Book Review of
Weapons of the Battle of the Bulge
From the Photographic Archives of the U.S. Army Signal Corps
Author: Darren Neely
Pen & Sword Ltd.
ISBN: 978-1-39900-105-2
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2023
MSRP: $34.95
ISBN: 978-1-39900-105-2
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2023
MSRP: $34.95
HISTORY:
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front, during World War II The offensive was carried out from 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945.
It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region. Between Belgium and Luxembourg, spearheaded by the feared Tiger tank. Although the Germans managed to begin their offensive with complete surprise and enjoyed some initial successes, they were not able to seize the initiative on the Western Front and would be pushed back to their starting lines as the weather cleared.
Like many engagements of WW2, the Battle of the Bulge was fought and won by the soldier with a rifle, a machine-gun team, a well-coordinated mortar assault and infantry support weapons.
This book will showcase all the weapons used by soldiers in the Bulge. From rifles and heavy machine guns and mortars and artillery, as well as armoured cars, self-propelled artillery and tanks. Weapon of the Battle of the Bulge will show how the battle was fought, and ultimately won. By the western Allies, which included the British and Canadians in addition to American forces.
From the American M1 Garand rifle to the fearsome German Tiger II tank, the Battle of the Bulge was fought by the individual GI, fresh from the United States, to veteran German Panzer crews, who gained their experience on the Russian Front.
High-quality photographs of the infantry soldiers, artillery emplacements, American and German armor, in action, at rest, and destroyed after combat are shown.
THE BOOK:
Pen & Sword Ltd. is based in the UK. They are distributed by Casemate Publishers, based in Havertown, PA.
The book is hardbound of 317 pages. Eight pages are blank.
It has a paper-jacket, that has leaves that hold it tight to the book. The cover art is on the jacket. It shows a black and white of 4 U.S. infantrymen in a group. One man is prone and firing a machine gun. The other 3 men are armed with rifles. They all wear khaki uniforms. Three wear steel helmets and one is bare-headed. One man is kneeling on his left leg. One is standing and the third one is seated.
There is a green badge, with yellow print that says CAMERAMAN OFFICIAL on it, over an illustration of a torch and crossed flags. This is the only color included with the book.
The back cover shows a black and white photo of a Sherman tank on a snow covered field with many other Allied vehicles.
The book contains three chapters:
1: Infantry Weapons
2. Infantry Support Weapons & Artillery
3. Armored Fighting Vehicles (AFVs)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1 shows:
A MP in a jeep, a radio-man, infantry, parachutists, the M1 Garand rifle (29 photos), the 50 cal M3 submachine gun (14 photos), German prisoners, a U.S. soldier riding a bicycle, a Browning BAR automatic rifle (2 photos), a Bren machine gun, a U.S. bazooka (2 photos), a 30 cal Browning machine gun (19 photos), a U.S. infantryman setting demolition charges on a tree (2 photos), a U.S. half-track, a German Sturmgewehr HR 44 assault rifle, a German MG 42 and M4 105mm assault rifle.
Chapter 2 shows:
More U.S. bazookas (5 photos), a German bazooka, a PIAT (Projector, Infantry, Anti-tank weapon), a German Panzerfaust (2 photos), a U.S. flamethrower, U.S. & German mines (4 photos), a wrecked German Hummel self-propelled gun, a U.S. 105mm gun, a German flak gun.
Photos of U.S. soldiers include men from:
The 10th Infantry Div., the 32nd Combat Engineer Battalion, the 26th Infantry Reg. (3 photos), the 28th Infantry Div., (3 photos), the 1st Infantry Div. (4 photos), the 4th Armoured Div.,(3 photos), the 36st Infantry Reg., the 5th Infantry Div., the 291st Infantry Reg., the 508th Parachute Infantry Reg., the 75th Infantry Reg., (3 photos), the 83rd Infantry Div., (5 photos), the 507th Parachute Reg., “Hogan’s 400”, 84th Div.,(2 photos), the 87th Infantry Div., the 643rd Tank Battalion, the 23rd Infantry Reg., (2 photos), the 2nd Infantry Div., the 357th Infantry Div., the 101st Infantry Reg., the 325th Glider Reg., (2 photos), the 82nd Airborne Div., the 329th Infantry Reg.,(2 photos), the 17th Airborne Sqdn. (2 photos), the 24th Cavalry Sqdn. (2 photos), 507th Parachutists Infantry Regt., Canadian parachutists (2 photos), British 51st Highland Div., 771st Tank Battalion, German grenadiers, American soldier with a captured German MG 42, Company F-2nd Battalion-502nd Parachute Reg.-101st Airborne Div., (2 photos), a little Belgian boy, 25th Armoured Engineer Battalion, 7th Armoured Div., 23rd Armoured-engineer Battalion of the 3rd Armoured Div., 11th Infantry Reg., Company M-334th Infantry Div., 75th Armoured Div.,23rd Engineer Battalion of the 3rd Armoured Div., 11th Infantry Regt., 75th Infantry Div., 290th Reg., 811th Tank Destroyer Battalion, 4th Armoured Div., 30th Signal Company, 90th Infantry Div., 195th Field Artillery Battalion (2 photos), Company B of the 68th Tank Battalion, 36th Armoured Div., 53rd Armoured Infantry Battalion of the 4th Armoured Div., (2 photos), 329th Infantry Reg. of the 83rd Infantry Div., the 325th Glider Infantry of the 82nd Airborne, the 324th Combat Engineers Battalion of the 99th Infantry Div., the 23rd Armoured Engineer Battalion, the 51st Combat Engineer Battalion (3 photos).
Chapter 3 shows AFVs:
A captured German soldier and a dead one, a German flak gun, a U.S. M45 quadmount weapons system (5 photos), German mortar, a U.S. 60mm & 81mm mortar (4 photos), U.S. 40mm AA Gun (3 photos), a German 2cm Flakvierling 38 with dead German soldier beside it, German 40mm AA Gun, German 6-barreled 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 rocket-launcher(2 photos), a U.S. 57mm anti-tank gun, a U.S. towed 3 inch anti-tank gun, a U.S. 30in anti-tank gun, American 155mm howitzer, 105mm howitzer knocked-out, U.S. 75mm pack howitzer(2 photos), 57mm anti-tank gun,(3 photos), U.S. 90mm AA gun, (3 photos).
The end of the book contains 4 pages of NOTES and a 2 page BIBLIOGRAPHY.
There is a post-card inserted into the book to use to get more information about Pen & Sword Books from Casemate.
I want to thank Casemate for this review sample. They are the N. American distributor of Pen & Sword Ltd. Books and all their titles can be seen on Casemate’s website at:
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front, during World War II The offensive was carried out from 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945.
It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region. Between Belgium and Luxembourg, spearheaded by the feared Tiger tank. Although the Germans managed to begin their offensive with complete surprise and enjoyed some initial successes, they were not able to seize the initiative on the Western Front and would be pushed back to their starting lines as the weather cleared.
Like many engagements of WW2, the Battle of the Bulge was fought and won by the soldier with a rifle, a machine-gun team, a well-coordinated mortar assault and infantry support weapons.
This book will showcase all the weapons used by soldiers in the Bulge. From rifles and heavy machine guns and mortars and artillery, as well as armoured cars, self-propelled artillery and tanks. Weapon of the Battle of the Bulge will show how the battle was fought, and ultimately won. By the western Allies, which included the British and Canadians in addition to American forces.
From the American M1 Garand rifle to the fearsome German Tiger II tank, the Battle of the Bulge was fought by the individual GI, fresh from the United States, to veteran German Panzer crews, who gained their experience on the Russian Front.
High-quality photographs of the infantry soldiers, artillery emplacements, American and German armor, in action, at rest, and destroyed after combat are shown.
THE BOOK:
Pen & Sword Ltd. is based in the UK. They are distributed by Casemate Publishers, based in Havertown, PA.
The book is hardbound of 317 pages. Eight pages are blank.
It has a paper-jacket, that has leaves that hold it tight to the book. The cover art is on the jacket. It shows a black and white of 4 U.S. infantrymen in a group. One man is prone and firing a machine gun. The other 3 men are armed with rifles. They all wear khaki uniforms. Three wear steel helmets and one is bare-headed. One man is kneeling on his left leg. One is standing and the third one is seated.
There is a green badge, with yellow print that says CAMERAMAN OFFICIAL on it, over an illustration of a torch and crossed flags. This is the only color included with the book.
The back cover shows a black and white photo of a Sherman tank on a snow covered field with many other Allied vehicles.
The book contains three chapters:
1: Infantry Weapons
2. Infantry Support Weapons & Artillery
3. Armored Fighting Vehicles (AFVs)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1 shows:
A MP in a jeep, a radio-man, infantry, parachutists, the M1 Garand rifle (29 photos), the 50 cal M3 submachine gun (14 photos), German prisoners, a U.S. soldier riding a bicycle, a Browning BAR automatic rifle (2 photos), a Bren machine gun, a U.S. bazooka (2 photos), a 30 cal Browning machine gun (19 photos), a U.S. infantryman setting demolition charges on a tree (2 photos), a U.S. half-track, a German Sturmgewehr HR 44 assault rifle, a German MG 42 and M4 105mm assault rifle.
Chapter 2 shows:
More U.S. bazookas (5 photos), a German bazooka, a PIAT (Projector, Infantry, Anti-tank weapon), a German Panzerfaust (2 photos), a U.S. flamethrower, U.S. & German mines (4 photos), a wrecked German Hummel self-propelled gun, a U.S. 105mm gun, a German flak gun.
Photos of U.S. soldiers include men from:
The 10th Infantry Div., the 32nd Combat Engineer Battalion, the 26th Infantry Reg. (3 photos), the 28th Infantry Div., (3 photos), the 1st Infantry Div. (4 photos), the 4th Armoured Div.,(3 photos), the 36st Infantry Reg., the 5th Infantry Div., the 291st Infantry Reg., the 508th Parachute Infantry Reg., the 75th Infantry Reg., (3 photos), the 83rd Infantry Div., (5 photos), the 507th Parachute Reg., “Hogan’s 400”, 84th Div.,(2 photos), the 87th Infantry Div., the 643rd Tank Battalion, the 23rd Infantry Reg., (2 photos), the 2nd Infantry Div., the 357th Infantry Div., the 101st Infantry Reg., the 325th Glider Reg., (2 photos), the 82nd Airborne Div., the 329th Infantry Reg.,(2 photos), the 17th Airborne Sqdn. (2 photos), the 24th Cavalry Sqdn. (2 photos), 507th Parachutists Infantry Regt., Canadian parachutists (2 photos), British 51st Highland Div., 771st Tank Battalion, German grenadiers, American soldier with a captured German MG 42, Company F-2nd Battalion-502nd Parachute Reg.-101st Airborne Div., (2 photos), a little Belgian boy, 25th Armoured Engineer Battalion, 7th Armoured Div., 23rd Armoured-engineer Battalion of the 3rd Armoured Div., 11th Infantry Reg., Company M-334th Infantry Div., 75th Armoured Div.,23rd Engineer Battalion of the 3rd Armoured Div., 11th Infantry Regt., 75th Infantry Div., 290th Reg., 811th Tank Destroyer Battalion, 4th Armoured Div., 30th Signal Company, 90th Infantry Div., 195th Field Artillery Battalion (2 photos), Company B of the 68th Tank Battalion, 36th Armoured Div., 53rd Armoured Infantry Battalion of the 4th Armoured Div., (2 photos), 329th Infantry Reg. of the 83rd Infantry Div., the 325th Glider Infantry of the 82nd Airborne, the 324th Combat Engineers Battalion of the 99th Infantry Div., the 23rd Armoured Engineer Battalion, the 51st Combat Engineer Battalion (3 photos).
Chapter 3 shows AFVs:
A captured German soldier and a dead one, a German flak gun, a U.S. M45 quadmount weapons system (5 photos), German mortar, a U.S. 60mm & 81mm mortar (4 photos), U.S. 40mm AA Gun (3 photos), a German 2cm Flakvierling 38 with dead German soldier beside it, German 40mm AA Gun, German 6-barreled 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 rocket-launcher(2 photos), a U.S. 57mm anti-tank gun, a U.S. towed 3 inch anti-tank gun, a U.S. 30in anti-tank gun, American 155mm howitzer, 105mm howitzer knocked-out, U.S. 75mm pack howitzer(2 photos), 57mm anti-tank gun,(3 photos), U.S. 90mm AA gun, (3 photos).
The end of the book contains 4 pages of NOTES and a 2 page BIBLIOGRAPHY.
There is a post-card inserted into the book to use to get more information about Pen & Sword Books from Casemate.
I want to thank Casemate for this review sample. They are the N. American distributor of Pen & Sword Ltd. Books and all their titles can be seen on Casemate’s website at:
Highly recommended.