U.S. soldiers who were across the Atlantic in the
holiday season of 1944 turned desperation into inspiration. This theme of
hope occurs throughout the book to emphasize the personal side of the war. One
notable moment of faith came from General Patton, senior officer of the US
Army. When his men were facing danger of attack from the German side, the
General prayed and asked God, "Sir, whose side are you on?". Within
the hour, skies cleared and the Battle of the Bulge turned the war with an
Allied victory. It is this motif of hope that truly personalized the
story, and overall contributed yet another factor to his unique view on the
battle of Christmas 1944.
Weintraub also utilizes a strategic device
in his point of view, from which he writes in the third person. Since he
is all-knowing about the historical events surrounding the story, his
omniscient perspective is very well suited for the Christmas story at the
Bulge. Through this, Weintraub is able to give a full synopsis of the war
up until December of 1944, and cover all of the major points without any
limitations. As he was introducing a town near the Ardennes called Spa,
he explains it "was bypassed" but then continues to tell of
"another Belgian town [where] the expected Germans in halftracks with
88-mm guns had not yet appeared". From a third person viewpoint,
Weintraub is knowledgable of the actions occurring in all of the towns during
the war, which increases his credibility and adds more background to the story.
If he were telling the story, for example, as one of the American
soldiers, the reader would therefore not know of what else was occurring
outside of the occupied town.
Both a
theme of hope and a strategic third person point of view are used in Stanley
Weintraub's 11 Days in December, ultimately taking a zoomed in look at
one of WWII's most well known battles, and a twist on a nontraditional
Christmas story. 
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