This book was sent to me for review by Pen & Sword Books and I have to say its been quite an experience reading and learning from it.
The book takes you by the hand on a guided tour of the Bulge battlefields, explaining the objectives of the offensive but then deep diving down to small details that really help you understand what was going on in December 1944.
It is full of historical (then) pictures that you can line up with (now) as they describe in great detail the locations where the images were captured.
The book would be a fantastic companion to take with you on an actual visit to the areas covered across the battlefields… now… I didnt actually visit the area. I have never visited Stavelot, Bastogne, Malmedy, Stoumont in person but (this may sound ridiculous) with this book and Google earth I have travelled down the roads following the directions and had an amazing tour from the comfort of my office.
Its great when the directions go something like this… “travel down this road and as you reach the red brick building on your left look up and notice the battle damage from December 18th 1944”.
You go to google street view and travel down the road, find the red brick house and spin round…. and there is a wall pockmarked with bullet holes. “This damage was caused by the Kamfgruppe attack in the early hours of the morning”.
The interaction of going through the book like this really impressed me and made it more an experience than merely being a book you just read…
The book was originally released in 2015 with a re-release coming in April, 2022, 7 years later so you may think surely it is out of date… but no, it was still perfectly relevant.
If you would like to purchase this book please cut and paste the link below and do comment here with your observations and opinions and let us know about your experience.
Thanks for reading.
Shane
