Ebook: The Lost Eleven: The Forgotten Story of Black American Soldiers Brutally Massacred in World War II

Nearly forgotten by history, this is the story of the Wereth Eleven, African-American soldiers who fought courageously for freedom in WWII-only to be ruthlessly executed by Nazi troops during the Battle of the Bulge. Their story was almost forgotten by history. Now known as the Wereth Eleven, these brave African-American soldiers left their homes to join the Allied effort on the front lines of WWII. As members of the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion, they provided crucial fire support at the Siege of Bastogne. Among the few who managed to escape the Nazi's devastating Ardennes Offensive, they found refuge in the small village of Wereth, Belgium. A farmer and supporter of the Allies took the exhausted and half-starved men into his home. When Nazi authorities learned of their whereabouts, they did not take the soldiers prisoner, but subjected them to torture and execution in a nearby field. Despite their bravery and sacrifice, these eleven soldiers were omitted from the final Congressional War Crimes report of 1949. For seventy years, their files-marked secret-gathered dust in the National Archive. But in 1994, at the site of their execution, a memorial was dedicated to the Wereth Eleven and all African-American soldiers who fought in Europe. Drawing on firsthand interviews with family members and fellow soldiers, The Lost Eleven tells the complete story of these nearly forgotten soldiers, their valor in battle and their tragic end. INCLUDES PHOTOS From the Hardcover edition.;A quiet forest -- The Berlin Olympics -- The banning -- A wall of photographs -- Lebensraum -- The baseball pitcher from Piedmont -- The meeting at Berchtesgaden -- Invasion! -- The Belgian family -- The war begins -- The baker's son and the butcher's apprentice -- The trip to Paris -- The Einsatzgruppen -- The surprise attack -- The news at Wolfschanze -- The date that will live in infamy -- The changing world -- The Christmas Eve message -- The Louisiana riot -- Drafted! -- The risk -- The Army's Jim Crow -- The GI from Pontotoc County -- Christmas of '42 -- The 155mm Howitzer -- The early months of '43 -- The urgent message -- The training manuals -- The baby -- Training -- The helper -- The visitor -- The new POW compound -- Operation Citadel -- Disillusioned -- The song -- Late-night reflections -- The weakening Reich -- Training in the U.K. -- A stir in Britain -- Planning an assault -- D-Day -- An invasion from the west -- Arriving at Utah Beach -- "Ready! Fire!" -- The Symphony Serenade -- The plot -- The terrifying news -- The push out of Normandy -- Onward into battle -- The surrender -- Brest -- The battle, fierce and deadly -- The capture of Brest -- The liberation of Paris -- The bivouac -- The young, the old, and the wounded -- The reports -- The long march to Belgium -- The City of Light -- The plan -- Bivouacking in Belgium -- Operation Greif -- Life at the west wall -- The rockets -- The secret revealed -- A sleepless night -- "Just a phonograph" -- "Too quiet!" -- Darkness in the Schnee Eifel -- The attack -- "Screaming meemies!" -- The death sentence -- A long and deadly day -- The breakthrough -- Captured! -- The P-47 Thunderbolt -- Massacre at the Baugnez crossroads -- The farmhouse -- Unexpected hospitality -- The arrest -- The long wait -- "Though l walk through the valley" -- The rest of the story -- What happened to the others?