under an Army order and based on
official documents. A committee of
officers of the Army staff was in
charge with most of the actual writ
ing being done by Coils. William j
Thompson and Theodore w. Parker
1t is strictly factual and no attempt
is made to popularize the story for
nonmilitary consumption Never
theless, it is direct and simple and
unpretentious.
The Ninth was the last of the
great fighting armies to reach the
European theater. The dashing
campaigns in France were behind
our forces when the Ninth arrived
and was given the task of taking the
by-passed port of Brest. After a
hard fight, the city was taken. but
a change in strategy made it no
longer necessary for the Allied
forces to use the port. This might
have dampened the spirit of other
armies, but the Ninth waited patti
emily until it was called to the sec
ton of the battle front where it was
to remain for many hard months
Southern Holland on the German
frontier.
The Ninth's first big offensive was
in the highly industrialized area
north of Aachen, western gateway
to the Ruhr. There was a lot OF
hard fighting there. and little glory
The troops under the Ninth fought
through one industrial community
after another. Coal mine shafts
and Stag piles were their scenery
shelled-out plants their billets.
A Valuable Operation.
After crossing the Rhine in the
north, the Ninth faced the Ruhr
heart and sinews of the Reich in
dustry. Slowly and painfully II
drove east in armored and motorized
infantry columns and simultane-
ously south and southwest through
the thickly populated, highly in
dustrialized Ruhr, fighting not in
great sweeping campaigns but house
to house, street to street and, wher
the going was good, town to town
Finally, it enveloped the northern
half of the Ruhr and met, near
Padderborn, the 1st Army which
had performed a similar feat on the
southern half. There was no more
valuable operation in the defeat of
Germany; but it was not colorful.
The Ninth was satisfied with its
achievement. If there was resent
ment over not being able to continue
on past the Elbe-it was only SO
miles from Berlin when it was
stopped to allow the Russians to
come westward-there is no hint of
it here.
There is very little in this book
about the tall, bald Texan who COM
manded the Ninth throughout its
campaign, 1t. Gen. William H
Simpson. That he was an effective
Army commander is plain from the
accomplishments Of his troops. That
he was a better -than-good diplomat
is between lines describing the long
service of the Ninth under the mer-
curial Marshal Montgomery. II
was the only American Army unde,
the British for any length of time
after the invasion.
The Ninth, this book makes clear
was a hard-fighting, conscientious
Army, proud of its record of doing
what it was told to do with what il
had. There is no technical bril-.
lance implied in these pages, just
sober attention to duty along tried
and trusted Lines. The Army was
quickly inactivated after the sur
render of Germany, leaving other
units to dispose of its 1,123,oO0 pris-
oners OF war and to care for graves
of its 5,l00 men who made it all
possible.