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U.S. Landmark Books #114
Battle: The Story of the Bulge
The perspective of 15 years, painstaking research, thousands of interviews, extensive analysis and evaluation, and the creative talent of John Toland [paint] the epic struggle on an immense canvas. . . . Toland writes with the authority of a man who was there. . . . He tastes the bitterness of defeat of those who surrendered and writes as if he had the benefit of the eyes and ears of soldiers and generals on the other side of the line. . . . If you could read only one book to understand generals and GIs and what their different wars were like this is the book. — Chicago Sunday Tribune
The author has devoted years to studying memoirs, interviewing veterans and consulting military documents, both German and American. He also has revisited the old battlefields in Belgium and Luxembourg. . . . Toland has told the whole story with dramatic realism. . . . It is a story of panic, terror and of high-hearted courage. — New York Times Book Review
For the first time in the growing literature of World War II, the inspiring story of the stubborn, lonely, dogged battle of the Americans locked in this tragic salient is told. . . . gripping . . . You cannot put it down once you start it. — San Francisco Chronicle
The author has devoted years to studying memoirs, interviewing veterans and consulting military documents, both German and American. He also has revisited the old battlefields in Belgium and Luxembourg. . . . Toland has told the whole story with dramatic realism. . . . It is a story of panic, terror and of high-hearted courage. — New York Times Book Review
For the first time in the growing literature of World War II, the inspiring story of the stubborn, lonely, dogged battle of the Americans locked in this tragic salient is told. . . . gripping . . . You cannot put it down once you start it. — San Francisco Chronicle
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
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1141 people want to read
About the author
John Toland
40 books192 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
John^Toland - 17th century theologian, Philosopher & Satirist
John^^Toland - American writer and historian (WWII & Dillinger)
John^^^Toland - Article: "The Man who Reads Minds"
John Willard Toland (June 29, 1912 in La Crosse, Wisconsin - January 4, 2004 in Danbury, Connecticut) was an American author and historian. He is best known for his biography of Adolf Hitler.[1]
Toland tried to write history as a straightforward narrative, with minimal analysis or judgment. This method may have stemmed from his original goal of becoming a playwright. In the summers between his college years, he travelled with hobos and wrote several plays with hobos as central characters, none of which achieved the stage.[2] At one point he managed to publish an article on dirigibles in Look magazine; it proved extremely popular and led to his career as a historian.
One exception to his general approach is his Infamy: Pearl Harbor and Its Aftermath about the Pearl Harbor attack and the investigations of it, in which he wrote about evidence that President Franklin Roosevelt knew in advance of plans to attack the naval base but remained silent. The book was widely criticized at the time. Since the original publication, Toland added new evidence and rebutted early critics. Also, an anonymous source, known as "Seaman Z" (Robert D. Ogg) has since come forth to publicly tell his story.
Perhaps his most important work, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1971, is The Rising Sun. Based on original and extensive interviews with high Japanese officials who survived the war, the book chronicles Imperial Japan from the military rebellion of February 1936 to the end of World War II. The book won the Pulitzer because it was the first book in English to tell the history of the war in the Pacific from the Japanese point of view, rather than from an American perspective.
The stories of the battles for the stepping stones to Japan, the islands in the Pacific which had come under Japanese domination, are told from the perspective of the commander sitting in his cave rather than from that of the heroic forces engaged in the assault. Most of these commanders committed suicide at the conclusion of the battle, but Toland was able to reconstruct their viewpoint from letters to their wives and from reports they sent to Tokyo. Toland died in 2004 of pneumonia.
While predominantly a non-fiction author, Toland also wrote two historical novels, Gods of War and Occupation. He says in his autobiography that he earned little money from his Pulitzer Prize-winning, The Rising Sun, but was set for life from the earnings of his biography of Hitler, for which he also did original research.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tol...
John^Toland - 17th century theologian, Philosopher & Satirist
John^^Toland - American writer and historian (WWII & Dillinger)
John^^^Toland - Article: "The Man who Reads Minds"
John Willard Toland (June 29, 1912 in La Crosse, Wisconsin - January 4, 2004 in Danbury, Connecticut) was an American author and historian. He is best known for his biography of Adolf Hitler.[1]
Toland tried to write history as a straightforward narrative, with minimal analysis or judgment. This method may have stemmed from his original goal of becoming a playwright. In the summers between his college years, he travelled with hobos and wrote several plays with hobos as central characters, none of which achieved the stage.[2] At one point he managed to publish an article on dirigibles in Look magazine; it proved extremely popular and led to his career as a historian.
One exception to his general approach is his Infamy: Pearl Harbor and Its Aftermath about the Pearl Harbor attack and the investigations of it, in which he wrote about evidence that President Franklin Roosevelt knew in advance of plans to attack the naval base but remained silent. The book was widely criticized at the time. Since the original publication, Toland added new evidence and rebutted early critics. Also, an anonymous source, known as "Seaman Z" (Robert D. Ogg) has since come forth to publicly tell his story.
Perhaps his most important work, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1971, is The Rising Sun. Based on original and extensive interviews with high Japanese officials who survived the war, the book chronicles Imperial Japan from the military rebellion of February 1936 to the end of World War II. The book won the Pulitzer because it was the first book in English to tell the history of the war in the Pacific from the Japanese point of view, rather than from an American perspective.
The stories of the battles for the stepping stones to Japan, the islands in the Pacific which had come under Japanese domination, are told from the perspective of the commander sitting in his cave rather than from that of the heroic forces engaged in the assault. Most of these commanders committed suicide at the conclusion of the battle, but Toland was able to reconstruct their viewpoint from letters to their wives and from reports they sent to Tokyo. Toland died in 2004 of pneumonia.
While predominantly a non-fiction author, Toland also wrote two historical novels, Gods of War and Occupation. He says in his autobiography that he earned little money from his Pulitzer Prize-winning, The Rising Sun, but was set for life from the earnings of his biography of Hitler, for which he also did original research.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tol...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
November 17, 2017
A grisly story of a brutal battle, told well. A well-researched, carefully constructed chronicle of one of the most famous/infamous battles and, in many way, one of the final turning points in WWII in Europe. An impressive piece of military history told in the most human of terms.
Much of the author's art is the ability to present the big (and I mean big) picture - from Hitler to Eisenhower - while presenting a broad range of perspectives - both axis and allied, from individual soldiers (and civilians) to sergeants, junior officers, and commanders of all types. (Granted, the reader's lens can blur, periodically, as you rush/flit/jump from squad, platoon, and company actions to foxholes and tank turrets and field hospitals and private homes and church cellars and airplanes and forests to table-top maps where battalions and divisions and armies are manipulated like board game pieces, and, well, you get the idea....)
This isn't a new book, but I'm glad it finally made it to the top of my reading stack. It's an impressive example of what history can be, when a lot of hard work is pieced together into a coherent and digestible story that, while presenting an extraordinary amount of factual information, not only informs and enlightens but entertains.
Military history geek note: At many points in the book, I was reminded of the iconic historical pieces from similar times/places by Cornelius Ryan, and so I was amused when Ryan actually made a cameo appearance late in the book. That was a fun bonus that I didn't see coming....
Much of the author's art is the ability to present the big (and I mean big) picture - from Hitler to Eisenhower - while presenting a broad range of perspectives - both axis and allied, from individual soldiers (and civilians) to sergeants, junior officers, and commanders of all types. (Granted, the reader's lens can blur, periodically, as you rush/flit/jump from squad, platoon, and company actions to foxholes and tank turrets and field hospitals and private homes and church cellars and airplanes and forests to table-top maps where battalions and divisions and armies are manipulated like board game pieces, and, well, you get the idea....)
This isn't a new book, but I'm glad it finally made it to the top of my reading stack. It's an impressive example of what history can be, when a lot of hard work is pieced together into a coherent and digestible story that, while presenting an extraordinary amount of factual information, not only informs and enlightens but entertains.
Military history geek note: At many points in the book, I was reminded of the iconic historical pieces from similar times/places by Cornelius Ryan, and so I was amused when Ryan actually made a cameo appearance late in the book. That was a fun bonus that I didn't see coming....
December 30, 2015
A book about the Battle of the Bulge, that reads like a movie script.
This book, written in 1959, gives a broad overview of the actions that took place during the Battle of the Bulge. It is somehow a little one sided account of various witnesses (American and Belgian) about the battles but skips the details about the siege of Bastogne. Therefore, a good introduction to the battle, fast pacing and enjoyable, but will lack the detail that a more profound WWII buff reader will require.
This book, written in 1959, gives a broad overview of the actions that took place during the Battle of the Bulge. It is somehow a little one sided account of various witnesses (American and Belgian) about the battles but skips the details about the siege of Bastogne. Therefore, a good introduction to the battle, fast pacing and enjoyable, but will lack the detail that a more profound WWII buff reader will require.
March 14, 2024
3.5 stars
This is a good account of the tactics and movements around the Battle of the Bulge from both the German and American leadership perspectives. Toland is an excellent writer, historian and strong narrator. This book was not so powerful as his others however. The book does not really tell any personal stories and is limited from the infantry point of view.
I think it was helpful for me as I read books on the Battle of the Bulge as I have a personal interest. I hope this summer to visit the key sites in the campaign.
My Uncle Roy was in the 550th Airborne Infantry. He was 21 years of age when he was captured on January 5th 1944 in the village of Renaumont in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge. This occurred during the Allied counter offensive that was centered near Bastogne. The German army had a tank zeroed in on the command center which was just a farm house. Uncle Roy was the only one left alive. He followed the command and came out with his hands up. He was taken prisoner but he was misidentified by his commander a week later as one of the dead in the cellar. He had been taken to a Stalag POW camp in southwest Germany. They took the train part of the way but walked many miles as many of the rail segments had already been bombed. While in the camp the only food they had to eat were raw potatoes. He had no other memories of the camp that he wished to share.
He survived the camp which was liberated in late April 1945. He weighed less than 100 pounds and spent the next month in the hospital recuperating. Then in late June 1945 he showed up at my grandparents house in Michigan unannounced. The government had told my grandparents (and my mother) back in January that he had been killed. So imagine the surprise and immense joy on everyone's faces when he bounced through the front door. He struggled with PSTD and withdrew from college and returned to the Army. He ended up serving twenty five years as a sergeant in active war zones during the Korean and Vietnam wars. He had a wonderful impish sense of humor but was a very humble man. He did receive a silver star for the Battle of the Bulge.
He maintained a diary during the illegal and secretive Laos campaign. He told my mother that horrible things had happened there but didn't specify. When he passed away in the 1980s - a decade or so after he retired from the service - my mother looked for his journal but she never found it. We think he destroyed it as the country had moved on, maybe he did too. He is buried near his brother in Fort Custer National Cemetery.
To be fair there wasn't any mention of the 550th in this book even though they lost over 400 of 600 men in just a few days of fighting. It was decimated and was absorbed into the larger 17th and the original unit was disbanded a month later.
3.5 stars. Definitely worth reading if you are interested in the Battle of the Bulge.
This is a good account of the tactics and movements around the Battle of the Bulge from both the German and American leadership perspectives. Toland is an excellent writer, historian and strong narrator. This book was not so powerful as his others however. The book does not really tell any personal stories and is limited from the infantry point of view.
I think it was helpful for me as I read books on the Battle of the Bulge as I have a personal interest. I hope this summer to visit the key sites in the campaign.
My Uncle Roy was in the 550th Airborne Infantry. He was 21 years of age when he was captured on January 5th 1944 in the village of Renaumont in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge. This occurred during the Allied counter offensive that was centered near Bastogne. The German army had a tank zeroed in on the command center which was just a farm house. Uncle Roy was the only one left alive. He followed the command and came out with his hands up. He was taken prisoner but he was misidentified by his commander a week later as one of the dead in the cellar. He had been taken to a Stalag POW camp in southwest Germany. They took the train part of the way but walked many miles as many of the rail segments had already been bombed. While in the camp the only food they had to eat were raw potatoes. He had no other memories of the camp that he wished to share.
He survived the camp which was liberated in late April 1945. He weighed less than 100 pounds and spent the next month in the hospital recuperating. Then in late June 1945 he showed up at my grandparents house in Michigan unannounced. The government had told my grandparents (and my mother) back in January that he had been killed. So imagine the surprise and immense joy on everyone's faces when he bounced through the front door. He struggled with PSTD and withdrew from college and returned to the Army. He ended up serving twenty five years as a sergeant in active war zones during the Korean and Vietnam wars. He had a wonderful impish sense of humor but was a very humble man. He did receive a silver star for the Battle of the Bulge.
He maintained a diary during the illegal and secretive Laos campaign. He told my mother that horrible things had happened there but didn't specify. When he passed away in the 1980s - a decade or so after he retired from the service - my mother looked for his journal but she never found it. We think he destroyed it as the country had moved on, maybe he did too. He is buried near his brother in Fort Custer National Cemetery.
To be fair there wasn't any mention of the 550th in this book even though they lost over 400 of 600 men in just a few days of fighting. It was decimated and was absorbed into the larger 17th and the original unit was disbanded a month later.
3.5 stars. Definitely worth reading if you are interested in the Battle of the Bulge.
August 13, 2009
Like the battle itself, this book could have been a disaster. Yet, Toland does a great job of making this confusing and chaotic battle understandable by focusing on the personal stories of the soldier. His writting style is economic as he tells heart wrenching, sometimes funny and incredible stories of how close this battle could have come to wiping out the gains the Allies had achieved since Normandy. The maps are very good and the short paragraphs detailing the action along the lines made it easy for the reader to create the mental picture of the battle. Good reading for someone who is not tactically literate.
November 18, 2009
Nice try, Hitler- NUTS to you!
This is a VERY detailed account of the battle, which can be overwhelming to a casual reader. I ended up getting lost trying to figure out who was where at what time because flipping back and forth to the maps got tedious after a while. Eventually, I just had to power through it to get a general feel for the battle. After some more WWII reading, I may come back to this book a second time.
With so many characters and locations to keep straight, I recommend reading this book rather quickly (which I had trouble doing). The longer it takes you to read, the more likely you are to forget what part of the battle you are in.
Still, Toland does a great job of organizing such a complex and frenetic battle. The writing is crisp and relatively free of "Americanizing" Field Marshall Montgomery's role in the Bulge.
If I were more familiar with the war, I probably would have enjoyed it more and would have given it four stars instead of three.
This is a VERY detailed account of the battle, which can be overwhelming to a casual reader. I ended up getting lost trying to figure out who was where at what time because flipping back and forth to the maps got tedious after a while. Eventually, I just had to power through it to get a general feel for the battle. After some more WWII reading, I may come back to this book a second time.
With so many characters and locations to keep straight, I recommend reading this book rather quickly (which I had trouble doing). The longer it takes you to read, the more likely you are to forget what part of the battle you are in.
Still, Toland does a great job of organizing such a complex and frenetic battle. The writing is crisp and relatively free of "Americanizing" Field Marshall Montgomery's role in the Bulge.
If I were more familiar with the war, I probably would have enjoyed it more and would have given it four stars instead of three.
January 1, 2015
What a great way to ring in the new year, by finishing a good book. My daughter picked this book out of the library for me. It is a very fitting time to read this since the Battle of the Bulge was Christmas 1944 into the new year 1945. John Toland is one of my favorite authors due to his research and thorough discussion of the historical events. He came through with flying colors with this one as well.
The 101st at Bastogne, the 90 degree turn of Patton's Third Army, and the fake Americans of Otto Skorzeny's havoc creators are all covered in this excellent story. I have read of the Bulge in many histories but this is my first book exclusively to the Bulge. The story discusses the strategic blunder of moving prime German Panzer units out from the protection of the German Western wall and the last gasp of the Luftwaffe's surpise attack. I found the lack of maps the only complaint about this riveting book. I recommend to all.
The 101st at Bastogne, the 90 degree turn of Patton's Third Army, and the fake Americans of Otto Skorzeny's havoc creators are all covered in this excellent story. I have read of the Bulge in many histories but this is my first book exclusively to the Bulge. The story discusses the strategic blunder of moving prime German Panzer units out from the protection of the German Western wall and the last gasp of the Luftwaffe's surpise attack. I found the lack of maps the only complaint about this riveting book. I recommend to all.
December 13, 2021
Wow... I was so disappointed in this book. I was really hoping that it would be a good resource for studying the Battle of the Bulge, but I never got further than the first page.
This book was so full of curse words that I couldn't finish it, so I stopped on the first page. It was that awful!
Definitely NOT a book I would recommend.
This book was so full of curse words that I couldn't finish it, so I stopped on the first page. It was that awful!
Definitely NOT a book I would recommend.
February 24, 2018
Strangely, it took me longer to read Battle: The Story of the Bulge than it took for Hitler’s desperate Wacht am Rhein to bog down. I started reading Battle: The Story of the Bulge when playing a board game called Tigers in the Mist. At first, I was trying to read the sections related to where I was in the game, but then work, family, and church intervened (not to mention that I lost the game even though I was the Allies—couldn’t hold Bastogne long enough).
Battle: The Story of the Bulge tells the story of Hitler’s last shot at a major offensive, the unpreparedness of the Allies, the horrendous realities of traffic tie-ups in war, the difficulties of communication, and the incredible frustrations and superhuman efforts made by the soldiers in the field when their commanding officers were often misinformed, uninformed, or insufferably insensitive to situational realities. It is a day-by-day account, jumping from the remembrances of soldiers in one part of Belgium to another, from one side to the other. At times, Toland seems to triangulate what was happening in a given portion of the day from different perspectives, making the story more human and less like a historical summary.
For example, the reader is introduced early to an operations level conference where a wan and distracted Hitler fails to respond to any of the negative reports until his subordinates’ mention of troops having a rest on the Western Front in the Ardennes. Suddenly, the dictator came to life and announces: “I have made a momentous decision. I am taking the offensive. Here—out of the Ardennes.” (p. 23) He goes on to order the crossing of the Meuse and a thrust toward Antwerp. The plan called for three armies (Sixth Panzer, Fifth Panzer, and Seventh) to exploit two advantages: complete surprise and enough bad weather to keep Allied air superiority from having its usual impact at this point in the war (p. 24). The bad weather was often referred to as “Hitler weather” (pp. 29, 31,51).
The designer of Tigers in the Mist, Ray Freeman, once told me that one of his goals in presenting his game in the midst of almost a dozen “Bulge” games was to illustrate the traffic problem—the road situation. John Toland describes these problems at multiple points in Battle: The Story of the Bulge (pp. 39, 48, 49, 57, 203, 343). Toland also did a wonderful job of capturing memorable comments from his multiple interviews with the survivors. I particularly liked Colonel Ewell’s estimation of the situation in Bastogne on December 19th: “…if I knew more, I’d be confused.” (p. 141) I also loved the banter between Ike and Patton. Ike protests that every time he gets promoted, he gets attacked and Patton responds, “And every time you get attacked I have to bail you out.” (p. 141) And it was tragi-comic when General Bruce Clarke was captured as a prisoner of war by his own men because he said the Chicago Cubs were in the American League (pp. 157, 163).
The “fog of war” or misconstruing the situation is well-described in the book. For example, Eisenhower originally perceived the Ardennes Offensive as an attempt by Germany to stall long enough to finish the atomic bomb (p. 156). Montgomery poorly estimated idea that the Germans were going to attack across the Meuse in 48 hours (p. 284) is recounted in demonstrating the British generals reluctance to attack the Germans from the north. In addition, there are several scenes about U.S. aircraft bombing their own people. The 9th Air Force was bitterly called the “American Luftwaffe” at one point (p. 231) after several incidents.
Religion also plays an interesting role in Battle: The Story of the Bulge. One anecdote shares the protest of Chaplain O’Neill when General Patton demands a prayer for good weather. O’Neill protests that it would take a “thick rug” for that kind of prayer. Patton retorts, “I don’t care if it takes a flying carpet. O’Neill responds that such a prayer is essentially inappropriate because he would be praying for clear weather to kill people. Patton rebukes him by saying (shouting?), “Chaplain, are you teaching me theology or are you the Chaplain of the Third Army? I want a prayer.” (p. 208) On another occasion, a non-commissioned officer named Jim Revell was crawling from foxhole to foxhole to encourage the men, as well as to evangelize, pray, and read the Bible. One of the soldiers who had mocked Revell for his faith and even, in a drunken rage, broken Revell’s nose, asks Revell into the foxhole to read the Bible. Unlike one soldier who rejected Revell’s message, this one acknowledges his faults and considers repentance (p. 199). At another point, 50 P.O.W.s were crammed in a boxcar. In an effort to keep up their spirits (as it was Christmas season), they started singing “Jingle Bells.” Halfway through the song, they heard bombs dropping and stopped singing. One prisoner said, “Let’s pray!” and they did (p. 260).
And, since the book deals realistically with war, one would expect many gruesome descriptions. They are there. But I think the account that will stay with me was the story of Sergeant Lawrence Silva. Silva called his command post to report a large force of German tanks headed his way. Then, he reported that he couldn’t tell his commander anymore. When asked why not, he answered that the tank was covering his foxhole. Apparently, the tank tried to run over him, but elected to rest over the foxhole until the carbon monoxide killed him (p. 327).
Battle: The Story of the Bulge balances carefully between describing military operations and presenting the personal point of view. As a record of military operations, it was marvelous to read as I played a game alongside it; as a record of human experiences, it doesn’t glorify the cost of war to any degree. I highly recommend this book.
Battle: The Story of the Bulge tells the story of Hitler’s last shot at a major offensive, the unpreparedness of the Allies, the horrendous realities of traffic tie-ups in war, the difficulties of communication, and the incredible frustrations and superhuman efforts made by the soldiers in the field when their commanding officers were often misinformed, uninformed, or insufferably insensitive to situational realities. It is a day-by-day account, jumping from the remembrances of soldiers in one part of Belgium to another, from one side to the other. At times, Toland seems to triangulate what was happening in a given portion of the day from different perspectives, making the story more human and less like a historical summary.
For example, the reader is introduced early to an operations level conference where a wan and distracted Hitler fails to respond to any of the negative reports until his subordinates’ mention of troops having a rest on the Western Front in the Ardennes. Suddenly, the dictator came to life and announces: “I have made a momentous decision. I am taking the offensive. Here—out of the Ardennes.” (p. 23) He goes on to order the crossing of the Meuse and a thrust toward Antwerp. The plan called for three armies (Sixth Panzer, Fifth Panzer, and Seventh) to exploit two advantages: complete surprise and enough bad weather to keep Allied air superiority from having its usual impact at this point in the war (p. 24). The bad weather was often referred to as “Hitler weather” (pp. 29, 31,51).
The designer of Tigers in the Mist, Ray Freeman, once told me that one of his goals in presenting his game in the midst of almost a dozen “Bulge” games was to illustrate the traffic problem—the road situation. John Toland describes these problems at multiple points in Battle: The Story of the Bulge (pp. 39, 48, 49, 57, 203, 343). Toland also did a wonderful job of capturing memorable comments from his multiple interviews with the survivors. I particularly liked Colonel Ewell’s estimation of the situation in Bastogne on December 19th: “…if I knew more, I’d be confused.” (p. 141) I also loved the banter between Ike and Patton. Ike protests that every time he gets promoted, he gets attacked and Patton responds, “And every time you get attacked I have to bail you out.” (p. 141) And it was tragi-comic when General Bruce Clarke was captured as a prisoner of war by his own men because he said the Chicago Cubs were in the American League (pp. 157, 163).
The “fog of war” or misconstruing the situation is well-described in the book. For example, Eisenhower originally perceived the Ardennes Offensive as an attempt by Germany to stall long enough to finish the atomic bomb (p. 156). Montgomery poorly estimated idea that the Germans were going to attack across the Meuse in 48 hours (p. 284) is recounted in demonstrating the British generals reluctance to attack the Germans from the north. In addition, there are several scenes about U.S. aircraft bombing their own people. The 9th Air Force was bitterly called the “American Luftwaffe” at one point (p. 231) after several incidents.
Religion also plays an interesting role in Battle: The Story of the Bulge. One anecdote shares the protest of Chaplain O’Neill when General Patton demands a prayer for good weather. O’Neill protests that it would take a “thick rug” for that kind of prayer. Patton retorts, “I don’t care if it takes a flying carpet. O’Neill responds that such a prayer is essentially inappropriate because he would be praying for clear weather to kill people. Patton rebukes him by saying (shouting?), “Chaplain, are you teaching me theology or are you the Chaplain of the Third Army? I want a prayer.” (p. 208) On another occasion, a non-commissioned officer named Jim Revell was crawling from foxhole to foxhole to encourage the men, as well as to evangelize, pray, and read the Bible. One of the soldiers who had mocked Revell for his faith and even, in a drunken rage, broken Revell’s nose, asks Revell into the foxhole to read the Bible. Unlike one soldier who rejected Revell’s message, this one acknowledges his faults and considers repentance (p. 199). At another point, 50 P.O.W.s were crammed in a boxcar. In an effort to keep up their spirits (as it was Christmas season), they started singing “Jingle Bells.” Halfway through the song, they heard bombs dropping and stopped singing. One prisoner said, “Let’s pray!” and they did (p. 260).
And, since the book deals realistically with war, one would expect many gruesome descriptions. They are there. But I think the account that will stay with me was the story of Sergeant Lawrence Silva. Silva called his command post to report a large force of German tanks headed his way. Then, he reported that he couldn’t tell his commander anymore. When asked why not, he answered that the tank was covering his foxhole. Apparently, the tank tried to run over him, but elected to rest over the foxhole until the carbon monoxide killed him (p. 327).
Battle: The Story of the Bulge balances carefully between describing military operations and presenting the personal point of view. As a record of military operations, it was marvelous to read as I played a game alongside it; as a record of human experiences, it doesn’t glorify the cost of war to any degree. I highly recommend this book.
December 6, 2022
As you may have noticed I've read a number of books written by John Toland. I like his style of telling the story of history. I read that some reviewers write it doesn't go deep enough into the mechanics of a battle or formation maneuvers. I want to have the understanding of a battle, but I also want the participant side of the story. The Battle of the Bulge was the Maturing of Americas fighting soldier, they grew up.
I have never been able to understand how people will go to school, study and train to kill other human beings. People like Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin what did they think they could gain, it's such a mystery for me.
This book for me was how the American Service Man became of age. A very good book for me and a very good read.
Randy Reigstad
I have never been able to understand how people will go to school, study and train to kill other human beings. People like Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin what did they think they could gain, it's such a mystery for me.
This book for me was how the American Service Man became of age. A very good book for me and a very good read.
Randy Reigstad
November 1, 2017
This was the first book I ever read on the so-called Battle of the Bulge, and I remember liking it very much.
It was originally published in 1959 and I bet I read a library edition copy of that vintage, and for it's era, it was excellent. Still makes a good read today!
Recommended as an introduction to this complex campaign.
It was originally published in 1959 and I bet I read a library edition copy of that vintage, and for it's era, it was excellent. Still makes a good read today!
Recommended as an introduction to this complex campaign.
September 26, 2016
Great stories, but it was very hard to follow the big picture.
It is, however, a great way to get a feel for what happened on the ground during the battle of the bulge. Very interesting and descriptive.
It is, however, a great way to get a feel for what happened on the ground during the battle of the bulge. Very interesting and descriptive.
May 30, 2017
Among the men on each side of the battle, there were acts of tremendous courage, cruelty, and humanity. Even SS men often showed a code of honor and humanity that is not part of our one-sided, agenda driven history of the past 45 years. Soldiers on the allied side often showed ruthlessness and indifference to human life that was the equal of the German attrocities with which we are all so familiar.
This is still another account of the War in Europe that reveals that Bradley, not Patton, was driven by pettiness and personal ambition into conflicts with Montgomery. The film "Patton," for all of its strengths, leaves us with terribly distorted picture of Bradley as a man who was self-effacing and above the petty squables. Bradley's role as "military advisor" on so many documentaries as well as "Patton" has certainly served him well. So has his coddling relationship with the press.
Eisenhower, once again, is show as a far less able commander and one whose oranizational skills were mediocre at best.
What I learned about the suffering that men were subjected to because of poor leadership was not really new but far more striking.
Toland is superb at describing the larger military actions while interspersing them with revealing and heart-wrenching individual experiences.
This is still another account of the War in Europe that reveals that Bradley, not Patton, was driven by pettiness and personal ambition into conflicts with Montgomery. The film "Patton," for all of its strengths, leaves us with terribly distorted picture of Bradley as a man who was self-effacing and above the petty squables. Bradley's role as "military advisor" on so many documentaries as well as "Patton" has certainly served him well. So has his coddling relationship with the press.
Eisenhower, once again, is show as a far less able commander and one whose oranizational skills were mediocre at best.
What I learned about the suffering that men were subjected to because of poor leadership was not really new but far more striking.
Toland is superb at describing the larger military actions while interspersing them with revealing and heart-wrenching individual experiences.
May 13, 2011
Great book, easy and quick to read. It is more anecdotal that based on the official primary sources. The history of the battle is there, but it is overshadow by the stories of the people in the battle and affected by it, like the Luxembourg housewife who hid a American from the Germans, all the while her son is serving the German army after being conscripted.
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February 14, 2020I also remember that Patton said, "You are not here to die for your country, but you are here to make the G--d--- German soldiers die for their country." I always remember what he said. Pat McLaughlin, Wakpala, SD, from his memoir in the Teton Times, May 26, 2004.
There are those who can judge with more authority whether John Toland's Battle: The Story of the Bulge is a great book. I don't know that I've ever read another tome about war, any war, about D-Day or Pearl Harbor or those horrible trenches in WWI. I've been to Gettysburg and Chattanooga and walked through white crosses at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial in Belgium, even spent a couple of hours at Bastogne. Trust me--we have too many books in our house, but few are about war.
But my father-in-law was at the Bulge, as was a woman, a nurse, whose story I know very well and a man she treated, like her a Lakota, a kid from Lakeview, SD, who lost both legs to a tank amid all the blood in the snow. It is, just now, 75 years since Hitler created "Watch on the Rhine," the almost unimaginable surprise attack on "the Ghost Front" in Belgium, whereby he hoped to cut off Allied supply lines by taking Antwerp. Very, very few saw it coming. Twenty thousand GIs were killed, forty thousand wounded, 23 thousand taken captive. Hitler lost far more, many of them just boys. In fact, Hitler lost the war at Bastogne.
I loved Toland's Battle because he tells the story at ground level. By way of thousands of hours of interviews, he keeps his watch and his calendar in mind as he details the story from both sides, having interviewed everyone--the GIs and Tommies and Wehrmacht. Stories weave around and through the battle lines. Enlisted men and draftees appear, disappear, then appear again and again until Hitler is beaten. Belgian and Luxembourgian civilians are treated as the battle-scarred veterans they were, their towns and village hamlets beaten into dusty madness. Toland's Battle is war, up close-and-personal, no holds barred, bloody and damnable.
And when it's over, Toland pounds the pulpit. He makes the case he's already made: the American soldier was the hero at the Bulge, not because he wanted to be, not because he was fighting for flag or freedom or anything else all that glorious.
His love of luxury made him a poor soldier in his first moments of battle. But in the Bulge, he soon learned that there was only one way to survive: he had to fight. And he fought, not for political or ideological reasons, but for his life.
It's a stunning appraisal, really, a view of battle that makes "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" feel more than a little tinny. All that suffering and all that horror in the frozen woods at Argonne was, Toland says, just a matter of sheer survival.
"With all its obvious faults the United States Army in World War II was a powerful, democratic army," he writes. It survived immense weaknesses that grew from its own inexperience. "Many of its officers were fumbling and incompetent," he says. "But the school of battle soon destroyed or winnowed most of these. The army that won the Battle of the Bulge and raced through Germany was hard and tough--run by hard and tough men."
After close to 400 hundred pages of hand-to-hand combat, of atrocities (on both sides), of frozen limbs and amputations, Toland's commendations had me convinced: at the Battle of the Bulge, American boys became fighting men, killers. They won the battle. They won the war.
There are likely other views, but John Toland takes his stand right there, and it's the only close-up of the Battle of the Bulge that I've read.
Finished it on a Friday.
Then, at church on Sunday, the sermon text was the Beatitudes, a system of justice and righteousness light years afar, a reminder, once again, of how wildly radical Jesus the Savior was. And is.
Kent Haruf's sweet novel, Benediction, includes a woe-be-gone preacher whose life is in shambles and is almost universally hated by Holt, Colorado, the small town Haruf loves. At the start of the Iraq War, the new preacher in town opens up the Bible to the Beatitudes--and is hounded out of town.
I'll admit I really liked John Toland's Battle. At 72, I'm not sure exactly how to love the Beatitudes.
January 26, 2018
Review originally published at Book of Bogan.
Battle is a book about the so-called Battle of the Bulge, a campaign during the Second World War, which was something of a last gasp for the Nazis. The author takes us down to ground level, sometimes below, and into the lives of the real people who are taking part in this battle, as well as civilians trapped in the firing line.
The Ardennes campaign is probably one of the areas of the second world which I know very little, although I have Antony Beevor’s book on my reading pile, somehow this came across my desk before I got to it. I think it’s important to consider that books are often a product of their time, and although I was listening to an Audiobook which was published in the 2000s, the original was published in the 1950s.
The reason for saying that is, Battle is something of an exercise in American triumphalism. Although the author devotes large sections of the book to peering into the lives of the German soldiers and civilians, this is clearly a book about Americans at war. I’m fairly certain it wasn’t just the Americans doing the fighting, but somehow the only Other Allies who rates a mention are Field Marshall Montgomery. One might be under the impression that it was down to the Americans to do the fighting, the dying, and ultimately the winning of the battle.
With that being said, Battle is an impressive work of narrative non-fiction, and the author does a great job of connecting with, and portraying the lives, loves and fears of the real fighting men on the ground. By telling small stories in the way he does, Toland is able to give a swense of the fear and chaos which was ever-present in battle.
Battle is relentless in its pacing, but does take the time to explore the countryside through which the armies are rampaging. As a student of history, I found this to be a very engaging and personal story, which is extremely accessible, even for those with little knowledge of the period. I would have preferred a less myopic look at the allied nations, but there are other books, which may add to the conversation.
An excellent read.
Battle is a book about the so-called Battle of the Bulge, a campaign during the Second World War, which was something of a last gasp for the Nazis. The author takes us down to ground level, sometimes below, and into the lives of the real people who are taking part in this battle, as well as civilians trapped in the firing line.
The Ardennes campaign is probably one of the areas of the second world which I know very little, although I have Antony Beevor’s book on my reading pile, somehow this came across my desk before I got to it. I think it’s important to consider that books are often a product of their time, and although I was listening to an Audiobook which was published in the 2000s, the original was published in the 1950s.
The reason for saying that is, Battle is something of an exercise in American triumphalism. Although the author devotes large sections of the book to peering into the lives of the German soldiers and civilians, this is clearly a book about Americans at war. I’m fairly certain it wasn’t just the Americans doing the fighting, but somehow the only Other Allies who rates a mention are Field Marshall Montgomery. One might be under the impression that it was down to the Americans to do the fighting, the dying, and ultimately the winning of the battle.
With that being said, Battle is an impressive work of narrative non-fiction, and the author does a great job of connecting with, and portraying the lives, loves and fears of the real fighting men on the ground. By telling small stories in the way he does, Toland is able to give a swense of the fear and chaos which was ever-present in battle.
Battle is relentless in its pacing, but does take the time to explore the countryside through which the armies are rampaging. As a student of history, I found this to be a very engaging and personal story, which is extremely accessible, even for those with little knowledge of the period. I would have preferred a less myopic look at the allied nations, but there are other books, which may add to the conversation.
An excellent read.
March 23, 2020
Battle The Story of the Bulge
By John Toland
This is my take on this historical war epic of World War II. This book is a collection of stories from those who fought there and from many who died there. It is the result of Adolph Hitler’s last gamble to attack the Americans and the British forces on a freezing cold night of December 15, 1944 along the Ardennes front, which in many respects was manned by ghosts. The area was too large to be covered by the number of troops assigned. Many of those there were there for a bit of R & R (Rest and Reorganization), other troops were green replacements from the states and were there awaiting assignments as replacements, other troops there were support units like clerical, cooks, grave diggers, supply and so, on who the first time and last time they had fired their M-1 rifles was in basic training. Of course, Adolph Hitler’s plan, was to use tanks (Armor) for the most part and move quickly to their first objective, which was Bastogne defended by the 101st Airborne Division. Hitler also had a few wrinkles in his plan like German paratroopers dressed like American GI’s to create mass confusion on the battlefield. As you read you will discover that the battle is not just one big battle, but a series battles some huge and others small units and sometimes one American GI was the only one in a skirmish that took on seven Germans and after The Battle of the Bulge was over was found surrounded by dead Germans, on a lonely foot path, in which the American GI had stood his ground and gave his full measure of devotion to his country, his unit, and the mission. The story is a must read! It shows how in eight days in the middle of the worst winter storm just before Christmas battles were fought and the results were never predictable until the last shot was fired.
By John Toland
This is my take on this historical war epic of World War II. This book is a collection of stories from those who fought there and from many who died there. It is the result of Adolph Hitler’s last gamble to attack the Americans and the British forces on a freezing cold night of December 15, 1944 along the Ardennes front, which in many respects was manned by ghosts. The area was too large to be covered by the number of troops assigned. Many of those there were there for a bit of R & R (Rest and Reorganization), other troops were green replacements from the states and were there awaiting assignments as replacements, other troops there were support units like clerical, cooks, grave diggers, supply and so, on who the first time and last time they had fired their M-1 rifles was in basic training. Of course, Adolph Hitler’s plan, was to use tanks (Armor) for the most part and move quickly to their first objective, which was Bastogne defended by the 101st Airborne Division. Hitler also had a few wrinkles in his plan like German paratroopers dressed like American GI’s to create mass confusion on the battlefield. As you read you will discover that the battle is not just one big battle, but a series battles some huge and others small units and sometimes one American GI was the only one in a skirmish that took on seven Germans and after The Battle of the Bulge was over was found surrounded by dead Germans, on a lonely foot path, in which the American GI had stood his ground and gave his full measure of devotion to his country, his unit, and the mission. The story is a must read! It shows how in eight days in the middle of the worst winter storm just before Christmas battles were fought and the results were never predictable until the last shot was fired.
April 17, 2021
I found this book as a discard in the small-town library of Chisholm, MN one afternoon in 2018, while spending a cold, rainy day with my granddaughter. This 60+ year old accounting of the Battle of the Bulge proved to be great reading and gave fresh insight to the intense fighting through many first-person accounts of those who endured the winter storms in the fight for sheer survival. It contains fantastic dialog from the leading generals all the way to the infantryman and tankers who endured through it all, both Allied and Axis forces. The brutality of certain death that these soldiers faced is just hard to imagine, not to mention the forces of a cold, snowy winter. And yet, they struggled on, turned the tables on the surprise German push to the west, and turned initial defeat into ultimate victory. In the process, one of the last remnants of German might was crushed which was instrumental in bringing the collapse and final surrender of Germany three short months later. The way many of the men fought and died, only to be frozen solid and left on the battlefields raises feelings of great respect, for both sides, while at the same time sickens ones' heart to the atrocities of war. My hope is to soon be able to visit Luxembourg and some of the towns and villages where the battles took place. It will be a visit filled not only with reverence for the sacrifices made there, but in celebration of the resilance of local people whose ancestors found ways to endure through the fortunes of war and then rebuild their homelands.
December 19, 2019
(Audiobook) Given that we just crossed the 75th anniversary of the battle, and that I had lived in that part of the world, I figured it was time to read something about the battle. Hence this book. This is an older book, from 1959, so there were plenty of first-hand accounts from men who fought the battle. Like many other Toland works, this is heavy on personal accounts, from all levels of fighting, from the grunts on the ground to the high command. Of note, most, when they think of the Battle of the Bulge, they think of Bastogne and the fighting in December, but the fighting with the Bulge lasted until deep into January. Ultimately, it was stupid of Hitler to launch this offensive. It bloodied the American troops, and was a short term shock, but it hastened the end of the war for Germany, and left the country way too open to the Soviets.
Even if this work is older, you can still learn a lot from this work. It is engaging and offers many first hand accounts. We have more information now, but this is still worth the time to read/listen.
Even if this work is older, you can still learn a lot from this work. It is engaging and offers many first hand accounts. We have more information now, but this is still worth the time to read/listen.
January 18, 2024
Interesting but outdated
This book was a steady read,but some of the process in the writing was ,in my opinion,sloppy. Punctuation was lacking in all the chapters. Words were omitted, and you had to guess what was being presented. As it was first published in 1959, some of the people who were living have passed on, too. You would have to look them up in Wikipedia to reveal what happened to them,for example,Pieper ,the ruthless tank commander. However,there are several instances where he showed some humanity that I have read in other books that was not talked about. The author did a lot of research for the events and it showed in the telling of what the civilians went through. A momentous campaign on both sides proving,as all books on WW2, that war is a terrible time. The human suffering is gut wrenching.
This book was a steady read,but some of the process in the writing was ,in my opinion,sloppy. Punctuation was lacking in all the chapters. Words were omitted, and you had to guess what was being presented. As it was first published in 1959, some of the people who were living have passed on, too. You would have to look them up in Wikipedia to reveal what happened to them,for example,Pieper ,the ruthless tank commander. However,there are several instances where he showed some humanity that I have read in other books that was not talked about. The author did a lot of research for the events and it showed in the telling of what the civilians went through. A momentous campaign on both sides proving,as all books on WW2, that war is a terrible time. The human suffering is gut wrenching.
July 12, 2017
More of a narrative of the battle than a straight historical recounting, Toland's book is nevertheless a great read. I read in the Introduction that his work was originally criticized for being too emotional, but it helps to personalize the conflict. My only criticism is the assumptions Toland makes about his readers. A lot of people know a lot of stuff about World War 2, but Toland skims over some introductory information that could be helpful to a less-informed reader. Still, the book is fantastic for how thorough it was researched and how detailed it can be.
May 9, 2017
It seemed realistic and took me to the Battle of the Bulge in a way my grandfather who fought in it would not recount. He barely survived, spent two years recovering in a hospital, and then lived a full and good life which did not include telling many war stories since he left that in the past as much as possible. The dialogue and details all pulled me in despite the fact I typically do not read books of this genre.
May 16, 2017
Wonderful book! Having recently returned from a trip to Luxemburg and Belgium where I toured many WWII sites, this book was invaluable. This classic work captures firsthand accounts of the Battle of the Bulge and narrates eyewitness accounts of Hitler's last big gamble of the war from the perspective of civilians, the American and German Soldiers as well as those in high command. I wish I had read this book earlier and I recommend it to historians and lovers of Nonfiction alike.
Paul
Paul
October 29, 2017
It was okay. The maps were poor in the digital version I read, and thus it was next to impossible to visualize the battle on the ground as described by Toland. Other books provide a far better overview of the battle.
That said, there were some compelling stories of the men who fought there.
It's worth adding to one's library...but don't stop with this book if you want an idea of what happened. Read a good half dozen.
That said, there were some compelling stories of the men who fought there.
It's worth adding to one's library...but don't stop with this book if you want an idea of what happened. Read a good half dozen.
October 19, 2020
Although I’ve read many accounts of The Battle of the Bulge, I always come back to this one as my favorite. John Toland strikes the perfect balance of big-picture actions and small unit combat stories for a riveting overall account of the battle. He interviewed scores of participants, military and civilian, who were still alive in the 1950’s for this book that give very unique and valuable perspectives. I highly recommend this book for all readers/listeners interested in World War II in Europe!
September 20, 2021
This history of the Battle of the Bulge was written in the late 1950s by a top-notch historian who interviewed participants on both sides as well as civilians. The result is a clear, blow-by-blow narrative from the generals, the majors, and from the private's viewpoint. Much of what you read about this battle is concentrated on Bastogne, but Toland covers the entire breadth of the battle. If you are at all interested in World War II history, this is a must-read.
September 23, 2023
uwu, notices toland
kind of hard to follow the battle on the operational level, but that's not what toland is about. it's grippingly written, and captures the sentiment and disposition of various layers of leadership, weaving a strong dramatic narrative. my favorite part is when he casually dropped how domestic Otto Skorzeny (yes, the Mussolini guy) was with washing his dishes in Madrid when he went to visit him.
kind of hard to follow the battle on the operational level, but that's not what toland is about. it's grippingly written, and captures the sentiment and disposition of various layers of leadership, weaving a strong dramatic narrative. my favorite part is when he casually dropped how domestic Otto Skorzeny (yes, the Mussolini guy) was with washing his dishes in Madrid when he went to visit him.
February 25, 2021
Author clearly put significant effort into direct sourcing of information, however, the result comes across more as a serious of anecdotes strung together by the framework of the battle, which I found in many instances to be extraneous to the overall story. I did appreciate the insights included from the German command, which I thought added much. Overall, an average quality read.
November 18, 2023
Very well done from a historical perspective. It does the best job it can to add narrative to keep you engaged between all the intricate details. It is tough to keep everything straight while reading simply due to how much jumping around is required between the major people involved and the different “battles” they occurred within the battle of the bulge.
June 9, 2024
Written and published (1959) not long after the war, Toland conducted over 1000 interviews with the actual participants – soldiers and civilians alike. The well-written narrative along with the informative maps help bring together the action and the personalized stories of the heroes and enemies of this tragedy.
March 13, 2018
Good summary on the Battle of the Bulge from an author with a very intense amount of effort put into learning the facts from first hand accounts and other primary sources. Pretty sure this is an abbreviated version of the author's longer Battle of the Bulge book.
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