It cleared up some of the questions as to the contributions made by the units involved in the battle such as the divisions that were cut-off in the Schnee Eifel. This is a fine book. His account of this unique battle is exhaustively researched, honestly recounted, and movingly authentic in its depiction and hand-to-hand combat. The Untold Story of the Battle of the Bulge. I lent my first copy out and never got it back, had to go get another. Yet it was also to become the greatest battle ever fought by the United States Army.”, Must Read World War II Military History - European Theater of Operations (nonfiction), Goodreads Members' Most Anticipated Spring Books. "A Time for Trumpets" is not an easy read in e-book form. I really thought I knew a lot about this battle, but I only had a few glossed over facts in my head. Exhaustively researched and movingly authentic, MacDonald’s book is a thorough account of an immensely influential battle. It made sure that while these units were surrounded and eventually surrendered they fought as long as they had the means to fight and didn't surrender until they no longer had the means to fight on. The friction at the top of both military command structures. Just outstanding. A Time for Trumpets is probably the definitive record of the Battle of the Bulge. A Time for Trumpets is the definitive account of this dramatic victory, told by one of America's most respected military historians, who was also an eyewitness: MacDonald commanded a rifle company in the Battle of the Bulge. This book is a work of serious, comprehensive history. Spring is Mother Nature’s way of saying, “Oof–let’s try this again.” The last 12 months have been, well, challenging is the polite term.... On December 16, 1944, the vanguard of three German armies, totaling half a million men, attacked U.S. forces in the Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg, achieveing what had been considered impossible -- total surprise. The frict. Each Corps is then played one at a time, which breaks down what could be an overwhelming task into smaller bite-size operation which are quite repetitive, like … by William Morrow Paperbacks, A Time for Trumpets: The Untold Story of the Battle of the Bulge. In the most abysmal failure of battlefield intelligence in the history of the U.S. Army, 600,000 American soldiers found themselves facing Hitler's last desperate effort of the war. If you are looking for a really good tome with details usually down to company level sometimes platoon, this is it. In his Author's Notes, MacDonald says that he wanted to write a book from the viewpoint of the soldier under fire; yet make it a comprehensive books as well. One of the best military histories I've read, but marred slightly by weak maps (always an important element of any military history). There is of course still a general narrative of the divisions, corps and armies involved and their personalities. A Time for Trumpets covers the famed December 1944 campaign in the Ardennes, at the battalion level, throughout a variety of scenarios. This book suffers from being overly comprehensive, every time a unit moves its listed in the writing. The moments when the author uses the first hand accounts of the men on the ground are seemingly crushed under the paragraphs of 'Company K moved here, Brigade Y moved here'. A large detailed account of the "Battle of the Bulge" (December 16,1944-January 28, 1945). I've read other books that lightly touched on the Battle of the Bulge but this book went into depth. The game system incorporates a number of concepts from two the highly playable games on the same subject: Bitter Woods by The Avalon Hill Game Company and the iconic battalion level Wacht am Rhein from SPI in 1977. It began as a surprise German offensive that caught the American armies advancing on Germany completely unaware. The US Army had just contracted with them to help validate some of the Army's combat models--complex computer programs that tried to predict not only the outcomes of battles but the casualties, advance rates, and expenditures of fuel and ammunition that such battles would entail. The reader is constantly being weaved and moved across the immense battlefield of "The Bulge" with unit histories, official movement and attack order from both sides, and first person accounts melded together. The game system incorporates a number of concepts from two the highly playable games on the same subject: Bitter Woods by The Avalon Hill Game Company and the iconic battalion level Wacht am Rhein from SPI in 1977. The brutal confrontation that ensued became known as the Battle of the Bulge, the greatest battle ever fought by the U.S. Army -- a triumph of American ingenuity and dedication over an egregious failure in strategic intelligence. Of the authors on complete Battle of the Bulge, Mr. MacDonald is the only one I know of who served there, more importantly as a company commander in the 2nd ID (I highly recommend reading Company Commander if you haven’t; his observations are grea. The late Charles B. MacDonald served in four European campaigns and received the Purple Heart and the Silver Star. Breathtaking research! This book suffers from being overly comprehensive, every time a unit moves its listed in the writing. Troop movements, in some cases down to the squad and platoon level, but typically companies and up to regiments. His initial account led to his subsequent career as a civilian historian with the US Army. Unfortunately the absence of maps, which rea. The first hand accounts are great and the author did an awesome job portaying the confusion of combat in the bulge and the courage of the fighting men on both sides. The American troops inflicted extensive damage to the attacking forces as they stubbornly gave ground in front of the onslaught, allowing the Allied reserves and reinforcements to build defensive positions to blunt the German thrusts. That said, the work is an excellent piece of scholarship. But... there were so few maps it was almost impossible to do. A Time for Trumpets (ATFT) is a battalion level game of the Battle of the Bulge. It reads a lot like combat has been described, long periods of boredom followed by a few seconds ... Vollständige Rezension lesen, The Author fought in the Battle of the Bulge as a 22-year old rifle company commander. The game system incorporates a number of concepts from two the highly playable games on the same subject: Bitter Woods by The Avalon Hill Game Company and the iconic battalion level Wacht am Rhein from SPI in 1977. For the first several days, even as lines buckled, Allied leadership deluded themselves into thinking the attack represented a feint, rather. As such, Mr. MacDonald brings and interesting soldiers look at a campaign. A Time for Trumpets (ATFT) is a battalion level game of the Battle of the Bulge. If you are looking for a really good tome with details usually down to company level sometimes platoon, this is it. Everyone knows of the great contributions that the "Screaming Eagles" made, but the 106th lost two whole REGIMENTS, did yo know that? A Time for Trumpets (ATFT) is a battalion level game of the Battle of the Bulge. This game is actually very playable! This book is his blow ... Vollständige Rezension lesen. Edit. Those who want a little gloss of pop culture, sentimentality or romanticism should maybe read someone else. A Time for Trumpets is a battalion-level game of the Battle of the Bulge. The game system incorporates a number of concepts from two the highly playable … As many already know Charles MacDonald was an infantry officer in WWII. On December 16, 1944, the vanguard of three German armies, totaling half a million men, attacked U.S. forces in the Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg,... Free Shipping on all orders over $10. In 1986 I was hired by a military history think tank that specialized in the numerical analysis of battles, campaigns, and wars. One of the best accounts of the Bulge. I knew this intellectually but the personal stories here and level of detail makes it very real. This was during a "warm" period of the Cold War and there were many ideas about where the Warsaw Pact might attack NATO; the Army wanted to be as prepared to counter these moves as possible. He succeeds almost too well: sometimes the book seems to bog down in the details - this slows the readability of the book. There is also description of the analysis of Allied intelligence and what led to their failures. That is the one big take-away from this book, the Bulge was a huge chaotic collection of company level (plus or minus a TO&E step) actions, almost always with un-covered flanks and the unknown beyond that. September P500 Update from GMT Games: The Update was Off the Chain! “On the southern flank, Company B was fast going to pieces. The German side is included in some parts but the focus is heavily on the Allies side of things. September 25, 2017 — 5 Comments (The British and Canadian troops, farther to the north, mostly escaped the brunt of the attack). In 1986 I was hired by a military history think tank that specialized in the numerical analysis of battles, campaigns, and wars. A lot of backtracking but I'm glad I read this because this story includes some details about this important battle that I didn't know before. His initial account led to his subsequent career as a civilian historian with the US Army. His account of this unique battle is exhaustively researched, honestly recounted, and movingly authentic in its depiction of hand-to-hand combat. The Battle of the Bulge (which began December 16, 1944) was the last great battle of the western European theater of operations during World War II. More info about A Time for Trumpets The game system incorporates a number of concepts from two the highly playable games on the same subject: Bitter Woods by The Avalon Hill Game Company and the iconic battalion level Wacht am Rhein from SPI in 1977. ....Colonel Rubel. A Time for Trumpets is the definitive account of this dramatic victory, told by one of America's most respected military historians, who was also an eyewitness: MacDonald commanded a rifle company in the Battle of the Bulge. It can be a bit long but a lot of the detail is worth it especially if you want to follow unit actions at the regimental scale and below, where most of the primary action occurs. The Battle of the Bulge has been something of a fascination for me, a dying country delivering a surprise attack, the response from the overwhelmed defenders, the terrible weather; it would have made for a great fictional story and instead its history! As infiltrating Germans approached Britton’s command post in a house, they yelled in English: “Come on out!” To which Britton yelled back: “Fuck you, come on in!”[354]”, “Adolf Hitler set in motion preparations for a battle that was to assume epic proportions, the greatest German attack in the West since the campaign of 1940 had brought down the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France in swift and ignominious defeat. I would highly recommend this book for those who read military history. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. I can barely begin to to comprehend the countless hours this must have taken. An outstanding book capturing the Battle of the Bulge in great detail. What he doesn't dwell on, which is better described in some other works, is the bitter cold, and that many of the troops deployed without any sort of winter gear. Start by marking “A Time for Trumpets: The Untold Story of the Battle of the Bulge” as Want to Read: Error rating book. To see what your friends thought of this book, The Battle of the Bulge (which began December 16, 1944) was the last great battle of the western European theater of operations during World War II. Charles MacDonald’s A Time for Trumpets is one of the recognized classics on the Battle of the Bulge. How the author pulled this of will forever remain a mystery to me. (The British and Canadian troops, farther to the north, mostly escaped the brunt of the attack). MacDonald actually fought in the conflict and contends that the battle was not nearly out of control as some have written. It is worth it. He wrote several of the Army's official histories of World War II. It cleared up some of the questions as to the contributions made by the units involved in the battle such as the divisions that were cut-off in the Schnee Eifel. His account of this unique battle is exhaustively researched, honestly recounted, and movingly authentic in its depiction of hand-to-hand combat.Mingling firsthand experience with the … I would like to give this four stars but unfortunately, in the Kindle edition I purchased, there are no maps. A Time for Trumpets is the definitive account of this dramatic victory, told by one of America's most respected military historians, who was also an eyewitness: MacDonald commanded a rifle company in the Battle of the Bulge. Also, I have to be fair and state that the author is a military historian and not a novelist. It made sure that while these units were surrounded and eventually surrendered they fought as long as they had the means to fight and didn't surrender until they no longer had the means to fight on. This book was his way of dealing with his own experience, as a tribute to those that fought there, and as a legacy for future generations. 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