The Longest Winter: The Battle of the Bulge and the Epic Story of World War II's Most Decorated Platoon

In December 1944, a platoon of eighteen men led by twenty-year-old lieutenant Lyle Bouck was positioned in the Ardennes forest when Hitler launched his final offensive against the Allies. Vastly outnumbered, the platoon faced the main thrust of the German assault and repulsed three attacks in a day-long battle, killing over five hundred German soldiers while defending a strategically important hill. They surrendered only after exhausting their ammunition. As prisoners of war, Bouck's men endured conditions worse than combat, including trigger-happy guards, Allied bombing raids, and severe food rationing. Hundreds of captured Americans died in German POW camps from disease or violence, but all members of Bouck's platoon survived. Alex Kershaw recounts the story of this highly decorated small unit, documenting their courage and survival during World War II.