Conceived in desperation after the Battle of the Bulge in January 1945, Germany's Operation Nordwind culminated in the frozen Alsatian fields surrounding the Zorn River. In what was expected to be an easy offensive, the German 10th Waffen SS Panzer Division attacked the American 12th Armored Division near the villages of Herrlisheim and Weyersheim. Neither army foresaw the savage violence that ensued.
Combining the vivid eyewitness accounts of veterans from both sides of the conflict with information gleaned from a variety of long-unavailable print sources, this richly detailed history casts a fascinating light on a little-known but crucial battle in the Second World War. Common stalwart German and American soldiers carried out near-impossible orders.

Edward Monroe-Jones, formerly with the U.S. Submarine Service, has written extensively on military history. He is a management consultant in the area of labor relations and organizational development. He lives in Orange, California.

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments     

Preface     


Part I : Roads to Alsace

Introduction to Part I     

1. Texas and Le Bec Hellouin, December 1943     

2. Russia and Spokane, December 1941     

3. Vienna and Fallingbostel, November 1942     

4. German POWs and the Frundsberg Division, June 1943     

5. Camp Barkeley and Russian-Occupied Poland, April 1944     

6. Normandy, August 1944     

7. Camp Shanks, New York, September 1944     

8. Zutphen and the SS Empress of Australia, September 1944     

9. Operation Market Garden, September 1944     

10. The Salisbury Plain and St. Pölten, October 1944     

11. Le Havre and Beyond, November 1944     


Part II : Alsace

Introduction to Part II     

12. Bining, Rohrbach and Roeschwoog, December 1944     

13. Schweighausen and La Breymuhl, January 1945     

14. Althussheim, January 1945     

15. The Steinwald, January 1945     

16. East of the Zorn River, January 1945     

17. Herrlisheim, January 1945     

18. Weyersheim, January 1945     

19. The Bruchwald, January 1945     


Part III : Beyond Alsace

Introduction to Part III     

20. Oberhoffen and Heidenheim, February-May 1945     

21. Stalag XI-B and Berlin, April 1945     

22. Michigan, Texas, Mississippi, Niedernhal, Vienna and Fachingen Lahn     


Chapter Notes     

Bibliography     

Index