Customer Reviews

Hitler's Last Gamble: The Battle of the Bulge, December 1944-January 1945

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Research is the strength of this work, not the telling of a major battle. It is difficult for the reader to grasp the overall view of this clash as it is layered over with detail upon detail. From mass movements to small skirmishes, it is told in the driest of writing style. The usual complaint levied against military books, inadequate maps, can not be claimed here. The maps are numerous and like the work itself, detailed. As a reference tool the book is invaluable and for this it merits the rating given. An interesting read it is not but it does belongs on the shelf of those with a serious interest in the Bulge.

An excellent blow-by-blow account of the battle. However, like the real battle, much less interesting toward the end. The book also has an annoying tendency to vary widely in its approach: at one moment it is a real soldiers story, with intimate portrayals of courage; and at another moment a dry, sholarly presentation of military movements. Although this may describe many military books, this book can be particularly annoying in its vacillation. Overall, though, one of the best books on the subject. My rating of "8" is a relative comparison to other Bulge books I have read

This book was rated 4 stars not for lack of quality but because the books by Hugh Cole and Charles MacDonald are more comprehensive and are 5 star books. There are 22 chapters including the Epilogue and an equal number of quality black and white maps. The book begins with the conditions in the Ardennes couple months before the assault. It describes Hitler's decision for the assault as well for the reasons the Allies became lax and over confident about a quick end of the war. The next couple chapters cover German dispositions and preparations and the Allied deployments. The next chapter before the assault coverage begins is whether the German Offensive could have been foreseen. His answer is Yes. The battle coverage begins with chapters on Krinkelter Wald, Schnee Eifel, Skyline Drive, Sauer River, St Vith, Bastogne and it continues to the end of the operation at end of Jan 1945. The tactical coverage is straight forward and, I thought, interesting for it was written by a veteran. For every engagement there is a good map to help you follow the action.
The main book ends on page 370 but there is another 295 pages of additional info including an extensive index which will help you find what you need. The Epilogue asks 16 questions about the campaign and author replies to each question. There are also eight appendices that adds further background info and statistics to the main story. There are also good photos of the battlefields and of the soldiers and commanders. This is a quality rendition of an important American campaign and is worth your consideration.

This is a tricky book. The author(s)apparently know what they are talking about with regard to the battle of the bulge. However, it is written in a pretty dry and boring manner, almost, like another reviewer stated, seeming to be written as a college paper that is trying to get "all the facts" in. The detail is terrific, and probably important, for the military historian reader interested in what battalion was where, or what company commander did what, or which army advanced here or there, or withdrew so many miles, etc. But, for the general reader it is kind of boring, although I thought the asides on the lives of the military officers were somewhat interesting. Overall, not light reading, very little of that imagery and word magic necessary to keep your eyeballs glued to the page.

Highly detailed! It reads more like a report. It is not (much like) a novel.

This book is the best one-volume account of the Ardennes offensive campaign I am aware of. This statement must be qualified. I am a war-gamer and I am interested in concise orders of battle and detailed accounts of actions. There are multiple appendixes (almost 1/4 of the text!) that cover everything from general divisional Tables of Organization and Equipment (TO&E), organization and (generalized) fighting doctrinal treatments, to regiment/brigade specialist-company level OB's for December 16 and December 24, and formation specific casualty/materiel loss lists.
Each chapter is a time/space module, typically 3 to 4 days of action for each of the 3 major axes (and several subdivisions of each) of the battle (6SS PZ Army/North Shoulder, Bastogne/Central, 5 PZ Army/South Shoulder). Each of the many sector battles is treated very well (St. Vith, Celles, Bastogne, etc.) Because of this, it is difficult to read cover-to-cover. While reading you must constantly flip back and forth between maps (for locations), the text, and the appendixes (for unit information, organization).

Each time a unit of task force, division, corp or army echelon is introduced, there is a brief bio for the commanding officer. My preference would have been for these to be in another appendix because they were a couple of paragraphs each and tended to disrupt the flow of the narrative.

Overall this is a very, very high quality product as other reviewers have stated, but it will not appeal to casual readers, or anyone looking for a 'novelistic' treatment of the campaign. You might get lost if you struggle with military terminology. Be prepared to read it very slowly and be comfortable with looking up cross refs and footnotes. There is a sheer ton of information contained within.

Although this book is about the Battle of the Bulge, it also presents other war-related factual information that few readers are likely to know about. Specifically, (pp. 372-373) it calls attention to the fact that it was Polish mathematicians who cracked the German "Enigma" code. Dupuy also correctly points out that no other Allied nation had come close to cracking it.

I love to read nearly anything and everything I can find about WW2 history. This was one of those rare instances, however, where I picked up a book, read about half of it, then put it back down never to finish it. I just couldn't force myself to read any more.

Although the Battle of the Bulge is without a doubt one of the more interesting episodes of the war, and Dupuy provides a detailed account, in my opinion he's just a little too detailed. This book is written for someone who has a little more serious interest in mind than just an amateur historian such as myself. It is dry and choppy in its presentation. The thing that I found most distracting was the frequent digressions into mini-biographies every time a new general or other major figure was introduced to the narrative.

For example, a division commander is mentioned for the first time, and immediately the author cuts to a two page synopsis of the man's life and military career. He then abruptly shifts back to the main narrative after having led the reader on a merry rabbit chase. And he does this over and over and over again. Very hard to read unless you're a person who likes that sort of thing. I'm not one of those, and would not recommend this to anyone who is not a bit more serious student of WW2.

It seems that here a few readers have aptly beaten me to the punch; in every review so many words seem taken right out of my mouth. E.g. JW puts it best when he points out that Hitler's Last Gamble is the literal byproduct of a staggeringly detailed Army study of the Battle of the Bulge, and it shows; ultimately, the work much more accurately characterized as far more a compilation of numbers to be crunched and minute data to be logged than a work of history. Indeed, on practically every page the reader is confronted by acronyms, times, and unit designations etc. For example, to paraphrase one sentence: 'At 16:23 hrs. the 501st artillery regiment of the 28th Infantry Division attached to CCB of the 2nd Brigade of Smiths XXI...' Well, here I may exaggerate, but if so, only barely. Too bad, for the late Col. Dupuy was a brave man and a tireless researcher, who produced a staggering amount of work over his lifetime after retiring from a distinguished career as an Army officer. But Hitler's Last Gamble is more of an archive than a work of history.