From Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge to the End of World War II

I just completed reading this book, I will highly recommend it. I read a lot of history and I have learned more about small unit tactics in WWII than I have learned in any other book. I would put it up in the shelf with With the Old Breed and Company Commander . Its a fast read and a heart breaking story.

My compliments and thanks to the author for writing this book. It was written clearly and made you feel you were there. My father was a Platoon Leader of Company C in these same battles, which is why I bought this book. This certainly gave me a better idea of what these men endured and how some were lucky enough to come home is now even more miraculous to me. I highly recommend this book if you really want an idea of the day-to-day combat and horror of the ground war in the European theatre and what these men experienced. Another book of truly The Greatest Generation!

well done ...one soldiers story of his war memories. As a veteran of a latter war ...I can appreciate this even more...some may wonder, at the excellent recall so many years latter..any veteran understands that those . things just never go away...the sounds ...the recall of the images and the smells are.. forever. God bless that "greatest generation" I do not believe we have the calibre of people anymore to proscute a war as they did..We owe them a lot ..and this book will give any reader a good understanding of why

Gripping, intense grind from Normandy through the Bulge of a young infantry officer in almost constant combat against the German Army. His first-person narrative as he matures from a green Second Lieutenant in Normandy to a seasoned veteran and temporary company commander in the hell that was the Hurtgen Forest and beyond makes us see his survival as all the more remarkable. Wilson's prose style is simple and direct, with no hint of vainglory, while underscoring the horrors of war.

Mostly all WWII books are amazing stories of courage, sacrifice, duty and patriotism. The story of George Wilson is fascinating, however if we are judging on the writing style it is not as good as other WWII books I have read! The style is a little too dry and linear. I would recommend this book as it is one more testament to the sacrifice our ancestors made for us to be free today!

Wonderful read by an intelligent hero of the War who managed to survive. Clear depictions without trumped up exaggerations or fluff brought a really good sense of what these soldiers endured. And of the lack of recognition given by arbitrary officers to those beneath them. After all the war time a promotion to Captain could not be given to this great soldier.
I meant to use this as a second book to go back to but found I couldn't put it down.

Walter

Well written first hand account of the fighting in Europe just after D-day through the Battle of the Bulge. Mr. Wilson does an excellent job describing his front line combat experience with the 4th Infantry Division.

This book grabbed me from start to finish. The magnitude of the bravery and fortitude of these young men is extraordinary. I don't know how Mr Wilson remembered such detail but I don't believe there was a lot of BS. The casualty numbers are staggering and his description of the 18 days in the Hurtgen Forest brought tears to my eyes. It was written from the trenches and is a great read.

War is senseless. There are no winners, only survivors. And those who cause them are rarely held accountable.
For the uninitiated, I'll add to this excellent summary of close infantry combat, an observation of my own, from the Nam and the middle east: war is butchery. There are no rules but to win by any useful means. And humans are capable of acts of horror beyond imagining.
There's just the living with it afterwards...
Better not to go to war in the first place, except in self-defense. There's no other reason.

Wonderful book; right up there with BAND OF BROTHERS and any of the excellent books on Easy Company (particularly by or about Major Richard Winters).
This book is highly readable and understandable for the layman, i.e., non military person.
Lieutenant (should have been made captain but that's another story) Wilson tells it like it was without too much gore but enough to inform the reader about the hell of battle.
I highly recommend this book particularly for the new, younger generations whose elders and teachers have done them a terrible disservice in not teaching them extensively about WW2.
God help us if we finally do forget.
Here is a good link if you are interested in some photographs of the places mentioned in this book :
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I love first person accounts of combat experiences from World War II. That alone is worth 4 stars to me and even though I've read several such account this one added to my understanding. The desription of the Battle of the Huertgen is both enlightening and sad. it is the perfect cure to the false impressions you get from Hollywood's version of World War II. The writing is not on a par with "With the old Breed" , but it is still well worth reading.

If you want to know what infantry men experienced during WWII, this personal account tells it straight forward and holds nothing back. I am thankful for his honesty and day-to-day actions as it helped me in my research of relatives who served in the Pacific and what they faced militarily and emotionally!

Being a student of the Eastern Front where there was wholesale carnage of entire infantry divisions not to speak of disappearing corps and armies one takes the view of the Western Front as the other war. Looking back at this timeframe, the initial regular army units who had started their journeys in North Africa onto Sicily, Italy and Normandy and France onto Germany are not many of the original personnel standing in the African desserts got to make it onto the soil of the German Fatherland.
The war on the Western Front was also a war of attrition and this personal memoir of Lieutenant George Wilson is in fact about a man who came to the war as an infantry officer rather late in the fray. Wilson goes to basic training and onto OCS to become an infantry officer who is belatedly sent to Europe as a replacement officer stationed in England as D-Day was just pushing off.
Wilson is assigned to the 4th Infantry Division with the 22nd Infantry Regiment. He is assigned a platoon and sees his first combat action in the hedgerow fields of France where the advance is slow and tedious. He learns the ropes of leadership and learns the tactics necessary to move forward and accomplish the missions assigned to him. He learns by errors and that being in place and waiting for something to happen is not how it is done. Instead he learns that gut instinct and immediate action are better leadership bytes than standing in place.
Wilson goes into detail of the tactics used by the US Army in the little known battle of the Hurtgen Forest. Little is known of these actions that took place in the fall of 1944. The attrition on both sides of this little known battle was really appalling and in retrospect this ground had to be fought for twice since right after Hurtgen, the Battle of the Bulge took place.
Wilson goes into how the 4th Division fought in the Battle of the Bulge and what transpired. One thing I did notice about Wilson is that unlike most units who rotated in and out of the lines in WWII, he fought with a unit that hardly ever rotated back to the rear. In fact Wilson in his short 8 months of the war spent virtually all his time in the field. Wilson's time on the front is about the same time spent by junior officers in Vietnam 20 years later. Yes on the average the common combatant in Vietnam saw much more action than the veterans of WWII. Ironic isn't it?
The book is a good primer to how a junior officer acts and leads men in combat. It is a true story told from the auspices of a junior officer who learned to lead and follow and do the job as outlined by his training and experience out in the fields of combat.

An honest description of the metamorphosis of a young 2nd lieutenant from a novice fresh from OCS to an outstanding infantry officer.
The fact that this is a first person narrative makes it superior to many of the fine biographies written.on the same subject.

The most memorable thing about this book is that it brings home how terrible war is. You expect losses by the enemy, but this book brings home the reality of losses from “friendly fire”. It is well written and for anyone interested in what took place during WW II, it’s very informative.

George Wilson finds himself in the army and quickly becomes an officer. ThIs harrowing account follows him from the the Normandy Invasion through the Battle of the Bulge by which time he is the last of all the men and officers he started with. His story about war in Europe doesn't seem real and gives the reader a perspective of what it was like in the trenches.

This was an excellent officer's account of being in the WWII infantry. Wilson does a fine job of making you feel like you are sitting on his shoulder watching things happen. The one thing that struck me about his book is a resemblance to Dick Winters of Band of Brothers fame. Both seem to be very strong tacticians on the battlefield. And both are also high character individuals. Neither is a drinker or smoker and both seemed to spend their time in the cities sight-seeing and looking for a decent meal while others were out sowing their oats.

If You Survive is an easy read. I finished it in a few evenings. It is just plain straightfoward prose (no sidebar stories or long-winded history lessons) with enough going on to keep you constantly interested and wanting to read another chapter before you put it down.

I read another book about WWII prior to this one, and was a little nervous on how I would like a book from an entirely different point of view. However, I was not disappointed in the least bit. This man shows such great courage and dedication to his men and his country, yet is completely down to earth and straightforward. Another book on my list that is a must read! I believe every American should read books like "If You Survive. . ."; it is a firsthand encounter of just what was paid for our everyday freedoms. This book not only makes me proud, but also thankful to be an American!!!

An interesting view by one good soilder of his action during World War II. My father fought in some of the same battles this man experienced and so it was interesing to read this man's remembrances. It is a good and fast read, and if one is interested in World War II battles, this book is informative and valuable.

This is a true experience of an infantry officer who made it through from Normandy to Berlin. It is a wonder that he survived to tell his story, since he lost many friends along the way. If you are interested in the history of the war in Europe, this is a good read of the sacrifices made by the men who achieved the victory.

John Herzfeld

As someone already stated, the memory of events is uncanny. So much so that I even started to wonder how much of it was true and how much was added to keep the prose flowing.

I really loved the detailed description of the events and how George Wilson fought, thought and won his own battles of the mindless carnage.

Narrative is very fluent, which makes this war thriller to stand out, like Eugene Sledge's brilliantly overwhelming With the Old Breed (also deserved a second read), but with less decorative than those of Robert Leckie, which I then again didn't like so much.

Very good book. Lots of interesting details and visuals. The only reason for the missing star is because the writing isn't perfect. A few awkard sentences are tough to sort out. A good ghostwriter would make this one of the best WW2 books.

A splendid account of the fighting in Europe after D Day. A terrifying document of the casualties encountered by front line officers. The word , "Scared", is used more often then expected and is perhaps the most truthful description found in any war time literature. Of course in the rear , safe areas, the "Desk" officers in their dress "Pinkls" looked with disdain upon fellow officers in battle dress jackets.

A no hold honest story of an infantry officer who experienced an all expenses paid trip through bell. From Normandy through France and the Hurtgen Forrest it was a good read and hard to put down. If you like first hand accounts from soldiers who were there and saw the "elephant" then this book is for you. Being an infantry platoon leader is one of the biggest responsibility and it is given to the greenest and no amount of training can prepare someone for this.

Written from the first person point of view I found it gave me a really personal view of how it feels to go from civilian to being an officer in the infantry. The stress, the excitement, the boredom and the grief at losing friends are all there...all told from a pretty objective viewpoint in my opinion.

An officer's view of WWII from Normandy to Germany. From the hedgerows to the Rhine River. His story is compelling reading. I even bought a copy for my 50 year old son so he would have some idea of what WWII was like.

A riveting first-hand account of the horrors of WWII as the Americans pushed toward Germany.
I was so interested in George Wilson that I attempted to look up his biography, but found virtually nothing on the author! Does anyone have a reference or resource for him?

Interesting first person account, although Wilson is not the best story teller. The reader gets a good view of the war from the author's point of view, but not much else. Overall, well done and a good read.

I will be brief. Wilson has done an excellent job of detailing the life of a combat infantry officer in the American Army during WW 2. A genre pioneered by MacDonald and his book Company Commander.

Wilson's story is about him and biographical sketches of his friends, subordinates and superiors are irrelevant.

A very good read.

James Good

I've read dozens of personal accounts of WWII experiences. Lt. Wilson's story is one of honest bravery at it's best. Thrown into the battle days after D Day, his early good fortune turned in to a wisened combat leader. Thank you for sharing this great story. And again, the book came just as advertised. Couldn't be more satisfied.