The Ardennes - J. Mark Connell

In December 1944, Adolf Hitler embarked on an audacious counter-offensive that was intended to drive back the all-conquering Allied forces that had caused Germany to retreat from Normandy to its own borders. It was a foolhardy exercise but it had surprise on its side and for some days the fate of the war in Europe was in the hands of the commanders and men of a few American divisions and some supporting British forces. The Germans got within a few miles of their first objective - the River Meuse - but, by then, their own shortcomings had been found out and the Allies had regrouped. This book provides an account of the fluctuating fortunes of the combatants and the role in the action of the leading generals, including Eisenhower, Patton, Montgomery, Model, Dietrich and von Rundstedt. Though Germany was destined for defeat, its industry produced remarkable amounts of weaponry for this offensive and an assortment of troops, many too young or too old, were assembled for Hitler's astonishing but ultimately futile final battlefield venture. The Battle of the Bulge is an example of a short action where almost every military tactic was deployed and is charted on a daily basis here.