A Dark and Bloody Ground: The Hurtgen Forest and the Roer River Dams, 1944-1945

By: Edward G. Miller

Narrated by: Peter Hassinger

A victorious American army, having driven through Belgium almost unopposed, ran head-on into German soldiers on their own home ground, in some of the most rugged country in western Germany - and at the beginning of the worst fall and winter weather in decades.

In late 1944, American forces advanced into the hilly, heavily wooded Hürtgen Forest southeast of Aachen, Germany. For weeks, without a clear-cut reason for attacking through the forest, US commanders nevertheless ordered units of as many as seven divisions into the woods to be chewed up by German infantry and artillery. Many companies suffered huge numbers of casualties.

The Battle of the Bulge interrupted the Hürtgen Forest battles but did not end them. The Bulge provided a hiatus for the wartorn countryside around the forest and the Roer River dams. Then, beginning in January 1945, American forces resumed their offensive and were finally able to break through after one of the bloodiest and, for the US Army, most disastrous campaigns of World War II.

The book examines uncertainty of command at the army, corps, and division levels and emphasizes the confusion and fear of ground combat at the level of company and battalion - "where they do the dying." Its gripping description of the battle is based on government records and a rich selection of first-person accounts.

Forrest C. Pogue Award, presented by the Eisenhower Center for American Studies. The book is published by Texas A&M University Press.

©1995 Edward G. Miller (P)2016 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"This is a thorough, interesting study, which every student of World War II operations in northwest Europe should read." ( Army History) "This educational and informative book is worth reading by anyone wanting to know more about the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest." ( The Journal of America's Military Past)

Excellent account on the battle at Hurtgen Forest

First off if you are looking for a first hand account of the battle this isn't the story for you. Though an excellent story this book is primarily a high level account of the battle and contains only a few anecdotal accounts from a soldiers point of view. With that said the author does an excellent job of educating the listener on the motivations, mistakes, and plans of both sides of the battle. The narrator has an easy to understand voice and does a great job.

A solid listen and well worth your time if you want to understand the battle for the Hurtgen forest from an operational perspective.

Poor reader choice-no preparation

I am a regular listener to audiobooks, and it never ceases to amaze me how the producer or producers can select a performer, who simply either refuses, or doesn’t care enough to prepare to perform the audiobook. In the case of this book, the performer, repeatedly mispronounced or ill-pronounced words that are critical to the story.

Gripping story of a little known corner of WW2.

This is a very well researched and laid out narrative of the US Army's advance through the Hurtgen Forest, on their way to capture the Roer River Dams, which were vitally improtant to securing the region.Unfortunately, The Army didnt realize how important these dams were, and instead concentrated on taking the towns and crossroads, which kept the Army bogged down until the winter, which was bitterly cold that year, and actually ended up costing the lives of a lot of soldiers that ddint have to die. It covers the personalities of the commanders, with little personal notes of regular soldiers interspersed throughout. Peter Hassinger does an excellent job narrating, keeping a serious tone while not letting it become dry and boring. Any history buff should be interested in this book.

I was given a free copy of this book by the narrator in exchange for an honest review through Audiobook Boom.

Spotlight on a shadowed corner of WW2 history

The author researches and presents us with a a shadowed corner of WW2 and reveals it for what it was. One of many such battle fronts that were swept to the side in favor of Marie spectacular and successful stories that shine through the lens of Hollywood for public consumption. This gritty tale of hard fought yards won and lost for little reason and less direction in the dark of a winter wood will leave you in awe of the men who fought and died there. The author has small personal accounts of heroics in each chapter that convey the feeling of the battles and shine briefly on the short heroic activities of the few that have been remembered for their outstanding acts of bravery as well as the feelings of the front line men of the trenches just grinding through. I received this audiobook from the author narrator or publisher for free via audiobookboom in exchange for an unbiased review

An interesting and fascinating piece of history

Any additional comments?

I love history and this is a unique story which was at the footsteps of WW2. The importance of the dams and the sacrifice made will never be forgotten.

"I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom."