On 16 December 1944, 250,000 German troops struck, taking the Allied armies totally by surprise and the Battle of the Bulge was fought over the succeeding eleven days. The Battle involved over a million men and represented the most serious failure of battlefield intelligence in the history of the US Army. Charles MacDonald fought in this battle. His first hand experience of the bitter conflict is reflected in his masterly depiction of the confusion and chaos of the battlefield whilst his expertise as a respected military historian has ensured that his account strikes the perfect balance between detail and overall picture. His use of sources and interviews with participants have given the book a richness so lacking in normal military history and his analysis of events are enlightening and related in a crisp fluent style.