The Last Hill: The Epic Story of a Ranger Battalion and the Battle That Defined WWII Paperback – 12 September 2023

I expected to read about the action at Hill 400.The authors have spent a lot of space on the History of the Rangers and their formation.Plenty of other books do that, the author has spent maybe a chapter at the most on the actual battle. Not recommended

Very well written, as well as very respectful of the men who perished in this hell-hole. My father-in-law is talked about in this book - as well as several other books. He was a section leader in 2d Ranger Battalion. These guys EARNED a lot of medals, with much spilling of blood - my Father-in-Law was awarded 3 purple hearts, along with Presidential citations, bronze stars, etc. BUT, they only received a meritorious unit award for the battle at Hill 400 (which is what this book covers). Every Ranger, to a man, expressed that they would rather spend a week at Pointe-Du-Hoc (their most famous battle in WWII) than spend a single day at Hill 400. All of them said it was the most awful experience of their lives. My FIL was one of about 12 men in D-Company who survived the battle. F-Company only had 4 left alive. BUT THEY DID NOT GIVE UP THE HILL, for which they were ordered to hold "at all costs." These guys were the baddest of the bad-a**es - I heard this in-person from a Viet-Nam era Green Beret, as well as a Ranger Captain, who told me they taught Hill 400 at Ranger school as the model of how Rangers are supposed to fight.

Great story well researched and easy to read kept the reader interested at all times.

It actually gave a good concise history of how the 2nd and fifth Ranger Battalions were formed, trained and fought thru WWII. The last hill was a seldom discussed aspect of the Ranger Battalion that history should recognize. The authors did their homework and wrote a really good book!

If you like history and specifically military History, This is a must read.