11 Days in December: Christmas at the Bulge, 1944

All World War II fans will enjoy this concise and well written view of the Battle of the Bulge. Mr. Weintraub does a tremendous job of showing us what really went on during the battle. Unlike most authors he is equal in his examination of both the fighting man as well as the genralship. He does spend a little time on the political situation, but not more than necessary and does not get bogged down by it. Weintraub is also very good at making sure that the story does not go beyond the Bulge. He focuses on the heaviest fighting and leaves side stories to some other author to explore. His interest is in telling the story of the Battle of the Bulge and he does a perfect job.

"11 Days In December" by Stanley Weintraub Subtitled: "Christmas At The Bulge, 1944" New American Library, Penguin Books, September 2007. This concise little book (only 201 pages long) is a written collage (if that is possible) of many experiences of what has gone down in American history as "The Battle of the Bulge". The prodigious author, Stanley Weintraub, has collected the records of the recollections of many people, ranging from President Roosevelt down to the soldier in the field. The central theme of all these disparate individual records is the eleven day period in 1944 from December 16th through December 26th. The book begins with a bet between General Eisenhower and British Field Marshall Montgomery that the war would be over by Christmas 1944. Adolf Hitler gave orders for an offensive in the west that would cause Eisenhower to lose his bet, extend the war well beyond Christmas and enter history as the "Bulge". For some portion of the front of the book, I felt that the author was so "pro" Montgomery, that I went on the internet to see if Stanley Weintraub was actually British. He is not. This book, "11 Days In December", is not just a collection of numbered Army units moving here and there in Belgium, although, the author does tell you, that such-and-such a unit moved to a town; as an example, that the 101st Airborne was moved, by trucks, to Bastogne. In fact, Weintraub has some three to four pages in the index dealing with numbered American, British and German units. If you would like a book that describes where the different divisions, regiments, headquarters, etc., were located, I would recommend "The Battle Of The Bulge" by John Toland (1966). Of greater importance is the fact that the author brings together many recollections of different kinds of people. For example, there are the reminisces of movie stars David Niven and Marlene Dietrich, which are capped by the reported experiences of the famous writer, Ernest Hemingway. Of course, the author includes the famous response of General Anthony McAuliffe when he was asked by the Germans to surrender Bastogne. "Nuts!" On a more serious note, Stanley Weintraub records, pages 100-101, that President F.D. Roosevelt asked Secretary of War Stimson and General Leslie Groves if the A-bomb would be ready to use on the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge. The bomb was not read and Weintraub writes, "Despite later racist allegations, the atomic bomb was not being withheld for use against Japan". The book ends with the relief of Bastogne, on 26 December 1944, when General Patton's Fourth Armored Division reached that Belgian town. By the way, in the Church's calendar, December 26th has long been St. Stephen's Day; see, for example, "Good King Wenceslas" by John M. Neale and Tim Ladwig, 2005.

The first thing you have to ask yourself as you consider this book is 'What information is it I want to get about the Battle of the Bulge.' If it's a detailed military historical treatment of the battle with it's strategic and tactical significance of the battle, this isn't the book. As the author says in the Preface, this is a book on 'how it seemed then - a look at ten days on a frozen World War II battlefront through the lens of Christmas.' And at that purpose it excels. Here are small annecdotes. Here is what one soldier after another remembers. Here are times when the German and American troops stopped fighting and sat down for Christmas. It is a supurbly written book, and gives you a better feeling of what it must have been like to have actually been there. I'm glad I wasn't (I was three years old then). This is not to say that it isn't historically accurate. It is. But the emphasis is on the individual soldiers, not the big picture. I only noticed one error, and it's probably a typo. On page 140 he talks about the 442th Regiment being part of the 106th Division. The 442 was the famous 'Go For Broke' Regiment composed of Japanese-American troops. They fought in Italy, not at the Bulge. Like I said, probably a typo - the regiment Col Descheneaux commanded was the 422. How's that for nit-picking?

Another great book on the single most significant battle, involving American forces, of WW2 in Europe. As the title says, it focuses on the first 11 days of probably the most confusing and involved battle of the whole war. That our troops, most of them ill prepared at that time, did as well as they did under horrendous conditions is a great testament to America's citizen soldier. That their leadership did as poorly as it did in a lot of cases, and as magnificantly as it did in other cases, really sheds some light on the US Army at the time. This book spells it all out in great detail, how it was for the individual soldier trying to stay alive, as well as the decision making from Gen. Marshall on down. Certainly the most difficult battle American soldiers fought in WW2, Normandy was terrible but for the most part it was only a day or so, and with far fewer casualties, the author really make you feel for the 18-19-20 year olds who were suffering as much from the weather and hunger as from a desperate enemy who knew this was really his last shot. The book is somewhat similar to " Company Commander" and the more recently published "The Longest Winter", both equally good reading. This book is important to those wanting to gain more insight in to the day to day life of American soldiers in the Battle of The Bulge. It also touches a little on the German side of the battle, particularly on the importance of the American uniformed German soldiers who spread confusion, terror, and death. The only downside to this book is the same one I have found in the many other books I have read on the battle. The reader is still left with confusion about the overall conduct of the battle. Apparently the battle was so large, so involved, that no single book can put it together so that the reader feels he knows what happened pretty much every step of the way. This one will not do that for you either.It will tell you though, how it was, in great detail, for a few of the many thousands of soldiers who took part. And in all fairness it didn't claim to be the definitive work on the battle. But I will still recommend it very highly to anyone interested in the Bulge, or in the war in general, particularly in Europe. Great book, you will love it, I know I did. You will want to do a lot more reading in the subject, though.