Sam Kennedy’s Reviews > The Longest Winter: The Battle of the Bulge and the Epic Story of World War II's Most Decorated Platoon > Status Update

The surviving members of IR platoon continued to be transported east towards germany. They are repeatedly interrogated. The germans continue to advance with speed using their tanks. The tanks are trying to get to muse but US engineers blow up the bridges they need to stop them. The remaining 99th division re groups at the elsenborn and starts to stop he germans. Allied commanders begin to organize a counter attack

Waves of german troops storm up the hill towards a dug in I R platoon. IR holds them off all day killing hundreds of germans. Filling just before sunset the germans flank them and they run out of ammo and have to surrender. They are held captive with many of them wounded. The germans arent to bad to them and they get medical help.

I &R platoon is moved out of england and then to the sigfried line which is the german border defense system. They were a platoon designed to go on patrols and get info not be a frontline rifle platoon. because the allies are undermanned on the line I & R is moved to a frontline location on the flank off the 99th on the edge of a 5 mile gap at lanzerath. On dec 16 the germans launch the battle of the bulge at them

On september 16 1944 hitler told his inner circle of officers he planned to go on the offensive, He picked out his most trusted generals to head the offensive. Hitler was confident this offensive would break the allies. In england the 99th Regiment spent its last days in england before being shipped out on october 24

At camp Maxey in texas the 99th Army regiment is being trained and in that regiment was I&R platoon lead by Sergeant Slape and Lt. Bouck. This platoon was composed of all college kids with high intelligence and extreme athleticism.The platoon was going to be a recon group sent into enemy lines frequently. They are shipped out for Europe in early fall 1944.

The book starts by describing the secret inside plot to kill Hitler. While in the fox's lair, one of hitlers secret bases, he is going over battle plans with his high command when Klaus von Staffenberg places a bomb in the room and leaves. Hitler survives the assassination attempt and realizes that his approval ratings are low and decides to launch a massive german offensive in december 1944