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A Blood-Dimmed Tide: The Battle of the Bulge by the Men Who Fought It
Drawing on firsthand accounts by survivors of the bloody Battle of the Bulge, diaries, letters, and official documents, this study describes the events of the campaign, hardships faced by the soldiers, the battle's horrifying costs, and the controversy surrounding the campaign.
525 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published December 3, 1993
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143 people want to read
About the author
Gerald Astor
52 books15 followersGerald Morton Astor, a native of New Haven, grew up in Mount Vernon, N.Y. After his Army service in the Second World War, he received a bachelor’s degree from Princeton. He was the picture editor of Sports Illustrated in its early years and worked as an editor for Sport magazine, Look, The Saturday Evening Post and Time.
Besides his accounts of the Battle of the Bulge and the air war in Europe, Mr. Astor wrote of World War II in books including “The Greatest War: Americans in Combat, 1941-1945,” “June 6, 1944: The Voices of D-Day,” “Operation Iceberg: The Invasion and Conquest of Okinawa in World War II” and biographies of Maj. Gen. Terry Allen, a leading combat commander in both North Africa and Europe, and the Nazi medical experimenter Dr. Josef Mengele.
He also wrote “The Right to Fight: A History of African Americans in the Military” and “Presidents at War,” an account of presidents’ evolving assertion of authority to take military action in the absence of a Congressional declaration of war.
Mr. Astor edited “The Baseball Hall of Fame 50th Anniversary Book” and wrote a biography of the heavyweight champion Joe Louis, “And a Credit to His Race.” He collaborated with Anthony Villano, a former F.B.I. agent who recruited informants from the Mafia, in “Brick Agent.”
Besides his accounts of the Battle of the Bulge and the air war in Europe, Mr. Astor wrote of World War II in books including “The Greatest War: Americans in Combat, 1941-1945,” “June 6, 1944: The Voices of D-Day,” “Operation Iceberg: The Invasion and Conquest of Okinawa in World War II” and biographies of Maj. Gen. Terry Allen, a leading combat commander in both North Africa and Europe, and the Nazi medical experimenter Dr. Josef Mengele.
He also wrote “The Right to Fight: A History of African Americans in the Military” and “Presidents at War,” an account of presidents’ evolving assertion of authority to take military action in the absence of a Congressional declaration of war.
Mr. Astor edited “The Baseball Hall of Fame 50th Anniversary Book” and wrote a biography of the heavyweight champion Joe Louis, “And a Credit to His Race.” He collaborated with Anthony Villano, a former F.B.I. agent who recruited informants from the Mafia, in “Brick Agent.”
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 25, 2015
Gerald Astor has done a masterful job of weaving together personal recollections from the different sides in the Battle of the Bulge. I really enjoy history that mixes context with oral history of the participants. Stories of the rank-and-file are always interesting. In one such example, Lt. General Bradley came up to the line and was miffed when the soldier didn't accord the proper respect with a salute and told him so. The soldier replied that with all the German snipers around, any saluting made the recipient of the salute instant dog food. That, the general understood, and thanked him. I wonder if Patton would have reacted the same. Probably would have been another slapping incident. Of course, no sniper would have failed to see the pearl-handled revolvers. That positive aside, with all the different characters and such a close-up of individual events, it’s sometimes difficult to get the broader picture.
Few of the German commanders were optimistic about the success of Hitler's command for the breakout to take Antwerp through the Ardennes. Training had been poor and the units thrown together collected the rejects of other units. Hitler had ordered that each unit send their best troops, but most commanders, not being daft, sent their rejects and kept the best for themselves. Field Marshal Model was quoted as believing that the attack had barely a ten percent chance of success. Ironically, Skorzeny's idea of dressing Germans as American soldiers paid off occasionally. In one instance a bridge that was to be blown to hinder German tanks, failed to go up because some of the “Americans” involved in laying the charges sabotaged the effort.
Things weren't much better on the American side. The brass were wildly over optimistic in their assessment of German strength and generally bought the air corps reports that the German war machine had been decimated, something we now know to be a fairy tale. German war production was actually up, although they were having some fuel issues. The army did not trust civilians so they disregarded OSS information gleaned from the populace. In addition the troops on the line, as the Germans intelligence had reported, had become a 9-5 army, keeping watch only until about an hour after sunset, then hitting the sack, returning to their observation points an hour before dawn. This lead some German commanders to want to cancel the proposed artillery barrage that was to proceed the attack arguing it would simply alert the American troops. They were overruled. Often, troops that had hardly been in any fighting were ordered to destroy their weapons and surrender. Given the incident at Malmedy, they might have done better to keep fighting. At least then they might have sown a bit more confusion among the German ranks. (I was shocked at how many soldiers were injured when they tried to destroy their rifles by smashing them on rocks only to shoot themselves because they had failed to unload them.) Sometimes paperwork and bureaucracy hindered soldiers in the field. One airdrop of food and ammunition was ultimately canceled because the C-47s, flying out of the UK (another mistake) was canceled when fighter protection hadn’t been notified and the appropriate maps remained undelivered.
It’s a wonder things went as well as they did for the Germans, given the poor training of the “volunteers,” and their own lack of faith in the attempt. Certainly the overly optimistic allies helped. Montgomery was convinced, “the enemy was in a bad way,” and had neither the transport nor fuel to mount an attack. The American front line was know as a 9-5 army, staying on guard until only one hour past dark, then heading back to their huts for sleep, returning to their posts an hour before daybreak.
But after the salient attacks on Bastogne, the push back from the Third Army was tortuous for the infantry. The Germans had specifically infiltrated English-speaking troops in American uniforms into their front lines and they had captured a lot of American equipment so sometimes telling who was the enemy could be problematic. The ground was frozen making foxholes almost impossible to dig, dysentery was rampant, and outfits shifted from place to place making the soldiers wonder just where they were and having no understanding for the total picture. “With all of our constant confusion, I couldn’t see how we were winning and the Germans were retreating. I wasn’t killing anybody. I didn’t see any Germans and their only manifestation was in their shells and machine guns.” Many were frustrated and the inevitable atrocities occurred. “They had nothing to look forward to—except a wound that would evacuate them or a coffin . . . . fighting mad after wading through waist-high snowdrifts for twelve hours to get to Herresbach. Some of our boys ran wild, shooting everything that moved in the town. The Krauts used up all their ammo shooting at our guys, then came out yelling, ‘Kamerad!’ Our troopers would reply with ‘Kamerad, hell!’ and a burst from a tommy gun.” Patton even remarked in his diary that he hoped no one would find out.
In the end, it’s no spoiler that the attempted German breakout was doomed to failure as the Allies’ overwhelming air superiority and materiel determined the outcome as did Hitler’s failure to provide support for the effort once underway. Probably not the best book to read for an overall strategic view of the battle, but excellent for detailed personal accounts.
By the way, Astor quotes Charles MacDonald, author of Company Commander, another excellent memoir of WWII that I have reviewed. (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
Few of the German commanders were optimistic about the success of Hitler's command for the breakout to take Antwerp through the Ardennes. Training had been poor and the units thrown together collected the rejects of other units. Hitler had ordered that each unit send their best troops, but most commanders, not being daft, sent their rejects and kept the best for themselves. Field Marshal Model was quoted as believing that the attack had barely a ten percent chance of success. Ironically, Skorzeny's idea of dressing Germans as American soldiers paid off occasionally. In one instance a bridge that was to be blown to hinder German tanks, failed to go up because some of the “Americans” involved in laying the charges sabotaged the effort.
Things weren't much better on the American side. The brass were wildly over optimistic in their assessment of German strength and generally bought the air corps reports that the German war machine had been decimated, something we now know to be a fairy tale. German war production was actually up, although they were having some fuel issues. The army did not trust civilians so they disregarded OSS information gleaned from the populace. In addition the troops on the line, as the Germans intelligence had reported, had become a 9-5 army, keeping watch only until about an hour after sunset, then hitting the sack, returning to their observation points an hour before dawn. This lead some German commanders to want to cancel the proposed artillery barrage that was to proceed the attack arguing it would simply alert the American troops. They were overruled. Often, troops that had hardly been in any fighting were ordered to destroy their weapons and surrender. Given the incident at Malmedy, they might have done better to keep fighting. At least then they might have sown a bit more confusion among the German ranks. (I was shocked at how many soldiers were injured when they tried to destroy their rifles by smashing them on rocks only to shoot themselves because they had failed to unload them.) Sometimes paperwork and bureaucracy hindered soldiers in the field. One airdrop of food and ammunition was ultimately canceled because the C-47s, flying out of the UK (another mistake) was canceled when fighter protection hadn’t been notified and the appropriate maps remained undelivered.
It’s a wonder things went as well as they did for the Germans, given the poor training of the “volunteers,” and their own lack of faith in the attempt. Certainly the overly optimistic allies helped. Montgomery was convinced, “the enemy was in a bad way,” and had neither the transport nor fuel to mount an attack. The American front line was know as a 9-5 army, staying on guard until only one hour past dark, then heading back to their huts for sleep, returning to their posts an hour before daybreak.
But after the salient attacks on Bastogne, the push back from the Third Army was tortuous for the infantry. The Germans had specifically infiltrated English-speaking troops in American uniforms into their front lines and they had captured a lot of American equipment so sometimes telling who was the enemy could be problematic. The ground was frozen making foxholes almost impossible to dig, dysentery was rampant, and outfits shifted from place to place making the soldiers wonder just where they were and having no understanding for the total picture. “With all of our constant confusion, I couldn’t see how we were winning and the Germans were retreating. I wasn’t killing anybody. I didn’t see any Germans and their only manifestation was in their shells and machine guns.” Many were frustrated and the inevitable atrocities occurred. “They had nothing to look forward to—except a wound that would evacuate them or a coffin . . . . fighting mad after wading through waist-high snowdrifts for twelve hours to get to Herresbach. Some of our boys ran wild, shooting everything that moved in the town. The Krauts used up all their ammo shooting at our guys, then came out yelling, ‘Kamerad!’ Our troopers would reply with ‘Kamerad, hell!’ and a burst from a tommy gun.” Patton even remarked in his diary that he hoped no one would find out.
In the end, it’s no spoiler that the attempted German breakout was doomed to failure as the Allies’ overwhelming air superiority and materiel determined the outcome as did Hitler’s failure to provide support for the effort once underway. Probably not the best book to read for an overall strategic view of the battle, but excellent for detailed personal accounts.
By the way, Astor quotes Charles MacDonald, author of Company Commander, another excellent memoir of WWII that I have reviewed. (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
July 23, 2016
This book first came out in 1992 and I am now reading a reissued copy. I found this book to be an excellent description of events of the Battle. The author gives you information from the German side and how most of the Generals were against this assault and that that it would fail. You also of course get the American side, but the difference is you are hearing for the soldiers from the private to the sergeant. First on why they enlisted and then how they became attached the unit they were with. Some of the men describe how after they enlisted wanted to be paratroopers and what that entailed. You also get a look at the entire battle, and not just Bastogne which now it seems is all that people talk about. Not taking anything from the 101st, but you had just about their entire American European force working together at different targets to stop the Germans. This was the bloodiest battle for American troops in WWII, and the author gives you good insight into this entire mess including the Americans not responding quickly to reinforce their lines. He also gives a list of soldiers at the end and there accommodations, and he gives you a chapter of the Armies official record of the battle and to the end of the war. My father fought with the 82nd and this like the other battles he did not talk too much about other than losing friends and spending many nights in fox holes being shelled. This book gave a little more insight into what they went through. A good read. I got this book from netgalley. I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com
April 17, 2021
Mr. Astor is a great human element historian and this doesn't disappoint or change that. Does exactly what it says on the title.
August 7, 2022
The Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes Offensive), took place in the dense forests of the Ardennes. The battle lasted from December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945. This battle was the last major offensive attempted by Axis powers during World War II. The objective of this offensive was to deny Allied powers access to Antwerp, as well as to split their lines, encircle them, and defeat them. Some of the notable commanders in this battle were Sepp Dietrich (6th Panzer, Germany), Generals Patton, Bradley, and Eisenhower (United States), and Montgomery (UK). There were heavy losses and injuries on both Allied and Axis sides, and fighting in the winter caused its own host of misery for all combatants. This book goes into pretty great detail about the hardships faced by the soldiers and the results of their actions. The personal accounts and research were very engaging. This is a very good book.
January 12, 2022
Most of the aspects of this book have been converted in other books so your enjoyment will likely depend on how much Bulge history you have read. Its a good overview and has personal accounts from well known battles. I'm always interested in any more depth so it was an enjoyable easy read for me.
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March 11, 2021This book contains accounts of my grandfather Robert McBride.
July 3, 2022
Good book with the stories of men who were there!
February 17, 2024
A great collection of accounts woven together well. That said - it's a loooong read and might best be read over several winters.
December 8, 2024
Great POV and story telling through the use of historical facts. Learned a lot through this book.
February 5, 2016
Some episodes of history are more than unforgettable, they are thrilling every time one thinks of them. One such is the battle of the bulge, when the allied forces were further out than could be logistically supported and German forces unexpectedly turned around to strike back, and the allies were surrounded on almost all sides with almost no option but to surrender or be massacred - and yet the commander famously replied "nuts" to the proposal of surrender from the Germans, barely taking the cigar out of his mouth for saying that much calmly, immediately, nonchalantly.
Patton was in Italy and was informed of the bulge and the urgency - and he drove his army in an impossible drive across to the battlefront in Ardennes near Belgian border in time to save the situation, the men, the battle and the war.
Patton was in Italy and was informed of the bulge and the urgency - and he drove his army in an impossible drive across to the battlefront in Ardennes near Belgian border in time to save the situation, the men, the battle and the war.
May 19, 2015
Gerald Astor put together a very readable account of the Battle of the Bulge in A Blood-Dimmed Tide using many accounts, diaries, and letters of participants supplemented with other volumes written about the battle. This edition is an electronic version of the 1992 edition. If you have not read the original, or want to reread it on a mobile device, now is your chance!
January 25, 2016
This is the story of the Battle of the Bulge as told by men who fought it. Most of the tellers of the tale are American with a few Germans mixed in. The reader gets to read brief biographies of the men before the war, their times in the war, and after the war. It is captivating reading about people who were, for the most part, ordinary citizens who were thrust into an extraordinary situation.
February 20, 2016
As a long time fan of World War II history, this book is quite simply the best book I've read on the subject of Americans fighting Nazis. The book chronicles accounts from the lowliest private to General George S. Patton's take on Nazi Germany's last ditch effort to assault the Allies during the winter of 1944-1945.
June 5, 2007
The chapter (4) on 17 y/o Lt. Lyle Bouck and his single platoon effectively stalling the whole German offensive for 24 hours is a remarkable story and is retold here quite well.
January 6, 2015
First read in about 2009
April 19, 2015
Very good book on the Battle of the Bulge. The author includes a lot of eyewitness accounts and really gives a feel for this battle.
June 22, 2012
Another good one by Astor.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews