The Ghost Front: The Ardennes Before the Battle of the Bulge - Hardcover

Whiting, Charles

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0306811480 ISBN 13: 9780306811487

Publisher: Da Capo Press, 2002

Synopsis

While much has been written about the Battle of the Bulge—Hitler's gigantic counteroffensive in the Ardennes Forest—the question of exactly how Germany was able to secretly mass its strategic reserves opposite the U.S. front remains as shrouded in mystery today as it was at the time. In December 1944, the snow-covered Ardennes was so quiet it was termed by Allied planners "the Ghost Front." The U.S. placed its greenest units among the wooded hills, along with combat-shattered units. But beneath trees just miles away, the Germans were stealthily massing two full Panzer armies and 300,000 assault troops. Week after week, Hitler poured the cream of the Wehrmacht into the "quiet" sector, for a surprise attack designed to shatter the American front. And while the Germans were eventually defeated in the Bulge, the preparations for the attack marked a victory for German stealth, deception, and organization. Charles Whiting, one of the best-selling historians of the war, examines how the Allies could have anticipated the attack had they not been lulled into a false sense of security. He also delves into the controversy over whether George Patton had received advance word of the offensive but failed to warn the frontline divisions. This question and many others are at last answered in Ghost Front.

About this title

About the Author:

Charles Whiting served with a reconnaisance outfit in WWII and has since become one of the premier historians of the war. Among his many best-selling works are Patton, The Last Assault, and Death on a Distant Frontier. He currently lives in York, England.

Review:

"A fast-paced tale...The best account this reviewer has read of the Germans' intelligence gathering, security, and deception plans." -- On Point: The Journal of Army History Fall 2003

"As always, recommended." -- Library Journal

"The author loves a good war story and tells one well." -- Choice

"Whiting must be the world's most prolific military writer." -- Soldier

"Whiting's special gift is to carry the reader along....He can be simultaneously dramatic and objective." -- Publishers Weekly

About this edition

• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0306811480
• ISBN 13: 9780306811487
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240