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The Hotton Report
At 5:30 on the morning of December 16, 1944, a quarter-million German troops smashed through a thinly defended American line into the Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg, the start of what would become known as the Battle of the Bulge.
Overconfident from their battlefield victories since coming ashore on the beaches of Normandy, the Allied Expeditionary Forces under General Dwight Eisenhower were caught sleeping by Hitler's surprise counteroffensive. Tens of thousands of American soldiers scrambled to stanch the attack, shocked by the breadth of the assault. Among them was Major General Maurice Rose, the legendary commander of the 3rd Armored Division, who suddenly found himself in his toughest fight without the firepower of two of his three combat commands. Complicating matters, terrible weather had grounded the Allied planes that by now dominated the skies of Europe. Outgunned and blind without reconnaissance and air cover, Rose's depleted division fell back to the vital bridge village of Hotton with orders to seek out and engage the enemy, leaving behind a mix bag of rear-guard troops "not rated as combat soldiers" believing they were far from harm's way. They weren't, and in the ensuing days the struggle to save Hotton would be at the epicenter of the Second World War.
The battle for Hotton was just one of many hard-fought actions by isolated and outnumbered forces during that bitterly cold Christmas season, a universe in miniature of the fierce fighting across the Ardennes. Intensely described in gripping detail, The Hotton Report is a must read for anyone interested in the combat experience, and a moving tribute to the indomitable spirit of the American soldier.
Overconfident from their battlefield victories since coming ashore on the beaches of Normandy, the Allied Expeditionary Forces under General Dwight Eisenhower were caught sleeping by Hitler's surprise counteroffensive. Tens of thousands of American soldiers scrambled to stanch the attack, shocked by the breadth of the assault. Among them was Major General Maurice Rose, the legendary commander of the 3rd Armored Division, who suddenly found himself in his toughest fight without the firepower of two of his three combat commands. Complicating matters, terrible weather had grounded the Allied planes that by now dominated the skies of Europe. Outgunned and blind without reconnaissance and air cover, Rose's depleted division fell back to the vital bridge village of Hotton with orders to seek out and engage the enemy, leaving behind a mix bag of rear-guard troops "not rated as combat soldiers" believing they were far from harm's way. They weren't, and in the ensuing days the struggle to save Hotton would be at the epicenter of the Second World War.
The battle for Hotton was just one of many hard-fought actions by isolated and outnumbered forces during that bitterly cold Christmas season, a universe in miniature of the fierce fighting across the Ardennes. Intensely described in gripping detail, The Hotton Report is a must read for anyone interested in the combat experience, and a moving tribute to the indomitable spirit of the American soldier.
168 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2006
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November 9, 2012
I just finished reading “The Hotton Report” (2nd ed.)by R.K. McDonald, and thought I should pass on well-deserved thumbs up on an interesting and enlightening chronicle. This will probably be one of the last books written on any battle from WWII derived from the testimony of the participants. The author has done an incredible amount of research on unit and individual actions. The characters are fleshed out very well, with enough background information to make me identify and really appreciate them. The book flows very well, especially considering the amount of material covered. I thought I should mention that I read it twice, as I sometimes do in order to better understand the overall events. When I started the second read in Chapter 1, with the pastoral description of the quaint village of Hotton, I actually had a Gene Kelly coming into Brigadoon moment. This is not just a good war book, it’s a good book.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review