On the day that Roswell K. Doughty graduated from Boston University, he also received a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army of the United States of America. It was not until 1942 that he was called to active duty—to face some of the toughest fighting of the Second World War.



He subsequently saw action in North Africa, then at the disastrous Salerno landings in Italy—where the Allied divisions involved suffered 4,000 casualties—about which the author reveals that suspected intelligence breaches led to the Allies' plans becoming known to the Germans.



Doughty was involved in the grueling battles against the formidable German defenses of the Gustav Line, particularly in the tragic failed attempt to cross the Gari river and the struggle to conquer Monte Cassino. After the Anzio landings and the liberation of Rome, Doughty and his infantry regiment took part in the invasion of Southern France in Operation Dragoon.



Promoted to captain and later to major, Doughty led an Intelligence and Reconnaissance unit, the role of which was to learn what it could of enemy strengths, minefields, useable roads and so on, which involved going behind enemy lines to observe enemy movements firsthand.