Some of the best histories of the first and second world wars are based around personal testimonies and Martin King’s account of a relatively untold element of the western allies campaign from early autumn to Christmas of 1944 adopts this approach. There are well described sections in the book, which devotes more pages than most to the awful fighting experienced by American forces in the Hurtgen Forest. For this reader, though, the overall reading experience was diminished by the author’s personal antipathy towards a number of key senior officers, particularly when the basis for the adverse judgements was left undocumented. Overall, too, the book struggled to maintain coherence in flitting from area to area without providing a strategic context. The absence of maps, too, leaves the reader at a disadvantage. Despite these reservations, the book fills som3 gaps in the literature concerning this relatively poorly documented period.

This book covers the often overlooked period of the European theater of World War II between the Allied break out from Normandy until the start of the Battle of the Bulge. Using first hand accounts from civilians and soldiers of both sides it tells the story of the Allies race across France and into Belgium liberating towns and villages along the way. It also reveals the darker side of liberation where civilians were sometimes victimized by both occupiers and liberators, but were often punished as collaborators by their fellow citizens. It also looks at the mistaken belief among the high command at SHAEF that the Germans were a beaten foe who could no longer put up a serious fight. This belief led to serious mistakes in Operation Market Garden, the Hurtgen Forest and the fight for the Port of Antwerp. By dealing with a narrow place and time period the author was able bring out operations that I have never seen mentioned in the other books I’ve read on the European war. If you are looking for a general discussion of the war in Europe including the invasion of Normandy, the Battle of Bulge and the crossing of the Rhine this is not the book I would recommend, but if you are already familiar with this theater of operations and are looking for a more detailed discussion and a unique perspective then this book is a must read. Thanks to NetGalley and Sirius Entertainment for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Engaging Account Of Oft Overlooked Era. The period between D-Day (and the summer of 1944 generally) and the Battle of the Bulge (again, and winter 1944-45 generally) is one of the more overlooked eras of WWII, particularly in the zeitgeist of at minimum Americans. (I cannot speak to what Europeans think/ know, as I've never been closer to that continent than off the coast of the State of New Hampshire.) Here, King sets out to tell the tales of this overlooked period via numerous first hand accounts and other sources, showing through the eyes of the people that were there what was happening and through the other sources of history what was going on around those events. This is one of those books that will serve as a wakeup call to those who romanticize this particular war and these particular soldiers, as King makes the point quite well - and repeatedly - that given the pervasive and frequent abuses from *all* sides, there truly were truly few innocents involved in any angle of this, certainly of the adult (and even teenager/ young adult) variety. Even knowing that both of my grandfathers were there among some of these very events (both would survive the Bulge itself), I find King's prose and commentary compelling here. He does a tremendous job of truly showing just how horrific this period was on *everyone* involved, not just the soldiers and not just the victims of the Holocaust - though he does indeed cover many of the horrors both of those groups saw in this period as well. Truly an outstanding book, and one anyone interested in WWII needs to read. Very much recommended.

A well written book regarding the efforts in late 1944 to end the war. The author not only discusses the battles, but the political and economic stories as well. The author also did an outstanding job of weaving in first hand accounts from the participants in the action. I found the story to be well told and held my interest throughout.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Arcturus Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.