Snow and Steel : The Battle of the Bulge, 1944-45

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. "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"--Publisher's website Cover SNOW & STEEL: THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE 1944-45 Copyright Dedication Contents Glossary Orders of Battle GERMAN, AMERICAN AND BRITISH COMPARATIVE RANK STRUCTURES 1944–45 Foreword Introduction PART ONE 1. In the Eagle’s Nest 2. The Machinery of Command 3. I Have Made a Momentous Decision! 4. Adolf Hitler 5. Unconditional Surrender 6. A Bridge Too Far 7. A Port Too Far 8. Heroes of the Woods 9. Who Knew What? 10. The Cloak of Invisibility 11. This is a Quiet Area 12. Brandenberger’s Grenadiers 13. The Baron 14. We Accept Death, We Hand Out Death Interlude PART TWO 15. Null-Tag 16. The Bloody Bucket 17. The Baron’s Blitzkrieg 18. Golden Lions 19. They Sure Worked Those Two Horses to Death 20. ‘A 10 Per Cent Chance of Success’ 21. Stray Bullets Whined Through the TreesAround Us 22. The Conference 23. The Tortoise Has Thrust His Head Out Very Far PART THREE 24. A Pint of Sweat and a Gallon of Blood 25. A Man Can Make a Difference 26. No More Zig-Zig in Paris 27. The Hole in the Doughnut 28. Nuts! 29. Head for the Meuse! 30. The River of Humiliation 31. Roadblocks 32. Malmedy 33. The Northern Shoulder 34. Those Damned Engineers! 35. End of the Bulge 36. The Performance of a Lifetime PART FOUR 37. Beyond the Bulge 38. On to Berlin! 39. Punctuation Marks of History 40. Reputations Acknowledgements Notes Foreword Introduction 1. In the Eagle’s Nest 2. The Machinery of Command 3. I Have Made a Momentous Decision! 4. Adolf Hitler 5. Unconditional Surrender 6. A Bridge Too Far 7. A Port Too Far 8. Heroes of the Woods 9. Who Knew What? 10. The Cloak of Invisibility 11. This is a Quiet Area 12. Brandenberger’s Grenadiers 13. The Baron 14. We Accept Death, We Hand Out Death Interlude 15. Null-Tag 16. The Bloody Bucket 17. The Baron’s Blitzkrieg 18. Golden Lions 19. They Sure Worked Those Two Horses to Death 20. ‘A 10 Per Cent Chance of Success’ 21. Stray Bullets Whined Through the Trees Around Us 22. The Conference 23. The Tortoise Has Thrust His Head Out Very Far 24. A Pint of Sweat and a Gallon of Blood 25. A Man Can Make a Difference 26. No More Zig-Zig in Paris 27. The Hole In The Doughnut 28. Nuts! 29. Head For the Meuse! 30. The River of Humiliation 31. Roadblocks 32. Malmedy 33. The Northern Shoulder 34. Those Damned Engineers! 35. End of the Bulge 36. The Performance of a Lifetime 37. Beyond the Bulge 38. On to Berlin! 39. Punctuation Marks of History 40. Reputations Bibliography Unpublished Sources: Libraries and Archives Personal Records Other Unpublished Sources: Academic and Military Research Papers: Published Sources: Lectures: Index Peter Caddick-adams. Includes Bibliographical References(pages 791-838) And Index.