The Battle of Hurtgen Forest

New York, NY, U.S.A.: Pocket Books, 1990. Mass Market Paperback. Near Fine. First Edition. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. Collectible. 300 pages. "You can feel yourself in the forest, surrounded by trees - and by death.(Whiting has a superior knack for being able to tell the tale of war from the eyes and minds of the combat soldiers in the field." - Maj. Michael Kirtland. The worst disaster for American Forces during World War II; the Americans were rolling to Victory and the Germans were waiting in the Hurtgen Forest, or as it became known as "The Green Hell". The horror and bloodshed of this six month long hellish experience led to American Forces suffering a 90% casualty rate. It was the fall of 1944. The Americans were driving the Germans back, and the high command tasted victory. Then, in a small dark forest on the Belgian-German border, an extraordinary tragedy unfolded. One by one, American infantry battalions were fed into a fight against entrenched German defenders. One by one they were cut to ribbons, some suffering over 90 percent casualties. For in this dark and bloddy place, all the foolishness and confusion of war came together to create a battle more devastating than any other in WWII. Here is the true story of the ill-conceived, ultimately useless, six-month long Hurtgen campaign: of raw recruits rushed into battle, and full colonels scrambling half-crazed and wounded through mud and snow, of deadly German double mortar ropunds and tank ambushes, desertions and miscalculations, acts of heroism and acts of cowardice - of the thousands of American soldiers who died, and the genrals who refused to give up long after their objective had lost real meaning. "Describes the horror and bloodshed of the debacle.Whiting paints a picture with words of a hellish experience." - Stars and Stripes. Some light rubbing on top & bottom & edges of spine and some places on outside edges. Spine is creased. 3 of the outside 4 corners tips of cover have a 1/8" crease across them..