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Battle East of Elsenborn
The Battle East of Elsenborn closely examines the role of Oberstgruppenfuhrer Joseph 'Sepp' Dietrich's Sixth Panzer Army in the massive German winter counteroffensive. Hitler had tasked Dietrich with making the main effort east of the Elsenborn Ridge and against the positions of the US 99th Infantry Division. Hitler's plan was to reach deep into Allied-held territory and seize the vital port of Antwerp. In the event this daring and desperate counterattack failed but it was a close run thing. Credit for the outcome must ultimately go to the American soldiers who, some new to combat and others battle-hardened, fought valiantly to blunt the German advance and ultimately bring it to a halt just east of Elsenborn.
The book also studies the actions of six individuals who earned the Congressional Medal of Honor, their nation's highest bravery award. It tells of the courageous story of men who believed in their heritage, and who, through their heroic teamwork and dedication, stopped the main effort of the German Sixth Army.
American veterans who participated in this battle remember the events, even after sixty years, as only yesterday. They also remember their compatriots and friends who died in this battle. returncharacterreturncharacterThe author, has probed into every possible source for factual information. He has studied official after-action reports, histories and unit reports of organizations involved in the battle.
In addition, he has conducted an extensive program of individual contacts, not only with the US Army participants, local villages and resistance fighters, but also with German commanders at various levels in the 3 divisions involved.
Such an ample and widespread research effort has enabled the author to separate fact from fiction.
The author William C. C. Cavanagh acted as principal research assistant to the late Charles B. MacDonald, himself a veteran and former Company Commander in the 2d Infantry Division. Having lived in the Ardennes area for thirteen years, he knows the battlefields intimately and his book A Tour of the Bulge Battlefield was first published by Pen and Sword Books in 2001.
The book also studies the actions of six individuals who earned the Congressional Medal of Honor, their nation's highest bravery award. It tells of the courageous story of men who believed in their heritage, and who, through their heroic teamwork and dedication, stopped the main effort of the German Sixth Army.
American veterans who participated in this battle remember the events, even after sixty years, as only yesterday. They also remember their compatriots and friends who died in this battle. returncharacterreturncharacterThe author, has probed into every possible source for factual information. He has studied official after-action reports, histories and unit reports of organizations involved in the battle.
In addition, he has conducted an extensive program of individual contacts, not only with the US Army participants, local villages and resistance fighters, but also with German commanders at various levels in the 3 divisions involved.
Such an ample and widespread research effort has enabled the author to separate fact from fiction.
The author William C. C. Cavanagh acted as principal research assistant to the late Charles B. MacDonald, himself a veteran and former Company Commander in the 2d Infantry Division. Having lived in the Ardennes area for thirteen years, he knows the battlefields intimately and his book A Tour of the Bulge Battlefield was first published by Pen and Sword Books in 2001.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 13, 2021
Corporal A saw Sergeant B get shot at H-Hour, three steps to the left of the second tree past the first manure heap on the edge of the hamlet...ansoforth.
And other than Sergeant B, who wants to be this minute ?
It was perhaps inevitable that the late research assistant of Charles B. MacDonald would turn his magnifying glass into an Official History/Battle Report kind of text. Dry as dust despite the seasoning with some fresh reminiscences by veterans on both sides of the Losheim Gap. At the end of a chapter, the 14th Cavalry retreats and for all the step by step paragraphs, my first reaction remains “wait, what for?” I lose sight of the wood between the trees.
A few human interest stories blossom between the twin villages. A handful of civilians shelters in basements or hand out hot chocolate, to reproach Ambrose’s claim that the Bugle was a deserted battleground. The SS adheres to the Eastern rules of war long before the Malmédy Massacre, executing POW’s and obtaining intelligence with a Luger to the temple.
And I no longer have to wonder how GI’s got those buckle boots on so fast in an emergency: behold the barefoot BAR gunner!
And other than Sergeant B, who wants to be this minute ?
It was perhaps inevitable that the late research assistant of Charles B. MacDonald would turn his magnifying glass into an Official History/Battle Report kind of text. Dry as dust despite the seasoning with some fresh reminiscences by veterans on both sides of the Losheim Gap. At the end of a chapter, the 14th Cavalry retreats and for all the step by step paragraphs, my first reaction remains “wait, what for?” I lose sight of the wood between the trees.
A few human interest stories blossom between the twin villages. A handful of civilians shelters in basements or hand out hot chocolate, to reproach Ambrose’s claim that the Bugle was a deserted battleground. The SS adheres to the Eastern rules of war long before the Malmédy Massacre, executing POW’s and obtaining intelligence with a Luger to the temple.
And I no longer have to wonder how GI’s got those buckle boots on so fast in an emergency: behold the barefoot BAR gunner!
August 6, 2016
I was really looking forward to reading this book; especially since it details one of the major battles of the German 1944 Winter offensive ("The battle of the Bulge") the others being Bastogne and the defense of St. Vith. Unfortunately this book suffers from several major problems.
1. Not enough maps of the action, and the maps that exist have nothing chronologically to do with the sequence of the book.
2. Confusing organization. The author jumps between actions in various Battalions and Regiments without regard to reorienting the reader. Here maps would help greatly.
3. Thick writing. There are times when the books flows; other times the author bogs down the writing with unnecessary words and facts.
I wish I could recommend this book; however, I think only the most serious students of WWII and the 1944 German Winter Offensive in particular would possibly enjoy it.
1. Not enough maps of the action, and the maps that exist have nothing chronologically to do with the sequence of the book.
2. Confusing organization. The author jumps between actions in various Battalions and Regiments without regard to reorienting the reader. Here maps would help greatly.
3. Thick writing. There are times when the books flows; other times the author bogs down the writing with unnecessary words and facts.
I wish I could recommend this book; however, I think only the most serious students of WWII and the 1944 German Winter Offensive in particular would possibly enjoy it.
November 6, 2023
Impeccably-researched, full of precise and minute details, but also very difficult to follow.
William C. Cavanagh was preeminently qualified to write this history of a crucial but relatively unknown element of the giant Battle of the Bulge. Cavanagh was the principal research assistant to Charles B. MacDonald, who wrote the official U.S. Army History of the Battle of the Bulge (A Time for Trumpets). Cavanaugh also lived in the Ardennes region and was intimately familiar with the battlefield, having written one of the preeminent Bulge Battlefield Tour guidebooks. Finally, he took advantage of every possible primary source in the researching of this book, using after-action reports, unit histories, countless letters, battlefield telegrams and handwritten correspondence, and many post-war interviews with Soldiers, local villagers, resistance fighters, and German commanders.
This comprehensive research effort has produced a book with an astonishing level of detail chronicling sometimes minute-to-minute action as the reader observes a conversation between two battalion commanders, then moves outside their command post to watch the heroic battle of an American corporal armed with a 3.2 inch bazooka dueling with a German Panther tank--all related with the precise names of the participants, time the events took place, a strong attempt at providing the precise location within a particular village or patch of woods, and finally photographs of the individuals and occassionally the armored vehicles involved right there beside the paragraph in question.
All this intricate detail, however, is often frustrated by the painful lack of "micro" topographic maps "zooming-in-on" the terrain immediately around the Twin Villages, where almost all of the action takes place. The author does provide several "macro" maps showing the high-level positions of towns and the big-picture disposition of regiments and occassionally battalions, as well as incredible anotated aerial photographs taken just weeks after the fighting (which are by far the best visual element incuded in the book). However, the author fails to provide maps which show the locations of the primary trails, streams, or company and platoon position that he so often refers to in his detailed accounts, making it frustratingly-difficult for the reader to understand how these stories relate to one another in space, and consequently what they really mean for the course of the battle.
Bottom line, this is absolutely the definitive account of the fighting on the northern shoulder of the Battle of the Bulge. Although understood by very few people, it was the "sticking" of the German offensive against the northern shoulder east of Elsenborn, covered so meticulously in this book, that consigned Germany's final attack to a much faster defeat than would have otherwise been the case, probably saving the lives of hundreds of American Soldiers in the process, and in particular the 101st Airborne at Bastogne. However, the lack of detailed maps to accompany Cavanagh's extremely-detailed history makes this narrative painfully difficult to follow. If you have access to detailed topographic maps of the Bulge from the period, then this book is the best account available to fully understand the action on the northern shoulder from 13-19 December 1944. Otherwise, prepare for a bit of a slog.
William C. Cavanagh was preeminently qualified to write this history of a crucial but relatively unknown element of the giant Battle of the Bulge. Cavanagh was the principal research assistant to Charles B. MacDonald, who wrote the official U.S. Army History of the Battle of the Bulge (A Time for Trumpets). Cavanaugh also lived in the Ardennes region and was intimately familiar with the battlefield, having written one of the preeminent Bulge Battlefield Tour guidebooks. Finally, he took advantage of every possible primary source in the researching of this book, using after-action reports, unit histories, countless letters, battlefield telegrams and handwritten correspondence, and many post-war interviews with Soldiers, local villagers, resistance fighters, and German commanders.
This comprehensive research effort has produced a book with an astonishing level of detail chronicling sometimes minute-to-minute action as the reader observes a conversation between two battalion commanders, then moves outside their command post to watch the heroic battle of an American corporal armed with a 3.2 inch bazooka dueling with a German Panther tank--all related with the precise names of the participants, time the events took place, a strong attempt at providing the precise location within a particular village or patch of woods, and finally photographs of the individuals and occassionally the armored vehicles involved right there beside the paragraph in question.
All this intricate detail, however, is often frustrated by the painful lack of "micro" topographic maps "zooming-in-on" the terrain immediately around the Twin Villages, where almost all of the action takes place. The author does provide several "macro" maps showing the high-level positions of towns and the big-picture disposition of regiments and occassionally battalions, as well as incredible anotated aerial photographs taken just weeks after the fighting (which are by far the best visual element incuded in the book). However, the author fails to provide maps which show the locations of the primary trails, streams, or company and platoon position that he so often refers to in his detailed accounts, making it frustratingly-difficult for the reader to understand how these stories relate to one another in space, and consequently what they really mean for the course of the battle.
Bottom line, this is absolutely the definitive account of the fighting on the northern shoulder of the Battle of the Bulge. Although understood by very few people, it was the "sticking" of the German offensive against the northern shoulder east of Elsenborn, covered so meticulously in this book, that consigned Germany's final attack to a much faster defeat than would have otherwise been the case, probably saving the lives of hundreds of American Soldiers in the process, and in particular the 101st Airborne at Bastogne. However, the lack of detailed maps to accompany Cavanagh's extremely-detailed history makes this narrative painfully difficult to follow. If you have access to detailed topographic maps of the Bulge from the period, then this book is the best account available to fully understand the action on the northern shoulder from 13-19 December 1944. Otherwise, prepare for a bit of a slog.
December 5, 2020
A very detailed account of the tactical actions on the Bulge's northern shoulder during the battle's first three days. Crucial to the larger battle's outcome. The author's photographs are fantastic, but I would have liked more maps and a discussion of the fight's significance at the operational level.
March 4, 2021
Great book
Excellent book,I really enjoyed reading this book, my dad was in this battle with the 38 infantry of the 2nd infantry division.
Excellent book,I really enjoyed reading this book, my dad was in this battle with the 38 infantry of the 2nd infantry division.
July 10, 2013
detailed and focused...great pictures... small scale of just the 99th and 2nd Infantry in front of the Twin Villages from Dec. 16-19, 1944
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews