December 1941 and 1944 - Two Epic Events That Changed History
December 7th, 1941, ''A Day That Will Live In Infamy''. The attack on Pearl Harbor.
December 16th, 1944, The last great German Counteroffensive of WWII...''The Battle of the Bulge''.
Within the Battle of the Bulge, there was another battle taking place, ''The Siege of Bastogne''. A major battle within a battle.
Bastogne, a crossroads. Seven roads ran through Bastogne, a must for the German counteroffensive to capture in their drive to capture the port of Antwerp.
What stood in their way was the 101st Airborne (Screaming Eagles), the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion, and the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion, (colored) also remnants of other units that have been virtually wiped out in the initial onslaught by the German Army. (more on these units in the article itself). At the Battle of the Bulge, the U.S. Army suffered over 100,000 casualties.
What transpired starting the night of December 19th, 1944 has gone down in history, as the ''Battle of Bastogne''....With little or no winter clothing, limited food and ammo. They Screaming Eagles with attached units, 333rd Field Artillery, and the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion and SNAFU stopped the German advance.
When the Germans asked for the surrender of the 101st, or they would be no quarter given, General Anthony McAuliffe reply was ''Nuts''. It was interpreted by the commanding officer of the 327th GIR (glider infantry regiment) to the Germans officer, as ''Go to hell''...
When the 101st was first being formed at Camp Claiborne LA. in 1942, General William C. Lee in his first address to his troops said, ''We have no history, but we have a rendezvous with destiny''...Indeed they did.
A personal note here. I faintly remember going to my Aunt and Uncle's house in early 1945..They had received the dreaded telegram. ''We regret to inform you that your son. PFC Monroe was been KIA at Bastogne, December23/24th, 1944..He was a member of the 101st Airborne.
There were few men at the house. Most were fighting in the Pacific or Europe. My mother told me that my dad was in a far away land and so were many of my uncles and cousins. Later I would come to understand what that meant. My dad's brother was just north of Bastogne, fighting with the 82nd Airborne (All Americans) at the Battle of the Bulge. A cousin and uncle were with the 87th Regimental Combat Team. (the first Mountain troops of the U.S. Army) fighting their way up from Italy through the Po Valley.
My dad was fighting in Tarawa, Saipan and Okinawa. Other relatives fighting in scattered places around the globe.
Some came home, some didn't. Thankfully my dad was one that came home.
December is a month for family gathering, good cheer and festive times.
It is also a time to remember the all the brave men and women from all branches of the military. Army, Marines, Army Air Corp, Navy, Coast Guard and the Merchant Marine, that fought and in many cases died, defending our country. There are few left, most in the late 80's and 90's...They deserve a salute from all of us. They were ''The Greatest Generation''..
Link to the story of the ''Siege at Bastogne''..
http://military.wikia.com/wiki/Siege_of_Bastogne
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A time to remember those that gave their all...
I knew about both battles, but I never made the connection that they happened at the same time. I am sure for you this is much more than just another battle, since you had a family member die in it. It makes the event very real to you.
The greatest generation is dying off, and it saddens me. There will be no one to tell these tales. And while my generation still remembers the amazing deeds of bravery done by that generation, my children don't. The don't even connect to Vietnam, which was a big part of my life, as well as my dad's.
Yes, December is a time to remember all those who gave up their lives so that we could have ours.
Otherwise, we could have been living in Philip K. Dicks world. It was closer than we think.
I went to the U.S. Military cemetery there and visited my cousins grave. Quite the emotional moment for me.
I must say the people of Bastogne are some of the most wonderful people I've ever met. I was invited into homes for lunch and dinner. I spoke to many of the older residents that well remember the battle. They too suffered badly at the hands of the Germans.
I spent 84-85 stationed there in Belgium on the French border. took many little day trips to the different sights , and of course one of them was Bastone , it has a pretty amazing memorial dedicated to the allied forces that fought for that city. in that year I was there I saw the beaches of Normandy , followed the battle lines of the bulge , was actually stationed on the Meuse river, furthest west the bulge got before the gemans were stopped , experienced what the locals said was the worst winter to hit the Ardennes since 1944, both in cold and snow , so I had the locals giving me a reference to base what the men then went through. it wasn't uncommon then even 40 years later to be traveling and finding something off the beaten path related to the war. my favorite was on an old cart path on the border , the locals adopted a disabled Sherman , evidence of its demise in its side , but the locals , kept the tank cleaned , painted , as a reminder of the crew that helped liberate them, heard later it was moved to another location more visable closer to Bastone . I have to admit seeing these things made an impression on my then 23-24 year old mind , even though I had followed others footsteps in the same profession .
It gives one a whole different perspective doesn't it Mark.
When I was working I spend a lot of time in the Pacific. Got to see many of the places my father and other relatives fought.
Yes it does friend , it made me aware there was something more outside my own back yard , and that at any moment the world could be turned upside down by someone elses desires.
My Father fought in some of the same places yours did. I'm very thankful he came home also. At least chewed the same dirt.
No doubt, we need to never forget the sacrifices of those that came before, both living and dead. For without said sacrifices this would not be the world we know today.
Two battles three years apart, both surprise attacks, the first we were unprepared for, the second we also weren't prepared for, but we had the resources in place to take advantage of it.
Either way, it came down to the men who fought those battles.
Doesn't matter what branch of service you served in. I salute all veterans,
I revere those who gave their all. (Afghanistan took my nephew)
We can never forget.
Salute and honors to your nephew, NWM.
It was time that few veterans choose to talk about. But we must never forget.
Thank you.
One of the few times I could get my father to talk about his WWII service was abut the time they were marching back from the Shuri line, they were marching (more like plodding) in two files on each side of the road while the trucks carrying the replacements went up the middle.
He recounted that the Marines, (in the trucks) didn't kid them or chide them or insult them like Marines tended to do with the dog-faced soljier. What he said, with tears in his eyes, was one of the proudest moments as a soldier was when one of the Sergeants Major in one of the trucks stood to attention, called his truck to attention, and saluted the retiring troops as they drove by.
You would have had to understand my father to know what that meant to him, to be saluted by Marines.
But when you study the Battle of Okinawa, learn what the Shuri Line was and what was done to take it. we begin to understand why our fathers felt they way they did about each other.
They were special, they accepted a death sentence willingly and lived thru it.
I can understand why they didn't like to talk about it.
My Uncle was in the 106th infantry. They'd been in country only a few days when put in line near Bleialf. The initial German attack essentially destroyed his division. He was wounded and died before the New Year in a German prison camp.
It's good to remember his sacrifice this time of year.
Salute and honors to your uncle Sean.
the 106th was tasked to hold a 26 mile front. The most any division should be assigned to hold is 5 miles of front. A horrible mistake, and the 106th paid the price for it.
Our family had three ''Gold Star'' mothers before the war ended. Two more in Korea..
Indeed it is a time to remember your uncles and the sacrifice of many others this time of the year.
It's good to remember not only our sacrifices but also remember that our sacrifices could have been much greater without the sacrifices of others. There is another December date in 1941 that changed history. By late 1941, the Germans had overrun all of Europe except for Britain and the Soviet Union. Hitler tried to bomb the British into submission with his Blitzkrieg but that had failed. He also was unable to eliminate the RAF which made crossing the channel to invade Britain impossible. Hitler had a non-aggression pact with Stalin but he suddenly abrogated it and invaded the Soviet Union in June of 1944 with 4 million troops (75% of the entire German military) in an attack called Operation Barbarossa. Some say Hitler was out of his mind to open up a second front; others say he got wind that Stalin was planning to invade Germany and then the rest of Europe (not off the wall since the Red army was enormous and well equipped). The Germans were staggeringly successful in their offensive until the battle of Moscow. Ultimately, the Soviets launched a massive counterattack in December 1941 and pushed the Germans back. The Germans suffered enormous causalities of almost a million men. After that, the eastern front became a death trap for Germany. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that same month was probably as much a shock to Hitler as it was to the US because it meant that the US would now enter the war at a time when Germany was least prepared for it. If Hitler had defeated the Soviet Union and later attacked the US along with Japan on both coasts at a time of his choosing, we would have fought alone and the outcome of the war could have been very different. So, in a way, the December sneak attacks by Japan on the US and by Germany on Russia ultimately saved the world from the NAZIs.
The United States was never going to lose WW2 in anything remotely like what you are hypothesizing. There is no chance either Germany or Japan could have successfully invaded the United States, alone or together. The industrial capability of the United States dwarfed any other country or even combination of countries. From the time the US entered WW2 Hitler was looking for a negotiated settlement in the west.
Although we can to have a hypothical discussion on the merits of both comments, (One and JR) I would prefer that this article remains as a honor to those that fought and many that were KIA, WIA, MIA...
Thank you.