Dimensions
165 x 242 x 38mm
The Ardennes Offensive, December 1944
The German defeat in the Ardennes that took place in just four weeks over December 1944 and January 1945 signalled the beginning of the end of German resistance on the Western Front. Hitler's surprise counter offensive had been intended to divide the Allied forces, half their drive from Normandy to the Rhine, perhaps even force them into a negotiated peace agreement. But after a strong start, helped by the bad weather which kept Allied planes grounded, the US Army recovered its nerve, the German forces were contained, and the gamble failed. German losses of men and material were substantial, and their military morale broken.
The well-known military historian George Forty, author of more than 40 books, traces the whole story, drawing extensively on US sources to record how the GIs, many of them young and untested, faced up to the unexpected challenge. The complex course of the battle is made clear, and the author provided much valuable background information on the size, organisation and equipment of the opposing forces. His book is a new, concise and well-ordered history of the most important battle fought by the US Army on the Western Front in the Second World War.
