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Eisenhower Came Out of Retirement to Denounce the Movie “Battle of the Bulge”
War History Online ^ | 29jul19 | Matthew Gaskill

Posted on 03/30/2019 3:09:38 AM PDT by vannrox

Eisenhower Came Out of Retirement to Denounce the Movie “Battle of the Bulge”

Jul 29, 2018 Matthew Gaskill
 
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One of the most beloved war stories ever filmed is that of HBO’s “Band of Brothers” (2001), based on Stephen Ambrose’ 1992 book by the same name. Now, the series was meticulously researched, and not only were military experts consulted on everything from uniforms to hatches to bullets, but the men of Easy Company were there virtually every step of the way.

Look carefully at the scene of Dutch liberation – Edward “Babe” Heffron, E Company veteran, has a cameo as an old man drinking wine at a table.

When Major Dick Winters died a few years ago, Tom Hanks did an interview about him after his service. He related how when initially talking to Winters, Hanks told him that in the best of movies you can hope for maybe twelve percent accuracy. In this case, we were going for seventeen, Hanks said he told the veteran officer.

When the film finally came out, most of the veterans were satisfied, but a number of them pointed out some glaring errors in memoirs they wrote after the series had been out for a time. Still, virtually all of them were satisfied that the overall result depicted their personalities, the events and the sight and sounds accurately enough.

Now, imagine if, after the preview of the first couple of episodes, Dick Winters and the other survivors of E Company had organized a press interview and said something like “We totally disavow this series – it is nothing like what we experienced, and it is a poor excuse for a film.” Virtually no one would have watched it, and the series wouldn’t have the shelf life that it has today as one of the greatest depictions of WWII ever filmed.

That is exactly what happened in 1965 when the movie “The Battle of the Bulge” was released, but instead of a major, the SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER IN EUROPE and 34th President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower came out of retirement to denounce the film as “historically inaccurate”. Eisenhower and others (veterans and critics both) criticized virtually everything about the film, from its setting to its equipment to its time-line.SHAEF commander Gen. Eisenhower walks by an overturned Tiger II. The overlapping, non-interleaved steel-rim roadwheel arrangement is visible.

Even if you don’t know anything about WWII, the film is sub-par. Even taking into account the film making style of the time, the dialogue is stilted, the battle scenes are contrived and very obviously choreographed (there are so many men getting hit by bullets or shrapnel, stopping in their tracks with their hands to their chests or stomachs,without blood, and slowly falling to the ground. If I had a dollar for each one, I would be rich.

It’s clear that the film-makers had no conception of what actual combat was like, and what’s worse, it seems obvious that what technical advisers they did have must have been ignored on this point, if they were consulted at all.

The main technical adviser was an ex-Wehrmacht colonel, Meinrad von Lauchert, and perhaps the film reflects that, spending as much or more time on the Germans than on the Americans. In what is perhaps the best or most memorable scene in the movie, Robert Shaw, who is playing a fictional character of SS Panzer leader Jochen Peiper, leads his despondent men in a rousing version of the “Panzer Lied”, the Wehrmacht tank branches’ fight song. That scene lasts about five minutes – the film is 167 minutes long.

What are some of the inaccuracies in the film?

First, the tanks. The battle involved thousands of tanks and armored vehicles on both sides. On screen, one can’t realistically show that – especially in 1965 before CGI, but enough tanks could be on screen at one time to give the impression of strength. Problem is, most of the tanks are American M-47 Patton tanks that were not produced until…six years after WWII.

Which means, among other things, that the Germans didn’t have any, but in the film, the German “Tigers” are painted Pattons. There was not even an attempt to use wood to alter their shape. A German insignia was simply slapped on American tanks.M47 Patton tank in service with the Bundeswehr, 1960.

Secondly – there is virtually no snow. The movie was filmed on the plains of Spain. Of course, the Bulge was fought in December/January 1944-5, in one of the worst winters on record, so there was snow everywhere.

Not in Spain. What “snow” is on film is spray painted on the ground. Also, there are very few trees, except for a couple of scenes. The Battle of the Bulge took place entirely in the Ardennes Forest. Enough said.U.S. infantrymen of the 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, First U.S. Army, crouch in a snow-filled ditch, taking shelter from a German artillery barrage during the Battle of Heartbreak Crossroads in the Krinkelter woods on 14 December 1944.

When Henry Fonda takes to the air to scout German positions, again they are in the desert looking surroundings of Spain, but “snowflakes” swirl around the plane. Furthermore,  he is flying in a Cessna L-19 Bird Dog, which was not made until the 1950’s.

In the intro to the film, the narrator states that British Field Marshal Montgomery’s Eighth Army is in the north (of the Bulge) and Patton’s Third Army is to the south.

Some points: Firstly, Montgomery commanded the 21st Army Group, not just an army. Second: the Eighth Army was fighting in Italy, not northern Europe. Third, the narration implies that Patton’s Third Army was the sole US army to the south of the Bulge. Again, Third Army was just part of the total US force in northern Europe.General Omar Bradley, General Dwight Eisenhower, and General George Patton, all graduates of West Point, survey war damage in Bastogne, Belgium

Never mentioned is the fact that Eisenhower gave command of the US forces on the north shoulder of the Bulge to Montgomery. Not a popular move among US troops at the time, but a historical fact which the film overlooks.

Towards the end of the film, the German spearhead approaches a huge US fuel depot, which Henry Fonda and others blow up in their faces. In the film, it seems that if the Germans do not capture this one particular depot, their drive is over. This was not the case.

Yes, the Germans were low on fuel, and the movie accurately depicts this, but they never had in mind one particular depot, and did not generally know where the American supplies were kept – they were hoping to overrun them in the course of the battle.Soldiers of the 161st Chemical Smoke Generating Company, U.S. Third Army, move a barrel of oil in preparation to refilling an M-2 smoke generator, which spews forth a heavy cloud of white smoke. These men are engaged in laying a smoke screen to cover bridge building activities across the Saar River near Wallerfangen, Germany, December 1944

After Eisenhower’s talk, the producers of the film came out to defend it, stating that they wanted to capture the feeling of the battle, not its actual moments. Critics, while generally panning the film, agreed that it was made for younger audiences, who may not have known much about the battle twenty years later, and who wanted “action”.

Take a look for yourself, if you can stand it.



TOPICS: Business/Economy; History; Military/Veterans; Music/Entertainment
KEYWORDS: antwerpoffensive; battle; battleofthebulge; bulge; eisenhower; history; militarygeek; movie; worldwareleven
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To: headstamp 2

It’s a common misconception that German tanks had Diesel engines. The Panzer IV, Panther, and Tiger tanks all had Maybach gasoline engines. The Soviet T-34 was diesel powered. That’s why most Shermans sent to the USSR were the M4A2 variant, as they had GM Diesel engines.


41 posted on 03/30/2019 6:24:28 AM PDT by SoCal Pubbie
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To: vannrox

Henry Fonda, enough said. Garbage movie.


42 posted on 03/30/2019 6:32:16 AM PDT by hardspunned
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To: vannrox

The reenactments began while the battle was still being fought. Most people have seen footage of so called combat action of Germans attacking elements of a U.S. anti tank battalion belonging to the 14th Cavalry Group. The problem is that the film was made the day after the battle using real German soldiers and the destroyed American vehicles. Portions of this footage starts at 4:50 minutes into the film. No animals or German soldiers were harmed during the filming of that scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZgTo8xR_Ic


43 posted on 03/30/2019 6:32:29 AM PDT by centurion316
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To: Vaquero

I miss the good years of the History Channel.


44 posted on 03/30/2019 6:38:13 AM PDT by wally_bert (Disc jockeys are as interchangeable as spark plugs.)
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To: hardspunned

Never cared for him that much.

He was in a good ABC movie of the week, The Alpha Caper.


45 posted on 03/30/2019 6:40:25 AM PDT by wally_bert (Disc jockeys are as interchangeable as spark plugs.)
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To: BuffaloJack

-—Hollywood can’t even kill someone properly.
People aren’t launched through the air 6 feet when hit by a bullet. Sometime they don’t even know they’ve been hit and sometimes they just go limp. More than once I heard, “Where’s this blood coming from?”——

Right, because the bullet is moving so fast it often doesn’t transfer any of its kinetic energy to the body on the way through. How a body reacts depends on whether the bullet stays in the body, or what kind of tissue it hits on the way through, or how big the exit wound is.

I’ve had countless arguments with Oliver Stone -type JFK conspiracy people, who have absolutely no idea how a human body should behave when hit by a bullet.


46 posted on 03/30/2019 6:42:16 AM PDT by StoneRainbow68
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To: vannrox

An OK war movie but NOT about the Battle OF The Bulge. In the end titles they even have a disclaimer stating they have”synthesized” certain scenes for dramatic purposes. how about 95% of the movie..

The movie runs almost three hours. When I saw it at the theater back in 1965, it ran just over 2:15 hrs with lots of scenes in the trailer deleted. That is so theaters can get more showings in a night, instead of just two showings.


47 posted on 03/30/2019 6:51:00 AM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar
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To: Political Junkie Too

Same for IS PARIS BURNING?


48 posted on 03/30/2019 6:51:57 AM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar
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To: 21twelve

****Often times the soldiers in mid-fighting or going up the hill would stare at the camera. They had to be told to do that! That’s what normal soldiers would do!***

“DON’T LOOK AT THE CAMERA! DON’T LOOK AT THE CAMERA!”—Scene from APOCALYPSE NOW.


49 posted on 03/30/2019 6:54:34 AM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar
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To: norwaypinesavage

I tend to agree. Actually Battle of the Bulge made a serious effort to get the sense of the equipment . They showed the difference between the TigerII and the Sherman by using M47s as Tigers and M24 Chafees as Shermans. It gave a good idea of the difference . The camouflage paint on the Chafees was ridiculous. OD 33 was the normal paint job for US vehicles. One fact I remember in the flick is a scene where some German pridiners have been taken and Fknda is examining their weapons and a very modern looking rifle is examined. I was in HS and had no idea what it was. Turns out it was a Stug44. That weapon armed many in the Volksgrenadier divisions.


50 posted on 03/30/2019 7:00:46 AM PDT by xkaydet65
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To: Vaquero

***The rifles were trapdoor Springfields with hammer attachments to make them look like flintlock hammers.***

Like many others, I can spot a Springfield in a 1960s movie easily. Made to look like a Flintlock, or used as a muzzle loader. It’s fun to see what they can come up with.

Going back farther to WWII, I remember seeing those evil Japs in movies carrying 1898 Krag rifles, and I believe Carry Grant’s crew in DESTINATION TOKYO was using lever action Winchesters when they were put ashore.

If you really want to see a rifle change, watch the old Jeffery Hunter movie SAILOR OF THE KING. He escapes with a German rifle, but when he fires on the ship, he has a British Enfield. Several of the Germans are also carrying Enfields.

Yet, most people never notice. After all, That’s Entertainment!


51 posted on 03/30/2019 7:08:06 AM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar
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To: Bartholomew Roberts

There is some information about the German terrorist attacks against the western occupiers, very little out there about attacks against the Russians.

This source might have some helpful information

Ziemke, Earl F.
The U.S. Army in the Occupation of Germany 1944-1946.
Center for Military History, United States Army; Washington, D.C.; 1975


52 posted on 03/30/2019 7:08:43 AM PDT by PAR35
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To: DIRTYSECRET
I loved the movie as a kid, but then, I'm a big war movie fan.

I had no idea at the time how accurate the movie was. As a kid, I didn't really care. As I got older, I stopped relying on movies for a factual source.

-PJ

53 posted on 03/30/2019 7:18:03 AM PDT by Political Junkie Too (The 1st Amendment gives the People the right to a free press, not CNN the right to the 1st question.)
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To: vannrox

The movie is very entertaining...getting your panties all scrunched up over a movie is pretty lame...


54 posted on 03/30/2019 7:31:02 AM PDT by Wpin ("I Have Sworn Upon the Altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny...")
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To: Hardastarboard

I think maybe “The Horst Wessel Song” with updated lyrics...to become “The Jussie Smollett Song.” :)


55 posted on 03/30/2019 7:37:24 AM PDT by Mr. Jeeves ([CTRL]-[GALT]-[DELETE])
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To: norwaypinesavage

I was born just a year after the end of WWII. I was among the first of the Baby Boomers.


Then we are pretty much the same age. Every adult, of course, knew all about the war and most were quite happy to have it behind them. But for me, the TV series Victory at Sea taught me a lot about the war, even though it was pretty much focused on the Navy’s role (as might be expected by the title). What made the series different from much of what was made later was the assumption that the audience was familiar with the war and didn’t have to be introduced to concepts such as ‘Zero’ or ‘Guadalcanal’ or ‘Normandy’.


56 posted on 03/30/2019 7:39:23 AM PDT by hanamizu
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To: PAR35

Thank you very much!

I will read that.


57 posted on 03/30/2019 7:52:13 AM PDT by Bartholomew Roberts
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To: Governor Dinwiddie

Ping for later watching


58 posted on 03/30/2019 7:54:30 AM PDT by Victor (If an expert says it can't be done, get another expert." -David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister)
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To: FLT-bird

Did Robert Shaw ever turn in anything less than stellar performance? I’m not aware of any...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBn0fjHssC0


59 posted on 03/30/2019 8:04:43 AM PDT by elteemike (Light travels faster than sound...That's why so many people appear bright until you hear them speak)
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To: xkaydet65

BOB has a lot of stars, including Henry Fonda, Telly Savalas, Robert Shaw, even Charles Bronson. It’s an inaccurate film but a lot of fun to watch. After reading a very well researched book on WWII, I realized the general story of the film is kinda sorta correct. Having first watched it as a kid, I remember just about all of its scenes.


60 posted on 03/30/2019 8:10:51 AM PDT by Williams (Stop Tolerating The Intolerant.)
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