One Hell of a War
General Patton’s 317th Infantry Regiment in WWII
By Major Dean Dominique, USA (Ret.) & Colonel James Hayes, USA (Ret.)
★★★★½ 4.4 out of 5 on Amazon from 1,273 ratings
From the Falaise Gap to the frozen hills of Luxembourg, the true story of the infantrymen who fought for Patton, told through the eyes of an officer who served with the regiment from its first day of combat to its last.
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The Regiment that History Forgot
The history books do not say a great deal about the 317th Infantry.
Colonel James Hayes, 317th Infantry Regiment
The 317th wasn’t there on D-Day, so it rarely gets the spotlight. But from the moment it landed in France in August 1944, the regiment was in the thick of Patton’s drive across Europe: closing the Falaise Gap, forcing the first bridgehead across the Moselle, rushing north to stop the German breakthrough at the Battle of the Bulge, and fighting through the Siegfried Line, across the Rhine and into Austria.
By the end of the war, a regiment of roughly 3,000 men had suffered more than 7,700 casualties. One Hell of a War is their story.
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Why Readers Can’t Put It Down
From the Foxhole
Long passages from Colonel Hayes’ wartime memoir put you beside the men of the 317th: the cold, the fear, the dark humor and the friends they lost.
From Headquarters
Dominique sets every firefight in the bigger picture, showing how decisions by Patton, Bradley and Eisenhower landed on the riflemen who carried them out.
Stories Found Nowhere Else
Like the night Hayes planned a mission to capture a German prisoner, with a case of whiskey for his men riding on the outcome.
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The 317th at War
August 1944: Normandy and the Falaise Gap
The regiment lands in France on August 3 and is thrown straight into the fight to close the Falaise Gap around Argentan.
September 1944: Crossing the Moselle
After costly early attempts fail, the 317th crosses the Moselle at Dieulouard before dawn on September 12, then holds the bridgehead against a German tank counterattack the next morning.
Fall 1944: Lorraine
Weeks of bitter fighting through the hills and forests of Lorraine, including the November attack across the Seille and heavy losses at Delme Ridge.
December 1944: The Battle of the Bulge
Rushed north into Luxembourg after the German breakthrough. On Christmas Day the regiment takes heavy losses fighting for the road between Kehmen and Scheidel.
February–March 1945: Into Germany
The 317th breaks through the Siegfried Line, crosses the Prüm River, and on March 28 assaults across the Rhine at Mainz with only five men wounded.
April–May 1945: Victory
The regiment fights through Kassel, enters Erfurt, witnesses the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps, and ends the war in Austria near the Enns River.
By the Numbers
4
campaigns: Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe
239
days in combat for the 80th Infantry Division
7,700+
casualties suffered by the 317th Infantry Regiment
Meet the Authors
Colonel James H. Hayes, USA (Ret.)
A 1942 graduate of West Point, Hayes joined the 317th as a young lieutenant and served with it through the entire war, commanding a rifle company, serving as regimental intelligence officer and later leading battalions. He earned the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart. His unpublished memoir, The Valiant Die Once, is the heart of this book.
Major Dean Dominique, USA (Ret.)
Dominique’s grandfather served in the 317th, but his family didn’t know it until an aunt found his Bronze Star certificate. That discovery led Dominique to research the regiment, first for his 2003 master’s thesis at LSU and then for this book. A Ranger School graduate, he served in Operation Desert Storm and completed two combat tours in Afghanistan before retiring from the Army.
Praise for One Hell of a War
“One Hell of a War” is one of those books you simply can’t put down. It should come with a carrying handle and a sign warning “Do Not Disturb”… one of the most enjoyable WW2 books to date.
Phil Hodges, War History Online
I love to read WWII history, and One Hell of a War takes the reader into the foxhole and onto the battlefield like no other book I have read… this is a must read book.
Jim Ravella, President, Folds of Honor Foundation
OUTSTANDING! A magnificent and masterfully told story that effortlessly weaves together the historical operations of one of Patton’s infantry regiments and first-hand accounts like no other book that I have read.
Colonel Frank Athanason, USA (Ret.), Past National Commander, Military Order of the Purple Heart
Trust me, when you reach the section about the fighting and cold weather during the Battle of the Bulge, you’ll want to put on a coat; it’s that good.
Alexander Barnes, author of In a Strange Land
It would be wonderful if every unit who fought during the war had a book like this portraying what was accomplished and how terrible war is for the men who actually fight it.
Gayalyn Wojtowicz, daughter of S/Sgt. Guyowen H. Howard, Sr., 317th Infantry, Company B
Knocks it out of the ballpark and is one of the best books I’ve read… You won’t be able to put it down.
Andrew Z. Adkins III, author of You Can’t Get Much Closer Than This: Combat with Company H, 317th Infantry Regiment
In the Media
One Hell of a War: Review — Phil Hodges, War History Online
One Hell of an Interview — Phil Hodges, War History Online
Every Copy Gives Back
A portion of the proceeds from every copy goes to charities that directly support America’s wounded, injured and ill service members. Wounded Warrior Publications is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business.
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Follow the men of the 317th from Normandy to Austria.
Also by Dean Dominique: The Original Tactical Convoy Handbook
As an Amazon Associate, Wounded Warrior Publications earns from qualifying purchases. Ratings as of October 2026.
