The Longest Winter: The Battle of the Bulge and the Epic Story of WWII's Most Decorated Platoon: The Battle of the Bulge and the Epic Story of World War II's Most Decorated Platoon [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

The author of The Bedford Boys [BKL My 1 03] limns another group portrait of a band of similar World War II soldiers, this time the intelligence and reconnaissance platoon of the 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division. That green division came squarely in the path of the Wehrmacht during the Battle of the Bulge, and that platoon was one of many small units that fought tenaciously to the bitter end. The whole platoon was captured, but only after they had held a crucial road junction long enough to seriously delay Joachim Pieper's SS battle group. More miraculously, all those captured, even the grievously wounded, survived the war; indeed, most were alive to receive decorations in 1980. The narrative moves from the GIs' combat experience at the Bulge to their POW experience until the closing days of the war, and Kershaw handles both combat and internment skillfully and respectfully. A good read for observing the sixtieth anniversary of the Bulge. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

From the author of the best-selling The Bedford Boys comes the remarkable story of America's most decorated platoon that miraculously halted Hitler's massive offensive at the Battle of the Bulge On the morning of December 16th 1944, eighteen men of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance platoon attached to the 99th Infantry Division found themselves directly in the path of the main thrust of Hitler's massive Ardennes offensive. Despite being vastly outnumbered, they were told to hold their position "at all costs". Throughout the day, the platoon repulsed three large German assaults in a fierce day-long battle, killing hundreds of German soldiers. Only when they had run out of ammunition did they surrender to the enemy. But their long winter was only just beginning. As POWs, the platoon experienced an ordeal far worse than combat - surviving in wretched German POW camps. Yet miraculously the men of the platoon survived - all of them - and returned home after the war. More than thirty years later, when President Carter recognized the platoon's "extraordinary heroism" and the US Army approved combat medals for all eighteen men, they became American's most decorated platoon of World War II. With the same vivid and dramatic prose that made The Bedford Boys a best-seller, Alex Kershaw brings to life the story of these little-known heroes - an epic tale of courage, duty and survival in World War II and one of the most inspiring episodes on American history. The Longest Winter is an intensely human story about young men who find themselves in frightening wartime situations, who fight back instinctively, survive stoically and live heroically.

From the author of the best-selling The Bedford Boys comes the remarkable story of America's most decorated platoon that miraculously halted Hitler's massive offensive at the Battle of the Bulge On the morning of December 16th 1944, eighteen men of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance platoon attached to the 99th Infantry Division found themselves directly in the path of the main thrust of Hitler's massive Ardennes offensive. Despite being vastly outnumbered, they were told to hold their position "at all costs". Throughout the day, the platoon repulsed three large German assaults in a fierce day-long battle, killing hundreds of German soldiers. Only when they had run out of ammunition did they surrender to the enemy. But their long winter was only just beginning. As POWs, the platoon experienced an ordeal far worse than combat - surviving in wretched German POW camps. Yet miraculously the men of the platoon survived - all of them - and returned home after the war.

More than thirty years later, when President Carter recognized the platoon's "extraordinary heroism" and the US Army approved combat medals for all eighteen men, they became American's most decorated platoon of World War II. With the same vivid and dramatic prose that made The Bedford Boys a best-seller, Alex Kershaw brings to life the story of these little-known heroes - an epic tale of courage, duty and survival in World War II and one of the most inspiring episodes on American history. The Longest Winter is an intensely human story about young men who find themselves in frightening wartime situations, who fight back instinctively, survive stoically and live heroically.

Alex Kershaw is the author of the widely acclaimed The Bedford Boys and two biographies, Jack London and Blood and Champagne: The Life and Times of Robert Capa.