December 20th, 1944 Ardenne Forest - The Epic Battle of the Bulge.
Today there are few on NT that remember this date, or the pivotal battle that took place.
The ''Battle of the Bulge'' was fought in bitter cold that lasted from December 16th to January 25th, 1944.
The Battle of the Bulge as it's know was the largest land engagement for the U.S. Army in WWII. It was also the most deadly. 100,000 casualties. The 28th Infantry Division was destroyed. Two regiments were left and joined other units to form a ''scratch'' unit.
The battle raged for days/weeks. The bitter cold, lack of supplies/medicine/food took their toll of the American troops. For the Germans, it was an all out counter attack that caught the American flat footed. Troops spread out along too long of a line totally unprepared for what was to come.
Battles raged all along the line, at the center of that was the town of Bastogne a crossroads that was vital to the Germans. Air support was not available because of the weather.
The town was defended by the 101st Airborne, with pieces of other units that had been separated from the original unit or where the survivors of their units. Artillery units, Tank Destroyers, Armor and Infantry.
The last message to General McAuliffe received was ''Bastogne must hold''....
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Some of the Bastogne defenders recall in the saga of the 101st Airborne Division that their lone fight began on 20 December. "It was on this day, 20 December," reads the war diary of the 327th Glider Infantry, "that all roads were cut by the enemy . . . and we were completely surrounded." This is only hindsight. The picture of complete encirclement was built up in McAuliffe's headquarters only slowly on the 21st, nor did the ring at first seem to be hermetic and contracting. Doubtless the word passed among the regiments very rapidly-the 501st journal notes at 1030 that the last road is cut-but it was late afternoon before an armored patrol sent out by CCB affirmed that the way south certainly was closed.
What were the means available for defense of the Bastogne perimeter? The 101st Airborne was an elite, veteran outfit at nearly full strength, and well acquainted with isolation as a combat formation. Only five battalions from McAuliffe's four regiments had been seriously engaged in the fight thus far. Its four artillery battalions were reinforced by the 969th and 755th Field Artillery Battalions, armed with 155-mm. howitzers whose range was nearly
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three times that of the airborne artillery, a very important make-weight for the 101st. In addition the 10th Armored Troops were supported by the 420th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, whose mobility and tactics made it especially useful in a perimeter situation. Also available were stray gun sections and pieces from artillery units which had been decimated during the VIII Corps' withdrawal.
Probably CCB, 10th Armored, and CCR, 9th Armored, had between them some forty operable medium tanks by the 21st. 8 To this number of fighting vehicles should be added the light tanks, cavalry assault guns, and antiaircraft artillery automatic weapons carriers-probably no more than two platoons in each category. A very heartening addition to the Bastogne force, of course, was provided by the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion.
The highway nodal position which made Bastogne so necessary to the Germans also set up a magnetic field for the heterogeneous stragglers, broken infantry, and dismounted tankers heading west. Realizing this fact, Colonel Robert's got permission to gather all stragglers into his command. Roberts' force came to be known as Team SNAFU 9 and served mainly as a reservoir from which regular units drew replacements or from which commanders organized task forces for special assignments.
It is impossible to reckon accurately the number and the fighting worth of those stragglers who reached Bastogne and stayed there. CCR contributed about two hundred riflemen; CCB may have had an equal number; General Cota culled two or three hundred men from Team SNAFU to return to his 28th Division; and one may guess there were another two or three hundred stragglers whose identity has been lost. Many of these men, given a hot meal and forty-eight hours' rest, could be used and were used, but they appear as anonymous figures in the combat record (thus: "100 infantry left for Team Browne").
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With various types of units now fighting together it was important that the 101st and the Armor units learned how to fight together. Airborne units have little knowledge of the fighting capabilities and limitations of armor units.
Airborne units are used to fighting ''surrounded''. It is their mission. This was something that the 101st taught the other units that joined them.
On December 22nd, four German officers made their way to General McAuliffe command.....This is what transpired.
What may have been the biggest morale booster came with a reverse twist-the enemy "ultimatum." About noon four Germans under a white flag entered the lines of the 2d Battalion, 327th. The terms of the announcement they carried were simple: "the honorable surrender of the encircled town," this to be accomplished in two hours on threat of "annihilation" by the massed fires of the German artillery. The rest of the story has become legend: how General McAuliffe disdainfully answered "Nuts!"; and how Colonel Harper, commander of the 327th, hard pressed to translate the idiom, compromised on "Go to Hell!"
This is a link to the story of the 101st, and the units or bits of units that joined in the defense of Bastogne.
http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/7-8/7-8_19.HTM
The Battle for Bastogne was a battle within the larger Battle of the Bulge.
Perhaps as we sit in our warm houses, enjoying friends and family and getting ready for Christmas we can take a minute to think of these brave men, their sacrifice and give them a salute or a prayer.
American cemetery at Bastogne.
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General McAuliffe (left) Colonel Harper (right)
Fabulous tribute, Kavika. A nice reprieve from the usual FP offerings, as well.
Thanks Sister,
I have a strong connection to the 101st and Bastogne. My cousin was with the 101st and was KIA at Bastogne.
He is buried at the cemetery there. His parents, my aunt and uncle wanted to have something special for him. They planted a weeping birch in front of the business that they owned. That was in the spring of 1945...Today, 71 years later the tree is simply massive and exceptionally beautiful. The business is still there and in the family. His brothers grandchildren now run it.
Inside there is a plaque with his name and photo, the inscription reads. ''Eagles Soar Forever, Currahee'' Native motto for his unit..translation, ''We Stand Alone''.
Thanks Kavika. I'm embarrassed to say I'd forgotten so I appreciate you posting this tribute. Truly brave men.
''Truly brave men.''
Indeed Pj, indeed.
Wonderful article! This was depicted in the mini-series Band of Brothers, and in the movie "Patton", which I've seen about 30 times... There is also a movie about it, I want to say that Robert Shaw and Henry Fonda was in... It was a horrible battle, and really, Germany's last gasp. Why would Hitler use up the rest of his supplies and men to stop us, when the Russians were banging on his back door? Yet another stupid move by the German command.
Thank you for this. My step grandfather, Mr. Bob, drove trucks for Patton and helped to supply his troops. He was at the battle of the Bulge only after it was all over but the shouting. At the time, he was grateful, but I think he really missed having been there. He did what he was told to do, and did it well.
Thank you, Kavika, for this!
Would he have been with the ''Red Ball Express'', Dowser?
I honestly don't know, Kavika... He was very proud of his service and was a really good man! He married my grandmother after Daddy's father died. Daddy's father, also another Ronda, died in 1942, of a blood clot from a broken leg... I think Daddy was 16 when they married, (1946). I loved Mr. Bob.
Hitler delusionally thought that this German offensive would turn the tide of the war in his favor. I don't think that would have happened even if it would have succeeded. The die was already cast as to how the war would end, it just would have taken a while longer and cost many more lives.
The Band of Brothers episode about Bastogne was great, and there is also the movie Battle Of The Bulge, while not a great movie does explain the broad outline of the battle. Another hollywood movie about this is Battleground from the late 40's.
Yes, I really enjoy watching movies that pay tribute to our troops and the history of battles and wars we've fought. I was a little bored this past weekend and ran across the mini series released back in 2010 called "The Pacific". I just started watching the 1st season.
The Band of Brothers episode about Bastogne was great
I have the CD set and have probably watched it beginning to end, a hundred times or more over the years.
NUTS!
Band of Brothers is excellent. I can't count the number of times that I've watched it, and also have the book.
Dear Friend. Comrade in Arms, and Brother in Spirit Krav Maga: My father was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge.
This anniversary date indeed holds significance for my brother and me.
May the remains of these brave warriors find peace in and from this world.
May their spirits soar among the highest of places and in the company of others like them who walked on and up.
Enoch.
Well said niijii.
Hitler delusionally thought that this German offensive would turn the tide of the war in his favor. I don't think that would have happened even if it would have succeeded.
Quite right John. Actually he was only partly delusional. Except for two factors, only one of which was under his control, he actually could have achieved his military goal.
His overall goal was to drive an armored spearhead through a weak part of the Allied line and move Westward into Antwerp, Belgium. This would split the American forces from the British forces and, he thought, cause a political rift between the two powers. Using that, he wanted to get a negotiated peace in the West and then turn his entire power on the Russians.
The military goal of taking Antwerp could have been achieved if two factors had been handled differently. First, his supply trucks had to keep up with the tanks in order to refuel them. Second, the sky had to stay overcast until his offensive was completed. The supply vehicles, particularly tanker trucks did not get off the start line on time and never caught up. Resurgent Allied forces came in from the Northern flank, between the tanks and their gasoline. That meant that the armored forces had to capture Allied fuel dumps in order to fuel the tanks. In many cases the dumps were blown up by the engineers right in the faces of the German forces. Even when they captured the dumps, it took time which they did not have. By the time they advanced far enough to break into open country, the weather had cleared and the fighter/bombers started knocking out their tanks. If they had been able to move fast enough and had their own supply vehicles with the armored forces, they may have been able to achieve the military objective, although even then, many of the senior German officers thought that the goal of Antwerp was too far away.
The political goal was another matter. The idea that he could break up the alliance against him and achieve a separate peace was, as you pointed out, delusional. He totally misjudged the psychology of both Roosevelt and Churchill and of their people. He knew that Stalin was a hardass and would have to be conquered militarily, but he made the ultimate mistake and started believing his own propaganda about the "soft" democracies. He thought he could bluff Roosevelt and Churchill, not realizing that, in their own way, they were even harder than Stalin.
I agree with your analysis. Hitler never did understand his enemies.
ttga, indeed his objective was the Port of Antwerp which Hitler thought would have caused the British and Americans to sue for peace. Capturing Antwerp would have cut off a main supply line for the Americans.
His thought of taking Russia was IMO a dream. Even if the Allies would have sued for peace, they stood little chance against the Russians. Who armor divisions, air force and artillery was far superior to the Germans in 1944/45...And the Russians were seeking vengeance.
A excellent book on one unit, 761st Tank Battalion (all black) and their history during the Battle of the Bulge.
Written by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, yes that Kareem, he is a outstanding author. The book is entitled ''Brothers in Arms''....Many first hand accounts, well written and well worth reading.
A excellent book on one unit, 761st Tank Battalion (all black) and their history during the Battle of the Bulge.
I know this isn't about WW II or the "Battle of the Bulge" but your reference to the all black 761st Tank Battalion brought to mind one of Harry Chapin's lesser known songs, "Bummer" .
The song is loosely based on the life of Dwight Hal Johnson, who was a tank driver during the Vietnam War. His Medal of Honor citation reads like the action of a pulp fiction character!
Unfortunately Johnson never fully recover from the war and ended up dead on the streets of Detroit, shot by police during a robbery. His friends thought it might have been suicide by cop.
For Buzz, just some of the lyrics, the ones pertaining to the battle for which he received the Medal of Honor. Chapin could sure weave a tail. Miss him.
They threw him back on the street, he robbed an A & P
He didn't blink at the buddy that he shafted
And just about the time they would have caught him too
He had the damn good fortune to get drafted
He was A-One bait for Vietnam, you see they needed more bodies in a hurry
He was a cinch to train cause all they had to do
Was to figure how to funnel his fury
They put him in a tank near the D M Z
To catch the gooks slipping over the border
They said his mission was to Search and Destroy
And for once he followed and order
One sweat-soaked day in the Yung-Po Valley
With the ground still steaming from the rain
There was a bloody little battle that didn't mean nothing
Except to the few that remained
You see a couple hundred slants had trapped the other five tanks
And had started to pick off the crews
When he came on the scene and it really did seem
This is why he'd paid those dues
It was something like a butcher going berserk
Or a sane man acting like a fool
Or the bravest thing that a man had ever done
Or a madman blowing his cool
Well he came on through like a knife through butter
Or a scythe sweeping through the grass
Or to say it like the man would have said it himself:
"Just a big black bastard kicking ass!"
And just like the man from the precinct said:
"Put him away, you better kill him instead.
A bummer like that is better of dead
Someday they're gonna have to put a bullet in his head."
When it was over and the smoke had cleared
There were a lot of VC bodies in the mud
And when the rescue men came over for the very first time
They found him smiling as he lay in his blood
They picked up the pieces and they stitched him back together
He pulled through though they thought he was a goner
And he forced them to give him what they said they would
Six purple hearts and the Medal of Honor
Of course he slouched as the chief white honkey said:
"Service beyond the call of duty"
But the first soft thought was passing through his mind
"My medal is a Mother of a beauty!"
Thanks for posting those lyrics, AH.
Excellent addition to the article AH.
Thanks
His citation does read like Superman....
His citation does read like Superman....
I know, right!
I think Chapin did a wonderful job catching the essence of the battle scene with his lyrics;
It was something like a butcher going berserk
Or a sane man acting like a fool
Or the bravest thing that a man had ever done
Or a madman blowing his cool
But his citation is, indeed, an amazing read.
Dwight Hal Johnson (May 7, 1947 – April 30, 1971) a native of Detroit, Michigan was a United States Army soldier who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in January 1968 during the Vietnam War.
Medal of Honor citation
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Specialist 5 Johnson, a tank driver with Company B, was a member of a reaction force moving to aid other elements of his platoon, which was in heavy contact with a battalion size North Vietnamese force. Specialist Johnson's tank, upon reaching the point of contact, threw a track and became immobilized.
Realizing that he could do no more as a driver, he climbed out of the vehicle, armed only with a .45 caliber pistol. Despite intense hostile fire, Specialist Johnson killed several enemy soldiers before he had expended his ammunition.
Returning to his tank through a heavy volume of antitank rocket, small arms and automatic weapons fire, he obtained a sub-machine gun with which to continue his fight against the advancing enemy. Armed with this weapon, Specialist Johnson again braved deadly enemy fire to return to the center of the ambush site where he courageously eliminated more of the determined foe. Engaged in extremely close combat when the last of his ammunition was expended, he killed an enemy soldier with the stock end of his sub-machine gun.
Now weaponless, Specialist Johnson ignored the enemy fire around him, climbed into his platoon sergeant's tank, extricated a wounded crew member and carried him to an armored personnel carrier. He then returned to the same tank and assisted in firing the main gun until it jammed.
In a magnificent display of courage, Specialist Johnson exited the tank and again armed only with a .45 caliber pistol, he engaged several North Vietnamese troops in close proximity to the vehicle.
Fighting his way through devastating fire and remounting his own immobilized tank, he remained fully exposed to the enemy as he bravely and skillfully engaged them with the tank's externally-mounted .50 caliber machine gun; where he remained until the situation was brought under control.
Specialist Johnson's profound concern for his fellow soldiers, at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.
a little bit off topic, but here is the trailer for the war movie "Dunkirk" , which is coming out next summer, directed by A -lister Christopher Nolan. Looks really good.
That looks like it might be very good JR.
I'll have to make a note to see it.
Looking forward to seeing this one!
Have you ever read the story, The Snow Goose? It's great, but very sad... LINK (speaking of Dunkirk)...
If you want to watch it, it's on YouTube, about an hour... I remember how I cried when I read the story, and, watching it, cried again... It stars a young Richard Harris and Jennifer Agutter...
Thanks Dowser, I'll check it out.
Here is an interesting article that I posted yesterday.
I was stationed in Belgium from Oct 84 thru Oct 85 ,the 40th anny of the battle , made a side trip on a set of my days off up to Bastone , if desired i will see if i can dig out some of the pictures i took there and scan them so they can be posted.
That would be great if you could do that Mark.
I, too, enjoy watching WWII movies, and have watched "Battle of the Bulge" and am in the process of watching the "Band of Brothers" series, all of which are available to me here. I was only 8 years old when the war endedr, but I had a cousin whose given name was the same as mine who was an Royal Canadian Air Force pilot, shot down and killed over Europe, and my mother's brother was in the Canadian Army fighting the Nazis in Holland. He brought me back a great souvenir - a German Officer's bayonet.
A salute to your cousin, Buzz.
A salute to both your cousins.
Thanks Krav. It was a cousin who did not return, and my uncle who brought me the bayonet souvenir.
There is a great story to tell about my great-uncle, the father of the KIA pilot. When I was about 10, a couple of years after VE day, I used to go to my great uncle's clothing store that was around the corner from a movie theatre that showed a matinee serial I enjoyed on Saturday afternoons. I would go and ask him every Saturday for a quarter in order to go to the movie, and he always gave me one. My father never knew I begged for money. One time I took a friend with me, and my uncle gave me a quarter. I looked at it and said, "But uncle, I brought a friend". (We call that Chutzpah) So he gave me another quarter. His two other sons worked with him in the store. Apparently, because of the loss of his pilot son my uncle had not laughed for years, since the loss of his son. When I got home after the movie, my father was waiting for me. He told me that the cousins phoned him and told him what I had done, and told told my father that they were in tears of joy because my uncle who had not laughed for years went into such hysterical laughter when I left, repeating over and over "But uncle, I brought a friend" and going into such hysterical fits of laughter that they had to take him home. My father told me that, and said that he should have given me a good spanking for begging my uncle for money, but because I had made my uncle laugh and the rest of his family so happy for it, he couldn't spank me.
What a wonderful story Buzz, I loved it, and it seems so did your uncle...
Joy after so much sorrow.
Wonderful story, Buzz! I'm so glad you made him laugh! Maybe afterwards, he could heal a bit...
In fact, Dowser, it did pull him out of his depression. He was normal after that.
I'm so glad to hear it!
Well done to your cousin and uncle, Buzz!
The movie, The Battle of the Bulge, had one of Teddy Roosevelt's sons in it, played by Henry Fonda. After dodging in and out of clouds, with the engine of the airplane off, so they could hear the noise of the German tanks, the youngest Roosevelt child went back to camp and died of a heart attack soon after. I don't know if the heart attack was a part of the movie, (can't remember), but it was part of the real events... I'm glad Teddy didn't have to suffer the loss of another son... I'm not positive which son, (Kermit maybe?), died in WWI, but his death broke Teddy's heart...
I don't recall the character played by Henry Fonda in the movie dying of a heart attack, Dowser.
Not during the movie, Buzz, but after the movie...
I meant the movie character dying of a heart attack in the movie, not in real life.
Oh!!! That didn't happen in the movie, for sure... In real life, Teddy Roosevelt died of a heart attack after the Longest Day, but before the Battle of the Bulge. I think he was dead by the time A Bridge Too Far took place... Just a guess, maybe not.
The movie, The Battle of the Bulge, had one of Teddy Roosevelt's sons in it, played by Henry Fonda.
Same actor, different character Dowser. The officer portrayed by Henry Fonda in Battle of the Bulge was a Colonel, while Theodore Roosevelt III. was a Brigadier General (1 Star). The officer who heard the German tanks was played by Robert Ryan. Mr. Fonda portrayed Gen. Roosevelt in the movie The Longest Day about the invasion of Normandy. General Roosevelt was the Assistant Division Commander of the 4th Infantry Division, which landed on Utah Beach. He was the first general officer to land on that beach.
I'm glad Teddy didn't have to suffer the loss of another son... I'm not positive which son, (Kermit maybe?), died in WWI, but his death broke Teddy's heart...
Not one more son, Dowser. There were two more after Quentin.
President Roosevelt's youngest son, Quentin, was a fighter pilot with the 95th Aero Squadron in WWI. He was shot down and killed in 1918.
Theodore Roosevelt III died of a heart attack a month after the Normandy Invasion, before the Battle of the Bulge took place.
The middle son, Kermit was one of the Army Corps of Engineers officers who built the ALCAN Highway during WWII. He committed suicide in 1943, a result of long term depression.
By the way, Theodore Roosevelt's daughter Alice Roosevelt Longworth was the confidential personal secretary for President Franklin Roosevelt.
I got my movies mixed up... It's a sad thing when you can't remember, even when you've seen both movies about 15 times... My apologies!
It was Quentin Roosevelt who died in WWI. He was the youngest son of Teddy and his wife Edith. LINK
My grandma made me a dress, when I was a little girl, that she said was "Alice Blue", after Alice's favorite color!
thanks for the writeup.
Your welcome, Sean.