Citizen Soldiers : The U.S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany -- June 7, 1944-May 7, 1945

Rating:
Summary: In the trenches for the drive to Berlin...
Review: Against the backdrop of the WWII Allied invasion from Normandy to Berlin, Stephen Ambrose pens a remarkable "you are there" history of the front-line soldier with "Citizen Soldiers". Using many first person accounts from both the Allied and Nazi side, Ambrose presents a truly gritty and at times macabre testiment to the existence that these amazing men went through and in the process gives an alternate history to the many previously published works of this monolithic period of WWII.

From the Allied breakout at Normandy (Ambrose's previous work "D-Day" covers the Normandy landings), we follow many U.S. frontline troops as they work their way through hedgerow warfare and push the German army eastward through France. Ambrose exposes the everday technicalities of this fighting while maintaining the big picture as the Allies adjust their invasion strategy. Both the German and American infantry soldier tells his story (through Ambrose, of course) and the scenario that emerges is one of brutal massacre followed by un-ending periods of waiting and frustration...I've never read such intimate details of warfare as depicted here by Ambrose.

The Allies encircle the German army and allow it to escape through the Falaise Gap and this sets the stage for the failed attempt by British General Montgomery to bridge a gap to Germany with operation Market-Garden. The major struggles at the Hurtgen Forest and the southern France battles at Metz all precede the Ardennes Campaign, better known as the Battle of the Bulge. Ambrose works the reader well here with the General's strategy and paralleling with the views from the division command all the way to the lowly private. What we get is front line warfare at it's literary finest...Ambrose surley deserves his reputation as the finest conveyer of this foxhole warfare.

The book at this point digresses as we get short chapters associated with replacement soldiers, the air-war, medics and frontline nurses, POW's and the low life of the Army (aptly titled "Jerks, Sad Sacks, Profiteers and Jim Crow"), but gets back to the battles as story after story is told of the horrific conditions both sides encountered as the "Bulge" is pushed back and as the Allies take their initial casualties in Germany. The final push to Berlin is highlighted with the story of the troops at Remagen where the struggle for the bridge and bridgehead is prime-time Ambrose. Both the German and American veteran tells of the awful slaughter here and the desperation of the Germans as they realize that all is lost. The book ends with VE Day and the relief of the troops as they start to consider going home...this thinking is of course tempered with the knowledge that many of them are bound for the Pacific and a return to the slaughter.

If one is looking for a detailed and comprehensive account of this period of ETO operations, this is not the book for you (you should look at Max Hastings "Overlord" and the newly published "Armageddon"). But if you want to understand what the front line soldier truly endured as he made his way from Normandy to Berlin, than you can do no better than "Citizen Soldiers". Stephen Ambrose is at his best here and he's clearly passionate about this period of WWII. Combining intimacy with brutal battle tactics, one comes away from this read exhausted and, like the soldiers he presents, relieved at the end of the struggle. Highest recommendation!

Rating:
Summary: Many better and more accurate accounts elsewhere.
Review: I was very disappointed with this book. Given the profile of Mr Ambrose I was looking forward to a good absorbing read. But when, in chapter 1, I came across his ludicrously inacurate description of the V1 flying bomb as a "pilotless radio controlled figher aircraft" it made me question the accuracy of the rest of his reporting. This spoilt the book for me. I expected better.



Rating:
Summary: Ambrose phones in another one
Review: Allegations about Ambroses's plagiarism come home to roost in this miserable effort. Far from a coherent work about "citizen soldiers," or about the second War following D-Day, this is nothing more than a collection of unrelated anectodes cobbled together without theme, direction, or point. And to make matters worse, the writing styles of at least three different authors are evident in this scrapbook, calling to question how much Ambrose actually wrote. The overall writing style of much of the book is adolescent, but many of the little stories are far too salty if that is the intended audience. One puts down the book with a heavy disappointed sigh, presuming either that Ambrose just needed to see his name in print one more time or that he intended the publication for the great American unwashed who know little about either good writing or history. Anyone who slogs through to the very end, as I did, will gain no new knowledge of either. Those who praise this book should be ashamed for not actually having read it first.

Rating:
Summary: One of Ambrose's typical works
Review: This book is what you've come to expect from Ambrose. A lot of first hand accounts of the men who fought and won the second world war. An easy read - this book will hold your attention from cover to cover.

Rating:
Summary: Good read
Review: Citizen Soldiers and the Victors seem to be very similar. Both books are seeing the American European war from the view of the fighting men. Ambrose reflects what these men say.
Mistakes made at the Falaise Gap (not closing it) are gone into. It was the Brits fault. The stupid attacks at AAchen and the Hurtgen Forest are documented. In the Hurtgen forest we gave up our advantages in armor, artillery, and air power, to fight man to man in a jungle environment. Stupid.
I can feel the bone chilling cold in the descriptions of the men.


Rating:
Summary: Bubblegum History
Review: The third volume in Stephen Ambrose' jingoistic paean to the exploits of the American GI's in the ETO in WWII is even less balanced than his other books on the subject, "D-Day" and "Band of Brothers".

Yes, the war could not have been won without American industry, and yes, the US Army and the GI's performed magnificently, but the manner in which Stephen Ambrose relentlessly belittles the contribution of America's allies is insulting, not only to the brave young men and women of many nations that fought and died in the war against Nazism, but also to his modern readers.

Stephen Ambrose also displays a fine lack of regard for historical fact. No doubt because it was a defeat (partly) inflicted on them by the US Army, Ambrose claims "For sheer ghastliness in World War II, nothing exceeded the experience of the Germans caught in the Falaise gap" Huh?? Ever heard of places like Auschwitz, Stalingrad, Katyn, the Kokoda track, the Burma Railroad and Oradour, Mr.Ambrose?

Stephen Ambrose' work is that of a skilled biographer, and should not be confused with serious military history.


Rating:
Summary: Excellent history of WWII from soldiers' perspective
Review: I had to force myself to put this book down, as I found it quite fascinating. Ambrose does a wonderful job of enlightening the reader about the historical overview of various aspects of WWII in the ETO, and then providing soldiers' stories of what they experienced. It's a vivid snapshot of a moment in history, both from the large scale sense and from the smallest nuance, such as a soldier describing his battle from his perspective. It's a magnificently done work. After I read this book, I immediately bought "Band of Brothers", which I also highly recommend.