Thomas F. (hardtack) -
The author did an amazing job in capturing the heart of the 99th Infantry Division and telling the story of its members from the beginning of training to their deactivation at the end of the war in Europe and return home.
This division was brand new to combat when the Germans began their attack on 16 December 1944 in the Ardennes. The men of the 99th were stationed on Elesborn Ridge and, with the veteran 2nd Infantry Division, held that critical point on the northern edge of the assault and stopped the Germans, significantly contributing to the American victory in that battle.
I have read numerous histories of divisions which fought in World War II and this is one of the finest. You can 'feel' the cold, the hunger, the crawling lice, the dysentery, the lack of sleep, the terror of battle, the loss of comrades, the callousness of killing and the underlying humanity in the stories of the men revealed on these pages.
This division was brand new to combat when the Germans began their attack on 16 December 1944 in the Ardennes. The men of the 99th were stationed on Elesborn Ridge and, with the veteran 2nd Infantry Division, held that critical point on the northern edge of the assault and stopped the Germans, significantly contributing to the American victory in that battle.
I have read numerous histories of divisions which fought in World War II and this is one of the finest. You can 'feel' the cold, the hunger, the crawling lice, the dysentery, the lack of sleep, the terror of battle, the loss of comrades, the callousness of killing and the underlying humanity in the stories of the men revealed on these pages.
