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European Theater of Operations: the Siegfried Line Campaign
Center of Military History United States Army Washington, D.C. WWII 50th Anniversary Commemorative Edition
- GenresHistoryWorld War II
692 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1963
19 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Charles B. MacDonald
51 books31 followersCharles B. MacDonald was a former Deputy Chief Historian for the United States Army. He wrote several of the Army's official histories of World War II.
After graduating from Presbyterian College, MacDonald was commissioned as a US Army officer through the Army ROTC and deployed to Europe. By September 1944, as a 21 year old Captain , he commanded a rifle company in the 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. MacDonald received the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.
His first book, ''Company Commander'', was published in 1947, while his wartime experiences were fresh in his mind.
MacDonald wrote the final volume of the Green Series on the European Theatre, ''The Last Offensive''. He retired as Deputy Chief Historian, United States Army Center of Military History in 1979.
After his retirement, MacDonald wrote ''A Time for Trumpets'', his last book, a personal history of the Ardennes Offensive which concentrates on the first two weeks of the battle, which he spent five years researching. MacDonald also wrote or co-wrote two other books of the Green Series, ''The Siegfried Line Campaign'' and ''Three Battles: Arnaville, Altuzzo, and Schmidt''. He also contributed to ''Command Decisions''.
MacDonald suffered from cancer and lung disease and he died on December 4, 1990 at his home in Arlington, Virginia.
After graduating from Presbyterian College, MacDonald was commissioned as a US Army officer through the Army ROTC and deployed to Europe. By September 1944, as a 21 year old Captain , he commanded a rifle company in the 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. MacDonald received the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.
His first book, ''Company Commander'', was published in 1947, while his wartime experiences were fresh in his mind.
MacDonald wrote the final volume of the Green Series on the European Theatre, ''The Last Offensive''. He retired as Deputy Chief Historian, United States Army Center of Military History in 1979.
After his retirement, MacDonald wrote ''A Time for Trumpets'', his last book, a personal history of the Ardennes Offensive which concentrates on the first two weeks of the battle, which he spent five years researching. MacDonald also wrote or co-wrote two other books of the Green Series, ''The Siegfried Line Campaign'' and ''Three Battles: Arnaville, Altuzzo, and Schmidt''. He also contributed to ''Command Decisions''.
MacDonald suffered from cancer and lung disease and he died on December 4, 1990 at his home in Arlington, Virginia.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 5, 2018
A detailed operational history, it can get tiresome to read, but at the same time fascinating. Activities are listed by days, details of fighting and casualties.
March 19, 2017
During World War II the Siegfried Line was a major defensive stand by the Germans. This work chronicles the actions of both the Allies and the Germans. It gives a look at one of the major European campaigns of the war.
August 4, 2016
Thorough, accurate and understatedly sympathetic to the men in the foxholes - as we came to expect from every book by Captain MacDonald. The chapters about the battles for the Hürtgen Forest are particularly enlightening, and though MacDonald is too much of a pro to portray General Courtney Hodges as a WW1-style butcher, a German appraisal he chooses to quote serves as an indication that the sacrifices imposed upon a succession of American infantry divisions forced to fight singlehandedly in the woods without adequate support were needless - a brave point to make in an official history, and just the sort of thing one gets from every book of his.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews