The Battle of the Bulge: The Untold Story of Hofen

The Battle of the Bulge:The Untold Story of Hofen is a combat and tour of duty biography about First Lt. George W.Looney, a forward artillery observer in the 196th U.S. Field Artillery. George never told anyone his story after he came home from the war in 1945. In his personal notes and documents, his son Michael Looney has written a fascinating book of his father's experiences. Most notably, George Looney changed the history of WWII. On Dec 17, 1944, George began calling the 196th's artillery fire on the attacking Germans. Little did he know the attackers were Joachim Pieper's SS Tank Battalion, "Blow Torch." Hitler ordered Pieper to take the crossroads and other roads in the area at allcosts. If he had successfully completed his mission, the Germans would have had a better chance to win the Battle of the Bulge. George Looney stopped them with almost four days of non stop atillery fire by himself. He was protected in his third story house window by a large American infantry battalion, which some of the men confirmed his story. George's medal for bravery was claimed falsely by another officer. Mike and Donald Zingrabe, a former Korean war clerk in the 196th F.A. applied for and successfully received a bronze star posthumusly for George. A riveting story, greatly illustrated with George's own peronal photos, notes, maps, and numerous unseen Battle of the Bulge photos. Two Appendix's, first the 196th's Unit history of it's tour in Europe, secondly a photographic presentation of the artillery equipment the 196th used in combat. An absolute must read for any WWII history enthusuast, researcher, author, publisher, or film producer for subject matter on the European battle of WWII.