Battle: The Story of the Battle of the Bulge

Front Cover, Battle: The Story of the Battle of the Bulge by John Toland, 1959.

Front Cover, Battle: The Story of the Battle of the Bulge by John Toland, 1999. GGA Image ID # 17ee6c75c8

WW2 Book, Battle-The Story of the Bulge by John Toland in hard cover with dust jacket, this 367 page publication with many period photos provides an hour by hour reconstruction of the most dramatic and controversial battle of WW2.

Description

Tells the inspiring story of the stubborn, lonely, dogged battle of Americans locked in a tragic salient. The author has devoted years to studying memoirs, interviewing veterans and consulting military documents, both German and American. He also has revisited the old battlefields in Belgium and Luxembourg, to tell the whole story of the Battle of the Bulge.

Publisher's Note

"For the first time in the growing literature of World War II, the inspiring story of the stubborn, lonely, dogged battle of the Americans locked in this tragic salient is told...gripping...You cannot put it down once you start it". -- San Francisco Chronicle. John Toland has written numerous books on World War II, including Infamy: Pearl Harbor and Its Aftermath. Carlo D'Este is the author of Patton: A Genius for War and other works.

Author's Note

This is the documented story of the greatest pitched battle ever fought by the United States, its only major struggle in the dead of winter. It was as great in scale as the Battle of Stalingrad—over a million soldiers and thousands of civilians were actively involved.

Unlike any other campaign in World War II, it was conceived in its entirety by Adolf Hitler. It was his last great offensive, his last great gamble.

The dialogue in this book is not fictional. The conversations were reported to me by participants or listeners. For example, the retort of McAuliffe to the German surrender request at Bastogne—suspected by many of being bowdlerized—was told to me by five men who were present.

For over two years I followed the trail of the Battle of the Bulge. It led to interviews with more than a thousand people in ten countries.

To make myself familiar with the sprawling battlefield I walked over many miles of the Ardennes. I slept in foxholes and in cellars. I retraced scenes of battle and murder with civilian eyewitnesses.

Often and spontaneously these people of Luxembourg and Belgium would suddenly re-enact what had taken place so many years before with harrowing realism.

This book could not have been written without the full cooperation of the Departments of the Army and Air Force. They opened their files and tracked down the whereabouts of Bulge participants Without making a single demand or restriction. They had only one request: that I tell the truth.

Contents

Author's Note

Part One: Operation “Christrose”

  1. The Ghost Front
  2. “Watch on the Rhine”
  3. Attack
  4. Breakthrough
  5. Debacle
  6. End Atclervaux

Part Two; “Hold the Reins Loose”

  1. Spearheads through Belgium
  2. Spearheads through Luxembourg
  3. Surrender
  4. A Call to Montgomery
  5. Fog of War
  6. The Battle Shapes
  7. Death of a Town

Part Three: Black Christmas

  1. The Fortified Goose Egg
  2. “Nuts”
  3. The Russian High
  4. Day of Decision
  5. “In Thy Dark Streets”
  6. “We Cannot Force the Meuse”

Part Four: Twilight of the Gods

  1. Queen of Battle
  2. Candidates for Death
  3. “Brave Rifles ...”
  4. In Dubious Battle
  5. Junction at Houffalize
  6. "Alles Kaputt!"

Epilogue

Index

Library of Congress Catalog Listing

  • Personal Name: Toland, John.
  • Main Title: Battle : the story of the Bulge / John Toland ; introduction to the Bison books edition by Carlo D'Este.
  • Published/Created: Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, c1999.
  • Description: xiv, 400 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm.
  • ISBN: 0803294379 (pbk.)
  • LC Classification: D756.5.A7 T6 1999
  • Subjects: Ardennes, Battle of the, 1944-1945. World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--France. World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Luxembourg. World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Belgium. France--History, Military. Belgium--History, Military. Luxembourg--History, Military.
  • Notes: Originally published: New York : Random House, 1959. Includes index.
  • LCCN: 99010700
  • Dewey Class No.: 940.54/21
  • Geographic area code: e-fr--- e-be--- e-lu---
  • Type of Material: Book
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