A complete account of the battle that inspired Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers.

There are few names in the annals of military history that evoke such emotion, and in some cases controversy, as the small Belgian town of Bastogne. The 101st Airborne are the best known defenders of Bastogne, but they only constituted one third of the eventual force that saved the city from total annihilation.

This book digs deeper into the defense of Bastogne, revealing more details about those indomitable “Screaming Eagles” and the other units that stood with them during that punishingly bitter cold winter of 1944/45. It also presents the perspective of the German soldiers trying desperately to re-take Bastogne that desperate winter. It is a story of sacrifice, dedication to duty, and honor in the face of terrible adversity, but more importantly it’s a human story, one that encapsulates the finest attributes of humankind in the absolute direst of circumstances.

• Cover page
• Title page
• Copyright
• Contents
• American and German Forces at Bastogne, December 1944–January 1945
• Foreword
• Prologue
• Introduction
• 1 Setting the Scene
• 2 We’re Heading Where?
• 3 First into Bastogne
• 4 Dig In and Get Ready
• 5 Lights Out
• 6 Disintegration and Destruction
• 7 Hand to Hand, Face to Face
• 8 The Hole in the Doughnut
• 9 We’re Running Out of Everything
• 10 The Value of Momentum
• 11 He Said What?
• 12 Smiling at Me
• 13 What’s Merry About All This?
• 14 The Proud Eagle Division
• 15 A Winter’s Tale
• 16 Hell is Freezing Over
• 17 Giving Some Back
• 18 No Prisoners
• 19 The Seminal Month
• 20 Ashes and Collateral
• Epilogue: It’s all about the Veterans
• Appendix 1 The DIY Tour Guide to Bastogne
• Appendix 2 Bastogne: The Gaming Guide
• Appendix 3 Unit Strengths
• Appendix 4 Military Abbreviations
• Appendix 5 American Army Rank Structure
• Appendix 6 German Army Rank Structure
• Appendix 7 Bastogne Cakes
• Bibliography
• Index