A Series of Albums Commemorating American Engineer's Roles in the Liberation of Europe, Made for a Decorated Colonel
This is a truly outstanding work consisting of three booklets, each showcasing the role of the 1120th Engineer Combat Group, attached to the VII Corps, in the liberation of Europe. The three volumes included many lithographed sketches regarding the 1120th's time in France, Belgium, and Germany. This work was presented to Colonel Mason J. Young, whose name is inscribed on the inside front cover of each work.
The front covers of each of these works are hand-decorated. The artistic style is exemplary in each instance. For the French volume, tricolor ribbons write "Engineers" in marvelous, flowing print. The Belgian volume is more rigid and serious, while the German volume chooses a modern style and a harsher print. The same chateau appears on each cover, and its design varies from the elegant to the imposing. This may have been a symbol of the 1120th Engineer Combat Group, or simply a symbol chosen to represent the soldiers' time in Europe.
The drawings lithographed are, again, of outstanding quality. These were produced by Staff Sergeant Rudy Wedow in August through February of 1944 and 1945 and lithographed in those years by the 663rd Engineer Corps. It is obvious that a talented engineer's hand drew these; many of the sketches capture aspects of a soldier's work that a photograph could never hope to convey. From a set of sketches showing the destruction of a pillbox, to soldiers sweeping a road for mines, these show parts of the war which often escape notice. One work stands perhaps even above the rest, the depiction of engineers planning for the crossing of the Rhine, in German Border, Sketch 1. The relationships between the four soldiers hard at work can be divined, and their youthful attention to their craft is understood by the viewer.
The text accompanying these works provides additional fascinating information regarding the images. The compiler chose to record the exact location of many of the sketches, as well as the company of engineers involved in many constructions or demolitions. The conditions in which the engineers worked and the progress of the campaign are also recorded.
Mason J. Young, to whom this book was undoubtedly presented, graduated from West Point in with the Class of 1944, part of Cadet Company F2. He served as a commanding officer of the VII Corps of Engineers, a distinguished unit that served at Utah Beach, in the Cherbourg campaign, the assault on Aachen, and numerous other places in France. Young would receive the Bronze Star for Valor after being wounded in France, a medal he would again receive for service in Korea and Vietnam.
Contents
- Engineers In France. Volume I, Number 2
- Sketch 1: Construction of Culvert on Route 162
- Sketch 2: [Mine Sweeping Team]
- Sketch 3: Timber Trestle Bridge
- Sketch 4: Destroyed RR Bridge of Melun
- Sketch 5: Infantry Support Bridge across the Seine River
- Sketch 6: Reinforced HVY Ponton Bridge over Seine River at Melun
- Sketch 7: Launching the First Span of Dt. Bailey "Dinah Shore Bridge" at Melun
- Sketch 8: Building the Dinand Shore Bridge DT Bailey across Seine at Melun
2. Engineers In Belgium. Volume I, Number 3
- Forward. Describes the VII Corps and constituent Battalions of the 1120th Army Combat Group, including: the 294th, 297th, and 298th Engineer Combat Battalion, the 507th Light Ponton Company, and the 988th Engineer Treadway Bridge Company.
- Sketch 1: Chateau D'Anthee
- Sketch 2: Reinforced Heavy Ponton Across Meuse at Dinant
- Sketch 3: Floating Bailey at Dinant
- Sketch 4: Pillbox near Rotgen
- Sketch 5: Putting Charges in Siegfried Pillbox for Demolition
- Sketch 6: Demolished Pillbox Siegfried Line Nar Roetgen
- Sketch 7: Timber Trestle near Mausbach
- Sketch 8: Boat Practice on Lake Gilleppe
3. Engineers on the German Border. Volume I, Number 3
- Sketch 1: Planning for the Rhine
- Sketch 2: Timber Trestle at Vicht
- Sketch 3: Gravel Pit near Eupen • Belgium
- Sketch 4: Tank Propelling 'Snake' Demolition Charge thru Dragons' Teeth
- Sketch 5: Infantry Support Raft Training on Meuse River near Andenne • Belgium
- Sketch 6: Heavy Ponton Raft Training on the Meuse River near Andenne • Belgium
- Sketch 7: Training in Boom Construction on Meuse River near Andenne • Belgium
- Sketch 8: Training in Retrieving Floating Objects in High Velocity Currents at Andenne • Belgium
- Sketch 9: Treadway Bridge Training on Meuse River Near Andenne • Belgium
- Sketch 10: Training in the Launching of LCVPS on Meuse River near Andenne • Belgium
- Sketch 11: Stormboat Training on Meuse River near Andenne • Belgium
- Sketch 12: "Schevenhutte" Germany
4. Loose Leaf Lithographs
- Construction of Culvert on Route 162
- [Minesweeping Team]
- Timber Trestle Bridge at Ambrieres France
- Destroyed RR Bridge at Melun
- Infantry Support Bridge across the Seine River at Melun
- Reinforced HVY Ponton Bridge over Seine River at Melun
- Launching the First SPan of DT Bailey "Dinah Shore Bridge"
- Building the 'Dinah Shore' Bridge DT Bailey across Seine at Melun • France
- Route Junction in Schevenhutte • Germany
- DD Bailey Bridge Across ROer River at Duren • Germany
- DS Bailey & Treadway Bridges at Noiseux • Belgium
- Road Maintenance on A Route 'A' Near Gurzenich Germany
- Floating Steel Treadway Bridge Across the Meuse River at Hastiere • Belgium
- DS Bailey Bridge over L'Ourthe River Durbuy • Belgium
- Modified Treadway Bridge across Roer River at Duren Germany
- Fencing & Marking Minefields near Brandesnil Belgium
- Assault Bailey Bridge (Modified) over the Roer River at Duren • Germany
- Ford across Stream near Achouffe • Belgium
- Double Single Bailey Bridge over L'Ourthe River at Noiseux • Belgium