The Last Hill: The Epic Story of a Ranger Battalion and the Battle that Defined WWII

National Archives Museum
Online

In The Last Hill, Bob Drury and Tom Clavin tell the incredible story of one Ranger battalion's heroism and courage in World War II. They were known as “Rudder’s Rangers,” the most elite and experienced attack unit in the U.S. Army. In December 1944, Lt. Col. James Rudder’s 2nd Battalion would form the spearhead into Germany, taking the war into Hitler’s homeland at last. In the process, Rudder was given two objectives: Take Hill 400 . . . and hold the hill by any means possible. To the last man, if necessary. The battle-hardened battalion had no idea that several Wehrmacht regiments, who greatly outnumbered the Rangers, had been given the exact same orders. The clash of the two determined forces was one of the bloodiest and most costly encounters of World War II.