Alamo in the Ardennes: The Untold Story of the American Soldiers Who Made the Defense of Bastogne Possible - Paperback

by John C. McManus (Author)

"A comprehensive and vivid account of the heroic defense of Bastogne... McManus has taken a great old story and made it new again."--Rick Atkinson, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author of An Army at Dawn

Front Jacket

In December 1944, when the Germans launched their last-ditch offensive now known as theBattle of the Bulge, they badly needed to capture the Belgian city of Bastogne as a communicationscenter, supply depot, and springboard for their drive to Antwerp. The city's defense by the 101st Airborne is often cited as the battle's most desperate and dramatic episode, but these heroics never could have happened if notfor the unsung efforts of a ragtag, batteredcollection of American soldiers who absorbed the brunt of the German offensive first along the Ardennes frontier east of Bastogne.

Alamo in the Ardennes tells the powerful, poignant, yet little-known story of the bloody delaying action fought by the 28th InfantryDivision, elements of the 9th and 10th Armored Divisions, and other, smaller units. Outnumbered at times by as much as ten to one, outgunned by Hitler's dreaded panzers, and with no hope of reinforcement, they bore the full fury of the Nazi onslaught for five days, making the Germans pay for every icy inch of ground they gained.

Author John McManus reveals that the original German battle plan allowed only two days for the capture of Bastogne. Had the Germans achieved their objective on time, Hitler would have gained a vital foothold in his quest to split the Allied armies in two.

This stirring narrative follows three distinct groups of American soldiers who held up the Germans during those five brutal days. From December 16 through December 18, the 28th Infantry Division fought ferociouslyin a series of little Luxembourg towns. On December 19, the soldiers of Combat Command R of the 9th Armored Division sacrificed themselves at several small, but important, road junctionsless than ten miles from Bastogne. They did this to buy a few hours for American commanders to reinforce the outskirts of Bastogne. Then, on December 19 and 20, soldiers from the 101st AirborneDivision and Combat Command B of the 10th Armored Division successfully held off the powerful German attempts to capture the city.

An appalling number of the soldiers who destroyed the German battle plan were themselves destroyed in the furious struggle. But their gallant efforts stalled the advance long enough to allow the 101st Airborne to reach and fully occupy Bastogne and prepare for the ferocious attack to come.

Featuring numerous helpful maps and a complete list of the soldiers, local civilians, and German commanders whose actions it recounts, Alamo in the Ardennes provides a compelling, day-by-day account of this pivotal moment in America's greatest war.

Back Jacket

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR ALAMO IN THE ARDENNES

"A comprehensive and vivid account of the heroic defense of Bastogne, the linchpin in the Battle of the Bulge. With a scholar's precision and a writer's keen eye for the telling detail, John C. McManus has taken a great old story and made it new again."
--Rick Atkinson, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning An Army at Dawn and the bestselling In the Company of Soldiers

"McManus's absorbing and forthright narrative will hopefully dispel several myths, namely that Bastogne was the decisive engagement of the Battle of the Bulge, and give long-overdue credit to the many brave Americans, some of them still alive today, who made victory possible in America's greatest-ever battle. You can't ask for more. Bravo!"
--Alex Kershaw, author of The Longest Winter: The Battle of the Bulge and the Epic Story of WWII's Most Decorated Platoon and The Few: The American "Knights of the Air" Who Risked Everything to Fight in the Battle of Britain

"I have read hundreds of books about men in battle but seldom have I seen one that comes close to the intensity that John McManus achieves in Alamo in the Ardennes. To anunparalleled degree, his amazing research has enabled him to get inside the minds and hearts of dozens of soldiers, from generals to privates. This is a book that will become one of the classics of the literature of World War II combat."
--Thomas Fleming, author of The New Dealers' War: FDR and the War within World War II

Author Biography

John C. McManus is an award-winning professor, author, and military historian, and a leading expert on the history of the American combat experience. He is the Curators' Distinguished Professor of U.S. Military History at Missouri University of Science and Technology, and is currently in residence at the U.S. Naval Academy as the Leo A. Shifrin Chair of Naval and Military History. His critically acclaimed books on World War II include Grunts, September Hope, and The Dead and Those About to Die. His next book, Fire and Fortitude: The US Army in the Pacific War, 1941-1943, will be published by Dutton Caliber in July 2019.