The Battle of Hurtgen Forest

Thirty thousand American G.I.s were killed or wounded in the longest battle ever fought by the U.S. Army - a battle that was ignored for so long, a battle that should never have been fought. From September 1944 to February 1945, eight U.S. infantry and two U.S. armoured divisions were thrown into the "green hell of Hurtgen" - fifty square miles of thick, rugged, hilly woods on the Belgian-German border, full of German soldiers in a deadly network of concrete bunkers. The butcher's bill was high: casualty rates ran to 50 per cent and more for most rifle companies. The High Command, from the relative comfort and security of their headquarters, miles away from the forest, refused to admit there had been a mistake. Careers, and the pride of the Army, were at stake. So more troops were poured in and the slaughter continued - to capture an objective that had long since lost any real purpose. This is a classic account of the price fighting men must pay for the prideful blunders of their commanders.