A Blood-Dimmed Tide: The Battle of the Bulge by the Men Who Fought It (Dell World War II Library) - Gerald Astor

Good Book on the Battle of the Bulge

Interesting supplement to other works on the Battle of the Bulge. The book does not try to explain the flow of the battle, but rather presents the viewpoint of the individual soldiers involved. It captures the wide range of emotions of the participants during and after battle, and presents war in all of it's grit and horror, not glorifying it or sugar-coating it. I was especially interested in the final few chapters discussing what happened to the participants in the 30+ years following the war, since I've not seen this previously addressed other than in books on Richard Winters. Well worth reading.

Could easily get 5 stars

This oral history is a very readable look at the Battle of the Bulge and could get 5 stars in many respects. The first hand accounts are excellent and these vets who discuss their wartime experience is captured in an engrossing account by Astor, who, after a somewhat slow 50 to 70 pages at the very beginning weaves a quite interesting look at the fighting, sometimes focusing his interest in "Operation Grief", the failed campaign engineered by Skorzeny (who did not participate) to confuse the Allies by English speaking Germans dressed as U.S. soldiers to other campaigns, like "Operation Auf", the botched German parachute drop behind the lines.

Also, towards the very end of the book, the author takes a detailed look at Jochim Peiper, who, unlike Skorzeny, did participate. A captured Major was interviewed by Astor, this same Major was a POW who discussed the war with Peiper on a few occasions.

Boring this book is not, as some have reviewers have called it, and at over 500 pages it contains a wealth of information from veterans who fought in this battle. I was shocked at their reports of inexperienced German troops marching into murderous crossfire and dying in heaps. However, in the intial days of this counter offensive, thru sheer numbers the Germans managed to overtake those units most exposed, capturing tens of thousands, while small groups, some often just joining whomever they ran into, often were quickly reorganized and thrown back into battle. The confusion and disorder is well researched and the author gives a detailed look at numerous soldiers, who's paths are followed throughout the entire book.

Astor's story gets better as the book progresses and never loses momentum and is a good look at the Bulge from the men who fought it, including brief contributions from a few Wehrmacht vets for added perspective

So so

Yes, this is a collection of stories, some of which are interesting and nice to read. Annoying, however, are the many mistakes which make one doubt Mr. Astor knows what he's talking about (Waffen SS infantry wear black? Panzer IV Panther?). Some select individual get to tell us about their life before the war, who they married, what their father did, etc etc, rarely anything interesting to know. One wonders why this privilege is granted to some and not all, although I would personally preferred none of this.

Great first hand experience put into historical perspective

I loved reading this book! Even though the reader can never have the sense, smell or hands-on experience of warfare during W.W. II....this book does a fantastic job of putting the reader directly into the thrilling, heart-pounding action from someone who has lived it. I would highly recommend it to anyone that seeks what the men were thinking, feeling and experiencing during this dramatic time in history.

No maps, but lots of oral history

How can you write a book about the Battle of the Bulge and have no maps. I knew when he said oral history there would be no detailed analysis of the battle.