 John the OFM  | 14 Mar 2010 10:08 a.m. PST |
There is a serious gap in my books, from the end of the Normandy campaign up to Market Garden and the Bulge.
If you go by my bookshelf, not much happened from Cobra to Market Garden.  Can our experts recommend some nice inexpensive books in print that cover this period? Judging by past posts, I am interested in the battle of Arracourt, but would also like to put it in context.
My title may be a bit misleading, but a more comprehensive title would not fit in the TMP title format. I am not interested in just a narrative, but would like some discussion of tactics and why the supposedly inferior Sherman held its own and prevailed. |
 Saber6  | 14 Mar 2010 10:19 a.m. PST |
How about "The Lorraine Campaign" by Hugh Cole. Being one of the Green Books I think it might even be online at the Center for Military History site. link Also check out "The Seigfried Line Campaign" |
| PKay Inc | 14 Mar 2010 10:32 a.m. PST |
"Patton at Bay, The Lorraine Campaign, 1944", by John Nelson Rickard. I'm finishing reading it right now – very well done. Brent |
| NoLongerAMember | 14 Mar 2010 11:29 a.m. PST |
Have a look here for an online source of the Hugh Cole book. link |
| Neroon | 14 Mar 2010 1:06 p.m. PST |
"Lorraine 1944", by Steve Zaloga link
An excellent study of the campaign, focusing on the tank battles. In typical Osprey fashion it has lots of nice color maps of the battlefields. Don't knock it because it's from Osprey, Steve Zaloga is one of the go to guys when it comes to American military history. "Tank Tactics, From Normandy to Lorraine", by Roman Jarymowycz. link
This covers more than what you may be after, but the chapter on the Lorraine Campaign by itself is worth the price of the book. A very detailed analysis of the operational and tactical aspects of the campaign with emphasis on American armored units. There are no fancy colored maps but there are plenty of diagrams detailing tactics. This book answers directly the "Sherman Question" in detail (moreso than Zaloga does). Lastly, you do remember that the Lorraine Campaign is the setting for Kelly's Heroes don't you? Cheers |
| Neroon | 14 Mar 2010 1:19 p.m. PST |
If you get tired of Patton, how about 1st Army's campaign to the north.
"The Siegfried Line 1944-45", by Steve Zaloga. link
This details the battle to capture Aachen and the battles in the Huertgen Forest. There is a chapter on the 28th Infantry's attack that is worth looking at. As usual there are the color maps of the battlefields. A good book to have. Cheers |
| Martin Rapier | 14 Mar 2010 1:38 p.m. PST |
'The Battle for the Rhine' by Robin Neillands covers many aspects of operations post Normandy and pre-MG, although it includes later stuff too. |
| John the OFM | 14 Mar 2010 2:01 p.m. PST |
Lastly, you do remember that the Lorraine Campaign is the setting for Kelly's Heroes don't you? No! I had forgotten! It's always good to go to primary sources for research like this. |
| elsyrsyn | 14 Mar 2010 7:58 p.m. PST |
Lastly, you do remember that the Lorraine Campaign is the setting for Kelly's Heroes don't you? No! I had forgotten! It's always good to go to primary sources for research like this. Oddball's memoirs do tend to ramble, but still a great read. Doug |
| Marc33594 | 15 Mar 2010 4:38 a.m. PST |
Second the Zaloga Osprey book. Further you can get 4 Osprey's bundled into one book. "Into the Reich: Battles on Germany's Western Frontier 1944-1945" cover: Lorraine 1944, Arnhem 1944, Ardennes 1944 and The Rhineland 1945. |
| christot | 24 Mar 2010 5:03 p.m. PST |
"Tank Tactics, From Normandy to Lorraine", by Roman Jarymowycz The Lorraine chapter does seem to be ok, unfortunately he makes quite a few errors elsewhere which brings the whole into question. Also his rabid anti-Monty stance gets a bit tiresome after a while. |
| Chris PzTp | 10 May 2010 1:08 p.m. PST |
…would like some discussion of tactics and why the supposedly inferior Sherman held its own and prevailed. This post seems to be a little late, but a good book for this part of your request is Zaloga's Osprey Duel on the Panther vs the Sherman. The focus, however, is on the Bulge. |
| jefferysl | 11 May 2010 6:37 a.m. PST |
Unfortunately, Jarymowycz is Austrian and his bias shows. I made the mistake of buying the book. He comes from the old school of each Wehrmacht Volksgrenadier is worth 3.2 GIs, yada yada yada…. He does make a good argument about Soviet brilliance at the operational level, but I found the book to be crap, in general |
| Marshal Amherst | 16 Jun 2010 5:00 p.m. PST |
Thanks for the book recommendations, finished Cole and Rickard. Any suggestions on finding small scale (1:25,000 or 1:50,000) maps for the area online? Short of ordering an entire series of the IGN Top25 maps? |
