Other Battle of the Bulge

In December 1944, while the Americans were trying to stem the German offensive in the Belgian Ardennes, Hitler launched another major offensive in France aimed at recapturing Alsace-Lorraine. This ``second Battle of the Bulge,'' in the winter of 1944-45, lasted a month longer than the first, cost the lives of 16,000 Americans and twice that number of French soldiers serving under U.S. command. Whiting convincingly argues that it was a more significant battle than the Ardennes ``Bulge'' because it threatened to break up the Western alliance and plunge France into political anarchy. The Supreme Allied Commander, General Eisenhower, had severe problems maintaining the ``Bulge'' and Alsace fronts at the same time, compounded by his lack of confidence in General Jacob Devers, whose combined U.S.-French army was responsible for the latter sector. The book shows how Devers won Ike's gratitude for his annihilating counterattack against the German 19th Army. Whiting ( Bloody Aachen ) expertly describes the overall strategy of the battle and its political overtones and provides as well colorful vignettes of small-unit combat and the exploits of individual GIs, such as Audie Murphy, who saved the day in local clashes. Photos. (Nov.)