Posted on 12/22/2013 8:58:40 AM PST by NKP_Vet
The Battle of the Bulge was the largest and bloodiest battle during World War II on Europe's western front, with casualties of 81,000 Americans and 100,00 Germans.
It began at the end of 1944 when National Socialist Workers Party amassed three armies for an enormous attack against the Allies in the Ardennes Forest.
eneral Eisenhower stated in his order, DECEMBER 22, 1944:
"By rushing out from his fixed defenses the enemy may give us the chance to turn his great gamble into his worst defeat.
So I call upon every man, of all the Allies, to rise now to new heights of courage...with unshakable faith in the cause for which we fight, we will, with God's help, go forward to our greatest victory."
The Nazis soon surrounded the U.S. 101st Airborne Division in the town of Bastogne, southern Belgium.
When demanded they surrender, DECEMBER 22, 1944, U.S. General Anthony McAuliffe answered with one word: "Nuts."
This response caused the Nazi commander to hesitate.
Marching to the rescue was General George Patton and the U.S. Third Army, but they were pinned down due to bad weather preventing planes from flying to give air cover.
General Patton directed Chaplain James O'Neill to compose a prayer, which was printed on cards and distributed to the 250,000 troops to pray:
(Excerpt) Read more at campaign.r20.constantcontact.com ...
Monty was an pompous arrogant b_tard. And Patton knew it.
Screw Monty’s nonsense.
May jyour uncle RIP, this good and faithful servant of the Lord.
So was my Dad, 3rd Corps, 101st, 26th Army Combat Engineers, “Yankee Division”, fighting all thru Europe, Ardennes, Bastogne, and they lived on frozen turnips and other root crops when supply lines were cut by nazis. He was rescuing wounded US Troops, when shot by nazi sniper. Received Bronze Star w/ V, and Purple Heart. At 89, he still turns-up the heat, even in the summer. He hates cold weather. LOL.
Thank You and God Bless. This is a great post.
Just the lightest zephyr.
My dad got a Purple Heart in the Battle of the Bulge. He has said the same thing many times. He also told me when they liberated a concentration camp under Patton - he doesn’t remember the name of the camp - he’ll be 88 on December 28 - but he does remember how Patton ordered the town’s people to walk through the camp. They were full of hubris on the way in, but as they left, the women were crying and the men looked shell shocked. The soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder on both sides of the road as the survivors left the camp. He said it’s a sight he’ll never forget. And he hasn’t. He still talks about it, the last time being over Thanksgiving.
When they went to the doctor for the results, the doctor looked at him and told him, that the army got his blood type wrong.
He went through the entire war with the wrong blood type on his dogtags.
Hurtgen Forrest was a mess. The Americans took heavy losses and so little is known about it.
He did however help liberate a POW camp. Dad was from a small town, and darn if dad didn't find one of his friends who was in the army air force and shot down over Germany there.
It's a good thing that people take an interest in history. Is it okay if I point something out?
(Please don't anyone take offense, 'cause I don't mean to criticize anyone personally.)
The Battle of the Bulge was not "The Battle of Bastogne", or "The 101st Airborne against the German army.", or "General McAuliffe's eloquent reply to a bunch of arrogant obtuse krauts."
The Battle of the Bulge was the largest, and costliest battle ever fought by the US Army.
Six US divisions were deployed to the east of Bastogne and fought a delaying action that allowed the 101st to get into position, and also allowed THE REST OF THE US ARMY to get into position to defend a front that was over a hundred miles wide, and to then counterattack and then effectively destroy the German army on the western front.
Those divisions took horrifying casualties, and at least one, the 28th Division, was ultimately written off as destroyed in action. (I know someone who saw this happen for real; so I'm sorry if I take it a bit too personally.) The Nazi objective wasn't the town of Bastogne; Bastogne was an important crossroads on the way to the ultimate strategic goal, the port of Antwerp, which happened to be smack between the American and British/Canadian forces.
Many military historians have argued that the defense of St. Vith, to the north of Bastogne (what, 90 miles, I think I read somewhere?) was every bit if not more important than the defense of Bastogne itself, just not as uh, legendary.
This isn't to diminish the 101st or their service at Bastogne, but jeez... how many US Army divisions were in Europe in the winter of 1944-45, and where do people think they all were at the time?
Sometimes one would think that a High School kid studying this for history would conclude that the 101st Airborne fought the war by themselves, with 1,000,000 "other guys" not doing anything, or maybe not even there.
That brit leftist is an idiot. .thinking the Germans won the battle because they gained major ground at the start of the battle is like saying the German won the war because they gained major ground at the start of the war....
the winner is determine at the end of a battle and the end of a war..and in neither the Germans obtain there objective...
Could have been Buchenwald.
In Branson, MO’s military museum they have rooms with walls covered with everyone’s name who was lost. We lost my brother in Nam and I was always overwhelmed by how many we lost there. Then I went into the WW1 & 2 rooms and thinking about it makes my head want to explode.
I knew someone who saw it too. Just some guy in someoranother artillery outfit...
Generals IKE, Patton, Bradley, etc., it was an era of great “Leadership”, where did all the leaders go? It seems today Leadership has been redefined as Rock Star Type Popularity.
I was in Buchenwald a year ago, Its pretty much leveled. The wooden horse barracks that housed the inmates were gone, except for a couple that were “rebuilt” for the museum. The guard houses and the dog kennels are still there along with the solitary cells. The taller brick buildings (factories?) are still there in the far right corner of the layout. It was sad to see school buses of HS students arriving and watching the kids texting instead of paying attention to the guide. I thought the place was going to be huge, but it wasn’t as large as I thought. It is located on a tall hill surrounded by trees, and there are still some old train tracks there. I’m sure when the GIs entered it, it had a greater visual impact.
http://www.targetofopportunity.com/eisenhower.htm
It is a matter of history that when Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, General Dwight Eisenhower, found the victims of the death camps he ordered all possible photographs to be taken, and for the German people from surrounding villages to be ushered through the camps and even made to bury the dead.
He did this because he said in words to this effect:
“Get it all on record now - get the films - get the witnesses - because somewhere down the road of history some bastard will get up and say that this never happened.”
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