Battle of the Bulge 66th anniversary
At 0530 on December 16th, 1944, the Germans opened up with 1600 artillery pieces across an 80-mile front launching the last gasp attack from the Third Reich in a bid to end the war in their favor.
Tomorrow will mark the 66th anniversary of the Melmedy and Wereth massacres in which American soldiers were executed. About 150 at Malmedy and 11 Black soldiers tortured and then executed at Wereth.
ADDED Sporkmater: But there is another battle coming up on Jan 1st 1945 that was totally unexpected but not as well known. I am talking about Operation Bodenplatte
Category: Historical
Prolonged the war by 6 months, and in the end all it did was waste German and Allied lives.
My dad was holding the line at ST. Vith with a Bazooka and being Bombed by the 9th USAAF daily in friendly fire, only after they pulled out of the town giving it to the Germans did the Air Corps stop bombing the town. He always referred to them as the 9th Luftwaffe for all the incidents from Normandy onwards.
One Overcoat, 2 wool shirts worn same time(swapped each night to dry out)socks under the armpits to dry while wearing the other pair. Boots were an abomination, issued fuzzy side out with no waterproofing, by January he couldnt walk and was evacuated for severe trenchfoot. Every year for the rest of his life he was in agony in the winter. And yet inordinately proud to have been there and done what everyone else there did.
great story sean, made me laugh, but also remember…
My wife’s father was in Patton’s 3rd Army. 310th Infantry, 78th (LIGHTNING) Division.
Today’s his birthday. So the German’s gave him fireworks!
RIP TSG Leonard Radke
Sean, I’m half laughing and half cringing, because my dad was with the 9th USAAF. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions at the Bulge. I sure hope Dad doesn’t owe your dad an apology!
Here’s to all the men who froze and bled that bloody winter.
“About 150 at Malmedy and 11 Black soldiers tortured and then executed at Wereth.”
Because of that, Krauts sporting “SS” runes during the Bulge campaign had a tendency of eating .30 cal rounds instead of being processed as P.O.Ws…
Don Burget’s book, “Seven Roads To Hell” about the Bulge was one of the most violent accounts I’ve ever read, concerning that shit storm. You could say that the war was quite personal for Don’s buddy, Jack Braun, a German Jewish immigrant… There’s a hardcore passage concerning Jack & a .30 cal M1919… Don’t want to spoil it, so get the book if you haven’t read it.
http://www.donaldrburgett.com/index.php
I have a friend in my hometown, a little fellow, whose unit was one of those that held at Elsenborn Ridge. He was a BAR man because he was a little guy (5″6″ and maybe 140 lbs) and he stayed in place althought hit twice. He is extremely intelligent both about the tactical as well as the strategic parts of the battle. Went back a few years ago and found his platoon’s fighting positions there. He said his platoon was luckier than the others in his company because they were out in the open, and were spared the tree bursts that savaged the rest of his company. Army or not, those were some hard core dudes.
Dad was a sargent in charge of a howitzer team. Yes, he was quite deaf in his later years. I almost took him back about ten years ago – regret I did not as he died at 82 in 2008. I asked him if he would show me some of the places he fought. He said he was quite busy then and didn’t pay a lot of attention to his exact location. I miss him every day.
My dad was a rifleman in G company, 109th in the 28th Infantry. The same outfit Eddie Slovik was assigned to, but never made it to.
Every time something about the Bulge came up on TV, he would vent about headquarters ignoring their reports of the German build-up. A patrol would go out at night and leave 2 guys hidden in the woods until the next night. Constant reports of vehicles & men. He said the German spies in american uniforms weren’t that hard to spot. GIs had all sorts of little things they did that made the Germans stand out. One trick he said was that they would take their ponchos, fold them and tuck them into their belts so that whenever they sat down, they would be sitting on something dry.
I’ve been to the Ardennes twice and am still amazed at what they accomplished in those horrid conditions.