"No Sacrifice Too Great"

Colonel Greg Fontenot asks how did 1st Infantry Division earn and maintain its reputation as one of the best divisions to fight during World War II. Effective leadership top down and bottom up played a role as did a commitment to training and implementing lessons learned in combat. The Big Red One found a way to integrate replacements effectively so as to preserve lives and maintain excellence.

Colonel Gregory Fontenot served in the US Army for more than 28 years as an Armor officer in the United States, Europe, the Balkans and Southwest Asia.  He commanded a Battalion during Operations Desert Shield and Storm and a Brigade in Bosnia.  As an educator Fontenot taught history at the United States Military Academy, and served as Director of the School of Advanced Military Studies.  In his last assignment he commanded the Battle Command Training Program.

As an Army Civilian he served as director of Training and Doctrine Command’s Wargaming Directorate and later as director of the University of Foreign Military Studies.  Fontenot served on campaign plan assessment teams in Iraq in 2010 and Afghanistan in 2011.  He is the author of numerous articles, reviews and four books.  His latest is No Sacrifice too Great: the 1st Infantry Division in World War II which won the Army Historical Foundation 2023 Distinguished Writing Award for Unit History.