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oddball

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There are so many good books out there. My particular interest is post D-day and in particular The Hurtgen Forest (Hurtgenwald).

 

(Thirty Thousand American GI's were killed or wounded in the longest battle ever faught by the US army- a battle that has been ignored for more than 50 years. a battle that should never have been fought)

 

Try "The Battle of the Hurtgen Forest" Charles WHITING. Pan Books.

 

Its topical as in October '44 the Death Factory as it was known would be claiming over 2000 casualties a DAY !

 

For Bastogne try

 

"Seven Roads to Hell" Don R BURGETT (yes the same one) A Screaming Eagle at Bastogne. World War 2 Library.

 

and for the Bulge

 

"A Blood Dimmed Tide" Gerald ASTOR. The Battle of the Bulge. World War 2 library.

 

and on a transportation theme "The Road to Victory" David P COLLEY. Its THE storey of the Red Ball Express.

 

Go get 'em

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No Matt, but I will.

 

I'm interested in all aspects of the West Wall but have a particular thing about the Hurtgen, so few people know of it yet it claimed so many.

 

So desperate was the fighting there that the US top brass invited "allowed" black troops the "honour" of fighting for their country. Until then they were non combatant.

 

The 5 months of the Hurtgen are always overshadowed by the Bulge. The guys who took part in The Green Hell of the Hurtgen NEVER get a mention. But the guys in Bastogne were made out to be heroes.

 

The Hurtgen campaign was dismissed in ONE LINE in Eisenhower’s History of WW2. The film "When Trumpets Fade" (DVD) was about the Forest, it is graphic. But it was NOT released stateside. Nuff said.

 

Of 21049 cases of desertion only ONE example was made in WW2 by execution, it was Eddie Slovik--the place was the Hurtgen.

 

http://www.answers.com/topic/eddie-slovik

 

Read the history of the "Keystone Division" or "Bl**dy Bucket" as they were known. Their losses were staggering.

 

Sorry get off my high horse now.

 

Karoshi

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Hi Colin,

 

I don't think it's a case of being on your high horse at all,everyone needs to understand the price paid for our freedom,often by the youngest and brightest.the Hurtgen is a good example but do they actually teach in schools this and other battles of WW1 and 2?? the effect World War One had on the UK is still felt today yet many people don't seem to notice it.

 

In the summer of 1943 a US Eighth Airforce crewman had a 1 in 3 chance of completing His tour of 25 missions.that is every individual in a crew of ten had a 1 in 3 chance.the Eighth lost approximately 28,000 men.RAF Bomber Command lost over 40,000.

 

You mention Eddie Slovik,He is just one example,on the whole the US Army had quite a good record when it came to dealing with combat stress (what we now call PTSD),look at our own Shot At Dawns from WW1,the youngest was 16.

 

However we look at it war is a nasty,bloody business which has cost the lives of millions.

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The Children's Crusade by Paul Fussell,He was an Infantry LT during the Bulge.have you read it Colin??

 

Matt not wanting to be picky, but I tried to obtain that title today, the only similar title by Fussell is BOYS CRUSADE, could that be the one?

 

boys-crusade-fussell_large.jpg

 

Karoshi

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I don't know if anyone elses here is interested in the history of the Vietnam war but if they are here are some books I'd reccomend.

 

Once A Warrior King by David Donavan.

 

Nam by Mark Baker.

 

Blood on the Risers,an Airborne soldiers 35 months in Vietnam.

 

There are others I've read but it's late and my brains working even less than usual.one last thought,has anyone ever seen the film 84 Charlie Mopic??

 

Matt.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Patrick Delaforce has written quite a few on historys and actions, of various Div's, well, British ones, anyway.

All are well worth a read.

 

Two Sides Of The Beach, by Edmund Blandford. a story of D-Day, as seen from british and german eyes.

A well written and interesting book.

 

There are so many good read's out there, and, seemingly, more being published every day, - and my book-shelfs are in danger of collapse;

 

One place, I have started to use for books, that I may want to buy, in the future, is the public libary. Amazing what they hold on their shelves, and, for a modest fee, (75p), are able to order from other branches.

I've had a few very hard to get publications this way, so well worth a go.

 

Andy

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