Other Battle of the Bulge: Operation Northwind

by Charles Whiting

Overview

Operation Northwind was the little-known second Battle of the Bulge, which cost the Americans and their French comrades-in-arms nearly as many casualties and almost detroyed the Alliance. It was planned by the Fuhrer himself, which hurled eight German divisions, three of them SS, against the thinly-held American line in the Alsace-Lorraine region. Although the US High Command was forewarned by 'Ultra' from Bletchley, the German pressure was just too much. The Americans were forced to retreat. For the first time during the campaign in the West, Eisenhower ordered his troops to give up ground paid for by so many lives and commanding that Stratbourg, which held a special place in both French and German hearts, should be evacuated. This sparked off a row which threatened to destroy the Franco-American Alliance and throw France into a dramatic revolution. Quick moving and action-packed, this book sees the events through the eyes of the soldiers who were 'at the sharp end', and fills a major gap in the history of World War II.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780750980142
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	09/02/2016
Series:	The Spellmount Siegfried Line Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	216
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Charles Whiting is Britain's most prolific military writer with over 250 books to his credit. He saw active service in the Second World War, serving in an armoured reconnaissance regiment attached to both the US and British armies. He is therefore able to write with the insight and authority of someone who, as a combat soldier, actually experienced the horrors of World War II.
Charles Whiting was Britain's most prolific military writer with over 350 books to his credit. He saw active service in the Second World War, serving in an armoured reconnaissance regiment attached to both the US and British armies. He was therefore able to write with the insight and authority of someone who, as a combat soldier, actually experienced the horrors of World War II. He died in 2007.

Editorial Reviews

In December 1944, while the Americans were trying to stem the German offensive in the Belgian Ardennes, Hitler launched another major offensive in France aimed at recapturing Alsace-Lorraine. This ``second Battle of the Bulge,'' in the winter of 1944-45, lasted a month longer than the first, cost the lives of 16,000 Americans and twice that number of French soldiers serving under U.S. command. Whiting convincingly argues that it was a more significant battle than the Ardennes ``Bulge'' because it threatened to break up the Western alliance and plunge France into political anarchy. The Supreme Allied Commander, General Eisenhower, had severe problems maintaining the ``Bulge'' and Alsace fronts at the same time, compounded by his lack of confidence in General Jacob Devers, whose combined U.S.-French army was responsible for the latter sector. The book shows how Devers won Ike's gratitude for his annihilating counterattack against the German 19th Army. Whiting ( Bloody Aachen ) expertly describes the overall strategy of the battle and its political overtones and provides as well colorful vignettes of small-unit combat and the exploits of individual GIs, such as Audie Murphy, who saved the day in local clashes. Photos. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly