The Shock of War: Unknown Battles That Ruined Adolph Hitler's Plan for a Second Blitzkrieg in the West, December-January, 1944-45

By J.C. Doherty

Book Overview

If you have not read Volume I, "The Story so Far," which begins Volume II, will bring you up to speed. A great read for those interested in WWII. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0961398051
• ISBN13: 9780961398057
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Vert Milon Press
• Length: 2 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Shock of War, The

I'm sorry to say that I have not yet read Volume II, however, I can not recommend highly enough Volume I for small unit leaders. Doherty has successfully injected the human side of misery into this historical gem. While I have not found the term, "the fog of war," used in his text, this term springs to mind with every part of each narrative (chapter). The author slips from one piece of ground and one small, semi or totally isolated force (from platoon to battalion) and tells their piece of an interrelated jigsaw of action spanning a few days and a few miles. It is difficult for most Americans younger than the Korean War vets to imagine the agony of fright of the intense pre-attack shelling, penetrating cold, hunger and fear felt by the survivors of the 99th Infantry and 2nd Infantry Divisions as they held the northern shoulder far longer than would seem possible. The only modern equivalent to such punishment would be the Iraqi army in recent wars against the Coalition, sans the 9th and 2nd IDs' tenacity and valor. This book is a must for small unit leaders to better understand the "fog of war" and how decisive and correct action in times of confusion become force multipliers. It is also a must for military historians and WW II aficionados alike.