Battle of the Bulge book?

[Howard7x]

Im going away on a course next month and will more than likely get lots of free time in the evening. I would really like to get my hands on an excellent book of the battle of the bulge in preperation for the release of this game.

For reference, i really enjoyed Berlin and Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor and D-Day by Ambrose. So i suppose i would like something written in a similar way.

Any suggestions?

Cheers

[simovitch]

My personal favorite for the perfect blend of History and Human Interest is A Time for Trumpets by Charles B. MacDonald.

[BAL]

ORIGINAL: simovitch

My personal favorite for the perfect blend of History and Human Interest is A Time for Trumpets by Charles B. MacDonald.

I second that recommendation.

[tukker]

Peter Elstob's "Hitler's last offensive" gives a good overview of the Bulge battles.

Hugh Cole's "The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge" is the official US history. Very detailed and less readable, but available for free online here: http://www.history.army.mil/html/booksh ... -EAME.html


Pieter

[RayWolfe]

The definitive work must be Hitlers Last Gamble by T N Dupuy. A little academic but very thorough.
Cheers
Ray

[Howard7x]

Thanks for the replies. I like the look of The Bitter Woods by Eisenhower.
 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/reader/1841581208/ref=sib_rdr_bc?ie=UTF8&p=S0FG&j=0#reader-page
 
Any of you read that book?
 
Problem is i leave tuesday night and i need something i can go into my local shops and buy. Seems like this book is readily available and Ambrose helped write it.

[Howard7x]

I finally finished reading this book on my 2 week holiday. I have to say its given me a great insight into the battle from the view of the commanders. Although probably not exactly what i wanted (i read a review that said it gave a good insight into the soldiers view, but thats not really true), i do feel that through reading this book its really put the battle in perspective from the operational point of view of the commanders, the problems they faced with supply and logistics and the diffcult task of forming defenses from battered battalions and divisions.
 
Definately worth a read if you want to put yourself in the shoes of the generals that fought in this huge battle. Sometimes diffcult to follow with some confusing maps but on the whole definatley worth reading before playing this game... 

[simovitch]

I must say that Bitter Woods is one Bulge book that I could never get myself to read, and I've read several. Even Toland's Battle which I read over 30 years ago seemed to have a good story to tell, backed up by reliable historical reference. Bitter Woods just seemed just dry and impersonal, offering nothing really new.

Again, for the best read on the overall campaign I stand by A Time for Trumpets by Charles Mac Donald.

Incidentally I recently read Alamo in the Ardennes by John McManus which covers the 28th Division's defense of the Bastogne cooridor during the first 5 days of the campaign. It was a great story and I really enjoyed it.

[jhdeerslayer]

The Then and Now series has a Bulge. The thing is massive and full of pictures of course... Then and Now. Not cheap but well worth it.

I liked Parker's book also. He actually may have two out.

The Lost Platoon was good also and both MacDonald's Bulge books are great.

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: simovitch

I must say that Bitter Woods is one Bulge book that I could never get myself to read, and I've read several. Even Toland's Battle which I read over 30 years ago seemed to have a good story to tell, backed up by reliable historical reference. Bitter Woods just seemed just dry and impersonal, offering nothing really new.

Again, for the best read on the overall campaign I stand by A Time for Trumpets by Charles Mac Donald.

Incidentally I recently read Alamo in the Ardennes by John McManus which covers the 28th Division's defense of the Bastogne cooridor during the first 5 days of the campaign. It was a great story and I really enjoyed it.

Sim,

While I enjoyed his Company Commander book, I couldn't get past the vitriol in the opening pages of Time for Trumpets. He was either just a little too close to things, or was so brainwashed by the villification of the SS that it seems impossible for him to be ojective. His attempt to personify Peiper as Satan by describing the events in Russia where Peiper's "Blowtorch" battalion burned Russian villages to the ground was just too much for me to stomach. It reminded me way too much of the old Hollywood movie Battle of the Bulge where Robert Shaw portrayed a Peiper as a fanatic who didn't hesistate to sacrifice his men for the "cause" when the exact opposite was the case. Throughout the war Peiper displayed great concern for his men, even returning himself to dangerous areas of an ongoing battle to recover his wounded men.

We who firebombed Dresden and Tokoyo have no right to be so judgemental.

[sterckxe]

ORIGINAL: Deerslayer
and both MacDonald's Bulge books are great.

I concur.

Currently enjoying a book dealing with the "other side of the hill" entitled "Victory was Beyond their Grasp" by Nash, which tells the story of the 272nd Volksgrenadier division which took part in the Bulge (Kesternich). The book has a lot of low-level organizational & combat details at the company level and above. If you want to know how the "train" of a German VG company was organized, or how far away from the observation outposts the mortars were positioned, this is the book for you.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[HansBolter]

Eddy,

That sounds like a book for me, but it comes up blank on an amazon.com search. Any heads up on where it can be obtained?

[JudgeDredd]

I never completed The Bitter Woods book. As much as I wanted to, I just could not read a book so full of quotes from vets, written and spoken. I respect the use of vets, but for me, it's a disjointed book for it.

I would've preferred a history lesson on 500 pages...not recounts.

[simovitch]

ORIGINAL: HansBolter
While I enjoyed his Company Commander book, I couldn't get past the vitriol in the opening pages of Time for Trumpets. He was either just a little too close to things, or was so brainwashed by the villification of the SS that it seems impossible for him to be ojective. His attempt to personify Peiper as Satan by describing the events in Russia where Peiper's "Blowtorch" battalion burned Russian villages to the ground was just too much for me to stomach. It reminded me way too much of the old Hollywood movie Battle of the Bulge where Robert Shaw portrayed a Peiper as a fanatic who didn't hesistate to sacrifice his men for the "cause" when the exact opposite was the case. Throughout the war Peiper displayed great concern for his men, even returning himself to dangerous areas of an ongoing battle to recover his wounded men.

We who firebombed Dresden and Tokoyo have no right to be so judgemental.

My perception of MacDonald's portrayal of Peiper, including the ensuing Malmedy massacre, and the post war trial is quite different from yours Merrill. I think he was not judgmental at all but quite fair and objective. Macdonald doesn't fundamentally blame Peiper or the SS for the events in the Ardennes as much as he attributes their behaviour to years of exposure to the brutality of the racist and ideological war in the East Front.

And I don't believe for one second that the "blowtorch" only refers to the method of heating up the transmissions of their tanks in the Russian winter.

[sterckxe]

ORIGINAL: HansBolter
That sounds like a book for me, but it comes up blank on an amazon.com search. Any heads up on where it can be obtained?

http://www.amazon.com/Victory-Beyond-Th ... 0977756327

"Final_Drive" is mentioned in the credits, I got a chance to leaf through his copy last time I saw him and ordered it straight away.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[simovitch]

ORIGINAL: sterckxe
Andries "Final_Drive" Verspeeten is mentioned in the credits, I got a chance to leaf through his copy last time I saw him and ordered it straight away.

Any chance Andries will show up for the "Band of Gamers" tour?

[Huib]

The best way is to also read German literature about the Bulge. Wingolf Schrerers books about the 272nd VGD spring to mind. Also Hans Wijer's series ofcourse, that is available in english. Roland Gaul's books about the events in Luxembourg are also very good.

As far as atrocities on the western front are concerned against POWs or Germans who tried to surrender, US forces were clearly number one. Anyone who listens 'between the lines' of veteran statements knows this. Because of the conditions imposed on Germany after the war it was impossible for post war German authorities to prosecute Allied offenders.
Especially American historians should reflect on their own forces before judging the Germans concerning behaviour on the battlefield.

Huib

[sterckxe]

ORIGINAL: simovitch

ORIGINAL: sterckxe
Andries "Final_Drive" Verspeeten is mentioned in the credits, I got a chance to leaf through his copy last time I saw him and ordered it straight away.

Any chance Andries will show up for the "Band of Gamers" tour?

Very good chance - he likes my wine cellar [;)]

Grouchy and JeF are also virtual certainties

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[simovitch]

ORIGINAL: sterckxe

ORIGINAL: simovitch

ORIGINAL: sterckxe
Andries "Final_Drive" Verspeeten is mentioned in the credits, I got a chance to leaf through his copy last time I saw him and ordered it straight away.

Any chance Andries will show up for the "Band of Gamers" tour?

Very good chance - he likes my wine cellar [;)]

Grouchy and JeF are also virtual certainties

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

I wonder how many bottles of belgian beer it will take to convince Mark-Jan and Andries to come back and help bring BFTB in for a landing?

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: simovitch




And I don't believe for one second that the "blowtorch" only refers to the method of heating up the transmissions of their tanks in the Russian winter.

Nope, it for sure refers to the 251/16 flamethrower halftracks