The Battle Of the Bulge, in December 1944, was Hitler and the
Wehrmacht's last great battle of World War II in the West. After
losing the war for the beaches and hedgerows of Normandy, and barely
escaping with huge losses from the Falaise pocket, the German Army
fell back to just West of the Rhine and the German border. Hitler
and his Generals planned a massive counter stroke and marshaled the
forces to make it work. Striking in surprise on December 16, 1944 in
the weakly defended Ardennes, German thrusts moved quickly to put
Allied forces on the defensive. The Battle of the Bulge was that
ensuing great battle. In this book Colonel David Pergrin reaches out
for the other stories of that battle. Assisted by the Army Engineer
Association, he has gathered numerous battlefield stories,
anecdotes, and experiences told by those who were there and who
lived them. With his own battlefield experience providing an
understanding of people in war, he has crafted an interesting book
that tells those stories of engineers in battle. Many of the
participants in that great battle have never been recognized for
their exploits. The stories Dave Pergrin has collected in this book
bring attention to engineer soldiers in combat and construction
units who fought and died with their comrades of infantry, tankers,
artillery, and the others - units that have not before been accorded
their due. Weaving these stories and vignettes together into the
framework of the overall battle, this book honors the many engineer
soldiers, their companies and battalions, that contributed greatly
to the allied to the allied defeat of the Germans.