Synopses & Reviews
One of the most important and dramatic battles of World War Two the battle of the Bulge involved half a million men and was America's largest and most crucial land battle of World War II 2004 marks the 60th anniversary of the war Contains individual stories by American, British and German combatants in the Ardennes battle well illustrated with photographs and battle plans Well-established author The Allies had thought after their success in Normandy in the summer of 1944, that the war would be 'over by Christmas'. In the late autumn, despite the relative failure of the Arnhem operation, the Allied armies were poised to smash the Siegfried Line and invade the Third Reich. The vital port of Antwerp was at long last disgorging supplies, ULTRA was not forecasting any particular problems and a feeling of complacency persuaded Eisenhower and Montgomery to relax. However, Adolf Hitler, Germany's indomitable Fuehrer, had decided in the summer of 1944 to take an incredible gamble. If it had succeeded he would have seized the crucial supply port of Antwerp, and divided and cut off the whole British and Canadian 21st Army Group as well as at least one of the American armies. The end-game could have meant their surrender or at best a second 'Dunkirk' and Hitler could have negotiated a peace treaty with the UK and USA leaving his still very strong armed forces to continue a defensive war against Russia.
Out of the blue Hitler's superbly well-concealed Panzer army struck in the Ardennes in mid-December. Thick fog and low cloud prevented air reconnaissance. English-speaking German commandos in captured jeeps createdimmense panic. American divisions were surrounded and captured. It was one of the most dramatic moments of World War Two.
Here are details and the story of that battle and the accounts and individual stories of American, British and Germans soldiers during those incredible days in the Ardennes.
Patrick Delaforce has written 13 books on military history, all on World War Two. A veteran of the war, he received three decorations, in addition to campaign medals.
Review
"Delaforce is a fine researcher and presents the facts with a clarity most historians would do well to copy"
Scottish Legion News
'The author disentangles the various strands in this awesome confrontation with skill and he also balances the wider view with an attention to the detail that brings it all back to life.'
Contemporary Review
Synopsis
The so-called ¿Battle of the Bulge¿ was one of the most important battles of the Second World War. It was certainly America¿s largest and most crucial land battle, at one stage involving half a million men.
¿Battle of the Bulge: Hitler¿s Final Gamble¿ tells the story of Hitler¿s brilliant plan to recapture Antwerp and force a negotiated peace on the Western front; and how close he came to success. Featuring individual stories from the German army and American GIs, as well as a more comprehensive account of the British intervention than seen in previous books on the battle, Patrick Delaforce provides a gripping account of one of the most important battles of the Second World War.
Synopsis
The so-called 'Battle of the Bulge' was one of the most important battles of World War Two. It was certainly America's largest and most crucial land battle, at one stage involving half a million men. 'The Battle of the Bulge: Hitler's Final Gamble' tells the story of the furious fighting and heavy losses and how close Hitler came to being successful.
- One of the most important and dramatic battles of World War Two the battle of the Bulge involved half a million men and was America's largest and most crucial land battle of World War II
- 2004 marks the 60th anniversary of the war
- Contains individual stories by American, British and German combatants in the Ardennes battle
- well illustrated with photographs and battle plans
- Well-established author
About the Author
Patrick Delaforce has written 13 books on military history, all on World War Two. A veteran of the war, he received three decorations, in addition to campaign medals.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Winston Churchill: 'The Forward Leap was Over'
Chapter 2: Euphoria Followed by Complacency
Chapter 3: On the Other Side of the Hill - Third Reich
Chapter 4: The Allied Generals at War
Chapter 5: Hitler's Great Counter-Ofensive Plans
Chapter 6: Hitler's Brilliant Deception Plans
Chapter 7: Hitler's DECEPTIONS - Stosser and Greif
Chapter 8: The Air War
Chapter 9: Hitler's Battle Plan
Chapter 10: The Secret War of ULTRA and Enigma
Chapter 11: The Ardennes Battlegrounds - the Ghost Front
Chapter 12: All Hell's Boreken Loose
Chapter 13: The Losheim Gap Battle - Gallant Cavalry
Chapter 14: The Doom and Destruction of the Young Golden Lions
Chapter 15: The Checkerboard Division 'A Hurricane of Iron and Fire'
Chapter 16: The 'Ivy' Division defend 'Little Switzerland'
Chapter 17: Battles for the Twin towns and the Elsenborn Ridge
Chapter 18: Colonel Fuller and the Keystones: Buckets of Blood
Chapter 19: peiper, Hitler's Bodyguard and the Massacres
Chapter 20: The Defence of St Vith
Chapter 21: Montgomery Takes Command of US 1st and 9th Armies
Chapter 22: The Rise and Fall of Dietrich's Sixth SS Panzer Army
Chapter 23: The Battle for Wiltz
Chapter 24: The Dying Days of Kampfengruppe Peiper
Chapter 25: The Seventh Army has Problems in the South
Chapter 26: The Air War 16-25 December 'The Metallic Starlings'
Chapter 27: All Roads Lead to Bastogne
Chapter 28: Patton Relieves Bastogne?
Chapter 29: German Seventh Army - 'battle of attrition'
Chapter 30: High Noon for Manteuffel's Fifth Panzer Army
Chapter 31: War in the Air: Christmas Day to New Year's Day
Chapter 32: Hitler's Surprises (1): Operation Bodenplatte
Chapter 33: British XXX Corps 'long-stop' and Counrt-Attack
Chapter 34: Hitler's Surprises (2): 'Operation Nordwind'
Chapter 35: 'Autumn Mist' - January - Retribution
Chapter 36: Gottlerdammerung - The Final Audit
Chapter 37: The Heroes
Appendix A: Order of Battle: The Ardennes Offensive
Appendix B: Military Museums in the Ardennes
Bibliography