When the Odds Were Even: The Vosges Mountains Campaign, October 1944-January 1945

[Brian R]

When the Odds Were Even: The Vosges Mountains Campaign, October 1944-January 1945

Has anyone out there read this book? The reason I ask is that I'm looking to read and learn more about this campaign. I've been reading a lot of the reviews on Amazon and there seems to be a consistent theme that the book is a bit biased in the Ambrose mold. Has anyone found this to be the case? If so, can I read it anyway and still get a good sense as to the details of the campaign? It really does seem quite interesting.

Either way, can anyone make any other book recommendation(s) about the Vosges campaign that will improve my knowledge of the subject?

Thanks in advance.

Brian

[MarcRikmenspoel]

When the Odds Were Even: The Vosges Mountains Campaign, October 1944-January 1945

Has anyone out there read this book? The reason I ask is that I'm looking to read and learn more about this campaign. I've been reading a lot of the reviews on Amazon and there seems to be a consistent theme that the book is a bit biased in the Ambrose mold. Has anyone found this to be the case? If so, can I read it anyway and still get a good sense as to the details of the campaign? It really does seem quite interesting.

Either way, can anyone make any other book recommendation(s) about the Vosges campaign that will improve my knowledge of the subject?

Thanks in advance.

Brian

I'm biased, because Keith "Kit" Bonn (RIP) was a friend of mine. I wrote a book for him, and served as Technical Editor for another he published. He founded The Aberjona Press with his wife, Patti, and she still runs the company.

When the Odds Were Even was based on Kit's doctoral dissertation, and so it represents some of his earliest research. The book is thoroughly researched, but in the years after its publication, as he started his own company, Kit became acquainted with many veterans of the Vosges campaign, especially the Nord Division veterans Wolf Zoepf and Johan Voss. These gentlemen wrote books in English for Aberjona, Seven Days in January and Black Edelweis, respectively. Bonn also became friendly with the family of Richard Engler, and Aberjona published Engler's book The Final Crisis, about the Nordwind offensive.

All of these works, and others he came into contact with, naturally affected his view of the campaign. He became a little more generous towards the Waffen-SS. I think that is the "bias" that some reviewers gripe about. This doesn't make When the Odds Were Even any less of a good introduction to the fighting in the Vosges during the winter of 1944-1945.

Go ahead and give it a try, I expect you'll find it highly informative. If you want more, then seek out The Final Crisis and Seven Days in January. For personal accounts that involve the Vosges, see Black Edelweis (for the German side) and Into the Mountains Dark, by Frank Hurley (for the American side).

[Brian R]

Marc - Thanks so much for your reply. I think I may give it a go. I've actually read Black Edelweiss, but never 7 Days in January. Black Edelweiss is excellent, however, my interests at this point are more related to the earlier part of the campaign in October; and more related to Heer units like 553 VGD. Hence, my interest in this book.

I think I will order it and follow up with a reply to this thread in a month or two.

Thanks again,
Brian

[Jürg]

Hi Brian

here is the link to my stand where they fought tou site:

http://standwheretheyfought.jimdo.co...ost-battalion/

http://standwheretheyfought.jimdo.co...-then-and-now/

I will be going to the Visges again to do some then and now photos.

This is the battlefield today.

Please stop by on my website.

There are not much books on this also known as the forgotten campaign. I got we have been enemies but this deals only with the battle of the Colmar pocket and also just to some towns.

Juerg, Switzerland

When the Odds Were Even: The Vosges Mountains Campaign, October 1944-January 1945

Has anyone out there read this book? The reason I ask is that I'm looking to read and learn more about this campaign. I've been reading a lot of the reviews on Amazon and there seems to be a consistent theme that the book is a bit biased in the Ambrose mold. Has anyone found this to be the case? If so, can I read it anyway and still get a good sense as to the details of the campaign? It really does seem quite interesting.

Either way, can anyone make any other book recommendation(s) about the Vosges campaign that will improve my knowledge of the subject?

Thanks in advance.

Brian