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binstonbirchill's review
4.0
This book seems a bit less geared towards a casual audience when compared with the other Antony Beevor books I've read. Anyone comfortable with military terminology will have no issue with it but those daunted by unit designations and German ranks might find it a bit difficult at times. I thought the book attempted straddle the line between a ground up approach, focusing on the soldiers, and that of a top down approach, focusing on the generals. Along with a dozen plus maps and a plethora of quotes by those who lived it Beevor talks about the failures on both sides, failure in planning, in assumptions about the enemy, failure in morality (however understandable certain actions may be given the circumstances). The book neither glorifies nor condemns and given Beevor's experience in writing about war I would expect nothing less. Those with a literary interest will be pleased to see snapshots into the experiences of a few hugely famous novelists within these pages. A hint at one of them.... The Catcher in the Rye will be the next book I read.
nelsta's review against another edition
4.0
Beevor is an exceptional historian. His books weave fascinating tales that are bolstered by meticulously researched history. "Ardennes 1944" is no different. I have read about the Battle of the Bulge before, but this was the first book I have ever read entirely dedicated to the subject. It was very good and kept me engaged from nearly the beginning. Beevor takes a while to get to the subject matter, but he does so because he spends several chapters getting the reader up to speed on the context of the situation. I found this context to be valuable, but I wished it had been a quicker introduction.
welshrebel1776's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.5
nycterisberna's review against another edition
4.0
Aunque algunos lo tachan como el libro más débil del autor, a mí me gustó mucho (no tanto como Stalingrado o Berlín). En la línea de Beevor, hay mucho dato duro, información bien explicada (de mucha utilidad los mapas que incluyeron) y anécdotas externas al conflicto, especialmente relacionados con el sufrimiento de la población civil belga.
erictlee's review against another edition
5.0
The 1944 German offensive in the Ardennes forest “had brought the terrifying brutality of the eastern front to the west,” concludes Antony Beevor in this book. And “terrifying brutality” is an accurate description indeed of this month-long battle. Civilians were slaughtered in their scores — by both sides, though on the German side it was intentional. Prisoners of war were killed by both sides — though, to be fair, that began with the SS massacre of captured American soldiers early on. The everyday brutality of the Ardennes battle is shown in many individual episodes Beevor recounts. He describes an Allied soldier having hanged a German soldier’s corpse from a tree and lit a fire under it. Why do this? To defrost the frozen body so that he could remove the soldier’s boots. (German boots were apparently more water-resistant than the American ones.)
There are moments when it seems that the Germans might have had a chance. At one point hundreds of Luftwaffe planes take off — long after Allied commanders had written the German air force off as a fighting force. Elite SS Panzer divisions fight ferociously even in the final days of the battle. But in reality, there was never a moment, not even at the beginning of the offensive, when the Germans stood a chance of turning the tide of war. In fact, the main effect of Hitler’s decision to launch a last-ditch offensive in the west was to ease the Soviet offensive launched in January 1945, as so few troops were left to defend Germany’s eastern borders.
This is a detailed, authoritative account that works on all levels — from the high command down to individual soldiers and civilians. Probably the last book I will ever have to read about what Americans call “the battle of the bulge”.
There are moments when it seems that the Germans might have had a chance. At one point hundreds of Luftwaffe planes take off — long after Allied commanders had written the German air force off as a fighting force. Elite SS Panzer divisions fight ferociously even in the final days of the battle. But in reality, there was never a moment, not even at the beginning of the offensive, when the Germans stood a chance of turning the tide of war. In fact, the main effect of Hitler’s decision to launch a last-ditch offensive in the west was to ease the Soviet offensive launched in January 1945, as so few troops were left to defend Germany’s eastern borders.
This is a detailed, authoritative account that works on all levels — from the high command down to individual soldiers and civilians. Probably the last book I will ever have to read about what Americans call “the battle of the bulge”.
venkyloquist's review against another edition
5.0
With the Allies closing in on the Western Front and the humongous mass of the Red Army making dangerous inroads into the Eastern Front, a delusional Hitler orders a final suicidal gamble ordering a mind numbing counter attacking offensive against the Allies from the Ardennes. Going against both conventional military wisdom and every grain of common sense the Nazi dictator overrides every plea of sanity put forth by his military commanders to launch a blitzkrieg offensive against the Allies. Antony Beevor in a gripping fashion lays out the macabre details of the bloodiest battle ever fought by the Americans in the entire World War II.
Antony Beevor, the undisputed chronicler of war, punches even beyond his formidable weight and rises above his embellished reputation by producing a rare gem. Employing a bottom up approach he captures the saga of Ardennes - sordid in its enactment and sweeping in its wake - from the view point of the hapless soldiers forced to sacrifice their precious lives in the capacity of helpless pawns directed by forces beyond their control. In addition to describing in unsparing and critical detail the key battles fought at each strategic location, Beevor also highlights the startling and acrimonious relationships tarnishing the alliance of the Allied forces. The indecisiveness of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, Dwight Eisenhower, the intransigence of Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery and the impetuousness of the commanding Patton makes one wonder about the cohesiveness and camaraderie of the joint forces attacking their Axis enemies.
Mindless massacres that cock a snook at the Geneva Convention by the Nazis, retaliatory acts of infamy by the American forces, isolated instances of undiluted courage and patriotism by combatants in both the warring factions all make "Ardennes 1944" a book to be read and re-read. Of especial interest is the defense of the strategic location of Bastogne by the battered yet belligerent and bold 101st Airborne Division who in spite of a depleted strength fended wave after wave of fanatical German offensive. Beevor's genius lies in unearthing the minutest of details which, although at the outset seem to be of mere peripheral importance to the whole picture, constitute a vital piece in a complicated jigsaw puzzle.
Hitler was of the firm conviction that Ardennes would be the German Phoenix that would rise like a colossus from the Ashes to crush everything in its wake before proceeding to rule the world with an iron fist. As Beevor explains in chilling detail, his ambitions were more a dangerous and spontaneously concocted illusion than a reasoned objective. An illusion which not only put paid to the hopes of a zealously fanatical nation gripped in the fervour of fascism, but also led to the needless butchery of thousands of innocent and young lives.
Ardennes 1944: Beevor's Crowning Glory
Antony Beevor, the undisputed chronicler of war, punches even beyond his formidable weight and rises above his embellished reputation by producing a rare gem. Employing a bottom up approach he captures the saga of Ardennes - sordid in its enactment and sweeping in its wake - from the view point of the hapless soldiers forced to sacrifice their precious lives in the capacity of helpless pawns directed by forces beyond their control. In addition to describing in unsparing and critical detail the key battles fought at each strategic location, Beevor also highlights the startling and acrimonious relationships tarnishing the alliance of the Allied forces. The indecisiveness of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, Dwight Eisenhower, the intransigence of Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery and the impetuousness of the commanding Patton makes one wonder about the cohesiveness and camaraderie of the joint forces attacking their Axis enemies.
Mindless massacres that cock a snook at the Geneva Convention by the Nazis, retaliatory acts of infamy by the American forces, isolated instances of undiluted courage and patriotism by combatants in both the warring factions all make "Ardennes 1944" a book to be read and re-read. Of especial interest is the defense of the strategic location of Bastogne by the battered yet belligerent and bold 101st Airborne Division who in spite of a depleted strength fended wave after wave of fanatical German offensive. Beevor's genius lies in unearthing the minutest of details which, although at the outset seem to be of mere peripheral importance to the whole picture, constitute a vital piece in a complicated jigsaw puzzle.
Hitler was of the firm conviction that Ardennes would be the German Phoenix that would rise like a colossus from the Ashes to crush everything in its wake before proceeding to rule the world with an iron fist. As Beevor explains in chilling detail, his ambitions were more a dangerous and spontaneously concocted illusion than a reasoned objective. An illusion which not only put paid to the hopes of a zealously fanatical nation gripped in the fervour of fascism, but also led to the needless butchery of thousands of innocent and young lives.
Ardennes 1944: Beevor's Crowning Glory
danielgwood's review against another edition
3.0
Harrowing, in-depth stuff, did a good job of putting you in the mind of those involved. One criticism is the sheer number of similar-sounding, often numerically-designated military units made it tricky to keep track in parts, though this couldn't be avoided much.
speesh's review
5.0
This, of course, is the real-life history of all those war films you've seen of a Sunday afternoon. If you're English and of my generation.
So it is worth reminding yourself, especially around this time of year, what your ancestors went through and did, to make sure you have the choice to not give a fuck.
As you can see from the cover photo, that it was Hitler's final gamble is evidenced by the fact that the Germans were worn down to using younger and younger soldiers in their army. There were still enough of the battle-hardened soldiers left to strengthen the resolve of these youngsters, but desperation in all its forms for the Germans, very nearly proved the Allies undoing. If the Germans had broken through and achieved their objectives, I probably wouldn't be here writing this, nor you reading it. Worth thinking about.
The really eye-openingly remarkable thing about the whole book and the latter stages of the war in General, from the Allies side, was how much of a part the egos of the various Allied commanders played in trying to fuck the whole thing up. Especially Montgomery. He really was an idiot. That's not based solely on this book, but others by Antony Beevor and Max Hastings. Each of the commanders thought they knew best, and reading between the lines, it seems like they were more or less threatening to take their bats and balls home, if they didn't get their way. And who is left facing the bullets? Yup, people like you and me. As I've mused before; the Allies won because our leaders were marginally less incompetent than theirs.' And their big problem was, of course, Hitler.
I was at a talk he gave here in Aarhus a couple of months ago, and really would have liked to have asked him properly about Montgomery. I did manage to snatch a word while he was signing books, and got the idea that, facing an audience of Danes as he was, who having been liberated by Montgomery and seeing him as something of a hero, may not have been too well disposed to hearing bad things about him, if I'd have asked him to elaborate on his writing about the General. A close shave, I think he was thinking.
Sir Antony Beevor is a superlative historian and an excellent writer. He makes his points well, with the facts, but never allows his own opinions, whatever they are, to take precedence. If you're stuck for a book to read on the Second World War, I can thoroughly recommend any of his I've read.
Why not follow my book blog: Speesh Reads
Or the Facebook Page: Speesh Reads
So it is worth reminding yourself, especially around this time of year, what your ancestors went through and did, to make sure you have the choice to not give a fuck.
As you can see from the cover photo, that it was Hitler's final gamble is evidenced by the fact that the Germans were worn down to using younger and younger soldiers in their army. There were still enough of the battle-hardened soldiers left to strengthen the resolve of these youngsters, but desperation in all its forms for the Germans, very nearly proved the Allies undoing. If the Germans had broken through and achieved their objectives, I probably wouldn't be here writing this, nor you reading it. Worth thinking about.
The really eye-openingly remarkable thing about the whole book and the latter stages of the war in General, from the Allies side, was how much of a part the egos of the various Allied commanders played in trying to fuck the whole thing up. Especially Montgomery. He really was an idiot. That's not based solely on this book, but others by Antony Beevor and Max Hastings. Each of the commanders thought they knew best, and reading between the lines, it seems like they were more or less threatening to take their bats and balls home, if they didn't get their way. And who is left facing the bullets? Yup, people like you and me. As I've mused before; the Allies won because our leaders were marginally less incompetent than theirs.' And their big problem was, of course, Hitler.
I was at a talk he gave here in Aarhus a couple of months ago, and really would have liked to have asked him properly about Montgomery. I did manage to snatch a word while he was signing books, and got the idea that, facing an audience of Danes as he was, who having been liberated by Montgomery and seeing him as something of a hero, may not have been too well disposed to hearing bad things about him, if I'd have asked him to elaborate on his writing about the General. A close shave, I think he was thinking.
Sir Antony Beevor is a superlative historian and an excellent writer. He makes his points well, with the facts, but never allows his own opinions, whatever they are, to take precedence. If you're stuck for a book to read on the Second World War, I can thoroughly recommend any of his I've read.
Why not follow my book blog: Speesh Reads
Or the Facebook Page: Speesh Reads