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December 23, 1944 - The Siege of Bastogne Begins
Posted on 12/23/23 at 9:06 am
Posted on 12/23/23 at 9:06 am
It is 278 weeks since Germany invaded Poland. Here is what was going on 79 years ago during the week of 17-23 December 1944:
YouTube - World War Two
quote:
The German Ardennes Offensive, known to the Allies as the Battle of the Bulge, is in full swing in Luxembourg and Belgium this week, with the Germans having the key junction town of Bastogne under siege. On the Allied side there comes a large American surrender, plans for counterattacks, and tension growing between British and American leaders. The fighting in both Italy and the Philippines continues, and in Hungary the Soviets have nearly surrounded the city of Budapest.
YouTube - World War Two
Posted on 12/23/23 at 9:08 am to RollTide1987
Has Malmedy happened yet?
Posted on 12/23/23 at 9:08 am to FightinTigersDammit
It happens during this week of the war. 

Posted on 12/23/23 at 9:31 am to FightinTigersDammit
LINK
With the first Christmas Day letter I posted on here. The Man was with the 1st Infantry Division who was stationed up by and fought around Malmedy. But he was writing about his girl and parties.

With the first Christmas Day letter I posted on here. The Man was with the 1st Infantry Division who was stationed up by and fought around Malmedy. But he was writing about his girl and parties.

Posted on 12/23/23 at 10:13 am to WeeWee
Just finished this book yesterday. Good read.

Posted on 12/23/23 at 10:22 am to RollTide1987
bastogne is an awesome place to visit, much of it is post 1945 construction because it was so leveled durin the battle
Posted on 12/23/23 at 10:25 am to RollTide1987
During the Battle of the Bulge, the 82nd Airborne Division was digging in along the front lines in Ardennes while three other divisions (7th Armored Division, 9th Armored Division, and the 106th Infantry Division) moved to the rear.
A tank destroyer from the 7th Armored Division moving back passed a lone 82nd trooper digging a foxhole. The vehicle commander stopped the vehicle and asked the trooper if this was the frontline. The trooper, Private First Class Thomas Martin, Company F, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division, replied, “Are you looking for a safe place?” The tank destroyer commander replied that he was. Martin said “Well, buddy, just pull your vehicle behind me. I am the 82nd Airborne and this is as far as the bastards are going.”

A tank destroyer from the 7th Armored Division moving back passed a lone 82nd trooper digging a foxhole. The vehicle commander stopped the vehicle and asked the trooper if this was the frontline. The trooper, Private First Class Thomas Martin, Company F, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division, replied, “Are you looking for a safe place?” The tank destroyer commander replied that he was. Martin said “Well, buddy, just pull your vehicle behind me. I am the 82nd Airborne and this is as far as the bastards are going.”

Posted on 12/23/23 at 10:28 am to Wolfhound45
82nd doesnt get enough credit for holding that northern shoulder during the battle
Posted on 12/23/23 at 11:41 am to geauxtigers87
quote:
82nd doesnt get enough credit for holding that northern shoulder during the battle
Yes they do.

Posted on 12/23/23 at 12:03 pm to Penrod
idk man, in a post band of brothers world, 101st gets most of the attention. i'd argue what the 82nd did was just as if not more important than the 101st holding bastogne
Posted on 12/23/23 at 12:28 pm to RollTide1987
My grandfather dropped on the 24th as part of the 17th Airborne.
Posted on 12/23/23 at 1:42 pm to RollTide1987
One of our clients who died this year was a veteran of the Bulge. He was trained as a combat engineer but they needed infantry replacements so they handed him a BAR and sent him straight into the line. All he ever said about it was his ears sure were cold. After the war he transfered over to the national guard and was later my dad's company commander as a warrant officer.
Posted on 12/23/23 at 1:54 pm to Wolfhound45
quote:
During the Battle of the Bulge, the 82nd Airborne Division was digging in along the front lines in Ardennes while three other divisions (7th Armored Division, 9th Armored Division, and the 106th Infantry Division) moved to the rear.
Only the shattered remnant of the 106th Infantry Div. made it though. Two of its infantry regiments were cutoff and forced to surrender. For all intents and purposes the 106th was destroyed as a cohesive force.
Posted on 12/23/23 at 1:54 pm to geauxtigers87
quote:
idk man, in a post band of brothers world, 101st gets most of the attention. i'd argue what the 82nd did was just as if not more important than the 101st holding bastogne
82nd was in the shite from North Africa onward. The 101st didn't see combat until DDay. As another poster alluded,the 17th got into action very late in the war. The 13th airborne was training in the US but never saw combat.
Little known, but the 11th Airborne served in the Pacific. Elements of it made several combat jumps in New Guinea and the Phillipines.
Posted on 12/23/23 at 2:22 pm to RollTide1987
Hitler should've let Rommel have the Panzers from the get go to use during D Day instead of wasting them here.
Posted on 12/23/23 at 2:30 pm to Jim Rockford
quote:
Little known, but the 11th Airborne served in the Pacific. Elements of it made several combat jumps in New Guinea and the Phillipines.
not just them who are overlooked in the Pacific, I've actually spoken with a dude was in the 503rd PRCT. One of the few guys who was dropped on top of Corregidor when we took it back in 1945
Posted on 12/23/23 at 2:42 pm to Barbellthor
quote:
Hitler should've let Rommel have the Panzers from the get go to use during D Day instead of wasting them here.
This is a debate that’s raged since June 44. Should Hitler have allowed Rommel unleash his panzer reserve immediately or not? There’s two sides to that coin though. Yes, they could have played a decisive role, especially before the Allies had established beachheads. But the panzers would still have to make it there. And that would require massive columns moving north in broad daylight with a gargantuan Allied fleet hammering anything that moved with naval gunfire ranging from 5” to 16” guns. And all this while virtually every serviceable Allied fighter and bomber was flying overhead ready to unleash hell on any German columns. Odds are pretty good that had Rommel tried to bring the panzers up immediately, he’d have been inviting annihilation on OB West’s entire panzer force.
Posted on 12/23/23 at 5:48 pm to Darth_Vader
quote:
This is a debate that’s raged since June 44
The well known secret, though, not to be dismissive of all what you said, is it really didn't matter I think. I read a book about the Normandy campaign. The reality is it was futile from Germany's perspective at that point. They didn't control the skies. Air would take them out anyway.
I suppose they could've slowed beachheading enough to deter us. But I suspect that's a grind we ultimately win.
Posted on 12/23/23 at 7:09 pm to RollTide1987
Another great episode! Has anyone heard any accounts of men who went through that typhoon? That’s absolutely terrifying especially if you were a smaller ship.
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