The Ardennes offensive was the last major German assault on the Western Front. However, in Snow and Steel, Peter Caddick-Adams prepares us for an unexpected conclusion: far from being the deadly fighting force we might still imagine, by this point, the SS and German infantry units were nearly all under-strength, short on equipment, and very poorly trained – which means the Battle of the Bulge was doomed to failure from the start. Fighting hard in the heavily forested Ardennes region of Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, both sides were determined to defend their positions in freezing temperatures, deep snow, and dense fog. Peter’s book takes us through the build-up, the planning, the personalities, and the psychological states of mind that shaped decisions at the front and influenced tactics precipitating a German retreat and the American victory. Encyclopaedic. Immersive. Snow and Steel has a vast amount of biographical detail, and you’ll find this is a go-to title for authoritative research and first-hand testimonies of the time.
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