Overview

After their success in Normandy in the summer of 1944, the Allies thought that the war would be 'over by Christmas'. In the late autumn, despite the relative failure of the Arnhem operation, the Allied armies were poised to smash the Siegfried Line and invade the Third Reich. The vital port of Antwerp was at last disgorging supplies. ULTRA (code-breaker) was not forecasting any particular problems. A feeling of complacency persuaded Eisenhower and Montgomery to relax.Adolf Hitler, had decided in the autumn on 1944 to take an incredible gamble. If it had succeeded, he would have seized the crucial supply port of Antwerp, and divided and cut off the whole British and Canadian 21st Army Group as well as at least one of the American armies. The end-game could have meant their surrender or at best a second 'Dunkirk'.Hitler's superbly well concealed Panzer army struck in the Ardennes in mid-December. Thick fog and low-cloud prevented air reconnaisance. English-speaking German commandos in ca

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Delaforce is a fine researcher and presents the facts with a clarity most historians would do well to copy Scottish Legion News 'The author disentangles the various strands in this awesome confrontation with skill and he also balances the wider view with an attention to the detail that brings it all back to life.' Contemporary Review

Author Information

Patrick Delaforce has written 13 books on military history, all on World War Two. A veteran of the war, he received three decorations, in addition to campaign medals.

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