Posted on 12/17/2015 8:23:55 AM PST by WhiskeyX
Generals At War: Episode 06 The Battle of the Bulge The Greatest battle America ever fought was against Hitler's Army when it staged one of the last offensives of the war in Belgium against American troops who were alone and unprepared for the Nazi onslaught. Despite overwhelming odds American troops defeated the German Blitz preventing history from repeating itself as it did when Hitler first invaded Belgium in the begining of the war.
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My dad was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge, near Bastogne. His half-track was hit by a bazooka shell and he carried shrapnel in his back the rest of his life.
I agree with you.
Through the lens of history, we can state that victory was all but assured by December, 1944, but at that time, it was not so clear.
There was great concern when the German forces began their assault against the relatively thin American lines in the Ardennes, and immediate success was achieved by the Wehrmacht and SS armor groups. Notably, Kampfgruppe Peiper’s rapid advance towards Antwerp.
Of course, we know now that it petered out, but at that time, it was not known, nor accepted widely, that it would peter out, eventually.
I suppose one could also fairly argue that victory was assured on December 7, 1941.
The might of the United States industrial capacity and American military leadership and fighting spirit was going to overwhelm those of Germany and Japan. Even the Japanese Admiral Yamamoto, who had been educated and spent time in the USA said after Pearl Harbor, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”
George Patton agreed with you; other generals, Omar Bradley included, were not expecting the Ardennes Offensive and was flat footed. Patton had plans in hand, as he understood in war, until it is over, it ain’t over.
One cousin was a truck driver, and he was captured along with his friend when their truck convoy was attacked and captured by SS Panzers attacking cross country to the road they were on behind the frontlines. They were marched into Germany over a period of months, and many of them did not survive the months long outdoors exposure in that bitterly cold winter weather on their way to the POW camp inside Germany. They often faced the agonizing choice of whether to withhold a morsel of poor food from a dying man in order to give another Prisoner a better hope for survival.
Another cousin was a company commander of an infantry unit on the frontline. He lost command and control of his infantry company within the first few minutes of the attack as the Panzers overran them in their positions. He and the other survivors of this initial tank assault started to escape and evade in the hopes of reaching some new American defense lines in the rear. They had to run as fast as possible behind the German tanks to keep from being captured by the German line of infantry following up behind the wave of the German Panzer and Panzergrenadier assault wave. Some of them made it back to the new American defense lines and were attached to the units holding on there.
My father-in-law was captured on Christmas Eve in the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge. They were eating at the time. All of the sudden Germans were standing over them. His buddies had removed their helmets to hold their dinner and had to drop them and leave them. He was still wearing his and was thankful for head covering in the following days during the long march to Germany.
The only two Armies that were totally motorized were the Americans and the British. The Russians were probably less motored than the Germans.
The minimum draft eligibility requirements dropped precipitously by the end of the war. Particularly for those destined to be infantry men.
I was shocked when I heard it on a Book TV piece about the growth of the facility for processing returned personal property of those killed.
Any relation to Hermann Goering?
Horrendous casualties in the tens of thousands from frostbite and exposure as most of our troops were in summer clothing.
Some “brilliant Genius”, (was it Omar Bradly?) decided the “War Will Be Over By Christmas” and put the men’s winter gear in storage, not shipping it to the front lines as would have been prudent.
In the '60s I played golf with a older man on a brutally hot day. I complained about the oppressive heat along with everyone else, but I noticed that he did not. Curious, I asked him why. He said he was so cold during the Battle of the Bulge that he swore he would never again complain about being too hot.
Visited Bastogne this past summer. The Memorial there is magnificent and the museums overwhelming. In the forests, the fox holes can still be seen and shell holes have never filled in. It is an awesome sight.
In today’s world the politicians would have won the Battle of the Bulge but then abandoned Belgium to the Nazi’s.
I believe Peiper’s advance petered out due to fuel shortage as well as determined resistance from our troops. Same story for Rommel at El Alamain. Hitler bit off more than he could chew.
Due to the euphoria of the impending German defeat the extraordinarily massive list of casualties incurred during the final battle for Germany is too often overlooked.
When the weather broke, the Germans were toast.
Ironically, as Jon Toland shared in his book, the initial heavy casualties we suffered in the Battle of the Bulge were a blessing. By the Germans coming out of their bunkers and attacking in open ground, many generals and historians believed there were much fewer casualties and we were able to march on Germany much quicker then if we would have had to battle through their bunkers. I highly recommend Battle: The Story of the Bulge by Jon Toland. He wrote the book much earlier then many of the later ones by Steve Ambrose and others. Very informative , great heroic stories from first hand accounts. Midway and the Bulge were probably the two biggest swing battles and they were won almost entirely by US troops, unlike Normandy when it was a coalition of forces.
General George S. Patton was the only WW 2 Commander who knew it was going to happen.
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