There are NO required reads for participation in a Knee Deep Into History battlefield tour. However, many clients prefer to prepare ahead of the tour. The list below contains some of our favorite reads and views that clients can use to prepare for their battlefield tour. It is by no means comprehensive. If you’re looking for an even deeper dive, email us at kneedeepintohistory@gmail.com.
World War I
Meuse-Argonne and St. Mihiel
American Battle Monuments Commission. American Armies and Battlefields in Europe. U.S. Gov’t. Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 1938. (We prefer the 1938 edition because of paper and printing quality.) Still the bible (small b) for WW1 American battlefield tours.
Grotelueschen, Mark Ethan. The AEF Way of War: The American Army and Combat in World War 1. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2007. A good in-depth look at four American divisions that fought in the Great War, examining how their leaders learned and adapted (or didn’t) as they gained experience.
Lengel, Edward G. To Conquer Hell: The Meuse-Argonne, 1918. Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2008.
Movie: The Big Parade. This 1925 b/w silent film, directed by King Vidor, was a box office hit, demonstrating its realistic depiction of war.
Verdun
Horne, Alistaire. The Price of Glory. St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1963.
Jankowski, Paul. Verdun: The Longest Battle of the Great War. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013.
World War 2
Normandy Invasion
Bennett, G. H. Destination Normandy: Three American Regiments on D-Day. Stackpole Military History Series, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2007. This book follows the experiences of three American regiments from the 4th and 29th Infantry Divisions and the 82nd Airborne Division, starting with their training in the U.K., their move to the English coast, and finally their landing in Normandy.
Caddick-Adams, Peter. Sand & Steel: The D-Day Invasion and the Liberation of France. At around 900 pages, this is not for the faint of heart. However, Caddick-Adams’ writing style is easy to read and his ability to weave an enormous number of individual stories into one narrative makes this a good read.
Man, John. The Facts on File D-Day Atlas: The Definitive Account of the Allied Invasion of Normandy. Facts on File, New York, 1994. A good concise guide with lots of useful maps.
Movie: The Longest Day. This 1962 b/w film with a long cast of major actors is still a great version of the story.
Ardennes Offensive
Caddick-Adams, Peter. Snow & Steel: The Battle of the Bulge, 1944-45. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2015. Same comments as for his Normandy book above.
Cooke, David and Evans, Wayne. Kampfgruppe Peiper at the Battle of the Bulge. Stackpole Military History Series, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsville, 2005. Good guide to this narrow piece of Ardennes history, with an emphasis on visiting the spots.
McManus, John C. Alamo in the Ardennes: The Untold Story of the American Soldiers who Made the Defense of Bastogne Possible. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, 2007. This book focuses largely on the 28th Infantry Division and on the days 15-20 December.
Huertgen Forest
MacDonald, Charles B. The Battle of the Huertgen Forest. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1963.
Movie: When Trumpets Fade. This 1998 fictional HBO movie, directed by John Irvin, helps one understand the horrific conditions of fighting in the forest.
Market-Garden
Kershaw, Robert J. It Never Snows in September: The German View of Market-Garden and the Battle of Arnhem, September 1944. Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, Surrey, 2004
Ryan, Cornelius. A Bridge too Far. Simon and Schuster, New York, 1974. Still a great one-volume work on this offensive.
Movie: A Bridge too Far. This 1977 epic, directed by Richard Attenborough, features a long list of major stars, was one of the most expensive historical movies produced, and still stays quite true to the story.
Third Reich Underground / Rise and Fall of the Third Reich Tours
Tooze, Adam. The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy. Penguin Books, New York, 2006. Explores the connection between Germany’s wartime economy and the use of forced and concentration camp labor.
Wachsman, Nikolaus. KL: A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2015. In-depth look at Germany’s concentration camp system and how it changed throughout the war.
Movies: A good number of Mark Felton’s YouTube videos cover specific topics related to these tours.
Monuments Men Tour
Edsel, Robert M. with Witter, Bret. The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History. Center Street, New York, 2009.
Movie: The Monuments Men. This 2014 film, directed by George Clooney, is based largely on Edsel’s book.