In mid-1943 James Megellas, known as "Maggie" to his fellow paratroopers, joined the 82d Airborne Division, his new "home" for the duration. His first taste of combat was in the rugged mountains outside Naples.

In October 1943, when most of the 82d departed Italy to prepare for the D-Day invasion of France, Lt. Gen. Mark Clark, the Fifth Army commander, requested that the division's 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Maggie's outfit, stay behind for a daring new operation that would outflank the Nazis' stubborn defensive lines and open the road to Rome. On 22 January 1944, Megellas and the rest of the 504th landed across the beach at Anzio. Following initial success, Fifth Army's amphibious assault, Operation Shingle, bogged down in the face of heavy German counterattacks that threatened to drive the Allies into the Tyrrhenian Sea. Anzio turned into a fiasco, one of the bloodiest Allied operations of the war. Not until April were the remnants of the regiment withdrawn and shipped to England to recover, reorganize, refit, and train for their next mission.

In September, Megellas parachuted into Holland along with the rest of the 82d Airborne as part of another star-crossed mission, Field Marshal Montgomery's vainglorious Operation Market Garden. Months of hard combat in Holland were followed by the Battle of the Bulge, and the long hard road across Germany to Berlin.

Megellas was the most decorated officer of the 82d Airborne Division and saw more action during the war than most. Yet All the Way to Berlin is more than just Maggie's World War II memoir. Throughout his narrative, he skillfully interweaves stories of the other paratroopers of H Company, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The result is a remarkable account of men at war.

James Megellas was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. After the war he returned to civilian life. He eventually served in the U.S. Army's effort to aid the Republic of Vietnam in establishing an efficient infrastructure as head of Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support (CORDS) in II Corps. He is now retired and lives with wife, Carole, near Dallas.

In September, Megellas parachuted into Holland along with the rest of the 82d Airborne as part of another star-crossed mission, Field Marshal Montgomery's vainglorious Operation Market Garden. Months of hard combat in Holland were followed by the Battle of the Bulge, and the long hard road across Germany to Berlin.

Megellas was the most decorated officer of the 82d Airborne Division and saw more action during the war than most. Yet All the Way to Berlin is more than just Maggie's World War II memoir. Throughout his narrative, he skillfully interweaves stories of the other paratroopers of H Company, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The result is a remarkable account of men at war.

James Megellas was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. After the war he returned to civilian life. He eventually served in the U.S. Army's effort to aid the Republic of Vietnam in establishing an efficient infrastructure as head of Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support (CORDS) in II Corps. He is now retired and lives with wife, Carole, near Dallas.

Anatoly Kozlov was born in 1922 in the village of Rostov region. In 1941 Anatoly started his military college at Grozny and finished it as a commander of a machinegun company in May 1942.

Anatoly was a Lt. when he was taken to Kharkov in May of 1942 where the Russian troops where almost totally destroyed by the Germans. With many troops encircled and imprisoned, Anatoly was lucky to have escape and found himself in Stalingrad where he was assigned to a tank regiment as a adjutant.

Anatoly witnessed and participated in most of the events of the battle including 23rd of August when Germans burned and destroyed most of the city within several hours. In July, 1942, he was in the tank brigade in the Don River (Kalach-on0the Don-Golubinskaya) bend where two Russian tank armies managed to stop Germans for about a month at the price of their lives. By miracle, Anatoly survived the battle and received his first Order for Courage.

Another significant page of the battle for Stalingrad was a campaign to stop Manstein's troops at Kotelnikovo (mishkova River, Aksai River) which were to release the Germans from the pocket. Anatoly received another Order of the Red Banner and received his GUARD title as a result of the battle.

In 1943 Anatoly participated in the battle of Kursk. In 1944 his coprs was in the reserve and delivered US lend-leased machinery and equipment which included trucks, aircraft, food and etc.

By the end of 1944, Anatoly joined 3rd Ukrainian Front and participated in releasing Budapest and Vienna.

For his exceptional merits in the Patriotic War (Russian's reference to WW II), Anatoly was given the honor to participate in the June 24, 1945 Victory Parade.

Anatoly retired as a Col. over 30 ago and is now the Chairman of the City Veteran's Department of Volgograd (Stalingrad).

For more on Col. Anatoly Kozlov's effort in giving the city he fought for back her original name, Stalingrad, please visit:

http://ca.geocities.com/stal...

Prince Alfred von Habsburg-Hohenberg, a direct descendant of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tirol (1529-1595) and Philippine Welser (1527-1580), was born May 19, 1921, in Silesia, a former province of the Austrian Empire. Prince Alfred was educated at the University of Breslau.

After World War II and a distinguished service record (including being wounded six times), Prince Alfred worked with the U.S. Air Force as a consultant at the Palace of Justice, Nuremberg.

After completing his work for the U.S. Government, Prince Alfred developed an international marketing firm in Fussen, German, representing clients in Europe, South America, and the Caribgean.

Prince Alfred migrated to the United States in 1957 and became a U.S. citizen in 1963. He continued as President of his own marketing firm in Chicago.

In 1965, together with King Peter II and Count Felix von Luckner, Prince Alfred re-established the ancient military and religious order of Saint John (The Knights of Malta), serving as Hereditary Grand Prior.

Prince Alfred retired and moved to Florida in 1970 and pursued philanthropic interests. He remains active in several environmental organizations such as The World Wildlife Fund, The Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy, The National Wildlife Federation, etc. It is a goal and a dream of Prince Alfred to establish an animal reserve for endangered species in Guyana.

Prince Alfred and his wife, Princess Jean Margaret, area officers of Habsburg-Hohenberg Historical Research, a non-profit organization, which among other things, promotes workshops, orientations, and travel. They are sponsors of The Friends of Johann Strauss. Prince Alfred is extremely knowledgeable about European history and is considered and expert in heraldry.

The von Habsburgs reside both in Buching, German, and Bradenton, Florida.

Translation from the German language book "Battle of Stalingrad" by Hans Wijers, Brummen, The Netherlands, 2001

The Battle of Stalingrad, with emphasis on the factory of Dscherschinski, where the famous T-34 Tank was produced and was defended by the Russians by spe cial order of Stalin; "not one step back."

The 51st Army Corps of the 6th German Army started their attack on the tractor works at 7:30 am on October 14, 1942 and together with the 14th Panzer Division the 389th infantry Division reached the first factory buildings almost in view of the Volga River.

A veteran of the fighting around Stalingrad, 1st Lt. Alfred von Hasburg-Hohenberg, nicknamed 'Winnetou" after an Apache Chieftain who was famous for his skill in fighting with his tomahawk, commanded a small group of combat engineers, all veterans of a number of hand-to-hand combat previously christened at the battle of Kiev and Charkov, as well as a number of river crossings in the Ukraine.

While at the beginning of the attack, the Lt. and his men were properly armed with flame thrower, hand grenade and sticks of dynamite, these items were soon lost when they were rolled over by the Russians and the group had to fight toward the east and the west.

Lt. Habsburg earned his nickname in previous battles when he used the government-issued small axe as the Indians used their Tomahawks. During the winter when the Siberian cold made some of the rifles and guns useless (light oil used by German soldiers easily froze, while the heavy oil used by the Russians withstood the cold), Lt. Habsburg found that the small battle-axe was the best weapon in close combat battles.

There were close combat fights constantly, sometimes the Russians were up on the first floor of the factory and sometimes the Germans were on top of the Russians; underground connections between different buildings were used by both the Germans and Russians to trap the enemies. Both sides had tremendous casualties; no one took prisoners and it was strictly killing or getting killed.

The small group of combat engineers of Lt. Habsburg was reduced to one Sgt. one Corporal and about a dozen men. Everyone showed wounds received in hand-to-hand fighting. The days and nights were bitter cold. Food did not get through.

The Russian artillery kept everyone on his toes as they were bombarding relentlessly. The Russians were very active in the early morning hours (the Vodka the night before made them brave) but their attacks were usually repulsed by Lt. Habsburg's small group.

On November 19th, Lt. Habsburg was wounded for the fifth time and flown out of Stalingrad. He survived the most brutal battle of the century. Although he later participated in battles at Monte Casino and Anzio, none of the battles compared to the viciousness of battle at Stalingrad.