Did you know that some 50 divisions participated in the Battle of the Bulge?
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Battle of the Bulge
- Thread starter Salty
- Start date
I thought this was going to be a thread about how I gain weight too easily. 
Not surprised. One particular group held fast and help turned the tide, I am talking about the U.S. Army engineers. They built roadblocks in many locations and with a few men held up whole battalions of Nazi's, and they blew bridges with minutes to spare, forcing German armor to make time consuming and fuel wasting detours. Of particular note was the 291st engineers led by Col. David Pergrin who performed brilliantly and theirs is a story worth reading.
My father was an army cook that was on D day atone of those beaches, and was at this Battle, as he saw 5 ton covered trucks coming in early in the morning to their base camp, loaedup with naked and frozen American soldies killed and stripped by the nazi and left in the snow...
he As I've read about the battle, what strikes me is how the Germans initially got everything right in the West in their planning and operations for the first time since June 1944. However, three factors were key to the reversal of German offensive.
Regretfully, the Malmedy killers got off because the prosection didn't want to rely on the physical evidence and eye wittness testimony. So they tried to extract confessions which fatally compromised the trials.
- The Malmedy Massacre. The Germans thought their ruthlessness would further demoralize and weaken the "effete" Americans. However, it had the opposite effect. When word got out about this and other massacres occuring on the same day, it played into the American meme of "Remember the Alamo." What American GI no matter how green wouldn't want to see himself as avenging Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie?
- The ability of Patton make a sharp left turn. The Germans didn't expect the Third Army's axis of attack to turn 90 degrees to the north.
- Then of course the clearing of the weather which allowed the Allies to capitalize on their tactical air superiority.
Regretfully, the Malmedy killers got off because the prosection didn't want to rely on the physical evidence and eye wittness testimony. So they tried to extract confessions which fatally compromised the trials.
I participated in the Battle of the Bulge. But probably not the same one you are talking about.
Exactly what my father's friend who was there told us. He said that when word of the massacre got out it stiffened the spine of the soldiers, and now it was fight to the death time. He also said for the longest time afterwards few prisoners were taken.
Patton was great, he turned his troops around on a dime and headed to the Ardennes. One of his subordinate commanders, Col. Creighton Abrams (later overall commander in Vietnam) was in command of the tanks heading to the battle.
Where my Dad worked most of the men were WW2 veterans and there were even some former German soldiers who had moved to the U.S. who also worked there and some had even faced each other in the battle.
There is a documentary about the Battle of the Bulge that was made in the 1960's that had the American and German commanders describing their parts in the battle and for the military history buff that is very interesting to see.
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Yep, and I sure am Glad the German tanks ran out of diesel.
Yeah in those days you couldn't just stop at the nearest gas station and fill up your tank... Brother Glen
The Germans also ran out of winter storm cloud cover and the US Air Force bombed them into rubble when it got sunny. They only advanced because of the cloud cover. Patton drove day and night and came for them. Germany stinks.
Ironic since the Germans had done just that in May 1940 after going through the Ardennes - filled up at French stations on their way to the coast. Also that Joachim Peiper's group came within about a mile of a massive Allied fuel dumpYeah in those days you couldn't just stop at the nearest gas station and fill up your tank... Brother Glen
Just a technicality - but you mean the Army Air Forces - The US Air Force was not formed until 18 Sep 1947
The predecessor organizations in the Army of today's Air Force are:
- Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps (1 August 1907 – 18 July 1914)
- Aviation Section, Signal Corps (18 July 1914 – 20 May 1918)
- Division of Military Aeronautics (20 May 1918 to 24 May 1918)
- U.S. Army Air Service (24 May 1918 to 2 July 1926)
- U.S. Army Air Corps (2 July 1926 to 20 June 1941) and
- U.S. Army Air Forces (20 June 1941 to 18 September 1947)
Thanks--I forgot about that point. I should have just said US air power. As FDR said, "Hitler built a fortress around Europe, but he forgot to put a roof on it."