Customer Reviews

The Key to the Bulge: The Battle for Losheimergraben

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

 

 

This is a well written and presented piece on a relatively unknown action during the Battle of the Bulge. Aside from meticulous research, including extremely valuable first hand sources, Mr. Rusiecki's writing style presents the story in an easy to follow narrative format. This is a great addition to the body of knowledge on the battle specifically because he has addressed a key action that is not highlighted in any great detail by the more populist works usually focused on Bastogne. Until recently, Mr. Rusiecki's book was only available in limited format and priced beyond reach of most reader's; I highly recomend this edition, which is well packaged at an attractive price, to anyone with more than a passing interest in the Battle of the Bulge.

This story is about the green 99th ID, and more particular its 394th IR, that had just come over from the States and been in the line for only a month. Though it had been trained well, it had seen no major action and it was guarding probably the most important gateway to the Meuse River from Germany. It was the area between Losheim and Losheimergraben. The Germans had used this gateway twice before; the first time to start WWI and the second time to attack Belguim and France in 1940. The Germans knew this area well. They planned to use the 12th VGD of 6th PzA to penetrate the line and open Rollbahnen or Highway C and D for the panzers of the 1st SS PzD to race to the Meuse River near Huy. Placing this new division in the Losheim Gap area is another indicator of the Allies underestimating German potential.

The plan sounded easy and the Germans were confident that the line would be broken within hours but they underestimated the 394th which held the critical Losheimergraben intersection for a day and a half, throwing Dietrich's schedule askew and giving the US V Corps time to organize a defense. This is the area that Peiper crosses into Belguim and starts his trek toward the Meuse.
This story is not a high level overview but a down to earth combat - hand to hand fighting, ambushes, firefights and shellings. Many of the soldiers's accounts are told and you follow these people through their frightful nightmare.
Mr Rusiecki has accumulated a wealth of information on this 36 hour battle for both US and German sides and presents a balanced account of the bravery of both sides that is very engaging.

There are photos of some of the key people of both sides in the story as well as a few battlefield shots. There are a few maps which are hand drawn and are not too helpful.
The last chapter, "Completing the Record" was interesting. It gave some background information on the battle and who won awards plus some post war info. Among the entries is the killing of Joachim Peiper in 1976 in the small French village he was living in. Other people of the story are mentioned also, describing their lives after the war. There is an Appendix and an Order of Battle for both sides that will be helpful.
This is a very good story and anybody who is interested in first hand battlefield accounts in the manner of T.R. Fehrenbach, Stephen Ambose or Eric Hammel will enjoy Mr Rusiecki's book.

This book is a very well researched and well written account of this phase of World War II. It is obvious that Mr Rusiecki cares about this subject and has chosen to preserve a very important part of our countries history. Before reading this book, I was unaware of the critical part this battle played in winning the Battle of the Bulge. I'm sure the surviving members of the 99th Division are very proud of this book

This is one of the best, most enjoyable, military history books I've ever read. The focus of the book is the events in the sector of the 394th Regiment of the U.S. 99th Infantry Division during the first few days of the battle of the Bulge. As the subtitle suggests, the book recounts operations in the area in the vicinity of the crossroads village of Losheimergraben and the fighting that took place as German Infantry units tried to capture this crossroads and open the way for the armored units that were waiting to exploit the breakthrough.

The author opens the book with a very brief summary of events that set the stage for the battle he will describe. He describes the overall strategic situation in enough detail to put the battle in its proper perspective without going into so much detail that it creates a drag on the focus of the book. Not only does he describe the composition and deployment of the U.S. 99th Division, he also gives a concise overview of the German units and key leaders who will play critical roles in the upcoming battle.

Once the author begins his description of the battle this book is hard to put down. He has a very unique ability to describe the same event from the perspective of the opposing combatants without losing clarity, or bogging down the story. We often read about the "fog of war" but this book really captures it. The best example of this in the book is an event that happens on December 16th as the Germans are moving through the woods in their initial assault on the U.S. positions. The lead element runs into an area that has an extensive number of trip wires for mines and early warning devices. The inexperienced German soldiers begin "cutting any wire they can find". The Regimental Commander comes forward with his small command group to evaluate the situation for himself. Shortly after his arrival the German's own artillery barrage, which has been steadily creeping eastward towards them, begins to land on the lead battalion. When the Regimental Commander tries to use his field phone to lift the fires he finds his wire has been cut by one his own inexperienced soldiers. All they can do is take cover as their own artillery wounds the lead battalion's veteran commander, and half of the battalion. The battalion is rendered combat ineffective by their own artillery before even making contact with U.S. units. The regimental Commander survives and has his 2nd Battalion take the lead while he tries to reorganize the survivors in the lead battalion.

The author's knowledge of the individual participants on both sides of this battle, and the fact that he was able to interview them and capture their experiences makes this book something different. His ability to weave their experiences into the broader description of events, and do it in a fast paced style that is easy to follow, makes this book exceptional. When you finish this book you'll not only understand what happened, in some small way you may feel like you were there.