Patton at the Battle of the Bulge

October 6, 2014
Barron completes the story of his previous book, No Silent Night: The Christmas Battle for Bastogne (2012), by describing the U.S. Army armored forces’ attack to break into the surrounded city of Bastogne, Belgium, during WWII’s Battle of the Bulge. Despite its title, the book is not about the famous American general; it focuses on the privates, sergeants, and junior officers fighting against fierce German resistance on the snow-covered forest roads of Belgium, en route to rescuing surrounded paratroopers in Bastogne. The attack by the U.S. 4th Armored Division was the first counterstroke aimed at defeating Hitler’s final offensive of WWII, and deserves the attention this focused work gives it. Barron’s meticulous research uncovered information from archival records and conducted interviews with surviving German and American veterans, as well as Belgian civilians. Using these sources, he provides a detailed, hour-by-hour account of the five days of fierce combat, fought in harsh weather, that led to the liberation of the besieged forces in Bastogne. This excellent soldier’s-eye-view account of the challenges of tactical combat in WWII is a solid addition to the military history of the war. Maps.

November 1, 2014

Barron (No Silent Night) utilizes an impressive variety of sources, from archival documents to oral histories and memoirs to reconstruct the story of how General George Smith Patton's Third Army relieved the siege of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. His examination of the American and German units involved in the fight as well as their leadership, equipment, and structural strengths and weaknesses makes compelling reading. For example, many German troops were recent transfers from Luftwaffe and Kreigsmarine units and had only rudimentary infantry training, while a number of American units were led by men who had only recently assumed command. The author casts documents in the form of dialogs among soldiers and remarks that some "purists might balk at that technique," which seems to be a sneer at academic historians. His narrative often becomes tedious with an almost hour-by-hour description of events. In addition, Barron manages to take a dramatic story and overdramatize it; often ending sections or chapters with phrases such as, "Patton would be the main act on the big stage." VERDICT Recommended for military history completists only.--Frederic Krome, Univ. of Cincinnati Clermont Coll.

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