Best Game to Start with?

[jimcarravall]

ORIGINAL: dazkaz15

Thanks Jim.
Just ordered a used version of Dark December from Amazon for £8.

It had some very good customer reviews.
I was actually looking for a book written by a German soldier or officer, who was there not an American, but the customer review was saying the following, which sold it to me.

"Want an honest and analytical account of the Ardennes Offensive that was written without the haze of time? Robert E. Merriam's Dark December might be just what you're looking for. Amazingly balanced, given that Merriam was with the official US Army historical section, Dark December takes the reader on a journey that covers all the significant topics. Merriam describes the circumstances leading to the conception of Wacht Am Rhein (Watch on the Rhine)/Herbstnebel (Autum Smoke), planning of the offensive, implementation of one of the most effective deception plans of WWII, overviews of the pitched battles, and the American counteroffensive (and Hitler's secondary offensives). The structure of Dark December also goes a long way towards conveying the story in a fair light, one which the reader can draw some conclusions for his/her self."

I have also just ordered Hitler's Ardennes Offensive: The German View of the Battle of the Bulge used for just £2.80!

All I need now is some time to read them [:'(]

For a German perspective on battle, look for "Forgotten Soldier" by Guy Sager, a conscript to the German army.

It was recommended to me by a US Army tank master gunner as the best description available of a soldier's life. Sager served most of his time with the Das Reich division on both the Eastern and Western front. You get a little flavor of the division's operations and a lot to digest regarding the soldier's lot while serving in that division and army.

[lparkh]

regarding War and Peace..llo
When I was reading it there were no distracting computer games and I wasn't allowed much TV so long books were a bit easier 'sell'
This is of course in the pre electricity times of the 1970s.

[Phoenix100]

I tried it again very recently, and got as far as about an average novel length - circa 100,000 words - then was interrupted by something for a few months. Even though I loved it, when I came back to it I just couldn't remember who was who, and couldn't face starting again from scratch....

You're right though - our attention spans have been butchered by computers.

[henri51]

"Forgotten soldiers" is considered by many to be the best soldier account ever written, and I have read it (years ago), but I don't remember that Das Reich was in the Battle of the Bulge or that the author discusses it. I still remember his vivid descriptions of the debacle on the Eastern Front though...

Henri

[Plodder]

ORIGINAL: jimcarravallah

For a German perspective on battle, look for "Forgotten Soldier" by Guy Sager, a conscript to the German army.

It was recommended to me by a US Army tank master gunner as the best description available of a soldier's life. Sager served most of his time with the Das Reich division on both the Eastern and Western front. You get a little flavor of the division's operations and a lot to digest regarding the soldier's lot while serving in that division and army.

ORIGINAL: henri51

"Forgotten soldiers" is considered by many to be the best soldier account ever written, and I have read it (years ago), but I don't remember that Das Reich was in the Battle of the Bulge or that the author discusses it. I still remember his vivid descriptions of the debacle on the Eastern Front though...

Henri

It's great book. [:)] His account of his service on the Eastern Front makes you realise how massive that front was. He was actually in the Grossdeutchland Division though, which was a Wehrmacht unit not SS.