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Battle: The Story of the Bulge

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John Toland's work on this absolutely fantastic book is simply superlative. Critical acclaim is nearly universal for this gripping, accurate, and well-told story of the greatest American victory over the Germans during WWII and the only large-scale offensive battle ever fought during the winter, the worst in Europe is some fifty years. Toland veers from the usual historian's path by telling the story in terms of the foot soldier both on the ground and on the defensive against the final counterattack of the Wehrmacht with over a thousand tanks (including many of the new tougher Tiger and Panther models) and more than 250,000 battle-hardened soldiers.

Against them were just three full strength (and very green and inexperienced) American divisions with some reserves regiments composed of more experienced soldiers in the heavily wooded and almost impassable woods of the Ardennes forest area. Eisenhower's logistics support was strung out and unable to adequately supply the broad-based front that had evolved after the initial breakout from D-Day. Consequently, it was difficult to arm and support all the troops, and amazingly, Hitler's masterful attack struck exactly at the single weakest point along the line. The result was a complete but temporary disaster, but one that pitted poorly equipped, armed, and clothed U.S. Army troops against a much larger, better armed, clothed and equipped enemy who was striking with blitzkrieg speed and effectiveness.

What happened in those woods is the stuff of history, and is commonly referred to as the Battle of the Bulge. The simple truth of the matter is that American troops simply outfought, outlasted, and outsmarted their German opponents in a deadly game of attrition and standoffs in the worst possible weather and cold conditions. Those who like to say the Americans (along with the Allies) won the war largely because we simply out manned and out supplied tour opponents had better take a good look at how well we also outfought them in the Ardennes generally and at Bastogen in particular when we had none of those advantages. Outgunned, out manned, and outflanked, the Americans simply fought back with murderous ferocity and beat the Germans to a bloody pulp.

This is truly a great book; it is easily the best single volume yet published covering the Battle of the Bulge in detail. I must admit that I do also like John Eisenhower's "The Bitter Woods" and Stephen Ambrose's "Citizen Soldiers" as well. Both of these are excellent books, built neither measures up to the sheer brilliance of "Battle". So, amigo, for the one most exciting, best reading, and painfully accurate and detailed account of the single greatest successful encounter of the U.S. Army against the might of the Wehrmacht during World War Two, I recommend this book. In my humble opinion no one really has a complete WWII library without it.

The book is well researched.It is also a gripping account and hard to put down even though it is written in a scholarly style - reporting the facts only. The author saves his opinions and thoughts on the battle for the Epilogue which is very refreshing as you get to read the story of the battle as it really was - history - not explanations, ideas and conjecture. I have a couple of problems with the book and one is a major disappointment considering the research material that must have been available - the maps are too few, poorly illustrated and are poorly placed - they don't flow with developing battle. The second issue - for those who may need some guidance with military terms and units - a small glossary would have helped or a table of units. For instance, how many men are in a task force and what comprises a combat command brigade? It is relevant when you read that after a particular battle only a few dozen or so men were left from a particular task force. If you have no idea how many men there were to begin with the impact is lost on you. Some interesting side issues are mentioned.The author states that Eisenhower knew that German scientists had almost completed an atomic bomb and felt that maybe the Ardennes offensive was an attempt to gain time for it's completion. Another interesting case was the story of Baron Von Der Heyde - a famous German paratroop commander. He was given a special mission behind American lines in the north. What is interesting is not the mission itself but the fact that Hitler trusted Von der Heyde at all - after all he was one of the earliest members in the conspiracy against the Fuhrer and he was a cousin of Baron Von Stauffenberg - the captured leader of the plot. Hitler must have known about the Von Der Heydes connection.

John Toland's "Battle: The Story of the Bulge" is a wonderful piece of story telling. As I read this book about a year and a half ago (it was winter) I could literally sense all the emotions Toland conveyed to paper. His style is wonderful and despite the fact that this book was first published in the 50's, he uses the third-person narrative (told from the GI's who were actually there) - something quite fashionable in recent years - to tell much of the story. Using these stories Toland weaves a wonderful tapestry that has more than expected texture for a literary source of this genre. I found his style exceedingly easy to read and hard to put down. "Battle", while not as steeped in cold hard battle-field fact and numbers as other Bulge books, is a much better read with ample facts and told by survivors not simply a repackaging of after-reports by a historian-writer. I can't recommend this book highly enough!

This is considered one of the four great books on the Battle of the Bulge. The others are John Eisenhower's The Bitter Woods, Hugh Cole's official US Army History: The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge and Charles B. MacDonald's A Time for Trumpets. I have read all but Hugh Cole's book and will review each of them.

Of all the books, Toland's is the most approachable for the general reader. For starters it is about 1/2 to 2/3 the size of either Eisenhower's or MacDonald's book. While Eisenhower has special emphasis on the senior leadership and MacDonald emphasizes the battle from the most junior soldier's perspective, Toland strikes a good balance between them.

Toland's book was written first in about 1959 and both Eisenhower in 1968 and MacDonald in 1984 cite his book. Toland is not only a good historian but also an excellent writer.

His book is written to show events in chronological order. One can read about the events all across the battlefield day by day.

Like all of these books, one must refer to the maps often to keep track of what was happening. The Bulge was a huge battle. It has been described as the largest battle American troops fought in based on numbers. Any of these books will require the reader to keep careful track of the events. Of all of the great Bulge books, Battle is the easiest with which to do that.

Like all the books except for a Time for Trumpets, Battle does not address the intercepts of the German Enigma communications as regards the German deception operation. This information was not released until years after the book was written. Still, Battle gives a good account of the German deception. Battle also discusses the rivalry between American generals and the British Field Marshal Montgomery.

Battle is the easiest to read of the great books on the Battle of the Bulge. Toland writes well and his research shows. He covers the senior leadership to the average solder admirably.

John Toland labored to bring his book to publication. Next to Merriam's "Dark December," Toland's account was really the first book to take on the Battle of the Bulge in a manner that was enjoyable to read, while at the same time being informative.

The Battle of the Bulge is much more complex than the 1965 movie (of the same name) would have have a viewer believe. As with most major military engagements since the mid 1800's, "battle" is a classification that has become generalized. In the Battle of the Bulge, for example, you have dozens of individual battles comprising a larger campaign. As a youngster, Toland's book (albeit, the abridged Toland edition in the kid's section of the library) dispelled many of the myths I had about this great offensive. In fact, the first time I leafed through the book I searched for events portrayed in the 1965 movie. After reading the book I came away a little wiser. Years later I was finally able to procure a copy of the full version of the book.

Toland approaches segments the battle by date and zone and successfully ties them all together. This book is a mandatory starting point for anyone who endeavors to learn about Hitler's Ardennes offensive.

"Battle: The Story Of The Bulge" gives the reader a view of the Bulge as seen by the individuals involved. While the "Big Picture" is told in the actions of commanders and the maps of the lines of battle, the focus is on the individual GI Joes, Tommies, German attackers and the civilians who interacted with them. As the son of a Third Army veteran, I gained some insight into what my father endured during his service. Author John Toland obviously conducted many interviews during the research for this book.

Among the parts of this book which I found to be most interesting are the observations of the reactions of the civilians who, whether leaning toward the Allies or the Germans, displayed or concealed their enthusiasm as the tide of battle ebbed and flowed. I had always thought that loyalties were defined by national frontiers, but this book points out that ethnic loyalties are not so easily defined. Some of the most interesting stories are those of civilians who protected soldiers separated from their units.

"Battle: The Story Of The Bulge" provides an excellent resource for one working for a deeper understanding of how World War II in Europe was fought.

My first contact with Mr. Toland's writings was "Gods of War" and found it a great WWII novel. At that time I wasn't aware Mr. Toland was a professional historian on war themes. Researching in Amazon, for bibliography on the Bulge subject, I was gratefully surprised to find this non-fiction book.

Mr. Toland collects hundreds of testimonies from the actors of this war drama, ranging from generals to privates; medics, nurses, peasants, priests. Blend all of them in an overwhelming and coherent picture. His prose is entertaining and informative. The reader has the sensation of "being there". He gets in touch with the suffering of the confronting soldiers, their acts of desperate bravery and gallantry, but at the same time having a look into the planning of higher levels of command.

Both sides in conflict are researched, their actions scrutinized and compared.

This edition contains very helpful maps, allowing the reader to follow up the progress of the actions.

Even if this book was written in 1959 and many documents were not available for investigators at that time, it stands as milestone on the subject.

A great stuff to read for historians, students or casual readers. Enjoy!!!.

Reviewed by Max Yofre.

John Toland puts readers squarely on the front lines with this blow-by-blow account of the Battle of the Bulge. We hear from dozens of surviving veterans, most of whose lives were ruled by terror, confusion, cold, and dumb luck. We also read about trapped civilians, frigid battle conditions, and the opposing commanders. Id have liked better maps from this 1959 edition, but the few provided were useful. Toland shows how the U.S. army was caught off guard, and then rallied under adverse conditions. He confirms that Eisenhower, Bradley, and the GIs they led were skilled; sadly, so were their Nazi-inspired opponents. One thing Toland never really explains is why the Allies were so short of reserves during the battle - perhaps too many of Americas 12 million servicemen in December, 1944 were stationed elsewhere.

Toland is a non-academic historian whose gripping style far outsells the stuffy outputs of many academics (with exceptions like Stephen Ambrose). This is a chilling account of a horrific battle.

One of the first serious and scholarly accounts of The Battle of the Bulge is still one of the best. John Toland's prose style is as rich and interesting as a fine novelist. This book and others he has written such as "Rising Sun", is an enjoyable read as well as a fine work of scholarship. Though it is a page turner, part of it's appeal is it's rich detail that make this massive offensive come to life with strong visual images. This work also has the advantage of time in it's favor. It was researched and written when the memories veterans of the conflict were thirty younger and sharper. Key players like General of the Army Omar Bradley and Gen John Gavin were still alive and able to give first hand accounts for the book. I was very disappointed that this book was not reprinted for the Fiftieth Anniversary of W.W.II. Check your large metropolitian libraries, or vintage booksellers for this one. Capt. Don Carlton, USAFR

Toland wrote a masterpiece, and while not as detailed as some texts, and certainly not as complete due to the fact that many official records were still locked up tight, it delivers the flow of this massive battle and delivers all the cold and terror associated with Wacht am Rhein.

This book is a quick and easy read and general enough for unfamiliar readers. It captures the human side of the story from both sides of the front. My only complaint about this book is that it could have been much longer! Toland also avoids long lists of unit designations but does deliver the relevant facts when necessary (for example, when dealing with the ill-fated 106th Division).

Usually the politics of the generals are written in an uninteresting and dry fashion, but Toland captures the dynamics of Bradley, Ike, Patton, and Monty very well. It is hard to decide who has the biggest personality disorder among this crowd, but Bradley and Patton seem to come out as the most matter of fact and concerned with strategies and combat rather than politics. Monty comes across as a pompous blowhard, even when he makes a feeble attempt to praise his Allied counterparts. There is a little less about the German High Command, Model, Rundstedt, and Hitler, but a large part of that information was not available at the time of Toland's writing. It is telling of human nature that while thousands bleed and froze those at the top are issuing statements to clarify their political positions.

Overall, a fabulous book, well written and captivating to read.