Dark December The Full Account of the Battle of the Bulge Robert E Merriam 9781544270654 Books
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The Battle of the Bulge, first published in 1947 as Dark December, is a detailed account of the German Army's last major offensive of World War II. Presented from both Allied and German viewpoints, the book examines events leading up to the offensive, the massive engagement of German forces against unprepared American units, and finally the turning back of the defeated German Wehrmacht. Author Robert E. Merriam, former chief of the Ardennes section of the U.S. Army Historical Division, had the unique opportunity—both during and after the battle—to interview leaders and sit in on important staff meetings. When the war ended, he was able to talk to German officers and to examine battle records of both sides. Robert E. Merriam (1918-1988) was born in Chicago, Illinois and earned a M.A. from the University of Chicago in 1940. From 1942 to 1964, he was a captain in the United States Army. While serving as director of the Metropolitan Housing Council in Chicago from 1946 to 1947, Merriam authored Dark December the Full Account of the Battle of the Bulge. From 1947 to 1955, Merriam was an alderman in Chicago and chairman of the Commission on Housing and Emergency Commission on Crime. During this period he co-authored The American Government Democracy in Action with Charles E. Merriam. Merriam was the Republican nominee for Mayor of Chicago in 1955, but was defeated by Richard J. Daley, the Democratic nominee. From 1955 to 1958, Merriam served as an assistant director at the U. S. Bureau of Budget. By 1958 he became the deputy director. During this period he authored Going Into Politics in 1957. Merriam ended his government career after serving as deputy assistant to the president under Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1958 to 1961.
Dark December The Full Account of the Battle of the Bulge Robert E Merriam 9781544270654 Books
This an intensely detailed account of one of the greatest battles fought during WWII in Europe, commonly called the Battle of the Bulge.It is an account of the time from late summer to spring 1944-1945 when the Allies slogged it out with the German army. There is no way I can explain this narrative in the detail of the author, except to say it is written from "3 feet" off the surface in its detail of the onslaught. I would have liked many more maps to better understand what was going on. The author conducted interviews with both Allied and Axis commanders to give him the background of understanding of the battles. I liked the several "myths" that are explored and then exploded toward the end of the book. There is little doubt that Hitler was still suffering severe mental trauma from the explosion which almost caused his death in the assassination attempt in July 1944. His mistrust of his General staff led him to conduct a minutia analysis of how the battle in the Ardenne was to take place by the German army. He completely misunderstood Eisenhower's ability to conduct the campaign with his General Staff.
In the view of the writer, Germany of 1944 was not the Germany of 1940 in terms of the "fight" and material of the German war machine. There is no question that the initial attack in December was not a surprise. It was. For two weeks in that month, the German army made some incredible advances, which devolved into attrition with the lack of gasoline and loss of weaponry. It has been argued that had this battle been fought four years previously there may have been a much different result as to the war in Europe.
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Tags : Dark December: The Full Account of the Battle of the Bulge [Robert E. Merriam] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Battle of the Bulge, first published in 1947 as Dark December, is a detailed account of the German Army's last major offensive of World War II. Presented from both Allied and German viewpoints,Robert E. Merriam,Dark December: The Full Account of the Battle of the Bulge,CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1544270658,HISTORY Military World War II
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Dark December The Full Account of the Battle of the Bulge Robert E Merriam 9781544270654 Books Reviews
This is definitely a full account of the Battle of the Bulge! If you are looking for a more narrative approach to war history, this is not the book for you. This is a history book told well, but it is not an engaging story as such. Very detailed information is given about troop movements, orders, names of every level of combat troop for both sides in each event described, etc., but there is also plenty of interesting material for the reader not so helped by such detail. If you enjoy reading WW2 history, this should be one given a read. I came away from this book in deep appreciation for our military's skill and grit, as well as for Divine providence, that put a stop to Hitler's last offensive attempt in the war.
Great read, fairly brief. An early later 40's account that has gone through a number of reprintings, In view of the immense amount of more detailed literature done since, it's hard to call it today the "full account" today but that does no detract. I was interested because the author spent some of his time with the 7th Armored Division -- my father was with the Division throughout the campaign in northern Europe and experienced the Bulge firsthand. He was with CCB which later received a PUC for its actions at St Vith. Merriam's comments on the intelligence failures are interesting, as well as his defenses of many of the senior command decisions against what he felt were unfair criticisms in 1945 and 1946. He also tries to rebalance the discussion of critical moments away from what he feels was an excessive focus on Bastogne, which dominated the news and early commentary at the time. Maps would do a lot for this book, but on a they might be wasted. Read it with a good Atlas or another book at your elbow.
(Reviewed by a veteran of the 101st Airborne, VN, 1969-70)
"Dark December" by Robert Merriam is an account of the WWII Battle of the Bulge from the perspective of an army intelligence analysis. It concerns mostly large troop movement ("Third Army") rather than some of the more familiar units ("101st Airborne") the we are familiar with from movies and other books. On the , the maps are worthless because they cannot be resized or reoriented. Of some interest was the thinking on the German side that precipitated the attack.
This is a rather dated version of the Battle of the Bulge. The author reveals a slightly different version of the events and perhaps a different slant on the events and how the major players were making the decisions they did. Its too easy to accept the distilled version of events 70 years later, but its really terrific to get a new perspective. I don't think the author was a classic scholar, but he had an analytical mind and reasonable interpretation of events. Its hard to beat the viewpoint of someone who was there and had time to think about it.
At times confusing but as thorough as was then possible, the author takes us to the battle and helps us to wade through the mind numbing confusion Of the Allied commanders. The German plan had the possibility of success because we were overconfident and unready. However, even the greatest plan of battle rarely survives the first shots of combat. We were lucky--this book shows why.
The author was present at the time of the Battle of the Bulge, and as such, his insights are valuable as an eye witness. It appears he authored the book only a relatively few years after the end of the war.
The Battle of the Bulge was an extremely complicated struggle, and it is very difficult to explain what had transpired during the period of the battle. I have read numerous accounts of the Bulge and all of them require careful reading to follow what happened in the weeks in December of 1944. Nevertheless, I think that later authors, with the advantage of being able to do more in depth research and interviews with participants have the advantage of giving a better description of what transpired.
I did find that the author did present some useful insights, however, which other authors did not include in their works.
This an intensely detailed account of one of the greatest battles fought during WWII in Europe, commonly called the Battle of the Bulge.
It is an account of the time from late summer to spring 1944-1945 when the Allies slogged it out with the German army. There is no way I can explain this narrative in the detail of the author, except to say it is written from "3 feet" off the surface in its detail of the onslaught. I would have liked many more maps to better understand what was going on. The author conducted interviews with both Allied and Axis commanders to give him the background of understanding of the battles. I liked the several "myths" that are explored and then exploded toward the end of the book. There is little doubt that Hitler was still suffering severe mental trauma from the explosion which almost caused his death in the assassination attempt in July 1944. His mistrust of his General staff led him to conduct a minutia analysis of how the battle in the Ardenne was to take place by the German army. He completely misunderstood Eisenhower's ability to conduct the campaign with his General Staff.
In the view of the writer, Germany of 1944 was not the Germany of 1940 in terms of the "fight" and material of the German war machine. There is no question that the initial attack in December was not a surprise. It was. For two weeks in that month, the German army made some incredible advances, which devolved into attrition with the lack of gasoline and loss of weaponry. It has been argued that had this battle been fought four years previously there may have been a much different result as to the war in Europe.
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