The Forgotten Battle: Overloon and the Maas Salient, 1944-45 [Hardcover]

A. Korthals Altes (Author), N K C A In't Veld (Author), G. G. Van Dam (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2002

"The Forgotten Battle" has remained alive and vivid in the mind of its thousands of participants. This necessary and brilliantly crafted work examines the battles of Overloon and Maas Salient, the "other" side of WWII in Europe-a bloody slugging match between equally skilled opponents that comprised the reality of the "broad front" strategy.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This account of the fight for southern Holland during WWII is told largely from the viewpoint of surviving participants. The Battle of Overloon and the Maas Salient was fought by British and U.S. divisions against paratroopers who formed the backbone of German resistance, but the emphasis is on the terror experienced by Dutch civilians. The narrative is studded with unexpected scenes: chaotic conditions in an insane asylum on the edge of the battlefield; farmers asking soldiers to mercy-kill their suffering animals; the inexplicable appearance of a German cavalry unit that destroyed itself by attacking British tanks; a British officer stalking Germans with a bow and arrows. A less frequently told story is the extent of looting and pillaging carried out by British enlisted men in liberated zones. The authors, Dutch historians of WWII, have written an engrossing account of an obscure but not unimportant campaign of the European theater. Illustrations.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Dutch --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 226 pages
• Publisher: Castle Books (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785814205
• ISBN-13: 978-0785814207
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,399,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Keep a Map Handy, November 19, 2004

By 

Kevin R. Austra (Delaware Valley, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Forgotten Battle: Overloon And The Maas Salient, 1944-1945 (Hardcover)

THE FORGOTTEN BATTLE: OVERLOON AND THE MAAS SAILIENT 1944-45, tells the extremely interesting story of the battles adjacent to Arnhem, Hell's Highway, Aachen, Huertgen, and the Ardennes. Even some of the best military history narratives available today would give you the false impression that after British XXX Corps cut a swath through to Nijmegen that the remaining Germans disappeared from the Netherlands. FORGOTTEN BATTLE completes this long overdue chapter of the battles along the Maas.

The initial setting is September 1944. The German front has collapsed and the Allies are simultaneously pushing the Germans back in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. In an attempt to level a death blow to Nazi Germany, British Field Marshal Montgomery pushes his plan forward to seize a series of Dutch bridges and wheel into Germany. A combined paratroop and armored assault slices into Holland, only to be stopped at the Neder Rijn. In the meantime, the Germans rush to reinforce their bridgehead along the Maas and cut the Hell's Highway corridor.

Meeting with only limited, and short-lived, success, the Germans pull back along the Maas and rebuild a cohesive front line blocking the Allied advance into Germany until 1945.

FORGOTTEN BATTLE is very enjoyable reading. Personal accounts are interwoven with meticulous research. The military operations along the Maas have never really had an official name. "Overloon and the Maas Salient" fits perfectly. Indeed, the present day military museum at Overloon, a superb facility, is often overlooked by military history tourists.

If you are a student of the period of time between the Arnhem operation and drive into the Reichswald, this book is for you. The only recommendation I have is that it is helpful to have a map of the Netherlands handy. There are map graphics scattered throughout the book, but sometimes the author sprinkles geographic names about so casually in the narrative that you might find yourself confused as to the location and direction of the action.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good, confusing in parts, September 11, 2003

By 

Anthony Cooper (Louisville, KY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Forgotten Battle: Overloon and the Maas Salient, 1944-45 (Hardcover)

The Maas salient is truly a forgotten battle. With responsibility of the sector switching from British to US hands, it fell to the Dutch to write the book about the battle. As you might expect, they focus some on the hardships undergone by the Dutch civilians in the area. The book keeps a fairly tight lens on the battle, but it sometimes looses perspective. It's easy to get lost and wonder "why are they attacking again?" All in all, it's an interesting book, and recommended for the WW2 history buff who needs another book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The forgotten Battle Overloona nd the Mass Salient 1944-45, September 13, 2011

By 

Mike - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Forgotten Battle: Overloon and the Maas Salient, 1944-45 (Hardcover)

I purchased the book for my father-in-law who is Dutch and was living there at the time of the battle. To have a book written about the events that happened at that time was fantastic and gave valuable insight into what was happening in the surrounding areas.