A riveting, dead-true account in the tradition of Black Hawk Down and We Were Soldiers Once...and Young.”—Steven Pressfield, national bestselling author of The Lion’s Gate
“Abandoned in Hell is essential reading about the brave men who lived and died fighting an unpopular war.”—David Hume Kennerly, winner of the 1972 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography
“Wolf and Albracht have interwoven the history, the tumult of battle and the spectrum of personalities that turn up on a forlorn red dirt hill on the Cambodian border in the crunch year of 1968. Firebase Kate becomes a microcosm of the turn of events, the disasters that were the death knell of the Vietnam war. It’s a story that grabs you by the throat and won’t let go.”—Tim Page, Photojournalist and author of Another Vietnam
“An epic tale of junior officers and NCOs salvaging a clusterf**k with minimum losses and maximum damage to the enemy. Nasty war. Great book.”—Jim Morris, author of War Storyand Above and Beyond
“This gripping, gritty and cinematic blow-by-blow account of outnumbered Americans locked in a desperate battle with the North Vietnamese Army is destined to become a classic of its genre. If you read only one book about Vietnam this year, this must be the one.”—Major General Paul Vallely, US Army (Ret.), Two-tour Vietnam Veteran, Fox News Senior Military Analyst, and author of Endgame: The Blueprint for Victory in the War on Terror
“This extraordinary narrative about leadership, loyalty and trust grabbed me from page one. It should be required reading for anyone who wants to know what really happened in Vietnam.”—Rocky Bleier, Decorated Vietnam Veteran and Four-Time Super Bowl Champion
“A riveting look at a little-known but compelling Vietnam War story.”—Publishers Weekly
“Albracht and Wolf present a vivid, often gripping account of the attack by 4,000 members of the People's Army of Vietnam...This fast-paced narrative encapsulates Vietnam War themes, significantly the bravery of grunts and company grade officers and their loyalty to one another.”—Library Journal
In October 1969, Captain William Albracht, the youngest Green Beret in Vietnam, took command of a remote hilltop outpost called Fire Base Kate, held by only 27 American soldiers and 150 Montagnard militiamen. He found their defenses woefully unprepared. At dawn the next morning, three North Vietnamese Army regiments-some 6,000 men-crossed the Cambodian border and attacked. Outnumbered three dozen to one, Albracht's men held off repeated ground assaults by communist forces with fierce hand-to-hand fighting, air support and a dangerously close B-52 strike. For days, the NVA blanketed Kate in a rain of rockets, mortars, artillery, machineguns, and small arms, blocking efforts to resupply, reinforce, or evacuate the outpost. Albracht continually exposed himself to enemy fire to direct air strikes, to guide re-supply helicopters, to distribute ammunition and water to his men, to retrieve the dead and to rescue the wounded, often shielding men with his own body. Wounded by rocket shrapnel, he refused medical attention or evacuation. Exhausted from days without sleep, he continued to rally his men to beat off each new enemy attack. After five days, Kate's defenders were out of ammo and water. aerial resupply was suicidal, and reinforcements were denied by military commanders who had written off Kate. Albracht refused to surrender or die in place. Refusing to allow his men to surrender, Albracht led his troops, including many wounded, off the hill and on a daring night march through enemy lines. Abandoned in Hell is an astonishing memoir of leadership, sacrifice, and brutal violence, a riveting journey into Vietnam's heart of darkness, and a compelling reminder of the transformational power of individual heroism. Not since Lone Survivor and We Were Soldiers Once, And Young has there been such a gripping and authentic account of battlefield courage.
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Abandoned in Hell: The Fight For Vietnam's Firebase Kate
In October 1969, Captain William Albracht, the youngest Green Beret in Vietnam, took command of a remote hilltop outpost called Fire Base Kate, held by only 27 American soldiers and 150 Montagnard militiamen. He found their defenses woefully unprepared. At dawn the next morning, three North Vietnamese Army regiments-some 6,000 men-crossed the Cambodian border and attacked. Outnumbered three dozen to one, Albracht's men held off repeated ground assaults by communist forces with fierce hand-to-hand fighting, air support and a dangerously close B-52 strike. For days, the NVA blanketed Kate in a rain of rockets, mortars, artillery, machineguns, and small arms, blocking efforts to resupply, reinforce, or evacuate the outpost. Albracht continually exposed himself to enemy fire to direct air strikes, to guide re-supply helicopters, to distribute ammunition and water to his men, to retrieve the dead and to rescue the wounded, often shielding men with his own body. Wounded by rocket shrapnel, he refused medical attention or evacuation. Exhausted from days without sleep, he continued to rally his men to beat off each new enemy attack. After five days, Kate's defenders were out of ammo and water. aerial resupply was suicidal, and reinforcements were denied by military commanders who had written off Kate. Albracht refused to surrender or die in place. Refusing to allow his men to surrender, Albracht led his troops, including many wounded, off the hill and on a daring night march through enemy lines. Abandoned in Hell is an astonishing memoir of leadership, sacrifice, and brutal violence, a riveting journey into Vietnam's heart of darkness, and a compelling reminder of the transformational power of individual heroism. Not since Lone Survivor and We Were Soldiers Once, And Young has there been such a gripping and authentic account of battlefield courage.
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Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940170586790 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Recorded Books, LLC |
| Publication date: | 02/03/2015 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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