The Battle of the Bulge; (Abridged version of Dark December, originally published by Ziff-Davis Publishing Company)
New York, N.Y. Ballantine Books, 1957. Second Printing [stated]. Mass market paperback. viii, 182, [2] pages. Maps. Some page browning. Foreword, and chapters on Wacht am Rhein: The German Plan; Eisenhower's Great Decision; All Quiet; The Penetration; The Crisis (December 18-26); The Dying Gasp (December 26-January 16); and An Inventory. Also includes 8 black and white maps. Based on German and Allied Sources, the true story of an amazing battle. The Battle of the Bulge was Germany's last, desperate bid for victory in the West. From the time when Hitler first conceived the plan for the Ardennes offensive to the day when the last, isolated Panzer units were destroyed, here is the detailed amazing story of a great battle: Why American commanders were taken by surprise; How Companies and Platoons stood off Panzer brigades; What really happened as Bastogne--and what the press reported; and Why the Allies, though badly mauled, were able to snatch victory from defeat. Robert Edward Merriam (October 2, 1918 – 1988) from 1942 to 1946, was a captain in the United States Army. From 1946 to 1947, Merriam authored Dark December: the Full Account of the Battle of the Bulge. From 1947 to 1955, Merriam was an alderman in Chicago and chairman of the Commission on Housing and Emergency Commission on Crime. During this period he co-authored The American Government: Democracy in Action. From 1955 to 1958, Merriam served as an assistant director at the US Bureau of Budget. He authored Going Into Politics in 1957. Merriam ended his government career after serving as deputy assistant to the president under Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1958 to 1961. “Dark December [and its abridgment] occupies a distinguished place among war books. Every paragraph is based upon evidence, not flimsy wartime rumors. Technical enough for the professional, accurate enough for the historian (in fact, it is history of the best), it is lucid and understandable for the general reader.”—New York Herald Tribune. The massive German counteroffensive through Belgium’s Ardennes forest in December 1944 took the American and British armies by surprise and changed the outcome of the war. With whole divisions destroyed and decimated, the American army scrambled to contain the German threat, while also trying to determine how such an attack had gone undetected. The Americans succeeded in winning the month-long battle, commonly known as the Battle of the Bulge, through the tenacity of several pockets of troops, notably those in the Belgian town of Bastogne, and the remarkable rapid movement of Patton’s Third Army to seal the breech in the American lines. The battle stalled the British and American advances and lengthened the war with the result that the Soviet Union was able to make greater gains in Europe than previously anticipated. This is a thorough and engrossing examination of the Battle of the Bulge by a historian who had the opportunity to prepare notes as the battle was occurring and consult classified American as well as German records. Notably, the book contains unique and critical information, including details gleaned from interviews conducted by the author with commanding officers on both sides, some of which are the only reports gathered from these sources. Originally published in 1947, this an early paperback edition. Condition: Good.
Keywords: Battle of the Bulge, Wacht am Rhein, Ambleve River Line, St. Vith Salient, Bastogne, Patton, Third Army, 7th Armored Division, Winter Campaign, Ardennes
[Book #81984]
Price: $12.50