Battle of the Bulge best overall book

Discussion in 'Books, Films, TV, Radio' started by CL1, Jan 10, 2019.

  1. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Any thoughts on the best book for the Battle of the Bulge including the Brits participation.
    I have looked at many reviews but none seem to stick out.
    So trying to avoid another pile

    thank you

    PS:sorry for the sensible post ,unusual I know.
     
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  2. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

    If you'll indulge me, I'd like to start off backward and recommend against this title.

    Screen Shot 2019-01-10 at 22.29.46.png

    I'm neither and idiot nor a newcomer to reading military history, but I got regularly and dishearteningly lost as to which units and formations were which, who commanded what, where the various locales were, and what was happening concurrently at the different locations.

    And I really wanted to come away with the big picture, too. It's the Battle of the Bulge--it's a big deal. Plenty of command drama and ghastly fighting conditions, Hitler's last big roll of the dice, importance on the scale up there with Alamein, Cassino, Normandy and Arnhem... but no, it sapped my interest totally. To be honest, I think I remembered more from David Irving's caricatured sketches in The War Between The Generals, and that wasn't even focused on the Ardennes.

    Yes, I know he's a holocaust denier; this book isn't about that--and it was free.


    I read Beevor's book over the course of two twelve-hour flights and then discarded it, so I couldn't say exactly why it failed to work, but certainly part of it was organisational. The writing was attractive enough, although I'm a layman on the European Front so errors would have passed me by.

    Edit: One Amazon reviewer sums it up:

    The narrative is confusing and not really brought alive and becomes a list of troop movements.
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2019
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  3. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Thank you
    Along the lines i have read re your comments

    Next please (Lazy item I am)
     
  4. Chris C

    Chris C Canadian

    I am also interested in this. I have read two books, one of them Beevor's, and neither were satisfying reads.
     
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  5. Swiper

    Swiper Resident Sospan

    I failed to get past first thirty pages of Caddick-Adams' history, in part as there was no standardised approach to presenting Battalion, Regiment, Division, Corps or Army.

    It may see a minor point, but it proved so frustrated I put it down and haven't returned to it since. Quite a few people say it's worth sticking with, but a few years on I still can't go back to it. All the more galling as it was a particularly thoughtful present from my late grandfather.
     
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  6. Jonathan Ball

    Jonathan Ball It's a way of life.

    Good luck if you go with the Caddick-Adams book, Clive. If memory serves it took about 220 pages to get to the start of the German offensive after musing over stuff like the mystic qualities the Nazis attached to forests.

    I did like this though.

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  7. stolpi

    stolpi Well-Known Member

    I didn't like Beevor's book either, pretty chaotic. Best overall-histories IMO still are:

    Charles B MacDonald "A Time for Trumpets: The Untold Story of the Battle of the Bulge"
    https://www.amazon.com/Time-Trumpets-Untold-Story-Battle/dp/0688151574

    ... and the two volumes from the Green Series (US Army in WW2)
    - Hugh M Cole: "The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge" - free download available over here: The Ardennes - Battle of the Bulge - U.S. Army Center of Military History
    - Charles B MacDonald: "The last Offensive" - free download available over here: The Last Offensive - U.S. Army Center of Military History

    I would recommend 'A Time for Trumpets' to start with. MacDonald is a talented writer and fought in the battle himself as a captain in the 2nd US Infantry Division. He also wrote an autobiography on his WW2experiences called: "Company Commander", which is sublime, a CLASSIC and must-read. He joined 2nd US Division as a fresh Coy CO in the fall of 1944 as the Division moved into the line in the Schnee Eifel region in eastern Belgium. I visited the pill box where he had his first CP (chapter 3: eleven men in a pillbox).
    https://www.amazon.com/Company-Comm...=1547133435&sr=1-1&keywords=Company+Commander
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2019
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  8. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    thank you all for your help and replies

    I'm not normally one to worry about the type of book but really wanted to get a good grasp of the battle

    Time for Trumpets to get going then


    regards
    Clive
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2019
  9. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

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  10. Tom OBrien

    Tom OBrien Senior Member

    The only problem with ‘Time for Trumpets’ is that it peters out once the tide turns and there is little about the crushing of the “Bulge”.

    I found ‘Corps Commanders of the Bulge’ by Harold Winton and ‘Advance and Destroy’ by John Richard better overviews although neither is a ‘light read’ and the latter is about Patton’s Impact on the battle.

    Regards

    Tom
     
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