The Longest Battle: September 1944 to February 1945 from Aachen to the Roer and Across

by Harry Yeide

Book Overview

In the early afternoon of September 12, 1944, an American patrol entered Nazi Germany southwest of the ancient city of Aachen. Three months after the landing at Normandy, the Allies were finally... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0760321558
• ISBN13: 9780760321553
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Zenith Press
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.6" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Select coverage of the battle for the Roer River

This story is about the first substantial penetration into Northern Germany, north of the Ardennes, near the ancient city of Aachen, past the dragons's teeth of the Siegfrid line and the capture of the Roer River. Crossing into Germany occurred on Sept 12th by the recon patrol of 3rd AD, just 5 days before the start of Market-Garden and the conflict will continue through the Battle of the Bulge and into Feb of 1945. The story will evolve from a recon patrol to Corps involvement and then into several Corps; the author takes the story to Feb 1945 and include the British and Canadians with Operations Veritable and Grenade. Even omitting the bloody passages of the Hurtgen Forest, the author has written a splendid account of the battle for Aachen and the advance and capture of the Roer River. Its a balanced account that shows the bravery and determination of both armies. The fighting would escalate into the heavy months of October and November that will see 30,000 casualties for the US and equally large number for the Germans. This was a thoroughly interesting and informative story. The author certainly did his homework for his coverage was excellent. The main theme was the tactical coverage of the fighting but on a secondary level, General Eisenhower's views on the war and his relationship with Monty and Bradley were also discussed on how those two would compete for Eisenhower's attention etc. Also the logistic and ammo shortages are discussed and the need to open Antwerp. The constant argument of wide front / narrow front was also stressed. In additions to good coverage of the engagements, the author also describes in detail the Armies, Corps, Divisions and Task Forces that are involved, describing the strengths and weaknesses of each unit. The battlefield is also explained in detail. One minor issue: there were several times when the author states a certain town was captured but pages later the town is captured again. It turns out the first instance the GIs only entered the town but not captured it. This happened only couple times and isn't a major issue. The brief introduction describes Aachen and the surroundings and the general state of the war on the west front at the time that helps set the stage. There are also a few simple but effective maps and some photos. The maps didn't show all the engagements sites, just the larger sites, and was a little disappointing. I had to use an atlas to follow all the action in detail. There is also an extensive Notes chapter, a Bibliography and a Order of Battle list. The OB will be essential reading if a serious attempt is made to follow the many regiments and divisions involved in this campaign. A decent index ends the book. The author also provides limited but accurate appraisal on the commanders and planners of this campaign. Bradley, Hodges and Collins get low marks on how they handled the Hurtgen Forest and the Roer River Dams. For the Germans the defense of the Roer River was essential in relation

An enthusiastically recommended addition to any personal or academic World War II history collection

The Longest Battle: September 1944 To February 1945, From Aachen To The Roer And Across by Harry Yeide (a Washington D.C. based international affairs analyst with the American government) is the day by day story of the American and Allied push against the Germans in the European Theatre that began on September 12, 1944 with an American patrol entering Nazi Germany southwest of the city of Aaschen and concluding several months later with American troops crossing the Roer river into the heartland of Germany. The conflict was an exceedingly bloody one that ended with a severe crippling of the German Wehrmacht forces from which they never recovered. Even though the war would continue until May of 1945, this extended confrontation that came to be called the Roer River campaign was critically vital to the eventual triumph of Allied forces, and would be the longest single military campaign of World War II. Harry Yeide's informed and informative history is superbly written and is an enthusiastically recommended addition to any personal or academic World War II history collection.