Beevor is an English historian who has written a very engaging account of the "Battle of the Bulge." As difficult and drawn-out as the fighting was for U. S. forces, the author demonstrates the battle had far worse consequences for the Germans, (and Belgian civilians). Massacres were carried out by both sides as the fighting became as desperate as that on the eastern front. The higher ranking Allied commanders seemed to have lost touch with the situation at the front lines as the German attack began, but quick reaction by field officers and enlisted men to control the few roads exasperated the Germans. This agonizing episode did benefit the winter advance of the Soviet forces to the east, as Hitler threw away much of his armored reserves in the Ardennes.
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