The last hill : the epic story of a ranger battalion and the battle that defined WWII Cover Image

Large Print Book

The last hill : the epic story of a ranger battalion and the battle that defined WWII

Drury, Bob (author.). Clavin, Tom, 1954- (author.).

Summary: "In December 1944, Lt. Col. James Rudder's 2nd Battalion would form the spearhead into Germany. Rudder was given two objectives: Take Hill 400 and hold the hill 400 by any means necessary. Several Wehrmacht regiments had been given the exact same orders. The clash of the two forces was one of the bloodiest encounters of World War II. Of the 130 special operators who held the hill that December day, only 16 remained to stagger back down its frozen slopes. The Last Hill is a rich saga of what the survivors of the battalion would remember as "our longest day""--

Item details

ISBN: 9798885783804
Physical Description: 613 pages (large print), 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm.
Edition: Large print edition.
Publisher: Waterville, ME : Thorndike Press, a part of Gale, a Cengage Company, 2022.
Copyright: ©2022

Contents / Notes

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 577-611).

Formatted Contents Note:

Prologue: A vast green cave -- PART I: THE RANGERS -- Commandos -- Darby's recruits -- Torch -- Heat and dust -- "Big Jim" Rudder -- A new beginning -- Sea change -- Swim and swat -- The cliffs -- PART II: THE BEACH -- "The most dangerous mission of D-Day" -- Gin blossoms -- Charon's craft -- Charnel ground -- Thermite -- "No reinforcements available" -- "All rangers down!" -- Graves registration -- PART III: THE FORTRESS -- Hurry up and wait -- The "fabulous four" -- Brittany -- Festung Brest -- The "fool lieutenant" -- Credentials -- PART IV: THE FOREST -- "End the war In '44" -- The green hell -- The queen's gambit -- The return of the fabulous four -- "How bad is it?" -- PART V: THE HILL -- Bergstein -- Rudderless -- The Sugarloaf -- "Let's go get the bastards!" -- The crest -- Fallschirmjägers -- A last stand -- Howls and whistles -- Trudging away.