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47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Real Story, May 22, 2000
If there is just one book that you read about the Battle of the Bulge, make sure that is George Neill's book, "Infantry Soldier. Holding the Line at the Battle of the Bulge." It was absolutely eerie for me, a buddy of George's in L Company, 395th Regiment, 99th Division, to have such long-dormant memories so poignantly revived. From the early days of induction from college into the Army, basic training and ASTP in Texas, "assignment" to the 99th Division, to landing in England, France and Germany, George vividly recounts the incredible experiences we college kids went through until we arrived in the little German village of Hoefen, during that terrible winter of 1944. His book is a loving and fitting tribute to all those who suffered there and to our many close friends who gave their lives during the massive assault made in December by troops of the German Wehrmacht. On reading his story, I felt myself reliving those absurd day-to-day experiences, the incredible cold and freezing wetness of that miserable winter and the fantastic haphazardness of war that some of us somehow survived. George is at his best when he describes his own remarkable trials, and he pulls no punches in decrying the irregularities in the supply lines that left us on the front lines without proper clothing and equipment (I, myself, arrived at the front with no rockets for my bazooka and with no snow boots--hence my evacuation because of my avoidable affliction with frozen feet. My own outrage and anger match George's, when I recall having later seen so many well-shod and well-clothed support troops behind the lines). For anyone who has witnessed the inanities of warfare this book will serve to revive the joys, frustrations, suffering and anger of infantry life in battle. For those who have been spared these unreal experiences this book is a "must" for insuring that such needless, even criminal, waste of life is never forgotten--and, hopefully, never repeated.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fine first hand a of the northern line of the Bulge, March 24, 2001
A college junior, author George W. Neill received his notice to report for active duty in March of 1943. Selected for the little known and short-lived Army Specialized Training Program he was eventually assigned to L Co., 3rd Battalion, 395 Reg. of the 99th Div. Historical views of combat, while giving a better overall perspective, too often lack the authentic voice of the combat soldier himself. Here, in chilling word pictures, Neill paints his vision through the eyes of the 18-year-old he was but filtered by the understanding of the journalist that he has become. Convoyed across the Atlantic and quickly passing through England and France, his outfit was positioned in the Hofen-Monschau area in mid November 1944, just weeks before the Bulge. Along the so-called "quite front" preceding the break through, he tells of death's daily visit. His retelling of the frostbite, trench foot and never ending bone-chilling cold and dampness conveyed the life of a front line rifle company in a way no non-combatant could. His vivid description of the Siegfried Line and its construction was an interesting aside. The heart of his tale is a unique look at the first four days of horrific, face-to-face fighting along the northern shoulder of the Bulge near Hofen. The orders on the German side were to "take Hofen at all costs." His outfit was hit with everything but held. At one time, his men being over run but well dug in, the Battalion CO called down 5 artillery strikes within his own lines. Indeed, the 3rd battalion along with A Co. 612 Tank Destroyer Battalion and the 38th Calvary Squadron were the only American units to hold the Germans to a zero advance from the first to last day of the six-week battle. The Germans did break through the southern end of the 99th's front but the 3rd Battalion held firm. By holding Hofen they held the eastern flank of the Elsenborn Ridge confining the Bulge to the south of that line. With a poignant line in his preface, Neill brings home the fact that these line troops "...remained boys in many ways. What else explains why so many soldiers, on both sides, cried out for their mothers as they lay dying?" By passing his memories of those trying days to us so vividly, one gets the impression that Neill still hears those cries.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Plaudits from George W Neill's original Foxhole Buddy, May 20, 2000
It took the internet,avid reading,and 55 intervening years to find George with whom I had the pleasure of enduring the cold,snow, and wet of L company 395th Infantry of the 99th Division. I was also with George at John Tarleton and Agricultural College in Texas. We ended up in the same squad at Camp Maxey.George's literary background is evident in the craftsman like way our experiences are portrayed.I was an early on victim of trenchfoot with evacuation to hospital in England.Via Army reserves I served two years in Japan at Gen. Hqs. during the Korean War. It was inspiring to finally get in touch with George after all these years and make contact with the 99th Division Reunion Association. I highly recommend Infantry Soldier for interesting reading. I am proud to have served with George and all members of our squad,platoon and Company. John R Karchner, Sun Lakes,Az.
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