Battle of the Bulge: Hitler's Final Gamble to Halt the Western Allies (The First 24 Hours)

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ON DECEMBER 16, 1944, in the heavily-forested region of the Ardennes in Belgium, the German army made one final attempt to turn the tide of the war. At 5:30 A.M., 8 German armored divisions and 13 infantry divisions launched an all-out attack on 5 divisions of the US First Army. If the Wehrmacht were to succeed in their plan to split the Allied armies and capture the strategically important port of Antwerp, it was crucial that they make rapid advances into Allied territory and capture key crossroads and bridges on the first day.

Nicknamed the "Battle of the Bulge," because of the "bulge"-shaped frontline created by the German advance, the fighting lasted for the next six weeks. It was the largest land battle in the western sector of the European theater: more than a million men fought through cold mid-winter weather, including some 600,000 Germans and 500,000 Americans.

With the aid of specially-commissioned maps, Battle of the Bulge: The First 24 Hours describes the dramatic history of the beginning of the Ardennes offensive, with a blow-by-blow account of maneuvers as they occurred. The book begins with a brief overview of the Allied campaign from the Normandy landings onwards, before examining the German preparations for the offensive and the weak Allied defensive positions.

Battle of the Bulge: The First 24 Hours then goes on to describe the main assault by the Sixth Panzer Army on the US V Corps and the ensuing battle with the American 7th Armored Division; the Fifth Panzer Army's more successful assault on the US VIII Corps; and the limited effect of the weaker German Seventh Army's push across the River Our in Luxembourg. The author goes on to describe the Allies' response, including the 101st Airborne Division's legendary defense of the crucial town of Bastogne, before summarizing the consequences of the battle.

With first-hand accounts from both sides, vivid photographs, detailed fact boxes, and maps of the main combat zones, Battle of the Bulge: The First 24 Hours is a comprehensive examination of the first 24 hours of the campaign whose defeat ensured the ultimate success of the Allied armies in Western Europe.

David Jordan is a lecturer at the Joint Services Command and Staff College in Wiltshire, England, where he teaches on Intermediate and Advanced Staff courses. He has held posts at the Universities of Birmingham, Worcester, and Keele, and the Open University. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Birmingham. He is the author of Wolfpack, Aircraft Carriers, The U.S. Navy Seals, and The Fall of Hitler's Third Reich. He currently lives in Wiltshire, England.