Knights of Freedom
With the Hell on Wheels Armored Division in World War II, A Story in Photos
By Lt. Col. Frederick C. Brems USAR (RET)
And Fred G. Brems
Includes: 643 Illustrations, 597 Photos, 43 Maps
Stackpole Books is proud to announce the January 2024 release of Knights of Freedom (320 pages • 978-0-8117-7376-8 • $29.95 • Paperback) by Lt. Col. Frederick C. Brems USAR (RET) and his son Fred G. Brems. Lt. Col.Brems was drafted in 1941, six months before Pearl Harbor. A tanker almost from the start, he saw action in World War II with the 66th Armored Regiment in the 2nd Armored Division, nicknamed the “Hell On Wheels” division by George Patton himself. One of the most renowned units in American military history, the 2nd AD served in North Africa, Sicily and Europe, where Brems saw action around Aachen, during the Battle of the Bulge, the advance to the Rhine, the surrounding of the Ruhr Basin and the Northern Germany campaign. He was with the 2nd AD as it marched into Berlin as the first U.S. unit to occupy the city. Brems, who rose up the ranks to command a platoon and then a company of Sherman tanks, photographed it all. Through never-published photos, supplemented by firsthand accounts from Brems, Knights of Freedom follows the 2nd Armored through some of the toughest fighting of World War II. It is a visual feast depicting American tank combat from close range.
Frederick C. Brems was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1941, serving as a tanker throughout World War II with the 2nd Armored Division and other units. He received the Bronze Star and the Silver Star. Once the war ended, he returned to his civilian life in the paper industry, rising to lead the firm he joined as a young man. He continued in the Army Reserve until 1967, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He passed away in 2014.
Fred G. Brems, inspired by the multiple accounts related by his father over the years, became a lifelong student of military history and an avid collector of military models. Brems is an educator, researcher, writer and photographer who held professional staff positions in U.S. embassies and schools in both the U.S. and overseas. He has an M.A. from the University of Maryland and a B.S. from Georgetown University. Fred and his wife, Susan, live in Durham, North Carolina.
Stackpole Books is a trade book publisher with a proud, 90-year history of publishing titles in the categories of Outdoors, Crafts and Military History. Strong in Fly Fishing, Nature Guides, Civil War and World War II History, Military Reference and Specialty Crafts and Hobbies, we publish deep in our niche areas, releasing 60 new titles a year and maintaining a solid backlist of 1,500 titles. Stackpole has expanded into the world of eBooks while continuing to produce authoritative, high-quality hardcovers and trade paperbacks.