"hell in hurtgen forest"
perseus
Active member
Well there seem to be plenty of reviews of this book on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0700613609/104-1900051-4828749?v=glance&n=283155
Two extracts are particularly interesting
"Additionally, he provides convincing evidence in support of the thesis that the American soldier of WW2 was able to hold his own against the veterans of the Wehrmacht under the most grueling conditions"
And this by a military historian
"This book filled me with awe and admiration for my country & its military leaders at such an uncertain and daunting time, but MOSTLY for the heroes who were there, day in and day out, on the battle field. They did not quit, despite the odds and conditions. "
I have not seen the book which concentrates on a particular division, but I have read an account of the Hurtgen forest episode in Geoffrey Regan’s ‘More Military Blunders’ which possibly paints a different picture and goes something like this:
It was America’s greatest mistake in the European theatre, since it was completely unnecessary, yet costed them 16 000 casualties. By entering a forest they surrendered all the advantage in terms of mobility and air power, so they had to feed in some of their best infantry. The defenders were largely composed of what leftovers the Germans could muster. These were mainly boys, old men or those with medical problems, but anyone can pull a trigger and the German officers knew how best to deploy them and their undetectable Schu mines. To add insult to injury this campaign resulted in the only execution of an American soldier for desertion, he took the blame for many of his comrades including officers who in one particular episode in the village of Schmidt dropped their weapons and ran when attacked.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0700613609/104-1900051-4828749?v=glance&n=283155
Two extracts are particularly interesting
"Additionally, he provides convincing evidence in support of the thesis that the American soldier of WW2 was able to hold his own against the veterans of the Wehrmacht under the most grueling conditions"
And this by a military historian
"This book filled me with awe and admiration for my country & its military leaders at such an uncertain and daunting time, but MOSTLY for the heroes who were there, day in and day out, on the battle field. They did not quit, despite the odds and conditions. "
I have not seen the book which concentrates on a particular division, but I have read an account of the Hurtgen forest episode in Geoffrey Regan’s ‘More Military Blunders’ which possibly paints a different picture and goes something like this:
It was America’s greatest mistake in the European theatre, since it was completely unnecessary, yet costed them 16 000 casualties. By entering a forest they surrendered all the advantage in terms of mobility and air power, so they had to feed in some of their best infantry. The defenders were largely composed of what leftovers the Germans could muster. These were mainly boys, old men or those with medical problems, but anyone can pull a trigger and the German officers knew how best to deploy them and their undetectable Schu mines. To add insult to injury this campaign resulted in the only execution of an American soldier for desertion, he took the blame for many of his comrades including officers who in one particular episode in the village of Schmidt dropped their weapons and ran when attacked.
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