Great Jones - Shop now
$0.99 with 95 percent savings
Print List Price: $19.49
This title will be auto-delivered to your Kindle on March 31, 2025.
Sold by Amazon.com Services LLC.
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Charles Whiting
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

West Wall: The Battle for Hitler's Siegfried Line (The Siegfried Line Campaign Book 3) Kindle Edition

by Charles Whiting (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.5 3.5 out of 5 stars 14 ratings
A detailed account of the long and deadly battle for Hitler’s Siegfried Line during World War Two from September 1944 to March 1945.

This is the perfect read for fans of Charles B. MacDonald, Tim Saunders, Samuel W. Mitcham Jr, and Steven J. Zaloga.

The battle for the Siegfried Line or Germany’s West Wall covered a front of 350 miles and cost the allies (British, Canadian, American and French), during six long and bloody months, over a quarter of a million casualties.

Built in secret by Hitler between 1936-39 at enormous expense and regarded as a ‘white elephant’ by many it was widely mocked, becoming the subject of a popular comic song among allied troops singing how they ‘would hang their dirty washing’ on the Siegfried Line.

At the time little did anyone expect it to cause the war to be extended by six months at such an enormous cost to human life and to be the scene of the biggest battle fought by the United States in the twentieth century.

In this book author Charles Whiting, using numerous historical sources including; books, articles and interviews contends that rather than being viewed as a series of separate engagements what happened during this time at the Seigfried Line should be recognised as the single most important battle of the entire war in the west.

Using vivid descriptions and direct quotes from allied commanders and soldiers, Whiting recounts the critical decisions that were made and the suffering and trauma experienced by those on the ground in the most horrific battlefield conditions as they tried time and again to break through Hitler’s impregnable fortified line.
Previous slide of product details
  1. Book 3 of 4
    The Siegfried Line Campaign
  2. Print length
    286 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    March 31, 2025
  5. File size
    2.1 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
Next slide of product details

Shop this series

 See full series
There are 4 books in this series.
This option includes 2 books.
2 unreleased or unavailable books are excluded.

Customers also bought or read

Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1
Previous page
  22. Old Soldiers Never Die
    Kindle Edition
    $0.99
Next page
Loading...

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DRTGCWJ1
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sapere Books (March 31, 2025)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 31, 2025
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.1 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 286 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.5 3.5 out of 5 stars 14 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Charles Whiting

Charles Whiting

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

Customer reviews

3.5 out of 5 stars
14 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Top reviews from the United States

  • John Buxton
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting 'read' about this stage of WWII. Plenty of detail
    Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Just enough details to satisfy the WWII curious. Just enough general info to capture the interest of the novice / wanna-be WWII student.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Slainte Crunchie
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    A good history read
    Helpful
     Report
  • Logan Irvine
    5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT book on a forgotten battle
    Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2013
    This book is an interesting narrative on on of the least known battles in the 1944/1945 era. Eclipsed by the Bulge, Arnhem and other such battles, the Battle for the Siegfried Line has almost been forgotten, partly due to the tremendous cost in Allied lives.
    Whiting describes the battles as 1 campaign, and does not get bogged down in detail. Many good photos are included, as well as maps that help ook at the battles from a different perspective.
    If you are interested in the Allied attempts to capture the 1000 year Reich, then this book is for you!!!!!
    Helpful
     Report
  • Paul Lawrence
    4.0 out of 5 stars Fast paced action....
    Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2017
    This book by Charles Whiting is a fast paced affair telling the story of the German defence of the West Wall, a line of fortification designed to protect the German western borders against Allied aggression if such became a requirement while the Fuhrer followed his plans in the east. As it happened they were hardly tested in the opening rounds of the war but they suddenly became required in 1944.

    Whiting sets the scene with a highly readable account of how the fortifications were first built and how they fell into disuse only to be given a major overhaul and upgrade in the months leading up to the Allies approach to the German pre-war frontier. The scene is therefore set to tell the story of the disparate Allied armies as they started to batter away at this line to which the Germans were determined to hold. French, Canadian, British and US units ranged up and down a long front against the remnants of the Wehrmacht and this book tells the story to the very end of the breakthroughs against this line.

    The book is written in a concise fashion with enough notes to provide extra detail without getting bogged down overmuch. There is a very useful bibliography and index and a couple of sections of photographs to provide a visual accompaniment. The reader does not have to get too far into the book to realise that national heroes are not going to be spared in this work, the author taking an almost disdainful glee in sticking pins into Ernest Hemingway (not without some comedic effect) and it’s also clear that brash and boastful loudmouths will be given short shrift. Of course this latter does not bode well for many members of the US cast of characters, these qualities being rather prominent features of that nations national psyche. It also means that Montgomery is called out for a rather foolish and unfair comment he made (though not enough time is really spent on it in my view).

    Another aspect of the work I didn’t fully appreciate was the way the author discussed the foreknowledge the Allies may or may not have had about the German push which became known as the Battle of the Bulge. While his case is somewhat convincing he then insists on constantly referring to it as the ‘surprise’ attack. This makes him look petty and smug.

    Outside of being perhaps too harsh on some members of the US command his open style does at least allow some idea of the personality defects and jealousies that drove so many of the decisions being made in 1944. As a primer this is a very good work because it shows how poorly relatively inexperienced units fared when faced with comprehensive German fortifications. It also puts into stark reality the massive casualties so many US, Canadian and British units suffered in pushing forward their attacks. The resolve of the Allied commanders and also their ability to switch priorities is interesting as is the discussion of the airpower factor – the incredibly bad weather effectively putting much of the onus onto the foot-slogger in conditions that were bitterly cold.

    A whole series of books on the battles for the West Wall are available by the same publisher and this work makes me want to gradually read through them all. So as a starting off point for someone wanting to learn more about the battles on the German doorstep of 1944 and early 1945 this book certainly does its job.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Mike 49
    1.0 out of 5 stars Cheap pulp fiction in the guise of a history of the Siegfried Line battles of World War II
    Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2022
    This book is a cheap pulp fiction novel masquerading as a history of the Siegfried Line battles of the Second World War.
    Whiting makes many unsubstantiated claims. His wildest claim is that Eisenhower knew of the coming German counter-offensive in the Ardennes ( the Battle of the Bulge) but did nothing about it.
    Whiting is also apparently jealous of Ernest Hemingway, who was a war correspondent with the 22nd regiment of the 4th Infantry Division. Whiting seems to want to use him as a fictional character to advance his narrative, but can’t stop describing him as an impotent drunk.
    All in all, don’t waste your money on this book. If you want a well written and researched book on the Siegfried Line battles, get Charles MacDonald’s 1963 book “The Siegfried Line Campaign,” one the official U.S. Amy green books on the war.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Tom
    2.0 out of 5 stars So what was the Siegfried Line
    Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2006
    I have ups and downs with this book. THe account of combat might be the strong point, but he certainly does not make clear what this vaunted Siegfried Line actually was. The book lacks an adequate description of "Hitler's Siegfried Line".
    3 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • BernardZ
    3.0 out of 5 stars A delightfully written book.
    Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2005
    Amazingly for such a major series of battles, their has been very little written about Hitler's Western Wall.

    The writer of this book has tried to seal this gap. Unfortunately it does need better. The writer has a habit of writing sweeping statements eg if the allies had not broken the wall, Nazi Germany would have survived. I doubt it, all that would have happened assuming the Allies were held is that the Soviets would have grabbed more of Germany in the East and the Allied advance up in Italy would have been more important too.

    Still however it is a well written book. It certainly not boring. I suspect that the writer does know a lot about his subject and the military. Reads like an adventure story. Full of interesting facts. Well worth a read.
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Rex and Roseanna Baker
    5.0 out of 5 stars Politics and the Generals of the Allies
    Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2010
    The author does a thorough reporting and analysis of the series of battles on the Sigfried Line. The work is critical of the whole Eisenhower staff in its tactics, including decisions made to accommodate politics rather than military options. Imagine a war in the European theater lasting six months less than it did. The series of battles is sometimes known as the "Gettysburg of the 20th Century", but it did not have to cost 500,000 American lives! The British, French and Canadians also suffered an equally appalling number of casualties. Had it been known to the people of the Allied nations the outrage would have swept generals and politicians from their positions. The strange reasoning that we saw in Vietnam originated in World War II. The cost was very high and I am not a fan of Eisenhower or most of his staff. This is a must read by those interested in the history of how war has been fought!
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Lithostone
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 8, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    A piece of history, mostly overlooked.
    Report

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report