Battle of the Bulge 1944 (1): St Vith and the Northern Shoulder (Campaign, 115)

Well done with good maps. The best in this company's series on any battle in any war.

As usual, noted armor export Stephen J Zaloga delivers the goods in Osprey Campaign #115, Battle of the Ardennes (I): St Vith and the Northern Shoulder. The northern sector of the "Battle of the Bulge" generally receives far less coverage than the fighting further south around Bastogne, but Zaloga clearly states that this was in fact, where the battle was decided. Zaloga's thesis - while not particularly original - is solidly crafted in a thorough narrative. Zaloga demonstrates that the German offensive was a poorly planned gamble, executed by marginally trained troops, over adverse terrain in poor weather against an adaptable foe. All these factors added up to rapid German culmination in a matter of days, which is why this volume only covers the period 16-25 December 1944. Battle of the Ardennes (I) begins in standard Osprey format with a short section on the origins of the campaign and a chronology (up to 24 December 1944). There are three sections discussing opposing plans, opposing commanders and opposing armies. The section on opposing plans is quite good and includes a section on weather and terrain, both of which had a decisive impact on the German offensive. Zaloga notes that Patton's G-2 accurately predicted a German counteroffensive in the Ardennes and this gave Third Army a big edge in responding to the attack. The section on opposing commanders, as usual with Zaloga, is the weakest section due to its over-emphasis on high-level commanders at the expense of the junior officers who actually fought the actions discussed in this volume (why is Jochen Peiper not in this section?). The eight-page section on opposing armies is useful and notes the low quality of German replacements in even their supposedly elite Waffen SS and Fallschirmjäger units. Indeed, Zaloga demonstrates that despite better equipment, many of the German units had to employ much less sophisticated tactics than in previous years. On the other hand, the US Army's neglect of cold weather gear and the placement of the corps boundary in the Losheim Gap ("a traditional invasion route") were serious mistakes. The order of battle provided is too bare-bones, listing only division-level units, and in light of Osprey's Order of Battle series on this campaign Zaloga could have listed more of the vital engineer, artillery and tank destroyer units. Battle of the Ardennes (I) has three 3-D maps (Battle for Krinkelt & Rocherath, Kampfgruppe Peiper's route and the Battle at Dom Butgenbach); these maps are only so-so and the one on Peiper is practically useless since it covers too large an area. The five 2-D maps are fine (strategic situation, German planned routes, initial attacks of 6th Panzer Army, destruction of the US 106th Division, and defense of St Vith) but the maps do not fully portray the US defense of the Elsenborn Ridge and even Peiper's route is difficult to follow with these maps. The three battle scenes are: Panzer graveyard at Krinkelt, Kampfgruppe Pieper and the rearguard at St Vith. The photographs throughout the volume, culled primarily from the National Archives, are excellent - particularly if one enjoys photos of burning Panther tanks. The photographs of the American 99th Infantry Division's reinforced log bunkers with overhead cover are impressive examples of fieldworks. Zaloga is particularly adept at demonstrating the relative combat efficiency of the American and German forces at this time. In one notable action on the first day of the German offensive, an American scout platoon from the 1/394th Infantry held off the German 5th Fallschirmjäger Regiment at the village of Lanzerath for the bulk of a day. Zaloga notes that both regiments of this worn-out airborne division mounted repeated frontal attacks across open ground in broad daylight and were mown down by US machine guns, which speaks volumes for the decline of German tactical competence. Although the US scout platoon was eventually overwhelmed and captured, this rearguard action unhinged the German timetable for the 1st SS Panzer Division's intended exploitation to the Meuse River, and this platoon became the most decorated American unit of the war. Zaloga also notes the huge difference in artillery capabilities. While the German preliminary artillery bombardment was relatively ineffective, time and again the Americans were able to mass huge amounts of artillery fire to smash or disrupt German forces preparing to attack (many accounts tend to portray US ground forces as helpless with air support - this was the German perception of US forces - which ignores the vital, all-weather contributions of US artillery). On the other hand, the loss of most of the US 106th Division - the biggest American surrender in the ETO - was due to a combination of inexperience and bad luck. Zaloga does not delve deeply enough into the personal factors involved at St Vith, including the relationship between MGN Alan Jones of the 106th Division and BGN Bruce Clarke of the 7th Armored Division, which go a long way toward explaining the situation there. Zaloga does cover the German special operations Grief and Stosser, but his coverage of the defense of St Vith is rather brief. In conclusion, Zaloga points to many factors for the failure of the German operation: (1) Dietrich, commander of the 6th Panzer Army, under-estimated the US defenses, (2) the preliminary German artillery barrage was ineffective but alerted the US troops of imminent attack, (3) the German infantry units in the first wave assaulting units lacked sufficient armor support and (4) the Germans tried to push too many units down a few main roads, without using the numerous forest trails. These points are all valid, but they only explain how the Germans lost the battle, not how the Americans won it. In short, the US Army won in the Ardennes due to increased tactical competence, which enabled US forces to adapt and improvise ad hoc defenses with whatever was at hand, until overwhelming reinforcements arrived from the northern and southern flanks.

This purchase was a gift for my father who was there during the St. Vith conflict. He immediately picked up this book and started reading it. I saw him shaking his head yes as he read. This was such a tough time for an 18 year old small town America kid to experience. Reading about this experience in his life, so long after the fact, is allowing him to process the horrific experience of St. Vith and the Bulge and come to terms with it. He lost so many friends during this campaign. One comment he made was that it was about time that something was written about St. Vith because without this battle, the Bulge and its outcome may have been different. So, to the men of the Lucky Seventh, thank you.

Great piece of historical documentation. This and book (2), the southern shoulder are two books people interested in the Battle of the Bulge need to have on their desks. It is quick reference, concise and compact. Zaloga has done a wonderful job on all of his history books and this one is one of the best.

Zaloga gives the reader, as usual, a concise, educated analysis of the fighting in the northern part of the Ardennes offensive. Particularly useful is the accurate and sobering description of the deficiencies in the German fighting man, even the vaunted SS troops, and in the leadership of the Waffen SS.The problem with the book is in the poor layout. Zaloga describes the battles by naming villages and axes of advance, but the maps frequently do not show these at all, or if they are there, they are pages and pages away from the text. This undermines an excellent narrative. Likewise, the color illustrations were prepared with evident lack of forethought -- the focus of the illustration is frequently planted square in the center of the page, and this is disastrous in a two-page illustration, as the binding runs right down the middle of the item (usually, a vehicle) being illustrated.I'd rate Zaloga's neat summary a 4-star job, and the book's poor layout by Osprey a 2, and that's being nice. I'll rate the book a 3 overall.

Very well researched, the detail maps could have been implemented better (one big map; You can zoom in on a Kindle!)

The Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 was Germany's last major attempt to reverse its fortunes in the West. Hitler scraped together enough reconstituted units for a surprise offensive through the Ardennes. The attack was bold, and aimed at the weakest segment of the Allied line. If even the German leadership was skeptical that Hitler's larger aims would be served, there was still a chance that it might do major damage to the Allied position."Battle of the Bulge 1944 (1) is one of two Osprey Campaign Series volumes dealing with the battle. This one describes the fighting on the northern shoulder of the German breakthrough, including the intense fighting in and around St. Vith. The introduction sets up the operational situation in late 1944, and describes the opposing commanders and their forces and plans. The heart of the narrative covers the actual fighting, including the ugly death of the U.S. 106 Infantry Division, the scramble to position U.S. forces to block the German offensive, and the desperate struggle over small towns and bridges in the Ardennes. The tone is even-handed as the chaos of battle affected both sides. There is a surprising amount of detail offered the reader in less than 100 pages, along with an excellent selection of photographs, illustrations, maps and battle diagrams. This is a very good introduction to a complex and confusing fight, and recommended.

very scholarly book

Beau livre MAA. l'information est à la hauteur des livres Osprey normale. Arrivé à l'heure, bien emballé. Illustrations et cartes montrent l'information brièvement et avec précision.

I put off buying this book for about a year (I waited until the second installment was published to buy them together) as I thought that this publication would add little to my knowledge and understanding of the battle. How wrong I was. By focusing on this one northern section of the battle, Steven Zaloga actually puts the whole battle into much clearer focus than any other account I've read.The problem with most other accounts on the battle is that Kampfgruppe Peiper and Bastogne get the lions share of the attention. Whilst this account does cover KG Peiper, it puts it with the context of all the other operations by 6th SS Panzer Army.In most accounts, the emphasis is on the collapse of US Army units in the earily days of the assault. Here, we get to understand and apprecaite the success that the US enjoyed against the bulk of the SS Panzer Divisions and why the 5th Panzer Army to the South was so much more successful in its breakthrough.Quite simily, re-focusing anyway from those well known and well worked elements of the battle has made for an excellent book with something new to say on a familiar subject.

A concise overview of the battle of the bulge. The reader has to keep his wits about themselves as there are many facts and acronyms to assimilate. The double page maps are a great help and in certain cases could even be expanded.Ensure the reader has a good knowledge of the battle to begin with and these books will help in understanding what the author is telling us. There are onr or two minor discrepancies but the internet has so much information on this particular battle these discrepancies can soon be resolved. Another good publication from Osprey

A well written summary of the Northern part of this battle. Well laid out and informative, I am happy to add this to my collection of WWII history books.

American view of the ardennes offensive much better books out there but for 99 pence one can't complain too much, what I like about osprey titles is the photography and art work of the battle ,the maps are fine but on separate pages because of the kindle format which is annoying .adequate book for a good price.