One Hell of a War: General Patton's 317th Infantry Regiment in WWII

I really enjoyed this book. I quickly became enthralled with the stories that Hayes had written about his experiences and thought the author did a great job putting Hayes’ words into context with the events and circumstances experienced by the 317th…all against a nicely done broad brush narrative about the pertinent major events.It seems like Hayes was a great officer. As a vet I can say I would have been proud to serve under him.

Interesting read, enjoyed it but sometimes seemed self centered

The 80th Division was instrumental in the war in Europe and Andy Adkins does a brilliant job of telling the division's story. The foundation is some memoir pages prepared by his father, a platoon leader in the 317th regiment. But Andy III does a superb job of editing these pages and integrating them into a full narrative.

I enjoy WWII veteran memoirs and this book is one you should read if you like them too. You get a real idea of infantry combat. Most of the book is from James Hayes memoires and he writes clearly and in great detail. I'll keep this book to read again!

Well written and detailed account of a Army unit European Theatre from the perspective of one of their most successful combat officer. The author successfully puts you in that moment of history that saved the world.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what it was like for an American soldier and leader of men to attack Nazi Germany from Normandy all the way to the end of the war. What a riveting read. James Hayes and Dean Dominique deserve credit for highlighting the role that the 317th Infantry Regiment played in winning the war.Jeff English

I’m not completely finished with it, but what I’ve read so far is great. First hand accounts through writings and diaries. The strategies used to attack the enemy are in detail. The real feelings of the infantry men and leaders were written themselves which gives you more of an inside look into what was happening. I’ve read probably about 30 books on WWII and this one ranks right up there with the best of them.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, the diary of Col. James Hayes offers some interesting insight into the behind-the-scenes operations of the 317th Regiment's activities, but at the same time, it contains inaccuracies, and is in essence just one man's opinion, and has a very limited perspective. Worse still, Mr. Dominique's book, in trying to glorify the 317th, gives little credit to the 317th's sister regiments, the 318th and 319th, much less the attached units that served the 80th Division throughout the war. I warned Mr. Dominique about this years ago when he first contacted me while doing his thesis in college. You cannot tell the story of one of the 80th's units without including the other units, and do justice to anyone. The 80th fought as a team, and that was the secret of its success. No one unit could have done what it accomplished without the other units backing it up. The 80th Division usually operated in general as a triangular formation, with two regiments in front, and the third as a reserve. That meant that whatever the leading elements were doing, depended greatly upon the other team members doing their part. Col. Hayes left out some vital events for the 317th, or at least minimized them. While I would be the last person to belittle the regiment, it did have its moments of shame. For instance, I saw no mention of how at the Moselle River crossing, when the German counter-attack hit, large numbers of 317th men (mostly replacements), threw down their weapons and ran to the river and jumped in, trying to escape the German onslaught, leaving small numbers of their own men trying desperately to hold the line on the hill. That battle was called "The Bloody Moselle" because the river literally ran red with blood of Americans who were shot in the river trying to swim to the other side. The battle at Farebersviller, France also got scant attention. At Farebersviller, the 317th was overrun by German SS, and was nearly annihilated. Many 317th men were taken prisoner, many more killed, and all because ranking officers like Col. Hayes and General McBride didn't prepare for the inevitable counterattack. In one 317th company, after that battle, there were just 12 men left in the company, and 11 of those were green replacements who just arrived on the scene that day. There is no doubt that the 317th Regiment fought "One Hell Of A War", but it didn't do so alone, and was just one part of a much bigger picture than this book would have you believe. The 317th did many things to be proud of. On the other hand, the leadership of the 317th, Col. Hayes included, was reckless with mens lives, and got a lot of its soldiers killed needlessly. A good example of that is the battle for Bloody Knob, during the Battle of The Bulge, which I also notice that Col. Hayes doesn't talk about much. That battle was brutal in the extreme, and cost the 317th dearly. While Col. Hayes spends a lot of time talking about himself, and as one reviewer mentioned, comes off sounding self-centered, I did agree with him in his opinion of General McBride, the 80th Division commander. McBride should never have been put in charge of a combat division, and wouldn't have been, were it not for his connections in Washington D.C. McBride was indecisive, and blundered ahead when he should have slowed down, and then slowed down when he should have hurried up. General Patton came close a couple times to firing McBride, and should have done so. The success of the 80th Division in World War Two was not due to officers like McBride or Colonel Hayes, but rather due to the fact that they had some great lower-level field officers and enlisted men who managed to succeed despite the poor leadership of the ranking officers. I have been a historian of the 80th Division in WW2 for over 30 years now. Over the years, I have encountered far too many officers of the division like Col. Hayes, who made excuses, who glorified themselves, and gave scant credit to the men who really deserved it; the average grunts in the foxholes who went for months without bathing, suffered dysentery from bad food, watched their buddies being slaughtered, and still managed to keep advancing until the war was won. Bottom line, if you are looking to supplement your knowledge of what the 317th went through in the war, this is an interesting book. However, don't be fooled into thinking that this is somehow a complete history of the 317th in WW2; its just one interesting piece of a puzzle that gives you a much bigger and different picture when viewed as a whole.

A++++++