Lost Battalions: Going for Broke in the Vosges, Autumn 1944 - Softcover

In the autumn of 1944, during fierce fighting in the Vosges mountains of eastern France, an amazing and unusual incident occurred: the rescue of two infantry battalions, one American, one German, cut off, far behind their respective front lines. The 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry, had been isolated for six days without food, water and running low on ammunition. The young Texan troops were surrounded by veteran Germans and trapped in an inhospitable terrain. The Japanese-Americans of the 442d Regimental Combat Team were called upon to perform a dramatic rescue mission at all costs. Almost simultaneously, the Wehrmacht's 202nd Mountain Battalion found themselves isolated and German generals had to call in the 201st Mountain Battalion to perform an equally desperate mission. Lost Battalions paints a rugged and dramatic picture of these two frantic operations as the Americans and Germans, beset by bad weather and dogged resistance, race to free their brothers in arms.

Franz Steidl served as an infantry platoon leader during the Vietnam War and is an expert on militaryoperations from the small-unit perspective.