By the grim winter of 1944 the War was clearly won, yet it took six agonizing weeks for a million Allied men to conquer the tiny tract of the Rhineland. That battle claimed a total of 117,000 casualties. The aim of this book is to provide an account of the battle and to explain how such carnage was possible. The authors' view is that weak leadership at Allied Command was compounded by vacillation and squabbling among Eisenhower's generals, and that, by contrast, the German commanders were disciplined, resourceful and determined to fight to the bitter end. The award-winning authors, both from distinguished military families, also wrote Tug of War.