Between December 16, 1944 and January 15, 1945, American forces
found themselves entrenched in the heavily forested Ardennes region
of Belgium, France, and Luxembourg defending against an advancing
German army amid freezing temperatures, deep snow, and dense fog.
Operation Herbstnebel--Autumn Mist--was a massive German
counter-offensive that stunned the Allies in its scope and
intensity. In the end, the 40-day long Battle of the Bulge, as it
has come to be called, was the bloodiest battle fought by U.S.
forces in World War II, and indeed the largest land battle in
American history. Before effectively halting the German advance,
some 89,000 of the 610,000 American servicemen committed to the
campaign had become casualties, including 19,000 killed.
The engagement saw the taking of thousands of Americans as
prisoners of war, some of whom were massacred by the SS--but it
also witnessed the storied stand by U.S. forces at Bastogne as
German forces besieged the region and culminated in a decisive if
costly American victory. Ordered and directed by Hitler
himself--against the advice of his generals--the Ardennes offensive
was the last major German offensive on the Western Front. In the
wake of the defeat, many experienced German units were left
severely depleted of men and equipment. Its last reserve
squandered, these irreplaceable losses would hasten the end of the
war.
In Snow and Steel, Peter Caddick-Adams draws on interviews with
over 100 participants of the campaign, as well as archival material
from both German and US sources, to offer an engagingly written and
thorough reassessment of the historic battle. Exploring the
failings of intelligence that were rife on both sides, the effects
of weather, and the influence of terrain on the battle's outcome,
Caddick-Adams deftly details the differences in weaponry and
doctrine between the US and German forces, while offering new
insights into the origins of the battle; the characters of those
involved on both the American and German sides, from the general
staff to the foot soldiers; the preparedness of troops; and the
decisions and tactics that precipitated the German retreat and the
American victory. Re-examining the SS and German infantry units in
the Bulge, he shows that far from being deadly military units, they
were nearly all under-strength, short on equipment, and poorly
trained; kept in the dark about the attack until the last minute,
they fought in total ignorance of their opponents or the terrain.
Ultimately, Caddick-Adams concludes that the German assault was
doomed to failure from the start.
Aided by an intimate knowledge of the battlefield itself and over
twenty years of personal battlefield experience, Caddick-Adams has
produced the most compelling and complete account of the Bulge yet
written.
General
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