Betrayal at Little Gibraltar, William Walker
Betrayal at Little Gibraltar, William Walker
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Betrayal at Little Gibraltar
A German Fortress, a Treacherous American General, and the Battle to End World War I

Author: William Walker

Narrator: Robertson Dean

Unabridged: 11 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/10/2016


Synopsis

A vivid, thrilling, and impeccably researched account of America’s bloodiest battle ever—World War I’s Meuse-Argonne Offensive—and the 100-year-old cover-up at its heart. The year is 1918. German engineers have fortified Montfaucon, a rocky butte in northern France, with bunkers, tunnels, trenches, and a top-secret observatory capable of directing artillery shells across the battlefield. Following a number of unsuccessful attacks, the French deem Montfaucon impregnable and dub it the Little Gibraltar of the Western Front. Capturing it is a key to success for AEF Commander-in-Chief John J. Pershing’s 1.2 million troops. But a betrayal of Americans by Americans results in a bloody debacle. Now William T. Walker tells the full story in his masterful Betrayal at Little Gibraltar.In the assault on Montfaucon, American forces become bogged down, a delay that cost untold lives as the Germans defended their lofty positions without mercy. Years of archival research demonstrate that the actual cause of the delay was the disobedience of a senior American officer, Major General Robert E. Lee Bullard, who subverted orders to assist the US 79th Division. The result was unnecessary slaughter of American doughboys and preclusion of plans to end the war early. Although several officers learned of the circumstances, Pershing protected Bullard—an old friend and fellow West Point graduate—by covering up the story. The true account of the battle that cost 122,000 American casualties was almost lost to time.Betrayal at Little Gibraltar tells the vivid human stories of the soldiers who fought to capture the giant fortress and push the American advance. Using unpublished first-person accounts, Walker describes the horrors of World War I combat, the sacrifices of the doughboys, and the determined efforts of two participants to pierce the cover-up and solve the mystery of Montfaucon. Like Stephen Ambrose and S. C. Gwynne, Walker writes compelling popular history.

About William Walker

William Walker, an educator and writer, grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, exploring the Civil War forts surrounding the city. After a forty-year career in college teaching and administration, he returned to his first love, military history, to investigate a pivotal incident in America’s largest and bloodiest battle: World War I’s Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Betrayal at Little Gibraltar is his first book.

About Robertson Dean

Robertson Dean has played leading roles on and off Broadway and at dozens of regional theaters throughout the country. He has a BA from Tufts University and an MFA from Yale. His audiobook narration has garnered ten AudioFile Earphones Awards. He now lives in Los Angeles, where he works in film and television in addition to narrating.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Terri on May 06, 2016

This was not the easiest book to read. It was maddening. The American generals—Pershing, Bullard, Kuhn, others—didn’t care about their men. Their only concern appeared to be for their own reputations. Take the battle at any cost. Just don’t make me look bad. Yes, Bullard was guilty of treason. An arm......more

Goodreads review by Heather on June 21, 2017

This is a brutal, no holds barred look at World War I’s Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Walker takes you right in the trenches for the battle, as well as out of them for a closer look at the General in charge. Extremely well written and researched, I think this is a must for any history fan, especially if......more

Goodreads review by Triumphal Reads on June 22, 2018

5 out of 5 stars - Full review can be found at - [URL not allowed]-a... Cons - Only that the author has an axe to grind, but he defends his argument well. (Really, this isn't strictly a con, but may be for some people.) Pros - Well researched - Great use of primary source material -......more

Goodreads review by Chuck on January 15, 2017

Well researched book about the Meuse Argonne Offensive late in WW1 which was crucial to the German collapse. The Meuse Argonne Offensive resulted in over 25,000 US dead and over 95,000 wounded. The Montfaucon assault is one part of the offensive and arguably the worst. Montfaucon was captured by the......more

Goodreads review by Jack on May 29, 2017

General Sherman famously said: “War is hell.” Facing machine guns and artillery on the slopes of Montfaucon, an impregnable German fortress overlooking the Meuse Valley in France in autumn 1918, one American doughboy turned to another and quipped, “Sherman wasn’t emphatic enough, was he, old cookie?......more


Quotes

“Walker focuses on World War I’s bloodiest battle: the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, also referred to as Little Gibraltar on the western front…Combining secondary literature on the American Expeditionary Forces with extensive archival sources on the war, Walker’s reconstruction of the details of the battle is nicely balanced with the stories of individual participants. He creates a convincing argument for a postwar cover-up of Bullard’s actions. A military history for all.” Library Journal

“How strange that the Meuse-Argonne campaign in the last weeks of World War I is not better remembered: to this day it remains the largest and costliest battle American troops ever fought. William Walker’s Betrayal at Little Gibraltar should help dispel this national amnesia, for he has given us both a propulsive, closely observed war narrative and an engrossing murder mystery. The victims are thousands of needlessly killed American soldiers, the perpetrator a vain, glory-hungry general whose motives Walker artfully uncovers in a tale of low selfishness and high courage that casts fresh light on the timeless snares of military command while righting a tremendous century-old wrong.” Richard Snow, author of A Measureless Peril

“William Walker’s Betrayal at Little Gibraltar provides evidence of a deliberate misinterpretation of orders and of an army cover-up afterward. The cast of characters, from men like Pershing, Bullard, and Kuhn to common soldiers like novelist James A. Cain and Harry Parkin, is compelling…An exciting read.” Edward G. Lengel, author of To Conquer Hell