Can someone recommend a book (1 Viewer)

[gk5717]

Can someone recommend a book on the Battle of the Bulge that reflects the common soldiers experiance.
Don,t want one of those 600 page books that just speaks of the top commanders etc.
Gary

 

[Currahee Chris]

Company Commander is a classic, Citizen Soldier by Stephen Ambrose is another. Donald Burgett did one about the 101st but I cannot immediately recall the name

 

[Warrior]

Chris, the book is called Seven Roads to Hell; Gary, buy this book, it is incredible, first hand account of the battle, not some 600 page cure for insomnia..................

 

[Currahee Chris]

That's it!! I knew Hell was in it- guess I could have guessed and would have come up with that as well- Hell seems to be in all Warbook titles.

I agree with George though- Burgett is one of my favorites- my alltime favorite book for WW2 is........CURRAHEE- gee some surprise there huh??

 

[Louis Badolato]

Company Commander is a classic, Citizen Soldier by Stephen Ambrose is another. Donald Burgett did one about the 101st but I cannot immediately recall the name

Burgett's excellent book is "Seven Roads to Hell: A Screaming Eagle at Bastogne"

 

[ROAN]

Can someone recommend a book on the Battle of the Bulge that reflects the common soldiers experiance.
Don,t want one of those 600 page books that just speaks of the top commanders etc.
Gary

While the experience, perspective of the ordinary soldier on the battlefield is often left out, the best military history writing integrates this with what’s also going on at the command posts during the battle, campaign(in the case of WWII most all the U.S. commanders-from Division to Corp to Army level were field grade officers at the end of the 1930s; example- Mark Clark-a major in ’39 who skipped a rank when he was made a general officer).

A good book about the Bulge that combines both these perspectives is John Toland’s Battle.

And I’m eagerly waiting for the third volume of Rick Atkinson’s Liberation Trilogy which should also include the Battle of the Bulge and if it’s anything like his masterful The Day of Battle(the best piece of military history writing I’ve ever read)it will also do a great job of weaving both these perspectives.

 

[jazzeum]

I agree with Roan's analysis; I would find boring any book that focused solely on the common soldier.

As far as Atkinson's book is concerned, the downside is that the third book probably won't be out for a few years as he's probably still writing it. I'll be interested to see how he deals with D Day and Market Garden, among others.

 

[Louis Badolato]

Brad was kind enough to give me Atkinson's book "The Day of Battle" for my birthday . . . I agree that it is about the best historical narrative I've ever read.

I'll tell you one more thing about the book, it has nearly turned this agnostic into a believer . . . as bad as the Allied command looked in that book, from Ike (who seemed not to know what his underlings were doing until months after the fact), Alexander (who basically let his underlings run roughshod over him), Montgomery (whom I have to take back my change of heart about - he was an incompetent boob who allowed 4 German Divisions to escape from Sicily by splitting his Army in half and putting half his army on a road network that was supposed to have an entire American Army driving forward on it, thereby allowing the Germans to fight one army instead of two, who cost thousands of British and American lives at Salerno by disobeying orders and *****footing up the coast unmolested while the invading forces were being decimated and were nearly thrown back into the sea), Patton (who cared only about personal glory, didn't give a darn about his men's lives) Clark (who didn't seem to have the slightest clue about how to run a campaign against a mountainous penninsula) to the air force and naval commanders (who failed to coordinate an airborne drop that had to pass over the fleet, resulting in literally hundreds of casualties to friendly fire and failed to attack the Germans fleeing across the straights of Messina), it seems nothing short of divine intervention could have brought success in that campaign.

 

[Combat]

Brad was kind enough to give me Atkinson's book "The Day of Battle" for my birthday . . . I agree that it is about the best historical narrative I've ever read.

DOB is one of my favorites. Very rare that you get a well-written account that also adds something new to WWII. The glider landings "on" Sicily, the Fritz X bomb etc. Also, what an underrated general Kesselring has proven to be in history! Always overshadowed by Rommel who took a better picture but never measured up to AK when all was said and done.

 

[Currahee Chris]

DOB is one of my favorites. Very rare that you get a well-written account that also adds something new to WWII. The glider landings "on" Sicily, the Fritz X bomb etc. Also, what an underrated general Kesselring has proven to be in history! Always overshadowed by Rommel who took a better picture but never measured up to AK when all was said and done.

I would agree that it seems like Kesselring has received scant publicity over the past 10 years. All accounts I have read, he was really well received by American commanders once he surrendered. In fact, if memory serves Ike had to issue an order to stay away from the guy as it was really becoming a publicity issue with American general officers posing with him and all were smiling during the photo shots. General Taylor goes on ad nauseum about the guy in Swords into Plowshares

It is strange though, as it seems if you read books from the 70's and 80's, there is far more print given to him than in the 90's to today.

 

[Currahee Chris]

........I would find boring any book that focused solely on the common soldier.

Interesting position- care to elaborate? I really only see three types of books out there- the "Common soldier" books, the "tanks and equipment" books and then the "strategy" books- perhaps you are eluding to the strategy books?

I would caution, and judging by all the positions various individuals here on the Frog have taken, that we all seem to have devloped a case of Armchair General- and that includes me. I feel that there are only three individuals on this forum who have the adequate background or training to fully understand the "strategy", campaign focused books and fully understand the implications and variables around the decisions when they are made. Yet time and again I read various posts about how this or that commander completely screwed things up and he should be strung up and shot, etc, etc. I at least feel like I have the ability to step away from any book I read and come away with an insight into the commanders thought processes but I won't pass judgement on them- I am happy to leave that to people who are smarter than me. I can say without any qualification that I wouldn't for the life of me want to have to make the decisions these guys have been forced to make- even the greatest ones have had to face the reality of their decisions in terms of lives lost.

It's kind of like me, as a CPA, reading a book or several books for that matter, and believing I can make an informed decision on how the OJ Simpson trial should have been handled or some of you guys reading about the Enron scandle and coming to opinions on that. As with anything, there are different variables that affect how things "really are done".

Me personally, I still hold that CURRAHEE, is the best WW2 book one can read- perhaps I am biased, perhaps not- I know there are a lot of folks who agree with me. I do enjoy first person stories where they relate their experiences first hand but I do also like to understand the objectives as well. I guess, for each chapter I read in a book, I would like a page or two spent on spelling out the objectives and then the rest filled in with first hand accounts- often, through first hand accounts the reader can see and understand the difficulties of the various challenges facing the troops on the ground.

 

[panda1gen]

Chris,

My tuppence worth...

Not WW2 but Lynn MacDonald's books about the first world war do that superbly, probably the best I have read with the
move from chateau/London/trenches - written very well indeed.

Barrie Pitt in his desert trilogy also manages that although I did really enjoy 'Army at Dawn' as well.

 

[jazzeum]

What I meant, and I think someone else alluded to this, is that a balanced book with discussions about the conduct of the war as made by the decision makers (the generals) and how this was carried out (the common soldier) is what appeals to me although I tend to the former more than the latter.

 

[panda1gen]

What I meant, and I think someone else alluded to this, is that a balanced book with discussions about the conduct of the war as made by the decision makers (the generals) and how this was carried out (the common soldier) is what appeals to me although I tend to the former more than the latter.

I agree Brad, but some stories from the front line boys also really help. I also love to study the personalities, dynamics, communication and decision making...........

Given that the front line boys were only a tenth or less of a formation, perhaps we should hear more from the 'tail'???????