This Week in History. The Battle of the Bulge (no, it's not about Oprah)

via Google Video ^ | 1944 | Army Pictoral Service Signal Corps

[smokingfrog]

Battle of the Bulge Newsreel http://www.army.mil/botb/newsreel.html

The Battle of the Bulge: Sixty-Three Years Ago Courtesy The United States Army Center of Military History Early on the misty winter morning of 16 December 1944, over 200,000 German troops and nearly 1,000 tanks launched Adolf Hitler's last bid to reverse the ebb in his fortunes that had begun when Allied troops landed in France on D-day.

Seeking to drive to the English Channel coast and split the Allied armies as they had done in May 1940, the Germans struck in the Ardennes Forest, a seventy-five-mile stretch of the front characterized by dense woods and few roads, held by four inexperienced and battle-worn American divisions stationed there for rest and seasoning. After a day of hard fighting, the Germans broke through the American front, surrounding most of an infantry division, seizing key crossroads, and advancing their spearheads toward the Meuse River, creating the projection that gave the battle its name. Stories spread of the massacre of soldiers and civilians at Malmedy and Stavelot, of paratroopers dropping behind the lines, and of English-speaking German soldiers, disguised as Americans, capturing critical bridges, cutting communications lines, and spreading rumors.

For those who had lived through 1940, the picture was all too familiar. Belgian townspeople put away their Allied flags and brought out their swastikas. Police in Paris enforced an all-night curfew. British veterans waited nervously to see how the Americans would react to a full-scale German offensive, and British generals quietly acted to safeguard the Meuse crossings. Even American civilians who had thought final victory was near were sobered by the Nazi onslaught.«

[smokingfrog]

Counterattack

Hitler's last ditch effort to win the war.

Battle of the Bulge Newsreel

Casualty estimates from the battle vary widely. The official U.S. account lists 80,987 American casualties, while other estimates range from 70,000 to 104,000. Most of the American casualties occurred within the first three days of battle, when two of the U.S. 106th Infantry Division’s three regiments were forced to surrender. The Battle of the Bulge was the bloodiest of the battles that U.S. forces experienced in World War II; the 19,000 American dead were unsurpassed by those of any other engagement[citation needed]. British losses totaled 1,400. The German High Command’s official figure for the campaign was 84,834 casualties, and other estimates range between 60,000 and 100,000.[citation needed]

The Allies pressed their advantage following the battle. By the beginning of February 1945, the lines were roughly where they had been in December 1944. In early February, the Allies launched an attack all along the Western front: in the north under Montgomery toward Aachen; in the center, under Courtney Hodges; and in the south, under Patton. Montgomery’s behavior during the months of December and January, including the press conference on 7 January where he downplayed the contribution of the American generals, further soured his relationship with his American counterparts through the end of the war.

The German losses in the battle were critical in several respects: the last of the German reserves were now gone; the Luftwaffe had been broken; and the German Army in the West was being pushed back.

---

Interesting newsreel footage and commentary.

[do the dhue]

bump

[FrdmLvr]

Thank you for posting this. My dad fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He’s told me stories over the years and all I could ever think was how miserable it was over there and what those GIs went through.

[txroadkill]

Nuts!

 

God Bless the Battered Bastard of Bastogne!

Maj. General Maxwell Taylor

        

[txroadkill]

He’s told me stories over the years and all I could ever think was how miserable it was over there and what those GIs went through.

Whenever I am going through a 'hard time' in life I always say to myself, "I'm not in a muddy hole covered in snow in the freezing cold with no coat while being shelled by 88's during Christmas". Makes everything I may be going through seem really small.

[unkus]

Salutes from 101st Airborne Division veterans.

[Seniram US]

Hi,

Thought you might enjoy this podcast about The Battle of the Bulge

http://usmilitaryhistory.com/podcast/bastogne.mp3

It has sound effects about eight minutes into the story

[FlingWingFlyer]

[FlingWingFlyer]

[txroadkill]

Oops...

I could have sworn I posted Brigadier General Anthony C. McAuliffe's  Picture Under the "Nuts"

 

 

This place really needs an "Edit" button.

[ntnychik]

My Dad was there bump.

[quadrant]

No reflection on the soldiers who bore the brunt of the German attack, but inexperienced troops cannot be battle worn.

[Tallguy]

The 28th Infantry Division (PA Nat’l Guard) was 1 of those units that got steamrolled at the outset of the Battle of the Bulge. They were refitting & getting replacements after the Battle of Huertgen Forest (which was still going on, I believe). They were a battered mix of veterans & green replacements when the hammer fell.

[do the dhue]

Not so long ago, we laid a hero to rest at Arlington who was in the first battle in Africa, landed at Normandy, and served with Patton on the push to Germany. Also, he had a Silver Star, Bronze Star, and a couple Purple Hearts. And Purple Hearts were harder to get back then. And I would like to add that he was one of the nicest men I ever met. I don’t believe I will ever meet another man like him. He truly was the greatest generation ever.

Not all were inexperienced.

[quadrant]

As I said, no reflection on very brace soldiers, but the Battle of Huertgen Forest would make a veteran out of anyone. Most combat units area mixture of veterans and green replacements.

[quadrant]

Those men - young and old - were of a era that has passed into history. How very sad. The country is much, much poorer for their absence.

[wordsofearnest]

My dad’s cousin Victor J. Mangin was a veteran with 28th infantry (110th infantry regiment). He was killed on 12/20/1944 and is buried in Belgium.

[dfwgator]

I'll have to pull my "Band of Brothers" DVDs and watch the Battle of the Bulge episodes.

101st Lieutenant : A Panzer division is about to close off the road south of here, so it looks like you guys will be surrounded.

Captain Winters 506th : We’re paratroopers, we’re supposed to be surrounded.

[dfwgator]

My other favorite Band of Brothers quote:

“How do I feel about being rescued by Patton? Well I’d feel pretty peachy, except for one thing, we didn’t f’in’ need to be rescued by Patton! Got that?”

[SunkenCiv]

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