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11 Days in December

Christmas at the Bulge, 1944

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

11 Days in December tells the dramatic story of one of the grimmest points of World War II and its Christmas Eve turn toward victory.

In December 1944, the Allied forces thought their campaign for securing Europe was in its final stages. But Germany had one last great surprise attack still planned, leading to some of the most intense fighting in World War II: the Battle of the Bulge. After ten days of horrific weather conditions and warfare, General Patton famously asked God, "Sir, whose side are you on?" For the next four days, as the skies cleared, the Allies could fly again, the Nazis were contained, and the outcome of the war was ensured.

Renowned historian and author Stanley Weintraub tells the remarkable story of the Battle of the Bulge as it has never been told before, from frozen foxholes to barn shelters to boxcars packed with wretched prisoners of war. He weaves together the stories of ordinary soldiers and their generals to recreate this dramatic, crucial narrative of a miraculous shift of luck in the midst of the most significant war of the modern era.

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    • AudioFile Magazine
      Eisenhower's heroic gloss dims in this portrait of the WWII offensive by the Germans against Allied troops in Belgium and Luxembourg. Patrick Cullen delivers the first-person accounts collected by Weintraub so that listeners share the cold, loss, and sense of doubt plaguing the ordinary soldier. There are higher momentsâ of course, supplied by Patton, whose famous treble Cullen does not attempt. Ernest Hemingway appears as does Marlene Dietrich, as well as memories of lice and men. Well worth hearing are the letters, journals, and recollections of soldiers who fought and celebrated the holiday far from home. Christmas trees in foxholes, orphans feted, celebratory Spam, and Eisenhower and cohorts feasting in Paris make an unforgettable portrait of war. D.P.D. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      September 18, 2006
      The Battle of the Bulge doesn't quite fit the epic mold it's often cast in—bloody, yes, but lacking in strategic consequence, with no one but Hitler doubting the Allied victory. That the carnage spoiled Christmas time is the slender irony anchoring this aimless retelling by military historian Weintraub (Silent Night: The Story of the 1914 Christmas Truce
      ). Noting American complacency about the German buildup, and strategic and personal squabbles among the Allied commanders, he trumps up Patton's prayer for good killing weather into a dramatic turning point. Mainly, though, the book is a kaleidoscope of anecdotes, combat scenes alternating incoherently with foxhole doldrums and frontline picaresque. There's pluck and defiance—" 'They've got us surrounded, the poor bastards,' " quips a jaunty GI—and death and despair. There are celebrity cameos: correspondent Ernest Hemingway drinks and growls and shoots a few Germans; Marlene Dietrich, on a USO tour, allows a soldier to dust her body with delousing powder. And there are many Christmas celebrations, everywhere from POW camps and Belgian orphanages to Hitler's headquarters. Unfortunately, the reader gleans neither a clear battle narrative nor a sense of pathos—only a period-authentic impatience to get the war over with. 8 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW
      .

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Text Difficulty:9-12

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