Publisher's Synopsis
Thirty thousand American GI's were killed or wounded in the longest battle ever fought by the US Army - a battle that has been ignored for more than 40 years. "The Battle of Hurtgen Forest" tells the story of this battle. Military historian, Charles Whiting, interviewed and corresponded with both American and German survivors, and he examined the archives to expose the the ill-conceived campaign.;From September 1944 to February 1945, eight US infantry and two US armoured divisions were thrown into the "green hell of Hurtgen" - 50 square miles of hilly woods on the Belgian/German border, full of German soldiers in a network of concrete bunkers. Casualty rates ran to 50 per cent and more for most rifle companies.;In the dense forest of fir trees, with such limited visibility, death could come from any direction, including from above, where mortar shells exploded in the tree-tops and rained down red-hot razor-sharp shrapnel. The GI's called it the "death factory". Entire battalions broke down. "Combat fatigue" disabled thousands, and the constant exposure to rain, snow, cold, and endless mud disabled thousands more. The High Command refused to admit there had been a mistake. Careers and the pride of the Army were at stake. So the death toll grew.;"The Battle of Hurtgen Forest" is an account of the price fighting men must pay for the blunders of their commanders.
