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

by George W. Neill

Infantry Soldier describes in harrowing detail the life of the men assigned to infantry rifle platoons during World War II. Few people realize the enormously disproportionate burden the men in these platoons although only 6 percent of the U.S. Army in Europe. They suffered most of the casualties.

George W. Neill served with a rifle platoon in the 99th Infantry Division. Now a seasoned journalist, he takes the reader into the foxholes to reveal how combat infantrymen lived and survived, what they thought, and how they fought.

Beginning with basic training in Texas and Oklahoma, Neill moves to the front lines in Belgium and Germany. There he focuses on the role of his division in the Battle of the Bulge. The 99th, recruits bolstered by veterans of the 2nd Division, held the northern line of the bulge, preventing a German breakthrough and undermining their strategy. Using his wartime letters, his research in the United States and Europe, and hundreds of interviews, Neill chronicles his and his friends’ experiences—acts of horror and heroism on the front line.

Genres: World War II, Military Fiction, Nonfiction, Memoir, History

386 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Dr.J.G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some episodes of history are more than unforgettable, they are thrilling every time one thinks of them. One such is the battle of the bulge, when the allied forces were further out than could be logistically supported and German forces unexpectedly turned around to strike back, and the allies were surrounded on almost all sides with almost no option but to surrender or be massacred - and yet the commander famously replied "nuts" to the proposal of surrender from the Germans, barely taking the cigar out of his mouth for saying that much calmly, immediately, nonchalantly.

Patton was in Italy and was informed of the bulge and the urgency - and he drove his army in an impossible drive across to the battlefront in Ardennes near Belgian border in time to save the situation, the men, the battle and the war.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The small unit infantry soldier is the backbone in any war as they are the ones that come in fighting contact with the enemy and must attack to acquire ground or defend a position. Everyone else is basically support. The high ranking officers plan strategy but seldon actually physically lead men into combat. Infantry Soldier is the story of the actual fighting men who took part in the Battle of the Buldge during World War II as told by a low ranking enlisted man who was there. Its a good, informative read about what life in a combat unit is like. This is a excellent counter to all the books aboout generals.

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazingly detailed account of the Battle of the Bulge from a front line infantry soldier who experienced it first hand. This story goes beyond the dry facts and reveals the young, scared, and half frozen men who fought back Germany's last ditch effort to stop the American push into Germany.

[tom donnells · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good combat in

This book seems like an honest picture of combat infantryman during WW2. I can cooberate this from the stories from my father, a decorated combat infantryman, Thomas Donnells.

[Atrius Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

1/10 theres a war going on around the 1944s where men go to war on a duality war based on infantry men and other things they look for food to be ready for war. the book is good I love reading war worlds based on infantry and more it gives me the vibes to think about the past of learning history and talk about soldiers from wars around the soldiers are trying to find food as they try to stay alive in the cold of war in lines

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, and I can't believe more people haven't read it! I'm not a military history fanatic by any stretch, but I enjoyed this firsthand account of an infantry soldier during the Battle of the Bulge. The author doesn't give any irrelevant personal background--he begins his story with his first involvement in the war, from basic training to V-E Day. He's part of the 395th Infantry Regiment, who held the line in Hofen, Germany. He was there in a foxhole when the Bulge began, mid-December 1944. He presents his own story, as well as some other interesting stories from comrades in other companies/battalions. It's easy to follow, and I definitely recommend it.