Day of the Panzer: A Story of American Heroism and Sacrifice in Southern France

By Jeff Danby

This is a rarely detailed “you are there” account of World War II combat, describing a brief but bloody tank/infantry action in August 1944. Based on six years of research—drawing from interviews, primary documents, and visits to the battlefield—”The Day of the Panzer” transports the reader into the ranks of L Company, 15th Regiment, Third Infantry Division, and its supporting M4s of the 756th Tank Battalion as they grapple head-on with the Wehrmacht.

L Company was nearly wiped out during the bloody Anzio breakout of May 1944. Under the fiery leadership of Captain James “Red” Coles, the unit was rebuilt and molded into a tough, colorful bunch in preparation for “Operation Dragoon.” On August 15, 1944, they hit the beaches in southern France, joined by the tank crews of 2nd Lt. Andrew Orient’s 3rd Platoon, all veterans of Cassino.

After overcoming pockets of resistance along the coast, the tanks and infantry swept inland, nipping at the heels of the retreating German Nineteenth Army. A sudden German artillery salvo dispatched six L Company men and left Lt. Orient dead. 1st Lt. Edgar Danby, an armor instructor (the author’s grandfather), was flown in from Italy to replace him.

Despite logistics problems, the Third Division forged north through the Rhône River valley until they found the Germans holding fast, L Company and its supporting tanks leading the regimental charge. In the haste and chaos of the day, they managed to slip the German rearguard and unwittingly attacked the German LXXXV Armeekorps headquarters in the small town of Allan. Both sides were shocked by the ferocity of the battle.

Led by a rampaging Panther tank, the Germans counterattacked, knocking out the Sherman of Lt. Danby while threatening to cut L Company’s positions in half. Surrounded and facing annihilation—but steeled by the courageous leadership of Captain Coles and others—L Company held fast despite dead and wounded on all sides and 13 men captured. The seemingly unstoppable Panther, stalking the battlefield like some black knight from a Teutonic fantasy, continued to hold off American reinforcements in the morning, until the Armeekorps headquarters executed a withdrawal.

In this book, the minute-by-minute confusion, thrill and desperation of WWII combat is placed under a microscope, as if the reader himself were a participant. In this small but singular battle, the courage of US troops in their liberation of France is given full due.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Casemate
• Release date: May 8, 2008
• ISBN: 9781935149606

Jeff Danby

Jeff Danby was born in Pontiac, Michigan. As the son of a high school history teacher, Jeff grew up in a house full of books—which he read voraciously. He went on to get a B.A. Degree in History (with Honors) from DePaul University with a concentration in 20th Century America. Jeff currently lives in Granville, Ohio, with his wife Melinda and three children. He is an active member of the 756th Tank Battalion Association and maintains the organization's website. He also maintains memberships in the Society of Third Infantry Division, and the 15th Infantry Regiment Association.

Reviews for Day of the Panzer

[Tom Swenson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A nice low level view of a company in a particular battle. Not a big battle, not a pivotal battle, but one of the many, many "minor" actions that added up to a much bigger war. It's nicely framed into the larger context of the liberation of France.

[jamespurcell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book aptly shows how wars and battles are really larger sized collections of the intense conflict described here.

[robertmosher · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First I owe Mr. Danby an apology for not picking up his book when it first came out. I can only plead the seemingly growing pile of unread books surrounding me as I write these words. Normally a tank on the cover gets a definite look inside and then it’s half a chance that the book comes home with me. In this case, there is also my interest in the parachute/glider troops who participated in the invasion of the South of France whose story is a continuing interest for me. However, I recently rediscovered “The Day of the Panzer” in one of those informal circulating libraries some hotels now offer for their guests. (My copy returns home next week now that I’ve finished it.)One might say that Jeff Danby stumbled into the writing of this book in much the same way that I stumbled into reading it. He actually started down this path when he began researching the story of his grandfather’s World War II service in the U.S. Third Infantry Division – “the Rock of the Marne.” He pieced together the information he was looking for, and a lot more, from the official records, official histories, after action reports, interviews with veterans who served with his grandfather and other surviving participants and eyewitnesses, and even walked the battlefield. It became apparent to him after five and half years of research that it would take a book to tell this story – and the result is a new history of the Champagne Campaign – the invasion of the South France, with a strong emphasis on what it was like for the troops rather than the generals.It was a pleasant surprise to find that his extensive research on this small engagement at Allan, France, enabled Danby to present an intimate detailed account of the battle. In a work reminiscent of Cornelius Ryan and later Stephen Ambrose, Danby helps us follow individual soldiers and officers to the beaches of France and the roads that led them to the village of Allan. Often we have their own words describing what they saw and heard, what they did, and what happened next – and why. His writing style is clear and easy to follow. If I had any quibble at all it would the apparent continuing confusion between “panzer’ – German for tank – and “Panther” – meaning the German Mark V tank called the Panther – a constant and dangerous threat to Allied Shermans. However, I am generally persuaded that this apparent confusion in fact reflects the usage of the GIs who actually fought the war and thus did not have time to belabor correct Wehrmacht armored nomenclature nor points of the German usage of language and vocabulary.Canby adds 15 pages of appendices and some 44 pages of footnotes that go beyond the bare source citation to offer additional details and information not in the main body of the book. The capstone is a 15 page bibliography listing his sources. If you are interested in the average GI’s perspective or experience; like studies of small company sized actions that go into detail, or simply want to have a better sense of what the war was like in the South of France in August- September 1944 – this is a book for you. And Jeff – I’m looking forward to your next book!