Customer Reviews

Infantry Soldier: Holding the Lines at the Battle of the Bulge

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
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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.

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.

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.

This is a blockbuster! The author goes into stark detail about life on the front lines during the Battle of the Bulge. Mr. Neill tells all about the misery, pain, sorrow and frustrations experienced by the infantry soldiers who built and manned the foxholes beyond the front. He has written these accounts down in stunning detail and helps the reader appreciate and "feel" what it was like to live out in the open in the snow, cold, slush and mud, without adequate winter gear. He couldn't have done better. This book is riveting from beginning to end.

I remember what a Political Science professor told me about a book we had to read for his class. The book, The Theory and Practice of Hell, by Eugen Kogan, was about life in the Dachau concentration camp. He said, "This book should only be read while you're out in the cold, sitting on a concrete slab, with inadequate clothing and starving." The same holds true for Infantry Soldier. Mr. Neill can't do any better in making the reader understand the horrors, dangers and tragedies of war. The reader is propelled into the middle of battle and can actually feel the cold and hunger experienced by these soldiers. We have no idea of what these men went through, even by reading accounts of the war by others.

No other author comes close. Nothing by Shirer, Manchester, Tuchman, Pyle or Eisenhower can hold a candle to this book. Even All Quiet on the Western Front pales in comparison. It is a must read! My hat is off to Mr. Neill! A splendid work!

George Neill presents a front line soldier's view of what it was like to be part of the WWII American infantry. While reading the book, I almost felt the cold and fear that were the soldier's constant companions. while the rear echelon soldiers got the winter boots, and the generals got heated quarters, Neill and his fellow soldiers tried to survive the cold, boredom and attacks. I felt like I was there. This book gets my very highet recommendation.

The author gives his account as a soldier in the 99th Infantry Division from the unit's arrival in France to his evacuation during the Battle of the Bulge. The author was one of the college boys who was transferred to line units during the manpower crises of 1944. He is a good writer and quite a proper man, who records his observations with fluency. A fair bit of his text is spent on the training, including the challenge of melding with the regular army soldiers in his unit.

His account of the Bulge is Ok, with a lot of focus on the awful conditions he and the others had to endure, following army incompetence in getting winter supplies through to the front. The main downfall for me, was the author's very slight involvement in combat himself. He was shelled and so on but that was about it. He does relate a reasonable number of combat stories of some other fellows in his unit, so that issue is somewhat addressed. He also gives some details on the importance of his divisions achievements in the battle. He doesn't shy away from mentioning some of the less savoury elements of combat. He finishes the war in London in an office privy to some of the most momentous signals of the time.

So overall a fair read but not a compelling one. I was certainly impressed with the author. He is a decent and brave man but my rating reflects his limited combat involvement, which is the focus of my memoir reading.

The ASTPer's were the brightest, most intelligent young citizen soldiers of their part of the World War II generation. Originally deferred from military service to be allowed to attend college, they were thrown into the battlefields of Europe when America needed bodies to make to final push to Berlin, just in time for the Battle of the Bulge. Infantry Soldier: Holding the Line at the Battle of the Bulge is an accurate account of the fighting and front-line conditions facing the common infantry rifleman during one of Europe's coldest winters. Neill not only served as one of these men, he has done the research and interviews needed to complete the picture, not just of the men on the ground who knew little beyond the events of their immediate foxhole, but events on the German side and U.S. Army rear echelon and high command decisions. Included is an excellent description of the destructive power of a German artillery barrage, and the problems encountered when supply lines are stretched and items desperately needed by the front-line soldier for survival are being diverted to rear-echelon personnel. Neill also takes an intelligent look at war in general, and the conclusion is that we should never forget the horrors and untold human suffering caused by war.

"Infantry Soldier" is the Diary of all Infantrymen. The Horror and Reality of War on the front lines by one who experienced and witnessed young men die in foxholes, in the winter of 1944-45 on the westernfront during the battle of the Bulge.Mr Neill tells the story of the real "Heroes" as they fought the bitter cold and held the line.As a soldier on the front lines and now a seasoned journalist, he brings you into the foxholes of young infantrymen who fought,died ,and survived a horrible front line experience. As a former Infantryman with the 38th division [Philipines]I found "The Infantry Soldier" as real as you can get. It explodes with the realiasm and bluntness of front line combat.George did a magnificant job of describing the Infantrys roll in WW2.He told the story as it should have been told. I Salute you Mr. George Neill. Fred Silberstein

I have just started reading Infantry Soldier and it really tells the story of what it is like. Forgotten memories are returning as I read more and more. I was with the 87th Infantry Division as a platoon leader and the training and experiences are absolutely true to life. The most realistic book describing the men that were closest to the enemy.

Infantry Soldier by George W. Neill: This is an exceedingly well-written by a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge ( December 1944). Mr. Neill, a retired newspaper editor, has put together three separate accounts of that battle. (1) On the first level, it is a personal recounting of the hardships and terror he experienced as a rifleman in a company of the 99th Infantry Division on the northern shoulder of the "Bulge". (2). On the second level, it is a somewhat truncated story of the ASTP: the Army Specialized Training Program, which Mr. Neill claims was "... the largest single college training program the U.S. government ever implemented"... p. 23. (3) The third level is his view of the officers and the commanding generals. He points out the ridiculous remedy that General Dwight D. Eisenhower offered for trench foot, a serious ailment when the troops are continuously exposed to wet mud in the bottom of their trenches. In fact, my opinion of General (later President) Eisenhower was lowered quite a bit by the comments of veteran George W. Neill. Further, there is no love lost between Author Neill and Army's officer corps.`

In his little asides near the end of each chapter Author Neill has hit upon a method of keeping the story moving: he summarizes "On Our Side" in a brief paragraph and then presents the German view in "On The Other Side". This is a nice way of avoiding looking up the actual history of each day and names of the major participants. One interesting comment is the description of the sparkling silver strips that "decorated" many of the fir trees near his foxhole. He describes these strips as "window" or "chaff", the strips of aluminum dropped by Allied aircraft to reflect German radar signals back to their receivers, and mask the approaching waves of Allied bombers. I have wondered what happened to these strips when they hit the ground.

This book is well worth reading.