The Bloody Forest - by Gerald Astor (Paperback)

About the Book

Told largely through the words of men who were there, "The Bloody Forest" evokes one of the deadliest and most ill-conceived campaigns of World War II. "No one does oral history better than Gerald Astor".--Stephen E. Ambrose. 36 photos. 1 map.

Book Synopsis

The definitive account of one of World War II's bloodiest campaigns--the five-month battle between American and German forces in the Huertgen Forest--told through the words of the men who were there.

From the preface:

"In the course of research and interviews while writing a series of books on World War II, I became increasingly aware of the campaign for the Huertgen Forest. While survivors of other battles sometimes criticized the strategy and the orders they were given, there was a depth of anger about the Huertgen that surpassed anything I had encountered elsewhere. The unhappiness with what occurred and the absence of much objective coverage in the memoirs of those in the top command slots convinced me to produce this history.

As I have reiterated in all of my books, which rely heavily on oral or eyewitness reports, there are always the dangers of flawed memory, limited vantage points, and the possibility of self-interest in such accounts. But the almost universal condemnation of their superiors' critical decisions by individuals who were under fire in that 'green hell' offers a cautionary note on the accuracy and the truths of histories that draw from the official documents and the personal papers of the likes of Dwight Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, Courtney Hodges (who apparently left little in the way of records), J. Lawton Collins and others in similar positions. . . .

Each new war differs from that of the past, but to ignore what happened in the Huertgen enhances the possibilities for another bitter victory, if not a defeat."

About the Author

Gerald Astor is a World War II veteran and award-winning journalist and historian whose articles have appeared in the New York Times, Playboy, and Esquire. He is also the author of A Blood-Dimmed Tide: The Battle of the Bulge by the Men Who Fought It and Operation Iceberg: The Invasion and Conquest of Okinawa in World War II. He makes his home in Scarsdale, New York.