A Dark and Bloody Ground: The Hurtgen Forest and the Roer River Dams, 1944-1945 (Texas A & M University Military History Series) [Hardcover]

Edward G. Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1995

A victorious American army, having driven through Belgium almost unopposed, ran head-on into German soldiers on their own home ground, in some of the most rugged country in western Germany-and at the beginning of the worst fall and winter weather in decades. In late 1944, American forces advanced into the hilly, heavily wooded Hürtgen Forest southeast of Aachen, Germany. For weeks, without a clear-cut reason for attacking through the forest, U.S. commanders nevertheless ordered units of as many as seven divisions into the woods to be chewed up by German infantry and artillery. Small units, cut off by the rugged terrain and trees, unable to employ tanks or artillery effectively, fought entrenched and camouflaged Germans in the woods and villages of the region. The troops were exposed to rain, sleet, and freezing temperatures without proper winter clothing. Many companies suffered huge numbers of casualties. The Battle of the Bulge interrupted the Hürtgen Forest battles but did not end them. The Bulge provided a hiatus for the wartorn countryside around the forest and the Roer River dams. Then, beginning in January, 1945, American forces resumed their offensive and were finally able to break through after one of the bloodiest and, for the U.S. Army, most disastrous campaigns of World War II. For many years after the war the full extent of the disaster was not well known outside army circles. Eventually the story of the campaign spread, but it remained overshadowed by the fame of the Bulge. Only in the last decade have military historians begun to look at the fighting in the Hürtgen Forest. The book examines uncertainty of command at the army, corps, and division levels and emphasizes the confusion and fear of ground combat at the level of company and battalion-"where they do the dying." Its gripping description of the battle is based on government records, a rich selection of first-person accounts from veterans of both sides, and author Edward G. Miller's visits to the battlefield. The result is a compelling and comprehensive account of small-unit action set against the background of the larger command levels. The book's foreword is by retired Maj. Gen. R. W. Hogan, who was a battalion commander in the forest. Maj. Edward G. Miller is a retired army ordnance officer stationed in Germany. His most recent assignment was to the army's Command and General Staff College, where he completed most of this study in his off-duty hours. He earned the B.A. and M.P.A. degrees from Western Kentucky University and has completed several military training programs. His previous publications include articles in Armor and Ordnance magazines concerning development of U.S. armor doctrine.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This tale of the disaster suffered by U.S. forces in Germany near the end of WWII is based on government records, veterans' accounts and the author's visits to the battlefield. Assigned to clear Germany's Hurtgen Forest of enemy troops, the U.S. 7th Corps high command concentrated on terrain features, road junctions and towns, failing to realize that the more important objectives were the nearby dams controlling the level of the water obstacle standing between the Americans and the Rhine, i.e., the Roer. Miller vividly describes the bloody confrontation in the forest near Aachen from late 1944 into early '45, with the Germans conducting a well-executed delaying action that bought time for a buildup of forces for their last-ditch Ardennes campaign. The ferocity of the fighting was typified by the experience of the 22nd Infantry, which lost 108 officers and 2575 enlisted men in exchange for four miles of tactically useless woods. Miller's detailed account of the climactic assault on the Schwammenauel Dam by the 78th Division drives home the theme of this well-researched study: the overriding importance of defining a clear and logical objective at the beginning of a military campaign. Major Miller is on active duty with the U.S. Army in Germany as an ordnance officer. Illustrations.

Copyright 1995 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A Dark and Bloody Ground is the best telling of the bloody Hürtgen Forest campaign I''ve read. It''s gritty, hard-hitting, and explodes like a hand grenade. . . . This is a compelling and incredibly detailed account—a must read for professional soldiers, and a good, exciting read for anyone interested in one of the most costly blunders of World War II."--David H. Hackworth, author of About Face and Brave Men

(David H. Hackworth, author of About Face and Brave Men ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Texas A&M University Press; 1st edition (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0890966265
• ISBN-13: 978-0890966266
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #268,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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87 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you want the facts, this is it!, August 17, 1999

By 

John K. Hurley ([e-mail]) (Springfield, Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Dark and Bloody Ground: The Hurtgen Forest and the Roer River Dams, 1944-1945 (Texas A & M University Military History Series) (Hardcover)

My father was a combat engineer in World War II and served north of Aachen at the time of the Huertgen Forest battles. He has always wanted to go see the forest and, thus, this past father's day I invited him on a self-guided 'Normandy-to-the-Rhine' visit to europe. In preparation for the trip, we found plenty of information on Normandy, the Bulge, Remagen and many other better-known battles and battlegrounds, but found very little useful information on one of WWII's bloodiest battles: The Battle of the Huertgen Forest. That is, until I came across Edward Miller's, 'A Dark and Bloody Ground'. The book, while somewhat dry reading, is a must for anyone who really wants to know about the initiation, escalation and ultimate conclusion of this battle. While citing facts and figures which seem well authenticated and footnoted, Miller avoids editorializing for the most part. Where he does opine, it is seemingly not without sound military reasoning. From a personal standpoint, I used the book in order to pinpoint very specific locations within the forest. If you've ever visited there, you won't find many historical markers to guide you. You better come with some sort of roadmap and knowledge of the battle or your trip will be worthless! The maps that are contained in the book, and the anecdotal descriptions that are provided, gave us excellent references with which to locate places which were strategically important during the battle. In one instance, my father and I ventured down an old logging road (probably 'Road W' as Miller described it) and ventured by foot off the path toward the Wieser Weh creek. The east bank of this creek was the sight of numerous assaults by the americans in an effort to take the Duren-Simerath road and the town of Huertgen. My dad and I located foxhole after foxhole with some bunker remnants along this incline that were just as we imagined they would have been installed there by the germans. They had obviously been a bit weathered over the course of 55 years, but if you've ever seen this forest, the sight of so many ordered impressions in this otherwise dark, smooth ground definitely left you with the impression that something significant happened there. We visited Hill 400, the Wilde Sau minefield and the town of Schmidt. We saw remnants of the 'dragons teeth' associated with the Siegfried line. Almost all of this was due to having read Miller's account of this battle and the excellent detail provided therein. After reading this book, I have two recommendations for anyone interested in the subject of the Huertgen Forest battle: (1)read this book and dog-ear any pages which describe locations & events in detail and, (2)go visit the forest for yourself. You will get the feeling of accomplishment associated with the fact that you did your homework and saw something historic that few people have taken the time to see. For that, I salute the work that Mr. Miller has done on this bloody part of US military history.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Attrition warfare at its worse, chronicled at its best, November 24, 2004

By 

Mannie Liscum (Columbia, MO United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Dark and Bloody Ground: The Hurtgen Forest and the Roer River Dams, 1944-1945 (Texas A & M University Military History Series) (Hardcover)

Edward G. Miller's "A Dark and Bloody Ground" is a tour de force piece of academic-grade conflict history. Miller's research is solid and thorough and he covers a lot of ground in 200 or so pages, taking us from the initial commitment of American troops to the forest so oft referred to simply as "Hell" (by both sides!), through nearly three months of attrition fighting involving parts or all of TEN US Army divisions, to the final capture of the Roer River dams that lie on the other side of that seventy-odd square miles of Hell. Miller states up front that he wishes to provide a clear and concise overview of the Battles for the Hurtgen in a way previously not done. In this he is quite successful.

With respect to readability, Miller's writing style is quite easy to follow but it is made a bit choppy and (at least initially) hard to follow because he switches between American and German units frequently and unless/until the reader is familiar with which side of the line what unit numbers belong this can make the going tough. A simple use of italics to refer to German units (for example) would have gone a long way towards providing clarity for the reader. Robert Rush (or his publisher) used this tactic in his book on the Hurtgen (see comparison to Miller's book below) with great success.

The final chapter of Miller's book, entitled "Analysis" is worth the price of admission for its insights. Miller provides testimony from commanders who were there and can, looking back, see where problems arose and successes were achieved. The biggest "problem" with the battles of the Hurtgen forest, as Miller and his supporting players see it, was the lack of proper tactical goals, namely the Roer River dams. The dams were not in fact objectives until late in the game after many thousands of casualties were sustained on both sides. Until these proper objectives were articulated the US Army goal in the Hurtgen was to drive the enemy back and capture roads and settlements, as had been the case in Normandy and Brittany. Breaching the Westwall was important and laudable but the casualties were not. Hindsight is always clearer than foresight.

"A Dark and Bloody Ground" is, in the end, a solid piece of historical work worthy of a read. Despite some potential "readability" problems Miller has crafted a four star gem. Anyone interested in learning more about the Hurtgen Forest battles should check out Robert Rush's "Hell in the Hurtgen" which, unlike Miller's book which deals broadly with the whole campaign, focuses on a single 4th Division Regiment, the 22nd, and its time spent dying in the Hurtgen. In a literary sense Rush's book is superior, although both hold their own against each other on content!

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This should be a text nook at West Point, July 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Dark and Bloody Ground: The Hurtgen Forest and the Roer River Dams, 1944-1945 (Texas A & M University Military History Series) (Hardcover)

My comments on DARK AND BLOODY GROUND by LTC Edward Miller are lifted from a five page letter sent to then Major Miller 3.5 years ago.

Tom Clancy wrote in DEBT OF HONOR, "If it isn't written down, it never happened." Now with his book, we know the battle(s) in the Hürtgen Forest occurred. However, after battle reports etc. may be incomplete, inaccurate, and `sanitize and/or fictionalized' by rear echelon scribes. In some respect, reading this book is like reading about a war on another planet, and as in all the others I've read, hindsight is 20/20. This book is a monumental work, and Colonel David H. Hackworth (Ret) is right, he wrote; "***- a must for professional soldiers [members of Congress] and a good, exciting read for anyone interested [and survivors] in one of the most costly blunders of WW II." Those high echelon generals responsible for this debacle, unlike Robert McNamara, did not confess to their errors or say they were sorry. This book, and Colonel Hackworth's observation were too late for those 55,000 plus names listed on the Vietnam Memorial. LTC Miller indicted generals for their misdeeds like Colonel Hackworth indicted generals in his book ABOUT FACE for their misdeed in Vietnam.

I survived eight campaigns with the 45th Infntry Division in Europe.