No Less Than Victory--A Review for Jeff Shaara

Author Shaara has written a wonderful trilogy on World War II that includes the titles The Rising Tide, The Steel Wave and the final and best, No Less than Victory. This review comments on the last book in the trilogy.

The Battle of the Bulge, the late 1944 German attack through the Ardennes, is the centerpiece of the work. Using extensive research with those who actually lived through this horrific battle and also the air war, Shaara presents a chilling and accurate portrayal of the conditions experienced by the men there. The author describes the conditions so well that you can shiver the icy cold and endless mud and immediately wonder how so men survived not only the German onslaught but the weather conditions, too

The story of the foot soldiers and their plight is the centerpiece of the book. It is told so succinctly that one can feel the desperation of their plight and experience the pangs of hunger in their bellies as they fought to survive the German armored onslaught. Often, great battles are told from the perspective of the generals, omitting the agony of the foot soldiers. During the Battle of the Bulge there was a significant change in the Allied soldiers mood as they soon learned to match German tactics blood for blood. This writer’s uncle was one of those who survived the Battle of the Bulge, awarded a bronze star for his actions during this battle.

A vivid description of the gruesome air war opens the book. Survival meant meeting the required number of missions, which was 25 initially but increased steadily as the number of air crews diminished. The average survivability of a plane and crew was just 16 missions during the daylight bombing raids. As many as 60 planes carrying 600 men were lost in a single raid. Again it is accurate based on this writers own interviews with survivors of this carnage, including one who was shot down on his very first mission and was a prisoner of war for over a year. That individual’s recollections include the fate of Russian prisoners kept in a nearby compound who died like flies because they were not allowed Red Cross assistance.


One of the things at which Shaara excels at is the creation of believable and plausible dialog between the principal real-life characters of the era, including Eisenhower, Patton, the German generals and Adolph Hitler. He extends this unique ability to the guys on the ground, the G.I.’s. It was a bit tiresome to hear of the intrigue between Montgomery and everyone else, but even Eisenhower came to despise the man and it is factual.

Historical novels can sometimes wander far away from fact because research can be spotty and some authors are tempted to embellish a story for dramatic effect. Shaara does not do so, listing his sources of and letting the story tell itself. This is a tribute to his care in presenting a gripping account of the last year of the war. It is a great read, as are all three of the books in the trilogy.



Thad McAfee is a novelist and civil war buff. His latest publication is Sulfur Creek, released in August, 2009.

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