Short Synopsis
The costs of war are here made real, uncovered in the stories of those who perished and those who emerged from battle to find the world forever changed.

Full Synopsis
Hitler's last gamble, the Battle of the Bulge, was intended to push the Allied invaders of Normandy all the way back to the beaches. The plan nearly succeeded and almost certainly would have were it not for one small Belgian town and its tenacious American defenders, who held back a tenfold larger German force while awaiting the arrival of General George Patton's mighty Third Army.

In this dramatic account of the 1944–45 winter of war in Bastogne, historian Peter Schrijvers offers the first full story of the German assault on the strategically located town. From the December stampede of American and Panzer divisions racing to reach Bastogne first, through the bloody eight-day siege from land and air, and through three more weeks of unrelenting fighting even after the siege was broken, events at Bastogne hastened the long-awaited end of WWII. Schrijvers draws on diaries, memoirs, and other fresh sources to illuminate the experiences not only of Bastogne's three thousand citizens and their American defenders, but also of German soldiers and commanders desperate for victory.

"Using fresh sources and deft writing, Peter Schrijvers develops a panoramic and compelling boots-on-the-ground illumination of one of the Bulge's most epic battles." ---Patrick K. O'Donnell, author of Dog Company

"An excellent account of the battle for Bastogne, both well-researched and well-written." ---Antony Beevor

"Lee delivers the many personal, vivid, and sometimes grisly accounts with building dramatic tension to the point where the listener will breathe a sigh of relief and cheer when General Patton's reinforcements finally arrive." ---AudioFile