THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE VOL. 2

This is the second volume to be offered to readers, with an examination of the northern edge of this offensive
launched by the 6th Panzer Army. Its deployment during the Battle of the Bulge represented its baptism of fire. Drawing on the examination of thousands of pages of archives focusing as much on American as on German forces, as well as an analysis of the most recent studies combined with site visits, the author reviews the northern sector of the battle for us – a sector which was to be the main axis along which Hitler hoped for nothing less than to shatter the American front, speed towards Antwerp and reverse the course of the war to his benefit.
Throughout these pages, the author invites us to follow the fierce and bloody run of the Kampfgruppen from
the I.SS-Panzer Division, the failure of the Hitlerjugend in the face of the GIs’ determined resistance and the
charge of the II.SS Panzer Korps. However, this book also specifically provides a detailed review of the special
operations which were to facilitate the 6th Panzer Army’s achievement of its aims: von der Heydte’s paratroopers’ night jump or the operations of Otto Skorzeny’s 150th Panzer Brigade.
Finally, the author provides a detailed survey of preparations for the offensive, the combatants’ logistical
challenges, the Allied information service fiasco or the suffering of Belgian civilians trapped within this inferno,
in the middle of an especially harsh winter.
What were the factors explaining the failure of an army seemingly as powerful as the 6th Panzer Army, which
represented the Reich’s last strategic panzer reserve and yet still assembled four full SS panzer divisions, at least in terms of men?
Finally, the appendices to this volume offer enthusiasts a wealth of information to enhance their knowledge: for those curious to examine history a little more closely, a series of archive documents has been translated and reproduced – both reports and telegrams, often from or received by the SHAEF.