Posted on 12/22/2013 5:03:36 AM PST by Master Zinja
On this date in 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, American forces were surrounded in the town of Bastogne when a group of German soldiers passed a message to the American commander demanding his surrender. General Anthony McAuliffe, the American commander, was said to have reacted to the message by saying, "Us surrender? Aw, nuts!" The reply was then written:
To the German commander: NUTS!
The Germans attacked Bastogne, but the American soldiers held on until bombers and reinforcements could arrive. The Battle of the Bulge, the last major German offensive in World War II, ended in late January, and General McAuliffe's response was forever enshrined as a symbol of American resolve in even the most desperate of times.
“I’m the American Army- and this is where they stop!”
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