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World War II: 1939-1945 #3
No Less Than Victory
After the success at Normandy, the Allied commanders are confident that the war in Europe will soon be over. But in December 1944, in the Ardennes Forest, the Germans launch a ruthless counteroffensive that begins the Battle of the Bulge. The Führer will spare nothing to preserve his twisted vision of a “Thousand Year Reich,” but stout American resistance defeats the German thrust. No Less Than Victory is a riveting account presented through the eyes of Eisenhower, Patton, and the soldiers who struggled face-to-face with their enemy, as well as from the vantage point of Germany’s old soldier, Gerd von Rundstedt, and Hitler’s golden boy, Albert Speer. Jeff Shaara carries the reader on a journey that defines the spirit of the soldier and the horror of a madman’s dreams.
481 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 3, 2009
568 people are currently reading
2988 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Shaara
61 books2,178 followersJEFF SHAARA is the award-winning, New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of seventeen novels, including Rise to Rebellion and The Rising Tide, as well as Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure—two novels that complete his father's Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, The Killer Angels. Shaara was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, grew up in Tallahassee, Florida, and lives in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 340 reviews
March 2, 2021
“And yet, history is all around us, a part of us.”
No one was more than surprised than me that Jeff Shaara’s WW II in Europe trilogy would be my favorite books of his (so far) that I have read. In fact, these three novels have kindled in me an interest in WW II much stronger than it was previously. With “No Less Than Victory” Shaara ends his trilogy concerning the European theater of WW II, and it is a fitting conclusion to the two books that preceded it.
This novel is organized into 3 parts. Part One deals with the Battle of the Bulge, Part Two the Allied push into Germany (concluding at the crossing of the Rhine River) and Part Three focuses on the Battle of Berlin and the fall of Germany. All of these things happened in a matter of 5 months and so the text moves along briskly. Just like his previous books, this one has alternating viewpoints changing with each chapter. Par for the course we get real people (Eisenhower, Patton, Albert Speer, among others) mixed in with made up characters. But unlike the previous books this one is mostly told from the POV of a fictional soldier named Benson. I enjoyed this perspective, and Shaara has created in Benson a man who does his duty, but struggles with fright/fear (an impulse he never really shakes). Shaara renders him with a thoughtful and sympathetic realism. After Germany falls and Benson fears that he will be transferred to the Pacific before he is mustered out, you can hardly blame the man for wanting his war to be done.
Some highlights of the text-
A chapter where Churchill eviscerates FDR to Eisenhower for his manipulation by (and capitulation to) Stalin at the Yalta Conference. I am assuming this moment is from Shaara’s imagination, but what Churchill says of FDR in this scene, history has borne out.
There is a very nice moment where some soldiers who survive the Battle of the Bulge talk candidly about that experience and how it will be retold in the years ahead. “And what about these guys right here? Most of them are new, and they’ll never see a German who’s not already done for. The rest of us spent most of our time running for our damn lives. Nice thing to tell your grandkids.”
The discovery of the labor camp at Ohrdruf, and the Allies learning the extent of the concentration camps is harrowingly portrayed. Shaara does a good job at capturing the anger and shock it created in the Allies towards the Germans.
And finally, there is a frantic and vivid depiction of the fall of Berlin, told from the German POV.
Both of my grandfathers served in combat units during the war, in Europe, and Mr. Shaara’s trilogy brings me to an even greater appreciation for them, and their service with its thoughtful and personal examination of that conflict.
For that reason alone I am glad I read “No Less Than Victory” and its predecessors.
No one was more than surprised than me that Jeff Shaara’s WW II in Europe trilogy would be my favorite books of his (so far) that I have read. In fact, these three novels have kindled in me an interest in WW II much stronger than it was previously. With “No Less Than Victory” Shaara ends his trilogy concerning the European theater of WW II, and it is a fitting conclusion to the two books that preceded it.
This novel is organized into 3 parts. Part One deals with the Battle of the Bulge, Part Two the Allied push into Germany (concluding at the crossing of the Rhine River) and Part Three focuses on the Battle of Berlin and the fall of Germany. All of these things happened in a matter of 5 months and so the text moves along briskly. Just like his previous books, this one has alternating viewpoints changing with each chapter. Par for the course we get real people (Eisenhower, Patton, Albert Speer, among others) mixed in with made up characters. But unlike the previous books this one is mostly told from the POV of a fictional soldier named Benson. I enjoyed this perspective, and Shaara has created in Benson a man who does his duty, but struggles with fright/fear (an impulse he never really shakes). Shaara renders him with a thoughtful and sympathetic realism. After Germany falls and Benson fears that he will be transferred to the Pacific before he is mustered out, you can hardly blame the man for wanting his war to be done.
Some highlights of the text-
A chapter where Churchill eviscerates FDR to Eisenhower for his manipulation by (and capitulation to) Stalin at the Yalta Conference. I am assuming this moment is from Shaara’s imagination, but what Churchill says of FDR in this scene, history has borne out.
There is a very nice moment where some soldiers who survive the Battle of the Bulge talk candidly about that experience and how it will be retold in the years ahead. “And what about these guys right here? Most of them are new, and they’ll never see a German who’s not already done for. The rest of us spent most of our time running for our damn lives. Nice thing to tell your grandkids.”
The discovery of the labor camp at Ohrdruf, and the Allies learning the extent of the concentration camps is harrowingly portrayed. Shaara does a good job at capturing the anger and shock it created in the Allies towards the Germans.
And finally, there is a frantic and vivid depiction of the fall of Berlin, told from the German POV.
Both of my grandfathers served in combat units during the war, in Europe, and Mr. Shaara’s trilogy brings me to an even greater appreciation for them, and their service with its thoughtful and personal examination of that conflict.
For that reason alone I am glad I read “No Less Than Victory” and its predecessors.
June 11, 2015
No Less Than Victory brings Shara's trilogy about the US experience in WW2 Europe to a close. And I have to admit I was wrong. The book was better than I had expected. After the last book I was ready for a let down. In the previous book, The Steel Wave, Germany was still game. Rommel was still Rommel and the allies had yet to unleash their titanic assault on the Normandy beaches. By the end of that book so much had been resolved. Rommel was dead, D-Day was a success for the allies, and the German High Command was in chaos. All that remained was for the allies to sweep to inevitable victory.
It turns out Shara managed to squeak out some drama after-all. As the Third Reich collapsed, the Wehrmacht fought desperately to hold off the Russians. They wanted to allow as many refugees to make it West as possible. There were also the die-hard true-believer Nazis: young adults, fanatics, the brainwashed, whatever. These men (and boys) tried to resist even when resistance was laughable. How many people died a senseless death long after the war had been decided? And there was also the political drama. The long knives coming out among the allies now that the issue (defeating Germany) was a foregone conclusion.
Finally, Shara seems to have learned a lesson. The focus in this book was seldom on the key actors - Eisenhower, Patton, etc. Instead, through mostof the story we follow a couple of G.I.s - Benson and Mitchell. We follow them from the wintery forests of the Ardennes to the ultimate collapse of German resistance and the liberation of Concentration Camps. This approach makes the book far more interesting and engaging than the dry quasi-history book style of the first book in the series.
Three and a half stars, rounded down to three.
It turns out Shara managed to squeak out some drama after-all. As the Third Reich collapsed, the Wehrmacht fought desperately to hold off the Russians. They wanted to allow as many refugees to make it West as possible. There were also the die-hard true-believer Nazis: young adults, fanatics, the brainwashed, whatever. These men (and boys) tried to resist even when resistance was laughable. How many people died a senseless death long after the war had been decided? And there was also the political drama. The long knives coming out among the allies now that the issue (defeating Germany) was a foregone conclusion.
Finally, Shara seems to have learned a lesson. The focus in this book was seldom on the key actors - Eisenhower, Patton, etc. Instead, through mostof the story we follow a couple of G.I.s - Benson and Mitchell. We follow them from the wintery forests of the Ardennes to the ultimate collapse of German resistance and the liberation of Concentration Camps. This approach makes the book far more interesting and engaging than the dry quasi-history book style of the first book in the series.
Three and a half stars, rounded down to three.
July 14, 2021
Here we see the events as the war winds down (with Germany attempting last gasp fights including the battle we call the Battle of the Bulge). We see the fatigue of the soldiers, the degeneration of Hitler, the disintegration of the German Army...and the setting up of the "Cold War".
Again, actual events told through the eyes of participants.
Again, actual events told through the eyes of participants.
August 29, 2023
Third in this 'America in WWII' series. This book spans from the Battle of the Bulge (December, 1944) to the fall of Berlin (May, 1945.) As usual, Shaara does a wonderful job of putting the reader in the action and the history: as a foot soldier and as Eisenhower, Patton, Von Rundstedt, and surprisingly, Albert Speer, architect of the Third Reich and armaments' minister. If you know the details of the campaign from the many, many non-fiction accounts, then this is a refreshing ride through known territory, up-close and personal. If you aren't familiar with the battles, then this fictionalized account is an engaging, readable way to absorb the history without suffering a lecture.
March 2, 2025
This the best in what is an exceptional series. Shaara is brilliant.
June 13, 2010
From the Battle of the Bulge to the end of the war against Germany. . . . Jeff Shaara here completes his World War II trilogy. His method is by now familiar. He takes a series of people and uses their view of the action as his narrative device. The strength? A personal view of the war. The weakness? We can only see the war through the eyes of those characters.
And who are the major characters? On the American side, Generals Eisenhower and Patton, for instance, whereas we see German commanders such as Gerd von Rundstedt and Albert Kesselring. Other characters from different countries--Albert Speer, Heinrich Himmler, Bernard Montgomery, Arthur Tedder, and common American foot soldiers Edward Benson, Kenneth Mitchell, and Bruce Higgins.
The arc of this novelization runs from the beginning of the German advance through the Ardennes, known as the Battle of the Bulge. The book depicts the crushing of American resistance early on--but also the logistical challenges facing the Germans, such as a lack of fuel for their tanks. The narrative follows the slowly increasing resistance by American forces, the problems faced by the Germans, and Hitler's mad insistence on his rigid plans. We see George Patton pivoting parts of his Third Army to support the besieged American troops at Bastogne and the nearby region. We see the battle through the lens of generals and foot soldiers.
After the German attack fails, the story turns toward the grinding war against the retreating German forces--and the advance of the Russians toward Berlin.
Overall, this is a solid example of Shaara's work. Sometimes, I think the use of a limited number of actors restricts the vision of his works. On the other hand, we do get a human perspective. If interested in such a work, this suffices nicely.
And who are the major characters? On the American side, Generals Eisenhower and Patton, for instance, whereas we see German commanders such as Gerd von Rundstedt and Albert Kesselring. Other characters from different countries--Albert Speer, Heinrich Himmler, Bernard Montgomery, Arthur Tedder, and common American foot soldiers Edward Benson, Kenneth Mitchell, and Bruce Higgins.
The arc of this novelization runs from the beginning of the German advance through the Ardennes, known as the Battle of the Bulge. The book depicts the crushing of American resistance early on--but also the logistical challenges facing the Germans, such as a lack of fuel for their tanks. The narrative follows the slowly increasing resistance by American forces, the problems faced by the Germans, and Hitler's mad insistence on his rigid plans. We see George Patton pivoting parts of his Third Army to support the besieged American troops at Bastogne and the nearby region. We see the battle through the lens of generals and foot soldiers.
After the German attack fails, the story turns toward the grinding war against the retreating German forces--and the advance of the Russians toward Berlin.
Overall, this is a solid example of Shaara's work. Sometimes, I think the use of a limited number of actors restricts the vision of his works. On the other hand, we do get a human perspective. If interested in such a work, this suffices nicely.
October 26, 2012
I've raved about Jeff Shaara's historical fiction before and I won't let up this time either. Whether he is writing about the Civil War, World War II, or the American Revolution, I have always loved them. I think it's because of the way he relays the accurate history but in a style that is easy to absorb. He provides insights to the historical periods, helping the armchair historians to better understand what was happening and not bogging us down with the minutia of the moment. He also presents the story as just that, a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end, with pacing of the plot while adding in fictional character perspectives to compliment the actual historical/biographical points of view.
This particular novel is the third and final volume of his WW2 trilogy. (Not counting an added on 4th book that focuses on the war in the Pacific). It begins just after the Normandy invasion and takes us right to the end. Most of the "view" is from an American soldier on the front lines, and what we experience along with him is absolute down-in-the-dirt real warfare. All the fear, bravado, panic, and bitter cold reality is right there for you. We also get views from some of the big leaders of the moment, including Eisenhower, Patton, von Rundstedt, and Speer. We're in the room with others as well including Churchill, Montgomery, Bradley, Goebbels, and even Hitler. This is a fascinating cast of real characters. Over the 3-volume trilogy, Jeff Shaara does an amazing job of distilling the vastness of the European theater of WW2 down into great reading.
Jeff Shaara is a must read for all that enjoy American historical fiction done right.
This particular novel is the third and final volume of his WW2 trilogy. (Not counting an added on 4th book that focuses on the war in the Pacific). It begins just after the Normandy invasion and takes us right to the end. Most of the "view" is from an American soldier on the front lines, and what we experience along with him is absolute down-in-the-dirt real warfare. All the fear, bravado, panic, and bitter cold reality is right there for you. We also get views from some of the big leaders of the moment, including Eisenhower, Patton, von Rundstedt, and Speer. We're in the room with others as well including Churchill, Montgomery, Bradley, Goebbels, and even Hitler. This is a fascinating cast of real characters. Over the 3-volume trilogy, Jeff Shaara does an amazing job of distilling the vastness of the European theater of WW2 down into great reading.
Jeff Shaara is a must read for all that enjoy American historical fiction done right.
April 24, 2015
I know the author's purpose in writing this book was to inform and educate. This book was great; it explained in great detail the turmoil of German and American soldiers during WWII by the author of 'No Less than VICTORY', Jeff Shaara, even though he interviewed veterans of this great war and specific operations and first person accounts in his book, everything explained in this book was fictitious as advertised in the title pages. This book was very interesting to because I love WWII history and that's exactly what this book was. The author wanted to show how the war in Europe was, and how it affected both sides, America and Germany. A major motif would be to never give up, as was explained by generals and leaders in this book.
I believe the theme of this story is that anything can be done through hard work. As the war did end in our favor through hard work and doing whats right, or what was believed to be right at the time. The Germans were pushing on the Americans and made a dent in their front lines. This battle came to be known as the Battle of the Bulge. The Americans were now back on the offensive and the Germans found themselves being driven back into their homeland, and as we know, this didn't end up to well for the Germans. That shows that the theme of this story is that anything and everything can be accomplished through hard work.
There is no real narrator in this story therefore that makes the author or narrator a detached observer. This book consists of personal accounts of veterans but there is no real narrator. The story is told or showed in a very appealing way besides how they went back and forth between American and German accounts, which wasn't too bad since it helped me stay on track.
My opinion on this book is that it is great. I love historical fiction or non fiction historical books. I've been attached to this book since I have had it because I love books on history, especially WWII novels. I loved how descriptive this book was even though he changed the names of people and places. All of the accounts by soldiers were great and in so much detail. This is a book in his WWII series of books, and I have not read them but may read some of them, they should be just as interesting as this one. The book 'No Less Than Victory' and is an amazing novel of WWII.
I believe the theme of this story is that anything can be done through hard work. As the war did end in our favor through hard work and doing whats right, or what was believed to be right at the time. The Germans were pushing on the Americans and made a dent in their front lines. This battle came to be known as the Battle of the Bulge. The Americans were now back on the offensive and the Germans found themselves being driven back into their homeland, and as we know, this didn't end up to well for the Germans. That shows that the theme of this story is that anything and everything can be accomplished through hard work.
There is no real narrator in this story therefore that makes the author or narrator a detached observer. This book consists of personal accounts of veterans but there is no real narrator. The story is told or showed in a very appealing way besides how they went back and forth between American and German accounts, which wasn't too bad since it helped me stay on track.
My opinion on this book is that it is great. I love historical fiction or non fiction historical books. I've been attached to this book since I have had it because I love books on history, especially WWII novels. I loved how descriptive this book was even though he changed the names of people and places. All of the accounts by soldiers were great and in so much detail. This is a book in his WWII series of books, and I have not read them but may read some of them, they should be just as interesting as this one. The book 'No Less Than Victory' and is an amazing novel of WWII.
May 25, 2011
“With longevity came even greater superstition, especially for the ground crew. There was a desperate awareness of the odds, of fate. Thirty-one successful missions was an unnerving statistic by now, rarer by the week. It the reason for all the rituals, the most religious among them believing that God must somehow be paying particular attention.”
The third novel in Jeff Shaara’s trilogy of World War II in the European theater is, in my opinion, the best of the three. The book begins with a bombing mission over Germany, and as a reader, I was right there with the bombardier, freezing cold and nerves on edge. From those first pages, there is no letting go. This is partly due to Shaara’s expertise in writing, but also partly due to the story of this part of the war itself. Following the story of the B-17 bomber crew, the reader is carried into the Ardennes, to be surrounded by German artillery in the middle of winter. I have heard this story many times, and yet I still learned something new.
I thought there was more emotion in this novel than in the previous, but of course the fighting was more intense and the brutality of the enemy more fierce. When the American forces enter Germany and liberate their first concentration camp, the horror stuck with me – despite the fact that I, as a reader, already knew what to expect.
It is impossible for an author to tell everything there is to tell about the war in Europe. But Jeff Shaara manages to get across the most important events. Not just facts and figures, but the human side as well. That’s why Shaara is one of my favorite authors. I look forward to reading his next novel dealing with World War II in the Pacific - it's available in bookstores now!
The third novel in Jeff Shaara’s trilogy of World War II in the European theater is, in my opinion, the best of the three. The book begins with a bombing mission over Germany, and as a reader, I was right there with the bombardier, freezing cold and nerves on edge. From those first pages, there is no letting go. This is partly due to Shaara’s expertise in writing, but also partly due to the story of this part of the war itself. Following the story of the B-17 bomber crew, the reader is carried into the Ardennes, to be surrounded by German artillery in the middle of winter. I have heard this story many times, and yet I still learned something new.
I thought there was more emotion in this novel than in the previous, but of course the fighting was more intense and the brutality of the enemy more fierce. When the American forces enter Germany and liberate their first concentration camp, the horror stuck with me – despite the fact that I, as a reader, already knew what to expect.
It is impossible for an author to tell everything there is to tell about the war in Europe. But Jeff Shaara manages to get across the most important events. Not just facts and figures, but the human side as well. That’s why Shaara is one of my favorite authors. I look forward to reading his next novel dealing with World War II in the Pacific - it's available in bookstores now!
October 6, 2014
A great read. Jeff Shaara doesn't hide in his famous father's shadow, proving yet again that he is just as capable as writing worthy historical fiction. Anyone who has read The Killer Angels will understand that there must have been some bravery involved in Jeff Shaara's decision to become an author in his own right. His father's "Angels" is now classic and was even considered as a basis for Ken Burns's equally compelling Civil War documentary.
With books like Gods & Generals and No Less Than Victory, the family's talent for the genre of historical fiction is cemented. No Less Than Victory is the story of WWII in the European theatre, beginning right before The Battle of the Bulge straight through to V-E Day. During that five month span, Jeff Shaara creates an intimate atmosphere of war that is real and haunting. His perspectives are told through the eyes of the common soldier as well as the men who were behind the major decisions that led to the battles. As always with his writing, Shaara takes real characters from history and writes in such a way that he makes it appear easy to bring history back to life -- and in No Less Than Victory, he does just that. The reader will come away with a greater understanding and appreciation for what the common solider right through to the generals (on both sides) must have thought and felt. It's a compelling commentary on the greatest generation...one well researched and written. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading about the WWII era, even if one already has a prior base of knowledge about that time period.
FINISHED 6-24-14
With books like Gods & Generals and No Less Than Victory, the family's talent for the genre of historical fiction is cemented. No Less Than Victory is the story of WWII in the European theatre, beginning right before The Battle of the Bulge straight through to V-E Day. During that five month span, Jeff Shaara creates an intimate atmosphere of war that is real and haunting. His perspectives are told through the eyes of the common soldier as well as the men who were behind the major decisions that led to the battles. As always with his writing, Shaara takes real characters from history and writes in such a way that he makes it appear easy to bring history back to life -- and in No Less Than Victory, he does just that. The reader will come away with a greater understanding and appreciation for what the common solider right through to the generals (on both sides) must have thought and felt. It's a compelling commentary on the greatest generation...one well researched and written. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading about the WWII era, even if one already has a prior base of knowledge about that time period.
FINISHED 6-24-14
April 7, 2014
No Less than Victory, Ward reviews a novel of the Second World War
The author’s name ─ Shaara, was more prominent on the cover than the actual title of the book. I knew about Michael Shaara and his Pulitzer Prize winning account of Gettysburg, The Killer Angels, a book that totally blew me away and thinking this was Michael again, I picked up the book.
Turns out it’s a different Shaara, Jeff, the son of Mike. OK, no problem. Let’s see what the kid can do.
Something else about the cover ─ one of the reviews I read claimed the tank on the cover of the book was Russian. Really? A Russian tank at the Battle of the Bulge? I don’t know enough about tanks to know if the reviewer was correct or not, there’s nothing on the tank identifying it as Russian, or German or American either. What I did know, from my own experience, was how writers don’t always have much if anything to say about the design of their own covers.
Oh, and one more thing I learned before I began reading the book. It was actually book 3 of a trilogy. I don’t like trilogies. They have 3 volumes worth of pages to fill and tend to fill those pages with…filler, and they tend to lag. I can’t attest to the first 2 books of this trilogy, I haven’t read them, but I can tell you this book didn’t lag and there was no filler.
It’s the last six months of the European war, from the first chaotic days of the Battle of the Bulge in December of 44 to V-E Day, in May of 45. It’s mostly the story of the guys in the foxholes. Or, in the first chapter, the guys in a B-17. They take off from an airfield in England, heading for Berlin on a bombing run and over the German capital, are shot down. It’s graphic and terrifying and, to borrow a cliché, the author makes you think you really are there, and damn glad you’re not. One of the crewmen, at least, survives, the bombardier, and is captured by the Germans and I’m thinking we’re heading for a stalag and instead, we don’t get anything more about the bombardier until the afterward, where the author gives us an accounting of all the men in the book.
(Mini spoiler - The bombardier survives the war in a stalag and as of 2005, when the book was published, was alive and well and retired and living in Florida.)
Mostly the book follows 2 regular GIs, riflemen Mitchell and Benson. What we get is realism, that Russian tank notwithstanding. We get how what men fight for is the respect of their buddies. We get the mud and the cold and the fear and the lousy food, and, in Mitchell’s case, the rage.
Only an estimated 1 in 10 American servicemen actually saw combat in World War 2, which for me, at least, tends to mitigate the heroism of our Greatest Generation but this book lets you know how it was for the 1 in 10, and how was it? Awful.
There are some big people in the book, used mostly to help us make sense of what the little guys are up against. The little guys only know what’s right there in front of their foxholes, the big guys have all those maps on the walls with pins in them.
This big picture includes a real appreciation of General Dwight Eisenhower.
Eisenhower never saw combat. The brass wouldn’t let him go to Europe during the First World War, he was too valuable behind a desk. Macarthur supposedly once called Eisenhower “the best clerk I ever had.” But whoever decided Eisenhower had the sort of skills to make a first-rate commander of all the Allied forces in Europe was certainly correct, as the author shows. We don’t get to see Eisenhower agonizing about D-Day, that’s presumably in book 2 ─ to go or not to go, when to go, and the foul weather and the moonlight and the storm. That’s decision enough for any man’s lifetime and it didn’t get any easier once the invasion was launched, the beachheads and breakouts established. Every day of the war, every decision Eisenhower made involved the lives of many thousands of men and Jeff Shaara shows us how Ike approached it, with the same sort of equanimity and frustration that another general and future president exhibited in our very first war. Eisenhower was often criticized, after, not during the war, for spending too much time on the golf course but with all he had to decide on a daily basis, with all the weight he carried through the war, can we not cut him some slack?
Hitler, Churchill and de Gaulle also appear in the book.
De Gaulle is only seen briefly, which is too bad, he’s a hoot in his appearance with Eisenhower, the imperious Frenchman and the plain-spoken American.
We get Churchill and Ike discussing Yalta. Here we get the consensus view. FDR was old and sick at Yalta and Joe Stalin was charming. Really? The Allies get taken by the Russians. Again, really? To be fair, this is not Jeff Shaara pushing a right-wing interpretation of Yalta, how Roosevelt sold us out. This is Jeff Shaara showing how Churchill and, to a lesser degree, Ike, saw it. How I see it, the territory the Russians claimed at Yalta was mostly territory they were standing on and what was Stalin going to do? Step back, if only we asked nicely? And what were we going to do if he didn’t step back, fight him? Churchill’s other complaint to Eisenhower was how he was ignored at Yalta, how Roosevelt and Stalin talked over his head, like the British Lion no longer mattered. Sorry, Winnie, it didn’t.
Eisenhower excelled at, and I don’t want to use the word manipulating, call it handling, his volatile generals, particularly Montgomery, Bradley and the always irascible Patton. They were all of them valuable in different ways and it was Eisenhower’s job, not only to ensure the right man was in the right slot at the right time, but to shield the generals, sometimes from themselves.
Talk about herding cats.
Eisenhower, at one point in the book, declares himself not a politician but don’t kid yourself. He was a politician in the very best sense of the word, a politician whose skills served us all very well indeed.
So if you want to learn more about the Greatest Generation before it vanishes, if you want to see those tottering old men as young and virile, read No Less than Victory, and you’ll probably want to read the first 2 books of the trilogy. I know I do.
The author’s name ─ Shaara, was more prominent on the cover than the actual title of the book. I knew about Michael Shaara and his Pulitzer Prize winning account of Gettysburg, The Killer Angels, a book that totally blew me away and thinking this was Michael again, I picked up the book.
Turns out it’s a different Shaara, Jeff, the son of Mike. OK, no problem. Let’s see what the kid can do.
Something else about the cover ─ one of the reviews I read claimed the tank on the cover of the book was Russian. Really? A Russian tank at the Battle of the Bulge? I don’t know enough about tanks to know if the reviewer was correct or not, there’s nothing on the tank identifying it as Russian, or German or American either. What I did know, from my own experience, was how writers don’t always have much if anything to say about the design of their own covers.
Oh, and one more thing I learned before I began reading the book. It was actually book 3 of a trilogy. I don’t like trilogies. They have 3 volumes worth of pages to fill and tend to fill those pages with…filler, and they tend to lag. I can’t attest to the first 2 books of this trilogy, I haven’t read them, but I can tell you this book didn’t lag and there was no filler.
It’s the last six months of the European war, from the first chaotic days of the Battle of the Bulge in December of 44 to V-E Day, in May of 45. It’s mostly the story of the guys in the foxholes. Or, in the first chapter, the guys in a B-17. They take off from an airfield in England, heading for Berlin on a bombing run and over the German capital, are shot down. It’s graphic and terrifying and, to borrow a cliché, the author makes you think you really are there, and damn glad you’re not. One of the crewmen, at least, survives, the bombardier, and is captured by the Germans and I’m thinking we’re heading for a stalag and instead, we don’t get anything more about the bombardier until the afterward, where the author gives us an accounting of all the men in the book.
(Mini spoiler - The bombardier survives the war in a stalag and as of 2005, when the book was published, was alive and well and retired and living in Florida.)
Mostly the book follows 2 regular GIs, riflemen Mitchell and Benson. What we get is realism, that Russian tank notwithstanding. We get how what men fight for is the respect of their buddies. We get the mud and the cold and the fear and the lousy food, and, in Mitchell’s case, the rage.
Only an estimated 1 in 10 American servicemen actually saw combat in World War 2, which for me, at least, tends to mitigate the heroism of our Greatest Generation but this book lets you know how it was for the 1 in 10, and how was it? Awful.
There are some big people in the book, used mostly to help us make sense of what the little guys are up against. The little guys only know what’s right there in front of their foxholes, the big guys have all those maps on the walls with pins in them.
This big picture includes a real appreciation of General Dwight Eisenhower.
Eisenhower never saw combat. The brass wouldn’t let him go to Europe during the First World War, he was too valuable behind a desk. Macarthur supposedly once called Eisenhower “the best clerk I ever had.” But whoever decided Eisenhower had the sort of skills to make a first-rate commander of all the Allied forces in Europe was certainly correct, as the author shows. We don’t get to see Eisenhower agonizing about D-Day, that’s presumably in book 2 ─ to go or not to go, when to go, and the foul weather and the moonlight and the storm. That’s decision enough for any man’s lifetime and it didn’t get any easier once the invasion was launched, the beachheads and breakouts established. Every day of the war, every decision Eisenhower made involved the lives of many thousands of men and Jeff Shaara shows us how Ike approached it, with the same sort of equanimity and frustration that another general and future president exhibited in our very first war. Eisenhower was often criticized, after, not during the war, for spending too much time on the golf course but with all he had to decide on a daily basis, with all the weight he carried through the war, can we not cut him some slack?
Hitler, Churchill and de Gaulle also appear in the book.
De Gaulle is only seen briefly, which is too bad, he’s a hoot in his appearance with Eisenhower, the imperious Frenchman and the plain-spoken American.
We get Churchill and Ike discussing Yalta. Here we get the consensus view. FDR was old and sick at Yalta and Joe Stalin was charming. Really? The Allies get taken by the Russians. Again, really? To be fair, this is not Jeff Shaara pushing a right-wing interpretation of Yalta, how Roosevelt sold us out. This is Jeff Shaara showing how Churchill and, to a lesser degree, Ike, saw it. How I see it, the territory the Russians claimed at Yalta was mostly territory they were standing on and what was Stalin going to do? Step back, if only we asked nicely? And what were we going to do if he didn’t step back, fight him? Churchill’s other complaint to Eisenhower was how he was ignored at Yalta, how Roosevelt and Stalin talked over his head, like the British Lion no longer mattered. Sorry, Winnie, it didn’t.
Eisenhower excelled at, and I don’t want to use the word manipulating, call it handling, his volatile generals, particularly Montgomery, Bradley and the always irascible Patton. They were all of them valuable in different ways and it was Eisenhower’s job, not only to ensure the right man was in the right slot at the right time, but to shield the generals, sometimes from themselves.
Talk about herding cats.
Eisenhower, at one point in the book, declares himself not a politician but don’t kid yourself. He was a politician in the very best sense of the word, a politician whose skills served us all very well indeed.
So if you want to learn more about the Greatest Generation before it vanishes, if you want to see those tottering old men as young and virile, read No Less than Victory, and you’ll probably want to read the first 2 books of the trilogy. I know I do.
May 25, 2017
Nobody does military historical fiction better than Jeff Shaara. Every book is treated with a respect to historical detail that informs the reader while providing a fast-paced narrative that drives a very human story. No Less Than Victory is the third book in a series that covers WWII in Europe, with this entry covering the Battle of the Bulge and the eventual Allied victory over Nazi Germany. While many are familiar with the overall historical facts, Shaara uses primary sources to capture the personalities that made victory possible. Eisenhower and Patton are prominent, as are their German adversaries Von Rundstedt and Speer. Composite characters are created to capture the experience of infantry riflemen. Hitler is seen as a mad puppeteer pulling strings that confound his generals and eventually contribute to their collapse.
Credit goes to Shaara for never romanticizing the periods he write about. War is hell, and the people who live through it deserve their story to be told. Highly recommended.
Credit goes to Shaara for never romanticizing the periods he write about. War is hell, and the people who live through it deserve their story to be told. Highly recommended.
April 2, 2019
I thought the book was awesome. I loved all the war stories. The book shows how harsh of the lives they had in war and how difficult it was to survive and all the chaos going on around them. I learned a lot and I think this book is a great book for high school students and older. If you are interested in war this is a must read. You will love it.
August 19, 2018
I rarely find books that are historically about WWII that i Don't give a 5 star review to. I really enjoyed this one. Another fun read that describes the action from multiple points of view starting with about the Battle of the Bulge until the surrender of Germany.
July 24, 2017
Another great Jeff Shaara novel about the ending of the war in Europe.
January 25, 2019
An excellent read to experience a look at the last part of WW II in Europe through eyes of various participants. All three books in the trilogy were very interesting.
December 2, 2020
481 pages
5 stars
This is the story of the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes Forest in December 1944 and early 1945. The defending American line was thin and ill-prepared for battle. Somehow, they hung on through the shelling and awful bloodiness of war.
The book continues to the end of the European war.
Dwight Eisenhower is the Commander in Chief of the Allied Forces. Sir Bernard Montgomery, General for the British, is a plodding planner whose actions irritate the Americans to no end – especially General George Patton. Field Marshall Gerd von Rundstedt who is Hitler’s oldest commander at age seventy, is clear-headed and sees very well the lay of the land. The Germans are losing the war. And then there are the stories of the everyday soldiers, from bombaders to infantrymen. And, of course, there is General George Patton, “Bomber” Harris and Tedder from the British, Jodl, Kesselring, Model, Keitel and the others for the Germans. And then there is Hitler, Himmler, Goebbles, Bormann, Speer and the other Germans from Hitler's inner circle. Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin and Franklin D. Roosevelt are also have cameos.
Mr. Shaara especially takes notice of Sergeant Higgins and Privates Benson and Mitchell in their day-to-day trials and tribulations in the infantry. The sights they saw, the sheer horror and fright they suffered and the multitude of hardships they endured. And the acts of cowardice and bravery displayed by their fellow soldiers and some officers.
Mr. Shaara's writing is wonderful to read. It is smooth, filled with action and tension. The reader can see the actors speaking and acting as they do in the story. I like the way Mr. Shaara adds at the end of the book what happened to the major players in this saga.
I have read all of this author's novels and I can say that I have never been disappointed.
5 stars
This is the story of the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes Forest in December 1944 and early 1945. The defending American line was thin and ill-prepared for battle. Somehow, they hung on through the shelling and awful bloodiness of war.
The book continues to the end of the European war.
Dwight Eisenhower is the Commander in Chief of the Allied Forces. Sir Bernard Montgomery, General for the British, is a plodding planner whose actions irritate the Americans to no end – especially General George Patton. Field Marshall Gerd von Rundstedt who is Hitler’s oldest commander at age seventy, is clear-headed and sees very well the lay of the land. The Germans are losing the war. And then there are the stories of the everyday soldiers, from bombaders to infantrymen. And, of course, there is General George Patton, “Bomber” Harris and Tedder from the British, Jodl, Kesselring, Model, Keitel and the others for the Germans. And then there is Hitler, Himmler, Goebbles, Bormann, Speer and the other Germans from Hitler's inner circle. Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin and Franklin D. Roosevelt are also have cameos.
Mr. Shaara especially takes notice of Sergeant Higgins and Privates Benson and Mitchell in their day-to-day trials and tribulations in the infantry. The sights they saw, the sheer horror and fright they suffered and the multitude of hardships they endured. And the acts of cowardice and bravery displayed by their fellow soldiers and some officers.
Mr. Shaara's writing is wonderful to read. It is smooth, filled with action and tension. The reader can see the actors speaking and acting as they do in the story. I like the way Mr. Shaara adds at the end of the book what happened to the major players in this saga.
I have read all of this author's novels and I can say that I have never been disappointed.
December 15, 2020
I read The Steel Wave by Jeff Shaara which I loved. This book was about the Battle of the Bulge and the end of World War 2 in Europe. The first chapter was insane as he put you aboard a B-17 on a mission and all that goes along with it. But then the book slowed down and even though you were able to see the great generals (Patton, Eisenhower, Bradley and Montgomery) in action, the book didn’t come alive as it should have.
August 6, 2022
This well researched novel by Jeff Sahara looks at the last few months of the war in Europe, from the Battle of the Bulge to the fall of Berlin. As usual he features the leaders as well as the infantry men who fought the battles. And also as usual these are not fictional characters but real people. In an afterword he goes on to tell us how their lives continued after the war.q
November 20, 2023
Of the three in this series, this is my favorite. Not shocking I know. I love Patton. I cheered at the few mentions of my beloved 101st Airborne. I cried at several moments. I love the very raw, real boots-on-the-ground, not heroic heroism that this book shows. Just so good. The kind of book that simply delight me
October 16, 2024
Of the trilogy, I liked this one least. It seemed to move slower than the other two and it took me 100 pages to really get into. Still, it is an important book and I learned a lot. The complete trilogy earns 5 stars. We owe these men so much for the freedoms we have today.
December 29, 2021
Details of European WWII battles through the eyes of several soldiers. Good history.
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January 26, 2022My name is in this book because I contributed research information to the author!
October 28, 2022
A 19 hour unabridged audiobook.
Interesting retelling of the battle of the Bulge. Kept my attention and there were plenty of times i was done listening for the day yet had the yearning to listen for a few more minutes. I liked this book.
Interesting retelling of the battle of the Bulge. Kept my attention and there were plenty of times i was done listening for the day yet had the yearning to listen for a few more minutes. I liked this book.
April 22, 2023
This is the third in a series of books on World War II. This story starts after the Normandy invasion and ends with the end of the war in Europe. It’s a terrific story covering the horrible battles in the Ardennes, the Battle of the Bulge, the fall of Berlin and the discovery of the concentration camps. I loved all of the books in this series.
September 5, 2023
My favorite of this trilogy.
August 21, 2019
The final book of this trilogy about WWII on the Western Front against Germany left me with several haunting images. The most powerful was Patton ordering his troops and the surviving Germans left in the surrounding towns to march through the concentration camp to bear witness of the German's horror.
June 13, 2019
The third novel in Jeff Shaara's World War II history covers the final year of the war in Europe, beginning with the Battle of the Bulge and ending with the surrender of Germany. Shaara gives us speculative but believable personal points of view from actual historical figures, ranging from enlisted men up to high command: a B-17 bombardier, a US infantryman, a German general, Eisenhower, Patton, and Albert Speer, known as Hitler's architect. In a clever bit or irony one of our first glimpses of Speer is in a Berlin bomb shelter, hiding from the Allied air raid that threatens the very architecture with which his name has come be be associated.
Shaara does an excellent job of making us feel what it might have been like at the time: riding in a B-17 taking antiaircraft fire, living in a foxhole, being a forward observer for artillery, being always cold or hungry or wet, eating canned rations and sleeping in the mud. We are there to witness Nazi atrocities like Stavelost and the first discovery of the death camps, standing by as Patton forces German citizens from nearby villages to tour the camps.
The petty politics and swollen egos also are on display: Hitler and his toadies who go along with his poor tactical decisions knowing full well they are doomed to failure; Stalin's selling out of Warsaw in order to ensure Russian dominance of Poland after the war; strutting martinets like Montgomery and DeGaulle; all adding to the frustration of the fiery Patton and of Eisenhower, who somehow had to coordinate the cooperation of diverse personalities and competing ambitions.
Shaara's novel manages to provide both an overview of battles and strategy as well as a down in the mud personal account from soldiers who actually lived through that final year of horrendous fighting.
Shaara does an excellent job of making us feel what it might have been like at the time: riding in a B-17 taking antiaircraft fire, living in a foxhole, being a forward observer for artillery, being always cold or hungry or wet, eating canned rations and sleeping in the mud. We are there to witness Nazi atrocities like Stavelost and the first discovery of the death camps, standing by as Patton forces German citizens from nearby villages to tour the camps.
The petty politics and swollen egos also are on display: Hitler and his toadies who go along with his poor tactical decisions knowing full well they are doomed to failure; Stalin's selling out of Warsaw in order to ensure Russian dominance of Poland after the war; strutting martinets like Montgomery and DeGaulle; all adding to the frustration of the fiery Patton and of Eisenhower, who somehow had to coordinate the cooperation of diverse personalities and competing ambitions.
Shaara's novel manages to provide both an overview of battles and strategy as well as a down in the mud personal account from soldiers who actually lived through that final year of horrendous fighting.
September 25, 2019
No Less Than Victory (World War II: 1939-1945, #3) by Jeff Shaara A familiar story told in way that makes you feel like your next to these brave men. Starts off with Lieutenant John Buckley on his doomed B17 bomber raid, left me with painted pictures of always feeling cold and bored and then totally scared as hell at any moment the sheer terror of being instantly sliced to pieces by shrapnel, or trapped in your wrecked part of the plane and being slowly burnt alive. Then the crazy disputed issues with increasing sortie numbers before being allowed to go home, necessary but just not right.
Then your dropped into a field surrounded by artillery shells exploding everywhere where the ground is heaving and groaning around you and you fear your about to be buried alive and will suffocate on swallowed dirt. The scene has changed you now follow 3 US GIs Edward Benson, Kenneth Mitchell and Bruce Higgins in their story of the famous battle of the Bulge all the way across Germany to the holocaust concentration camps. Jeff Shaara gives good account of their desperation to live their enmity and calculating attitude their desires and hopes the everything just read the book its incredible.
Then the all well known histories of the Generals and political leaders on all sides but that's enough about them.
This book left me with so many contradictions and mixed feelings of understanding and not understanding, enlightened and knowing nothing. A familiar journey and no idea where I'm going this is my Second Jeff Shaara book and he is really really good at painting pictures in my mind about this dark period in our collective human history.
Was it a holy war, yes it was, did it require millions of lives and materials to stop pure evil yes it was, must the then and future leaders destroy evil in all forms absolutely and positively.
Then your dropped into a field surrounded by artillery shells exploding everywhere where the ground is heaving and groaning around you and you fear your about to be buried alive and will suffocate on swallowed dirt. The scene has changed you now follow 3 US GIs Edward Benson, Kenneth Mitchell and Bruce Higgins in their story of the famous battle of the Bulge all the way across Germany to the holocaust concentration camps. Jeff Shaara gives good account of their desperation to live their enmity and calculating attitude their desires and hopes the everything just read the book its incredible.
Then the all well known histories of the Generals and political leaders on all sides but that's enough about them.
This book left me with so many contradictions and mixed feelings of understanding and not understanding, enlightened and knowing nothing. A familiar journey and no idea where I'm going this is my Second Jeff Shaara book and he is really really good at painting pictures in my mind about this dark period in our collective human history.
Was it a holy war, yes it was, did it require millions of lives and materials to stop pure evil yes it was, must the then and future leaders destroy evil in all forms absolutely and positively.
June 28, 2024
Another page-turner by Jeff Shaara. I started this book on CD on a trip up north. The story of the soldiers fighting during the winter at the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge was so enthralling, the miles flew by. But I finished my trip only one-third of the way through the CDs, so I switched to the print version. The library book was no less exciting than the spoken one--minus the irritating fake German accent the reader assumed on dialog between German characters.
This impressive war story involved extensive research about the historical figures the characters are based on, and that's one of the reasons I like it so much. It's fiction, of course, but based on real people in real battles. Shaara has a gift for making the action immediate, heart-pounding scary narratives of soldiers under deadly fire in the cold, snowy Ardenne forest.
I know two men who lived through these battles, one an American pilot shot down over Germany (my friend's father), another an Army private captured and sent to a horrific POW camp (my cousin). I kept thinking of both of them, wondering what it would be like to go through such hell.
By comparison, the scenes showing political maneuvering among the top brass orchestrating the war, while necessary, seem a bit dull. The brightest spot is George Patton, a maniac, but a very amusing one--and an exceptional military leader.
Shaara's organizing the narrative via dates and places makes a complex action easier to follow. Also, the epilogue telling us what happened to the people the characters are based on, provides a satisfying conclusion to the story that ends with the end of the war in Europe.
This impressive war story involved extensive research about the historical figures the characters are based on, and that's one of the reasons I like it so much. It's fiction, of course, but based on real people in real battles. Shaara has a gift for making the action immediate, heart-pounding scary narratives of soldiers under deadly fire in the cold, snowy Ardenne forest.
I know two men who lived through these battles, one an American pilot shot down over Germany (my friend's father), another an Army private captured and sent to a horrific POW camp (my cousin). I kept thinking of both of them, wondering what it would be like to go through such hell.
By comparison, the scenes showing political maneuvering among the top brass orchestrating the war, while necessary, seem a bit dull. The brightest spot is George Patton, a maniac, but a very amusing one--and an exceptional military leader.
Shaara's organizing the narrative via dates and places makes a complex action easier to follow. Also, the epilogue telling us what happened to the people the characters are based on, provides a satisfying conclusion to the story that ends with the end of the war in Europe.
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