Corps Commanders of the Bulge: Six American Generals and Victory in the Ardennes [Hardcover]

Harold R. Winton (Author), Dennis Showalter (Foreword)

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Product Details

Hardcover: 504 pages
Publisher: University Press of Kansas (Mar 1 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0700615083
ISBN-13: 978-0700615087
Product Dimensions: 24.1 x 16.4 x 4.1 cm
Shipping Weight: 907 g
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #755,655 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #12 in Books > History > Europe > Luxembourg

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Product Description

Book Description

If the Battle of the Bulge was Germany's last gasp, it was also America's proving ground-the largest single action fought by the U.S. Army in World War II. Taking a new approach to an old story, Harold Winton widens our field of vision by showing how victory in this legendary campaign was built upon the remarkable resurrection of our truncated interwar army, an overhaul that produced the effective commanders crucial to GI success in beating back the Ardennes counteroffensive launched by Hitler's forces.

Winton's is the first study of the Bulge to examine leadership at the largely neglected level of corps command. Focusing on the decisions and actions of six Army corps commanders-Leonard Gerow, Troy Middleton, Matthew Ridgway, John Millikin, Manton Eddy, and J. Lawton Collins-he recreates their role in this epic struggle through a mosaic of narratives that take the commanders from the pre-war training grounds of America to the crucible of war in the icy-cold killing fields of Belgium and Luxembourg.

Winton introduces the story of each phase of the Bulge with a theater-level overview of the major decisions and events that shaped the corps battles and, for the first time, fully integrates the crucial role of airpower into our understanding of how events unfolded on the ground. Unlike most accounts of the Ardennes that chronicle only the periods of German and American initiative, Winton's study describes an intervening middle phase in which the initiative was fiercely contested by both sides and the outcome uncertain. His inclusion of the principal American and German commanders adds yet another valuable layer to this rich tapestry of narrative and analysis.

Ultimately, Winton argues that the flexibility of the corps structure and the competence of the men who commanded the six American corps that fought in the Bulge contributed significantly to the ultimate victory. Chronicling the human drama of commanding large numbers of soldiers in battle, he has produced an artful blend of combat narrative, collective biography, and institutional history that contributes significantly to the broader understanding of World War II as a whole.

This book is part of the Modern War Studies series.

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Amazon.com: 4.6 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The American victory in the Ardennes from a different perspective, April 20 2007

By Jonathan Baum - Published on Amazon.com

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This review is from: Corps Commanders of the Bulge: Six American Generals and Victory in the Ardennes (Hardcover)

Just when you thought that there couldn't be another useful book on the Battle of the Bulge, Professor Harold Winton proves us wrong with this fine portrait of the battle that focuses on the way it was commanded by the six American corps commanders who were involved: Gerow, Middleton, Ridgeway, Milikin, Eddy and Collins. This emphasis on what Winton calls "the middle level of command" allows us to see the battle as it developed operationally and provides the reader with perhaps the clearest and most understandable narrative of the Battle of the Bulge ever written. Winton helpfully divides the history of the battle into three phases and covers the activities and decisions of the officers in each phase: their relationships with their superiors and subordinates, what tactical demands the battle placed on them, and even how they held up physically and psychologically. Since the book also includes brief biographies of those officers, Winton is able to evaluate the effectiveness of how the US Army educated its officers for higher command between the World Wars - all six were CGSS and five of them were War College grads. Winton also takes the time to show the true role of allied air power in the battle. All in all, this book is a must-read for those who study the Battle of the Ardennes and the US Army in the Second World War.

One small sour note: either Dr. Winton or his editors at University Press of Kansas - a military history publisher of note - should have been aware that Marlborough was not at Waterloo (see p.160).

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very different way of looking at the battle, April 29 2007

By Wayne A. Brofka - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Corps Commanders of the Bulge: Six American Generals and Victory in the Ardennes (Hardcover)

I agree with the first reviewer that this is one of the most refreshingly new ways at looking at a very studied battle. I have read many of the general histories (A Time for Trumpets by McDonald is my favorite). Looking at the men who commanded the six corps that bore the brunt of the battle, examining their history and education, explaining the corps system and it's reason for being where all very educational and interesting. Dr. Winston did a great job of explaining what each of these men were up against, the resources at their disposal, and how they executed their missions, be it defence or offense, carefully planned, or on the fly. Dr. Winston broke the Bulge battle up into three phases, explained what each corp commander faced in each phase and assessed each commander's performance for each phase and then did an overall assessment in the epilogue. He also tried to measure the effect of Allied air power in the battle, from direct support (ground attack, air superiority and air resupply) and indirect support (interdiction missions against communication and supplies).

My only peeve with this book is the sloppy editing/proofreading concerning the identification of German combat units. If the reader was not familiar with the battle, he/she could find it confusing. Some Wehrmacht units were identified as Waffen SS and vice versa, the 9th Panzer Division was also identified as the 9th Panzergrenadier (which never existed). These errors were not systematic, which points to proof reading/editing. Doctor Winston has an excellent grasp of the Allied order of battle. There are numerous sources of the German order of battle easily available to the author, his editors and his publisher. So I found this factor annoying (I find sloppy proof reading/ fact checking in anything I read annoying) and considering Dr. Winston's background and intense interest in the Ardennes battle, disappointing.

But besides that slight annoyance, I found this book an excellent read and would recommend it to anyone interested in this particular battle or wanting to know how the corps system functions.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Narrow View at the Top, July 11 2007

By Elliot Hoffman "Professor Hoffman" - Published on Amazon.com

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This review is from: Corps Commanders of the Bulge: Six American Generals and Victory in the Ardennes (Hardcover)

The book is well written and informative. Even for a veteran reader of WWII books there was much new material, or at least material presented in a different way. However, the basic premise of the book is somewhat flawed. At the early stages of the battle of the Bulge it was a series of small and very brave actions that made the difference in slowing down the Germans. Even later, the Corps Commanders, including those for whom the author has great respect, merely backed up decisions made by subordinates. Indeed the battle, whether in the north with the stand at the Elsenborn Ridge or in south with the releif of Bastogne, would have taken place regardless of who was the respective Corps Commander. Additionally, while the author's description of the education of his players is quite laudatory, some might find their higher command education as insular. A warning, this book is not for someone who has not read extinsively about WWII.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 9 reviews 4.6 out of 5 stars