I had an uncle who was in the 101st who died at Bastogne. This documentary gives me more of an idea of what he might have gone through. I wish my mom was still around to see this as it was her brother.
I'm with you pal. I had an uncle that was killed outright at the Rhine River. He was in the Cobra King which was the first tank to relieve Bastogne at the Battle of the Bulge. It amazes me. These guys were over 5000 miles from home fighting for their lives as well as for the rest of us My mom is his last surviving sibling of 6. James G Murphy 3rd Army 4th Armored Division 37th Tank Battalion Texas.
@@TEXCAP How old's your mom? My mom died about 5 years ago. She was the last of her generation in the family. One thing that was very cool was getting her to talk about family and her memories.
@@sdgakatbk She is 88 years old. I am the youngest nephew of his. Ironically, my brother was born in 61 in Germany and I was born in 65 in Japan. My father flew the F100 and F105 in the Cold War and then Vietnam.
My Dad's artillery battalion was absorbed into the Patton dash to Bastogne, and he related the severe cold, wrong clothing, severe frostbite and constant ice that slowed tank progress. Miserable.
My Dad was with Patton in the 94th 376 division he was a Sgt and drove a wrecker. He had scrap metal in his forehead to the day he died from the battle of Ardennes. He respected Patton he was always right there fighting with them. Patton was a great General.
My grandfather was in the 317 infantry, outta Pennsylvania. He came home and had 8 children, I have his pocket bible, when my uncle passes on he will bequeath me a helmet my grandfather brought him. He lost his toes.
PATTON was the best, hands down. He was like a great sports coach. He did his homework, had diligently studied wars and strategies. And he wasn't afraid to get dirty, leading the way.
When I was in bootcamp I heard about the Screaming Eagles. They are to be respected. They were/ are the proof for the need of special forces. I admire them because they do what I dont think I can. Our armed forces of WWII are the reason we are not speaking German nor Japanese. We need to give them thanks as well as those in service now. This Memorial Day give that thanks.
@@bleepbleep5245 It's the Russians who won the war in the west and the China was the end of Japan. Too bad common sense and childish evangelism has replaced historical fact and common sense.
You can thank the Red Army for inflicting 85% of all the casualties suffered by the German Army in all of WWII....the Bulge battle was a mere skirmish compared to the titanic bloody battles on the Eastern Front...and Germany and Japan had zero ability to cross either the Atlantic or the vast Pacific and attack and occupy the U.S. so our English language was never under threat.
What a honor to be a part of Pattons war machine. My uncle was an engineer is Pattons 3rd. My uncle was wounded just prior to the bulge. He lost an eye from an exploded hand grenade spending 2 years in Belgium recovering. Like so many he kept his role to himself until just before his passing.
You sons and nephews of WW2 survivors should record what they told you so future generations will know the real price of freedom. Nowadays, voters are willing to give it all away to autocracy & demagogues.😮
I'm friends with the great grandson 💙 of Patton. He was just as crazy as the Great General was. I respect the entire Patton line and feel privileged to know him. Thank you 💛 for this excellent documentary.
I'm 66 years old and just saw a letter from my mother's "Beau" send the day before the end of the Battle of the bulge. I just learned it was the last day of his life. We can never take anything for granted and learning history ways to ensure that. Rest in peace Sydney.
my uncle was in the 28th...basically a National Guard outfit the Germans labeled "the bloody buckets" because of the red Keystone patch they wore...got wounded and was taken in and hidden by a local woman...since he was a bit of a ladies man...thin little mustache, and all...he got a good deal of teasing from us as to just how much of an ordeal that really was....
My father was in the all-Puerto Rican 65th Infantry regiment. They were assigned to the 7th Army that protected General Patton’s southern flank while he headed north towards Bastogne. He was in Germany when the war ended in 1945.
@@dante0817 Thank you. He passed away in 2008 at the age of 91. He never spoke of his experience in WWII nor Vietnam. Most of the information I have was acquired by requesting his military records after his passing.
The 65th regiment ,fought in Korea as well .the dist rotation of that unit held off a Chinese rt. Army for three days in a man. Pass,I was told when I was stationed in that frozen place. .
@@patrickgrippo one of my uncles also fought in Korea with the 65th Infantry Regiment “Borinqueneers”. He shared many harrowing stories of their fighting there.
My dad was in 101st airborne. Sergeant in Bastone. He never talked about it. He brought a brass plack back from Bastone that showed a schoolhouse with a bell tower in the background showing a paratrooper landing on the roof. And a German general and a American general and the American general saying nuts. My dad said the people of Bastone was so grateful to be liberated that they took shell casings and melted them down a made small placks about 7 inches round and gave them to the men.
@jimmeblue6262 the image on the plaque with the paratrooper hanging from the tower is actually commemorating the 101st's drop into Normandy in the early morning hours of D-Day on June 6th, 1944. It is of the paratrooper that got his parachute stuck on the church spire in the town of St. Marie Egliese and he was killed as a sitting duck by the Germans. If you go there today, there is a dummy dressed as a 101st paratrooper hanging from the church spire in remembrance.
I have one of those plaques from my father who was in the 101st. He was a 2nd lieutenant in the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment. Made it home raised 8 kids and never talked about the war. He passed in 2000 at 80 years of age. My brother, niece and myself are going to Bastogne next month to pay our respects to the troops that died at the battlefield. He also fought in pretty much the same battles as depicted in “Band of Brothers”. Normandy, Carentan, Market Garden, and Battle of the Bulge. He also was at Hitler’s Eagle Nest.
My dad , Master SGT. 4th Armored division, bronze star, as Daniel said, my dad told me that he could the shoot the enemy but not the weather. God Bless all that were there.
My father was a 1st Sargent in the 101st Airborne. He very seldom talked about the war, but the conditions warranted commentary. They were in a war zone they were not properly dressed for. He said many of his men were suffering from frost bite on their feet. The wind went right through their clothing. He said his men were incredibly strong fighters, and considering their circumstances they were unbelievable. Very proud that they held out!
My grandfather was a Sargeant in the battle of the bulge. He was in a tank division. He told my brothers and I some really crazy stories when we were young. I respect these men so much even the axis powers. They were all fighters.
The Greatest Generation!!! I miss them. Until TH-cam I never realized this and as a young man I missed talking WW2 with them and missed my chance to tell them THANK YOU FOR YOU SERVICE.
As a Belgian citizen the battle of the bulge always fascinated me because of the bravery from the Americans standing there ground even if they were outnumered and in poor conditions the weather the poor clothing the low amunition and the digging in fox holes while there battered by shelling its a miracle they won with alot of heart and courage RIP to the fallen soldiers after seeing what they went trough we shouln'dt complaint about anything and cherish our freedom
I'm American and I also have always been intrigued by history. The Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne was one battle that the 101st was not really prepared for at the time. I remember my dad worked with a former member of the 101st that was there. He said for one thing, they were TRAINED to be surrounded. So to them it was not a frightening thing. My uncle was in the 101st Airborne in Vietnam. They are the US Army's elite unit. They did have some tanks, but not near enough from surrounding area's. They had some tank destroyers also that helped during the battle and confused the Germans. Yes they were outnumbered at all times. Patton meant well and did his very best to get there in time. My dad's friend who was in the 101st during that battle said, WE APPRECIATED Patton trying to get to us, but as it turned out we held our own. The weather broke just in time. You are a Belgian citizen, have you seen the movie BATTLEGROUND? This movie is black and white and was made with real members of the 101st Airborne that had been in that battle. It's a really very good movie and makes you even realize just how desperate the situation really was. The tragic massacre at Malmedy also took place during this time when the German commander Peiper shot US Prisoners. They hung him at the end of the war. But Watch BATTLEGROUND Great movie. Its available for purchase at some streaming sites.
My Uncle was 82nd Airborne in D-Day and the Bulge...they were thrown in as well as the 101st! How he managed to survive both and get home defies imagination.
Dad was in the 7thAD as member of an 81mm crew. His brother was in the 82ndAB. They did not realize they were only a few miles apart until they traded 'war stories' after the war.
My uncle was with 101st at Bastogne, never talked much about the war. One of the few things I remember him saying about it was "you'd be surprised how fast you can dig a fox hole in frozen ground when someone is shooting at you".
@@edgarvalderrama1143 I was talking to the O.P. who said "you'd be surprised how fast you can dig a fox hole in frozen ground when someone is shooting at you". I saw an interview with Shfty Powers from the Band of Brothers years ago and that is what he said
I had the privilege to know a tank commander under Patton . He was a life long member of our American Legion and even though I was previously military his stories were so life like it made the hair on your neck stand up.
I live just two blocks from an Army surgeon who was airdropped behind Allied lines to assist Patton in his move to relieve the 101st. The story he told me about being airdropped, raiding the liquor supply of an abandoned French town, swapping some of that liquor for boneless steak and turkey to take along to Patton's forward position headquarters, meeting Patton and being invited to dine with him BECAUSE he had brought all that meat was so vivid, it gave me chills. I had never heard a story so vivid, so real (complete with expletives) and so compelling - off the top of a 96 year old man. His memory was razor sharp of those experiences.
Ike never panicked. He dispatched the 101st Airborne on trucks from their R&R Reims , France rest camps in the rear. Trucks were dispatched from terminals all the way back to Paris. When he met with the generals in Verdun he told them ''no long faces''. Be optimistic. Let's organize and beat the enemy who is ''out in the open''. Gen Patton quickly commented that he could be in position to attack in 48 hrs. His staff was already planning the attack. This scene is shown in the classic movie PATTON (1970). It's no doubt that this battle is a crucial part of American history. I was reading about it in my grammar school history books back in the 50s. I love Gen. McAullife's Irish moxie. He commented ''nuts'' when he heard about the German attack. Later his staff told him to use the word ''nuts'' to reply to a fugazy German surrender demand. That's how ''nuts'' became part of American military history.
I just went to Europe for the first time in 22 years. Made it a point to visit Bastogne. My father was there in the 327 GIR. My niece put the whole thing together and hired a private guide to take us to different sites around the battlegrounds. I recommend it! This guy was great and not only showed us different sites, but explained every battle like it just took place. Very interesting and answered a lot of questions I had.
Relying solely on THE movie, (which I've seen probably 25 times), you gotta believe that, (just as depicted), Patton rather smugly said, what was it, "I can attack with 3 divisions in 48 hours, my staff are drawing plans as we speak". What a badass.
Great video. My dad was a US Army infantry PFC and fought in Okinawa and the Philippines, not at the Bulge. This story of the valor of these fighting men has always fascinated me. What pops out at me here is the breakdown of the intel guys and the army brass in lack of any preparation or awareness. Wreaks of egos of generals and commanders in the S2and G2 shops, who cling to pre conceived notions and because of their rank, they stick to it. And don’t encourage anyone below them to think outside the box. The Krauts already attacked through the Ardennes 4 years prior. And just a shoutout to our great combat engineers who figured the routes of attack and moved around blowing bridges which caused no end of frustration and delay to the Hun.
My father was one of those brave combat engineers - he commanded a bridge building and blowing up unit who entered the war in Belgium and helped create a way for Patton’s tanks to get out of the Battle of the Bulge and get to Germany. Sadly , he never once discussed the war . I learned these things from my mother after his death. Okinawa and Philippines were hell. Here’s to our fathers !🍻
@@olliemck60Yes thanks. Although wounded at Okinawa, he made it home. Looking back, I believe that he suffered from PTSD. According to my mom, he changed. Drank heavily at times and their marriage fell apart. During his service, she worked as a ticket agent for Southern Pacific RR at Union Station in LA (they were from Idaho). Just as an aside, he broke the tip of his trusty KaBar knife in the neck of a Japanese soldier trying to crawl into his foxhole at night. He brought the knife home and ground a new tip on it and gave it to me when I was in Boy Scouts. Weathered leather sheath and all.
@@shepherdgirl9397That’s a great story, glad your dad made it back. They didn’t know how to treat soldiers with PTSD back then. So many of those poor lads returned home, souls damaged. I think beck then they called it “combat fatigue.” The horrific things they went through and saw.
My relatives from North Dakota and Wisconsin were in Bastogne and they told me growing up with -40 at night and walking to school in -20 and wind made it possible for them to prevail in the fight, but it was so very difficult. Yes, it does get that cold and brutal in those states. All of my dear ones are now buried in veterans cemeteries. I miss them very much-they had so much courage and perseverance. When we talked they told me the Europeans were so courageous and the soldiers believed they were fighting for freedom.
My SW Wisconsin grand-father spent 3 days w/others in a bomb crater near Bastogne! He woke for yrs after the war screaming as he relived those harrowing moments in his nightmares!
... I grew up in Madison WI, I moved AWAY from the Midwest as soon as I could that weather made me tough but not stupid 😉 RIP 🥀 to your tough as nails relatives 🫡💜🇺🇸 ... best wishes from warm, sunny, arid Sonoran desert Buckeye Arizona 🌵🤠🐎🇺🇸
Fresh snow absorbs sound too. Cuts your warning time of hearing an attack in half or more. Standing in a forest after fresh snowfall is weird. It’s like being in an isolation chamber
"My" deer hunting grounds are in the middle of 1.5 million acre, thick boreal forest. After big snowstorms the forest looks like a wedding cake, all the trees heavy with snow. One morning like that I took three shots at a buck, instead the ear ringing "BOOM, BOOM, BOOM of the high powered hunting rifle, it sounded like a hushed "foot, foot, foot. My hunting buddy who was a couple of hundred of yards away said my shots sounded like misfires. I did get my deer and was able to put meat in the freezer.
@@JohnDavis-yz9nq ,. Parts of both the 10th, and 9th ADs, the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion 35th and 158th Combat Engineer Battalions 58th and 420th Armored Field Artillery Battalions 755th and 969th Field Artillery Battalions of 8th Corps, were fighting in and around Bastogne before the 101st got there. Also, the 101st was not then, or now, an elite division.
@@JohnDavis-yz9nq Good for you. It's amazing that someone who hated this "inaccurate" documentary had to take the time to post the same thing over and over and over ad nauseum instead of just posting their opinions once and moving on. Must REALLY be bored, or a troll.
@@TheDoctor1225 i really enjoyed this documentary because it showed the everyday life of the men that were there. This person that posted about the inaccuracies doesn’t really know because this person was not there. I will believe the inaccuracies when I hear it from a combat veteran that was there. Thanks for your comment.
I think that Gen. Anthony ''Irish'' Mc Auliffe should have been awarded the Medal of Honor. His famous ''nuts'' reply is still very well known throughout the entire nation. His gallant remark has past the ''test of time'' in every sense of the term.
By far the greatest depiction movie I've seen is "band of brothers" staring Tom Hanks. 101 st. airborne stood their ground and fought with bravery, courage, and pure guts. I am a veteran of 101 st light infantry (PP1) .I am proud of them and my regiment .
He should be a five star at least. I do believe they had him assassinated at the end of the war. You are correct he was an awesome general and the daddy of tank battle.
Visited Fort Clark, Texas (1.5 hours West from San Antonio. Patton was Stationed there. Fascinating insights into his younger years. Fort is in Bracketville, Texas.
Stop saying no-one saw it coming: Patton saw days ahead of time. That's why he was prepared to march up there. These type of situations always involve the bad choices of a few leaders, not conventional wisdom.
My uncle Leroy was General Pattons mail carrier He served in the Generals 3Rd Army .After Pattons untimely death My uncle was detailed to serve as security police officer at the Nuremberg Trials ..He was only 17 in the beginning and 19 years old going on 40 when he was transferred .
My father was with Patton, my uncle with Hodges, both in the Battle of the Bulge all they said is it was cold as hell, and the Germans were good soldiers and they sent them to hell.
Overall excellent Documentary with one glaring inconsistency. My Dad was in 35th Tank Battalion, Combat Command A, 4th Armored Division. First contact with the 101st Airborne was made by Combat Command R's Lt. Boggess in the Sherman Tank named Cobra King. This is what REALLY happened; 4th Armored Combat Commands A,B, and R for reserve, were fighting north in a trident with CCB on the left, CCA in the center and CCR under Col. Creighton Abrams on the far right. They were all stuck by heavy, dug in German resistance. CCB and CCA attacked to fix the enemy in place while CCR on the far right disengaged suddenly and swung around all the way to the left of CCB, like in a sweep around the left end in Football. They were able to find the southern road into Bastogne and relieve the town. That particular tactical maneuver was an extremely complicated move of genius and skill rarely if ever equaled before or since. The 4th Armored was trained by General John 'Tiger Jack' Wood, whom Gen. Patton always said could "out Patton, Patton".
singular probing attacks by the Germans was their undoing as the artillery just shifted to meet the threat...tanks don't like to be on the receiving end of plunging fire....
What the historian said is true, but the Panzer Lehr division commander, listening to a local farmer, led his main unit down a paved toad towards Bastogne. Unfortunately for him, that road became dirt , which quickly became almost impassibly under all of that German traffic. That delay gave the Americans the extra day or so they needed to prepare Bastogne’s defenses. The German division cdr, a bachelor, was charmed for several hours by a captured American Army nurse, diverting his attention at a time when he needed to be moving his division along.
40:30 Look at how old some of these German soldiers have become; a few look to be between 60-70 years old! I’m 70 and can’t imagine me marching out there!! My father was a B-17 bombardier; his plane was shot down on 12/24/1944. He parachuted from around 30,000 feet and he landed on a frozen field in Belgium; he couldn’t walk without crutches for 2 years due to injury to his left leg! This is a great documentary about the great American soldiers and their defeat of the nasty Nazis!! Thank God for all of their saving actions!!
Thank you for this superb account of the Battle of Bastogne. The one dissonant chord in this wonderful documentary is the very last remark "and by some the greatest of all time." That is sadly a remark that does disservice to all of the other utterly heroic American military campaigns in its illustrious history. Consider for example the heroic self-sacrificial charge of the 1st Minnesota on the second day at Gettysburg. All 262 men of the 1st Minnesota executed a bayonet charge against 1,500 Confederate troops of Wilcox's Alabama brigade. Recognizing that the Union center was about to be broken at Cemetery Ridge, and knowing he needed time to bring up reserves, Major General Winfield commanded the 1st Minnesota's Colonel William Colvill "Colonel! Do you see those colors? Take them!" The 1st Minnesota charged and bought Winfield time to bring up the reserves. Their sacrifice? Only 47 men of the 1st Minnesota (and Colonel Colvill was not one of them) were alive to hear the command "Fall Back!" Are then not as heroic as the brave men of the 101st?
My dad was drafted but had a was decorved to have a heart condition , Making him unsuitable for service ,and he was sent back home .and about every other one of his Sr year class mates that were drafted with my dad died in the battle of the bulge ..This bothered my dad all his life ..💔
I'm proud to be a combat veteran Paratrooper. Paratroopers are all the same friend and foe a like, and are are proud to have EARNED the RIGHT to earn jump wings. We we will never give up and will fight with whatever we've got, usually only that what with what jumped with. Salute Brothers.
The violent clip at the beginning are also fillers, and it is sad that it works. If it does something good to have all the explosions coming close, one after the other, it must be to remind younger generations that their older generations had experienced a world which looked like modern shooter gaming or worse. But as documentary of the situation before the Battle of the Bulge, it is just nonsensical.
Remember no 101st veteran ever said they needed to be " rescued" by Patton. Being a retired Paratrooper myself, I am reminded of the WW2 paratrooper saying. "We're surrounded. Those poor bastards".
Troopers have a job to do but so did the infantry. Patton’s great strength in my opinion, was preparation and total commitment although I was not there I am sure that the 101st welcomed the presence of 3rd Army troops. One outfit did not win the war.
My Godfather was a Sniper in Patton's fighting 45th Division. He fought at the Bulge. His Division and Tank Army were sent from Southern France up to the Bulge to rescue the 101st Division.
My father was not there, not even my grandfather. I was there ! (last 7 months all over Europe but starting with Von Rundstedt in the Ardennes. 5th Div Patton's 3rd Army. Was lucky in never having to retreat but did suffer a hairy German counterattack after a river crossing. Hard for me to believe and I've had doubters of my comments, too. It doesn't make me sore, as I can't believe my own life. (I can't even believe "reality" After the war I experienced two years of "Wild Westing" in Mexico's "Hot Country." (Daily trash truck pickup of previous night's casualties in communal farm) 97 yrs
I'm glad you came home. Thank you for commenting. As a young grunt in VN, I used to think are least I'm not at Iwo, Dday, Bulge or Chosin, so I felt lucky.
"No member of the 101st has ever said they needed to be rescued..." Resupplied, certainly but they held the line. 10th Armored and subordinate units included, yes, but that line didn't break despite the odds. That, my friends, is the United States Army.
Finally someone mentioned the 10th armored. They do not get enough credit for their role in this battle. My grandpa was in the 10th and it always pissed him off that they are rarely mentioned. He was a machinist and had a mobile shop that drove right there with the movement.
Richard Anderson, I wholeheartedly agree.10th Armored was vital to the defense and, yes, the 101st got all the press. The more I've studied this engagement, the more I've become convinced that the miracle of Bastogne lay in that disparate units were thrown into the cauldron and worked as a unified unit despite what their shoulder patches said. All respect and salutes to your grandfather. Such us the stuff that unsung heroes are made.
General Troy Middleton, defending Bastogne, had a Very long and Brilliant career! From fighting and commanding from Mexico, to WW1 France, North Africa, Sicilly, Italy, Normandy, Germany. Nowadays, little noticed. One the US best. He ended up a four star! Same as Patton.
My Opa was a Major with the German Pioneer Infantry (engineers in ENG). The one man the OKW feared was Patton. He had the fortune of Serving Rommel, Surviving Stalingrad and Translating for Patton. At the End of the war he had respekt for all 3. No More wars between brothers.
@kevinkranz9156 Yes he was, no doubt about it. But the few things that tainted his reputation and career in the military which is when he hit two soldiers at Sicily. Look it up if you want more information or don’t believe me.
My Father was part of the Airgroup that participated on Christmas Day. From what I can tell, the Germans inflicted severe damage, with a high American death toll. A very nasty couple of weeks....
Patton was that type of a General, never give up, fight, go forward, don’t hesitate, and he led his army….other Generals are in the rear, cautious, undecided, that is why the battle of the bulge occurred…….
It was about an intel fracture and lack of supplies more than anything. This was about common sense becoming an uncommon virtue not at all about battleground leadership.
Patton attended the Virginia Military Institute for one year before transferring to West Point. Anyone who went to VMI (in those days) learned about Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson's story as a general whose primary military strategy was, once you have the upper hand on the battlefield, pursue the enemy relentlessly until you KILL THEM ALL. No mercy! Maybe Patton used this himself...
I still have my great grandpa's machete and shovel from WW2 and I also have I believe it's a 72mm tank shell I also wore his long johns from the war and let me tell you, those cotton long johns were the best I've ever wore. Honored to call him family. Went into France, Italy and North Africa and was hit by friendly fire and had shrapnel in his back until he died in 2016 at the age of 99 and a day before his 100th bday. Miss ya poppy. "Sure shot" is what his military badge said.
my great grandpa was a paratrooper in World War II. He was in the 82nd Airborne and parachuted into Sicily and the Salerno Beachhead. He was transferred from the 82nd to the 101st Airborne after his unit was withdrawn from Italy and jumped into Normandy on D-Day and Market Garden in Holland. He also served at Bastogne. After the war had ended, he volunteered for railway service in Europe until 1947 in the Army Service Forces. I am also in the same Native American tribe (Choctaw) as 1Sgt. Jake McNiece who was the leader of the “Filthy Thirteen”/ 1st demolition section of the HQ company, 3rd Battalion, 506th Regiment, 101st division. They were the 101st troopers who wore warpaint and Mohawks on Normandy. He jumped into Normandy and Holland until he voluntarily joined the pathfinders where he jumped into Bastogne and as an observer with the 17th Airborne in Operation Varsity
Why does everyone seem to think the 101st Airborne Division was rescued? They consider themselves relieved, as they called themselves," The Battered Bastards of the Bastion of Bastogne!"
The Bulge came about after American divisions, caught in the folds of the Seigfreid Line retreated, General Eisenhower committing all of the airborne forces to make a stand. It was a bitter cold day in the middle of January 1945, and the paratroopers, having given their blankets to the wounded, shivered, packed like sardines in the foxhole. There was a canteen cup full of water on a shelf which began to shake. The sky turned as dark as late evening and a deafening roar scared the men. Was it the end of the world? A volcano? It was the U.S. Army Air Corps, with six or seven flights of the 16,000 aircraft committed to the Bulge, flights stacked over flights, telescoping over Model's communications lines, catching the enemy in the open with no antiaircraft or fighter cover. Repeated in two weeks, the enemy was routed, not to advance again. I knew one of the paratroopers in that foxhole.
That was very near the best presentation of the battle of the bulge, with one critical point. Early on the existence of the 10th Armor units functioning in the area was of critical importance and McAuliffe was very aware of this, and utilized this weapon very effectively to blunt the German and then use his artillery. Of the 101st was what held up the attacking German troops. The point is this was more complex than the impression this makes.
There was a lot of US artillery and ammunition in Bastogne that provided support to the Airborne units who had no artillery when they arrived. Great infantry but no assigned artillery organic to the airborne units carried in trucks. Present in Bastogne: CCB of the 10th Armored Division CCR of the 9th Armored Division 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion 35th and 158th Combat Engineer Battalions 58th and 420th Armored Field Artillery Battalions 755th and 969th Field Artillery Battalions of 8th Corps
@@johnspurrell1200 Glad you pointed this out and one of the artillery units was an African-American unit that sang in rhythm as they operated their guns.
This is a good documentary, but it focuses on the 101st Airborne troops and fails to mention the other units that were also there and that were so key to the defense of Bastogne, in part because they had artillery and tanks, which the 101st did not. They were: Combat Command B of the 10th Armored Division CCR of the 9th Armored Division 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion 35th and 158th Combat Engineer Battalions 58th and 420th Armored Field Artillery Battalions 755th and 969th Field Artillery Battalions of 8th Corps The 101st were amazing, of course, and had already distinguished themselves at D-Day and Market Garden. They accomplished a miracle at Bastogne, and General McAuliffe of the 101st was in command, But the soldiers of the 101st were not alone in that victory. Almost half of the 23,000 American defenders of Bastogne were from the other 8 units involved in the defense of Bastogne.
Yes i forget the artillary unit but they played their hand magnificently.Kept moving around from the center and any lines getting attacked could be reached quickly. Any where jerry attacked could be met with shelling. The Germans later said they thought there was much more Artillary than there really was. Had the Wehrmacht bought an attack on all fronts @ Bastogne instead of one sector at a time things may have been different
I have many friends whose Fathers and Grandfathers who fought in the Battle of the Bulge. They said that Germans were tough,as usual,and it was the coldest they had ever been. But they atuck it out and then things got easier when the skies cleared and our mighty Air Force destroyed the Germans.
Interesting and informative. Excellent photography job making it easier for viewers to better understand what the orator was describing. Historians did a very good job presenting actual facts from fiction.Class A research project!!! Orator presented the documentary very well. Rough combat operations on both sides. Special thanks to the allied veteran guest speakers. Sharing personal combat experiences making the documentary more authentic. Who's fighting/perishing/surviving those fierce combat missions. Made this documentary possible.
Bastogne was the Gettysburg of this fight. The 1st Brit Parachute, the 82nd & 101st American Airborne had to hold that critical town until relief could arrive. They were like Gen. Buford's Union cavalry waiting for General Reynolds (Patton). This was Hitler's last gasp so everything banked on this thrust into Belgium. At the Verdun meeting Patton said he could have 3 armored divisions up there in 2 days. Everyone there knew that it was a 4-day trek in that winter weather. What Patton told nobody was that he had started those divisions 2 days before. Two days later they entered the Bastogne perimeter. My father was a lieutenant with an armored infantry unit of the 4th Armored Division. Patton remembered history.
I'm sorry, but you're confusing Operation Market-Garden with the Bulge. The British 1st Airborne was decimated at Arnhem and wouldn't go on another operation til the Spring of 1945, going to Norway to disarm and round up surrendering German troops. The 82nd wasn't at Bastogne, but was miles to the north around Werbomont taking on the 1st SS and 2nd SS Panzer Divisions. The 101st of course was at Bastogne, but they were far from alone. Combat Command B, 10th Armored Division, CCR 9th Armored, 705th TD Battalion, Team Snafu (remnants of the 28th Infantry Division) plus numerous artillery units were also part of the garrison. Great book to read on the Bulge: "A Time For Trumpets" by Charles MacDonald. MacDonald was there as an infantry company commander with the 2nd Division, was later the Army's Deputy Chief Historian and wrote a number of books on WW2, including a memoir which is considered a classic.
@@kennethcurtis1856: I agree. The fighting around St. Vith is definitely overlooked. All most folks remember (if they remember at all) is the surrender of the 422nd and 423rd IRs on December 19th, giving the impression that the defense collapsed like the proverbial house of cards. There's far more to the story than that.
I know about Market Garden - one lone road from bridge to bridge. When writing the above I trusted my memory of a map I'd seen. It's possible I put the 82nd too close to Bastogne to be considered as being part of that fight. But I do still feel there are comparisons to the expectations felt at Gettysburg. Nothing is ever exact. But thank you for being so exact.@@lawrencemyers3623
😎👍Very truly totally very cool and very nicely greatly wonderfully informatively explained and executed in every detail way shape and format provided on the "Siege of Bastogne"; A job very fabulously well done very nicely indeed Sir's!👌.
Now a day,there are combat boots for our troops that are impervious to cold,heat and water. All the poor Dudes who served in previous wars suffered greatly.My respect to them.Brave Warriors.
Blame TH-cam, not this channel. Because I'm sure this channel and all the others that constantly get bitched at for this horrible offense, are aiming to insult those who were killed or wounded. Geez.
Amen. Our generation and every generation needs to see the atrocities of total war. To realize what the men and women of the world were willing to sacrifice.
My Dad served in Pattons 3rd Armor and I was born in Germany so I've had a love for the German people. I was taken in by this story and as stated about the bridge as I watched this documentary I felt too that the bridge took on a character and for me I wanted to see it stand and not be taken out. Amazing history I really enjoyed this story.
My unit in Vietnam, the 3/506, was assigned a sector at Bastogne. The problems of course that we encountered in Vietnam were entirely different than Bastogne. Those guys were my antecedents, so to speak.
@@tinali9200 You are the second person to say that here. Somebody pissed me off saying that a long time ago and I foolishly posted my discharge - which I'm not going to do again. I'm afraid I'm going to have to let you live with your (natural) suspicions - at least it's no skin off my nose.
@@edgarvalderrama1143 I was talking about the original poster lol…. The dude talking about bastogne from the battle of the bulge in WWII yet mentioning Vietnam in the same sentence. Not only that but you and I have both called him out asking for additional info and zero explanation.
![[MV] A leap of faith...ความเชื่อใจครั้งสุดท้าย (From "Petrichor the series")](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U1piZH2CNXA/mqdefault.jpg)
I had an uncle who was in the 101st who died at Bastogne. This documentary gives me more of an idea of what he might have gone through. I wish my mom was still around to see this as it was her brother.
I'm with you pal. I had an uncle that was killed outright at the Rhine River. He was in the Cobra King which was the first tank to relieve Bastogne at the Battle of the Bulge. It amazes me. These guys were over 5000 miles from home fighting for their lives as well as for the rest of us My mom is his last surviving sibling of 6. James G Murphy 3rd Army 4th Armored Division 37th Tank Battalion Texas.
@@TEXCAP How old's your mom? My mom died about 5 years ago. She was the last of her generation in the family. One thing that was very cool was getting her to talk about family and her memories.
@@sdgakatbk She is 88 years old. I am the youngest nephew of his. Ironically, my brother was born in 61 in Germany and I was born in 65 in Japan. My father flew the F100 and F105 in the Cold War and then Vietnam.
My Dad's artillery battalion was absorbed into the Patton dash to Bastogne, and he related the severe cold, wrong clothing, severe frostbite and constant ice that slowed tank progress. Miserable.
Plus, he related German artillery chopped the tall tree cover which kept the ground warmer and better for defensive foxholes.
THANK YOU, TO THE GREATEST GENERATION.
WITHOUT A FREAKING DOUBT
I agree but those who serve are the greatest of every generation.
My Dad was with Patton in the 94th 376 division he was a Sgt and drove a wrecker. He had scrap metal in his forehead to the day he died from the battle of Ardennes. He respected Patton he was always right there fighting with them. Patton was a great General.
My grandfather was in the 317 infantry, outta Pennsylvania. He came home and had 8 children, I have his pocket bible, when my uncle passes on he will bequeath me a helmet my grandfather brought him. He lost his toes.
There are no generals like that now. We got soft kneed, hand-picked, drown nosed puppets.
MP
PATTON was the best, hands down. He was like a great sports coach. He did his homework, had diligently studied wars and strategies. And he wasn't afraid to get dirty, leading the way.
@@johnwipf9499You go tell them, keyboard warrior.
It's a blessing we have commenters who were actually at the battlefield. Amazing generation.
When I was in bootcamp I heard about the Screaming Eagles. They are to be respected. They were/ are the proof for the need of special forces.
I admire them because they do what I dont think I can.
Our armed forces of WWII are the reason we are not speaking German nor Japanese.
We need to give them thanks as well as those in service now.
This Memorial Day give that thanks.
no no no
... Jesus is the reason you're not speaking German , Japanese or Ebonics
@@bleepbleep5245 It's the Russians who won the war in the west and the China was the end of Japan. Too bad common sense and childish evangelism has replaced historical fact and common sense.
Russia were the victors. They sacrificed 20 million and took 11 million germans with them. It's sad that common sense is an uncommon virtue.
@@bleepbleep5245 I thought God was on the German's side - I even read it on their belts! (Got Mitt Uns)
You can thank the Red Army for inflicting 85% of all the casualties suffered by the German Army in all of WWII....the Bulge battle was a mere skirmish compared to the titanic bloody battles on the Eastern Front...and Germany and Japan had zero ability to cross either the Atlantic or the vast Pacific and attack and occupy the U.S. so our English language was never under threat.
What a honor to be a part of Pattons war machine. My uncle was an engineer is Pattons 3rd. My uncle was wounded just prior to the bulge. He lost an eye from an exploded hand grenade spending 2 years in Belgium recovering. Like so many he kept his role to himself until just before his passing.
My father Captain James H. Fields recipient of MOH, 4th Armored Division served under General Patton.
You sons and nephews of WW2 survivors should record what they told you so future generations will know the real price of freedom. Nowadays, voters are willing to give it all away to autocracy & demagogues.😮
@@jimbo81553-salute
I'm friends with the great grandson 💙 of Patton. He was just as crazy as the Great General was. I respect the entire Patton line and feel privileged to know him. Thank you 💛 for this excellent documentary.
😂😂😂 shut up
I'm 66 years old and just saw a letter from my mother's "Beau" send the day before the end of the Battle of the bulge. I just learned it was the last day of his life. We can never take anything for granted and learning history ways to ensure that. Rest in peace Sydney.
my uncle was in the 28th...basically a National Guard outfit the Germans labeled "the bloody buckets" because of the red Keystone patch they wore...got wounded and was taken in and hidden by a local woman...since he was a bit of a ladies man...thin little mustache, and all...he got a good deal of teasing from us as to just how much of an ordeal that really was....
Awww
What is a "Beau"
@@cfierle A boyfriend
My father received a dear John letter when he was over in Europe. He didn’t marry my mom until he was 48 years old. His first love really burnt him.
My father was in the all-Puerto Rican 65th Infantry regiment. They were assigned to the 7th Army that protected General Patton’s southern flank while he headed north towards Bastogne. He was in Germany when the war ended in 1945.
My grand grandfather fought with germans😆
Extend my regards to your father.
@@dante0817 Thank you. He passed away in 2008 at the age of 91. He never spoke of his experience in WWII nor Vietnam. Most of the information I have was acquired by requesting his military records after his passing.
The 65th regiment ,fought in Korea as well .the dist rotation of that unit held off a Chinese rt. Army for three days in a man. Pass,I was told when I was stationed in that frozen place.
.
@@patrickgrippo one of my uncles also fought in Korea with the 65th Infantry Regiment “Borinqueneers”. He shared many harrowing stories of their fighting there.
My dad was in 101st airborne. Sergeant in Bastone. He never talked about it. He brought a brass plack back from Bastone that showed a schoolhouse with a bell tower in the background showing a paratrooper landing on the roof. And a German general and a American general and the American general saying nuts. My dad said the people of Bastone was so grateful to be liberated that they took shell casings and melted them down a made small placks about 7 inches round and gave them to the men.
@jimmeblue6262 the image on the plaque with the paratrooper hanging from the tower is actually commemorating the 101st's drop into Normandy in the early morning hours of D-Day on June 6th, 1944. It is of the paratrooper that got his parachute stuck on the church spire in the town of St. Marie Egliese and he was killed as a sitting duck by the Germans. If you go there today, there is a dummy dressed as a 101st paratrooper hanging from the church spire in remembrance.
Plaque not plack
Was your dad in band of brothers?? Well his caractor
I have one of those plaques from my father who was in the 101st. He was a 2nd lieutenant in the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment. Made it home raised 8 kids and never talked about the war. He passed in 2000 at 80 years of age. My brother, niece and myself are going to Bastogne next month to pay our respects to the troops that died at the battlefield. He also fought in pretty much the same battles as depicted in “Band of Brothers”. Normandy, Carentan, Market Garden, and Battle of the Bulge. He also was at Hitler’s Eagle Nest.
@@lanpartyanimal5215he was not killed. His name was John Steele and he went on to live many more years, dying in 1969.
My dad , Master SGT. 4th Armored division, bronze star, as Daniel said, my dad told me that he could the shoot the enemy but not the weather. God Bless all that were there.
Some "authority" said you could always manage to dig in the ground. One time, I swear I remember getting sparks trying to dig in on a frozen hill.
My father was a 1st Sargent in the 101st Airborne. He very seldom talked about the war, but the conditions warranted commentary. They were in a war zone they were not properly dressed for. He said many of his men were suffering from frost bite on their feet. The wind went right through their clothing. He said his men were incredibly strong fighters, and considering their circumstances they were unbelievable. Very proud that they held out!
I’m 😮
Yes
@@jamesmcgovern9096 🎉qq
As
Go airborne!!
Respect to your father! The greatest generation ever lived.. my grandfather was in Pattons 3rd Army, feild artillery..
My grandfather was a Sargeant in the battle of the bulge. He was in a tank division. He told my brothers and I some really crazy stories when we were young. I respect these men so much even the axis powers. They were all fighters.
The Greatest Generation!!! I miss them. Until TH-cam I never realized this and as a young man I missed talking WW2 with them and missed my chance to tell them THANK YOU FOR YOU SERVICE.
You are a good person.
I miss them too. Greatest generation
As a Belgian citizen the battle of the bulge always fascinated me because of the bravery from the Americans standing there ground even if they were outnumered and in poor conditions the weather the poor clothing the low amunition and the digging in fox holes while there battered by shelling its a miracle they won with alot of heart and courage RIP to the fallen soldiers after seeing what they went trough we shouln'dt complaint about anything and cherish our freedom
American soldiers said the people of Belgium were the best they encountered. My father-in-law was in the 28th Division artillery.
It's a shame the Germans behaved so beastly to Belgian civilians, even with their end so near.
AMEN
I'm American and I also have always been intrigued by history. The Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne was one battle that the 101st was not really prepared for at the time. I remember my dad worked with a former member of the 101st that was there. He said for one thing, they were TRAINED to be surrounded. So to them it was not a frightening thing. My uncle was in the 101st Airborne in Vietnam. They are the US Army's elite unit. They did have some tanks, but not near enough from surrounding area's. They had some tank destroyers also that helped during the battle and confused the Germans. Yes they were outnumbered at all times. Patton meant well and did his very best to get there in time. My dad's friend who was in the 101st during that battle said, WE APPRECIATED Patton trying to get to us, but as it turned out we held our own. The weather broke just in time. You are a Belgian citizen, have you seen the movie BATTLEGROUND? This movie is black and white and was made with real members of the 101st Airborne that had been in that battle. It's a really very good movie and makes you even realize just how desperate the situation really was. The tragic massacre at Malmedy also took place during this time when the German commander Peiper shot US Prisoners. They hung him at the end of the war. But Watch BATTLEGROUND Great movie. Its available for purchase at some streaming sites.
That’s what we do!
Hands down the greatest purest military man in American History. Truly a reborn hero of the past.
"Tell Grandpa I'm over here with Patton. He likes him so much." From my Dad, written from Bastogne, December 1944.
Wow. Amazing history . Love listening to hero’s.
Awesome 😎
My Uncle was 82nd Airborne in D-Day and the Bulge...they were thrown in as well as the 101st! How he managed to survive both and get home defies imagination.
Dad was in the 7thAD as member of an 81mm crew. His brother was in the 82ndAB. They did not realize they were only a few miles apart until they traded 'war stories' after the war.
@@kennethcurtis1856 Didn't they send and receive letters from home. Surprised they didn't know this unless their mail was censored by the government.
My uncle was with 101st at Bastogne, never talked much about the war. One of the few things I remember him saying about it was "you'd be surprised how fast you can dig a fox hole in frozen ground when someone is shooting at you".
Adrenaline
All I got was sparks when I tried to dig a foxhole in the frozen ground!
that's what shifty powers said in the BoB docu
@@bigwoody4704 I assume I wasn't the only one.
I didn't notice any "shifty powers." What's that?
@@edgarvalderrama1143 I was talking to the O.P. who said "you'd be surprised how fast you can dig a fox hole in frozen ground when someone is shooting at you". I saw an interview with Shfty Powers from the Band of Brothers years ago and that is what he said
My uncle was wounded in this battle by a German mortar round. He survived and lived a long life.
I had the privilege to know a tank commander under Patton . He was a life long member of our American Legion and even though I was previously military his stories were so life like it made the hair on your neck stand up.
I live just two blocks from an Army surgeon who was airdropped behind Allied lines to assist Patton in his move to relieve the 101st. The story he told me about being airdropped, raiding the liquor supply of an abandoned French town, swapping some of that liquor for boneless steak and turkey to take along to Patton's forward position headquarters, meeting Patton and being invited to dine with him BECAUSE he had brought all that meat was so vivid, it gave me chills. I had never heard a story so vivid, so real (complete with expletives) and so compelling - off the top of a 96 year old man. His memory was razor sharp of those experiences.
all heroes , as a belgian I'm fascinated about the courage of all these men
Ike never panicked. He dispatched the 101st Airborne on trucks from their R&R Reims , France rest camps in the rear. Trucks were dispatched from terminals all the way back to Paris. When he met with the generals in Verdun he told them ''no long faces''. Be optimistic. Let's organize and beat the enemy who is ''out in the open''. Gen Patton quickly commented that he could be in position to attack in 48 hrs. His staff was already planning the attack. This scene is shown in the classic movie PATTON (1970). It's no doubt that this battle is a crucial part of American history. I was reading about it in my grammar school history books back in the 50s. I love Gen. McAullife's Irish moxie. He commented ''nuts'' when he heard about the German attack. Later his staff told him to use the word ''nuts'' to reply to a fugazy German surrender demand. That's how ''nuts'' became part of American military history.
One week ago i went to the war museum in Bastogne. Goosebumps from the beginning to the end.
I just went to Europe for the first time in 22 years. Made it a point to visit Bastogne. My father was there in the 327 GIR. My niece put the whole thing together and hired a private guide to take us to different sites around the battlegrounds. I recommend it! This guy was great and not only showed us different sites, but explained every battle like it just took place. Very interesting and answered a lot of questions I had.
Relying solely on THE movie, (which I've seen probably 25 times), you gotta believe that, (just as depicted), Patton rather smugly said, what was it, "I can attack with 3 divisions in 48 hours, my staff are drawing plans as we speak". What a badass.
Oh but "No one saw it coming!" I don't understand why they keep saying that. That was how the German's beat France so quickly earlier in the war.
And did he manage it within 3 days?
I visited the Battle of the Bulge museum in Bastogne recently well worth visiting. My uncle was in this battle as an artilliary officer with Patton.
The 101st were and are Badasses!
God Bless you boys!
👍
506th PIR Easy Company.
Talk about bad asses who always seemed to end up in middle of a desperate battle.
✌🏼❤️🇺🇲🪖
Great video.
My dad was a US Army infantry PFC and fought in Okinawa and the Philippines, not at the Bulge. This story of the valor of these fighting men has always fascinated me.
What pops out at me here is the breakdown of the intel guys and the army brass in lack of any preparation or awareness. Wreaks of egos of generals and commanders in the S2and G2 shops, who cling to pre conceived notions and because of their rank, they stick to it. And don’t encourage anyone below them to think outside the box.
The Krauts already attacked through the Ardennes 4 years prior.
And just a shoutout to our great combat engineers who figured the routes of attack and moved around blowing bridges which caused no end of frustration and delay to the Hun.
Don't forget 1914 and i believe 1870 too
war is hell wherever it is, hope your dad made it through! mine did thankfully.
My father was one of those brave combat engineers - he commanded a bridge building and blowing up unit who entered the war in Belgium and helped create a way for Patton’s tanks to get out of the Battle of the Bulge and get to Germany. Sadly , he never once discussed the war . I learned these things from my mother after his death. Okinawa and Philippines were hell. Here’s to our fathers !🍻
@@olliemck60Yes thanks. Although wounded at Okinawa, he made it home.
Looking back, I believe that he suffered from PTSD. According to my mom, he changed. Drank heavily at times and their marriage fell apart. During his service, she worked as a ticket agent for Southern Pacific RR at Union Station in LA (they were from Idaho).
Just as an aside, he broke the tip of his trusty KaBar knife in the neck of a Japanese soldier trying to crawl into his foxhole at night. He brought the knife home and ground a new tip on it and gave it to me when I was in Boy Scouts. Weathered leather sheath and all.
@@shepherdgirl9397That’s a great story, glad your dad made it back.
They didn’t know how to treat soldiers with PTSD back then. So many of those poor lads returned home, souls damaged. I think beck then they called it “combat fatigue.”
The horrific things they went through and saw.
Very interesting, credible documentary of this substantial and savage battle. A huge "Thank you" to all who were present and did their bit.
This was a great documentary on this battle. Thank you so much.
💯👍🇺🇸
My relatives from North Dakota and Wisconsin were in Bastogne and they told me growing up with -40 at night and walking to school in -20 and wind made it possible for them to prevail in the fight, but it was so very difficult. Yes, it does get that cold and brutal in those states. All of my dear ones are now buried in veterans cemeteries. I miss them very much-they had so much courage and perseverance. When we talked they told me the Europeans were so courageous and the soldiers believed they were fighting for freedom.
My SW Wisconsin grand-father spent 3 days w/others in a bomb crater near Bastogne! He woke for yrs after the war screaming as he relived those harrowing moments in his nightmares!
My mother’s uncle once read a book about Germany.
... I grew up in Madison WI, I moved AWAY from the Midwest as soon as I could that weather made me tough but not stupid 😉 RIP 🥀 to your tough as nails relatives 🫡💜🇺🇸 ... best wishes from warm, sunny, arid Sonoran desert Buckeye Arizona 🌵🤠🐎🇺🇸
That's why they are called the greatest generation. I had two uncle's who fought in WW2 they were tough tough men.
Fresh snow absorbs sound too. Cuts your warning time of hearing an attack in half or more. Standing in a forest after fresh snowfall is weird. It’s like being in an isolation chamber
I live in Vermont! Yup!!
"My" deer hunting grounds are in the middle of 1.5 million acre, thick boreal forest. After big snowstorms the forest looks like a wedding cake, all the trees heavy with snow. One morning like that I took three shots at a buck, instead the ear ringing "BOOM, BOOM, BOOM of the high powered hunting rifle, it sounded like a hushed "foot, foot, foot. My hunting buddy who was a couple of hundred of yards away said my shots sounded like misfires. I did get my deer and was able to put meat in the freezer.
My father was in the artillery during the bulge. He had the greatest respect for the members of the 101st and the others there.
in
John Davis- so was my dad, Howard Elliott. I don’t know how you guys managed to live thorough that hellish time, but THANK GOD you did!
Best documentary I have ever seen about this battle. My father was with Patton. He was in a anti aircraft half track division.
LOL
This is a terrible documentary.
Possibly one of the worst, and inaccurate, I've ever seen
@@unitedwestand5100 most accurate and the best one that I have ever seen. I saved it so that I can watch it again.
@@JohnDavis-yz9nq ,. Parts of both the 10th, and 9th ADs, the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion
35th and 158th Combat Engineer Battalions
58th and 420th Armored Field Artillery Battalions
755th and 969th Field Artillery Battalions of 8th Corps, were fighting in and around Bastogne before the 101st got there.
Also, the 101st was not then, or now, an elite division.
@@JohnDavis-yz9nq Good for you. It's amazing that someone who hated this "inaccurate" documentary had to take the time to post the same thing over and over and over ad nauseum instead of just posting their opinions once and moving on. Must REALLY be bored, or a troll.
@@TheDoctor1225 i really enjoyed this documentary because it showed the everyday life of the men that were there. This person that posted about the inaccuracies doesn’t really know because this person was not there. I will believe the inaccuracies when I hear it from a combat veteran that was there. Thanks for your comment.
I think that Gen. Anthony ''Irish'' Mc Auliffe should have been awarded the Medal of Honor. His famous ''nuts'' reply is still very well known throughout the entire nation. His gallant remark has past the ''test of time'' in every sense of the term.
Once again Montgomery nearly loses the war only to be saved by Patton.
By far the greatest depiction movie I've seen is "band of brothers" staring Tom Hanks. 101 st. airborne stood their ground and fought with bravery, courage, and pure guts. I am a veteran of 101 st light infantry (PP1) .I am proud of them and my regiment .
Patton was the best General the US Army ever had..
Hard to decide between him and Curtis LeMay.
My uncle served in Patton’s army. He fought in the battle of the bulge.
He should be a five star at least. I do believe they had him assassinated at the end of the war. You are correct he was an awesome general and the daddy of tank battle.
That is a matter of opinion. He had his strengths, and by God, he had his faults!
I agree that with you Completely!
Visited Fort Clark, Texas (1.5 hours West from San Antonio. Patton was Stationed there. Fascinating insights into his younger years. Fort is in Bracketville, Texas.
They are great Heroes thank you for telling their story it's well worth hearing
My dad was at the bulge he even mentioned a frozen cow
Stop saying no-one saw it coming: Patton saw days ahead of time. That's why he was prepared to march up there. These type of situations always involve the bad choices of a few leaders, not conventional wisdom.
Ike recognized the counter-offensive immediately.
🎯
What was the bad decision?
My uncle Leroy was General Pattons mail carrier
He served in the Generals 3Rd Army .After Pattons untimely death My uncle was detailed to serve as security police officer at the Nuremberg Trials ..He was only 17 in the beginning and 19 years old going on 40 when he was transferred .
What did paton have, a crystal ball? He didn't "see" anything.
Brings a tear to the eye.
This is a great body of historical information. It is very significant and depicts the amount of everything significant to what America truly is.
My father was with Patton, my uncle with Hodges, both in the Battle of the Bulge all they said is it was cold as hell, and the Germans were good soldiers and they sent them to hell.
Overall excellent Documentary with one glaring inconsistency. My Dad was in 35th Tank Battalion, Combat Command A, 4th Armored Division. First contact with the 101st Airborne was made by Combat Command R's Lt. Boggess in the Sherman Tank named Cobra King. This is what REALLY happened; 4th Armored Combat Commands A,B, and R for reserve, were fighting north in a trident with CCB on the left, CCA in the center and CCR under Col. Creighton Abrams on the far right. They were all stuck by heavy, dug in German resistance. CCB and CCA attacked to fix the enemy in place while CCR on the far right disengaged suddenly and swung around all the way to the left of CCB, like in a sweep around the left end in Football. They were able to find the southern road into Bastogne and relieve the town. That particular tactical maneuver was an extremely complicated move of genius and skill rarely if ever equaled before or since. The 4th Armored was trained by General John 'Tiger Jack' Wood, whom Gen. Patton always said could "out Patton, Patton".
My great uncle was in this battle, Last name Vest lived into his 90s
My uncle was on a howitzer during the Battle of the Bulge. He said that they went through mountains of shells.
singular probing attacks by the Germans was their undoing as the artillery just shifted to meet the threat...tanks don't like to be on the receiving end of plunging fire....
My father was on a 155mm howitzer during the battle. He said pretty much the same thing. Plus the cold, he talked about the cold
What the historian said is true, but the Panzer Lehr division commander, listening to a local farmer, led his main unit down a paved toad towards Bastogne. Unfortunately for him, that road became dirt , which quickly became almost impassibly under all of that German traffic. That delay gave the Americans the extra day or so they needed to prepare Bastogne’s defenses. The German division cdr, a bachelor, was charmed for several hours by a captured American Army nurse, diverting his attention at a time when he needed to be moving his division along.
40:30 Look at how old some of these German soldiers have become; a few look to be between 60-70 years old! I’m 70 and can’t imagine me marching out there!! My father was a B-17 bombardier; his plane was shot down on 12/24/1944. He parachuted from around 30,000 feet and he landed on a frozen field in Belgium; he couldn’t walk without crutches for 2 years due to injury to his left leg! This is a great documentary about the great American soldiers and their defeat of the nasty Nazis!! Thank God for all of their saving actions!!
legend has it your big mouth father shoot himself in a left leg for obvious reason
... dig him out and thank him for his service
"great American soldiers" haven't defeat a "nasty Nazis" you brainwashed burgerfoker
Thank you for this superb account of the Battle of Bastogne. The one dissonant chord in this wonderful documentary is the very last remark "and by some the greatest of all time." That is sadly a remark that does disservice to all of the other utterly heroic American military campaigns in its illustrious history. Consider for example the heroic self-sacrificial charge of the 1st Minnesota on the second day at Gettysburg. All 262 men of the 1st Minnesota executed a bayonet charge against 1,500 Confederate troops of Wilcox's Alabama brigade. Recognizing that the Union center was about to be broken at Cemetery Ridge, and knowing he needed time to bring up reserves, Major General Winfield commanded the 1st Minnesota's Colonel William Colvill "Colonel! Do you see those colors? Take them!" The 1st Minnesota charged and bought Winfield time to bring up the reserves. Their sacrifice? Only 47 men of the 1st Minnesota (and Colonel Colvill was not one of them) were alive to hear the command "Fall Back!" Are then not as heroic as the brave men of the 101st?
My dad was drafted but had a was decorved to have a heart condition , Making him unsuitable for service ,and he was sent back home .and about every other one of his Sr year class mates that were drafted with my dad died in the battle of the bulge ..This bothered my dad all his life ..💔
I love this documentary. Thank you for your service!
The entrenching tool could be used as a shovel or a pick but it was also handy for braining someone if you are out of ammo or in hand-to-hand combat.
This is a fantastic video and recount of The Battle of The Bulge. I am an avid Historian. This is very detailed. Fantastic job
When asked "What unit?", soldier said ,"I'm with Patton!.
My uncle was at BotB, a truly great man and nice guy...miss you uncle Red !!!
I'm proud to be a combat veteran Paratrooper. Paratroopers are all the same friend and foe a like, and are are proud to have EARNED the RIGHT to earn jump wings. We we will never give up and will fight with whatever we've got, usually only that what with what jumped with. Salute Brothers.
The violent clip at the beginning are also fillers, and it is sad that it works.
If it does something good to have all the explosions coming close, one after the other, it must be to remind younger generations that their older generations had experienced a world which looked like modern shooter gaming or worse.
But as documentary of the situation before the Battle of the Bulge, it is just nonsensical.
Patton was so brilliant!!!
Bruce Best.
Very complete and accurate description of 101 strategy and tactics. Thank you
Remember no 101st veteran ever said they needed to be " rescued" by Patton. Being a retired Paratrooper myself, I am reminded of the WW2 paratrooper saying. "We're surrounded. Those poor bastards".
Paratroopers are supposed to be surrounded.
Patton relieved the 101st. They dint need no rescuing
Troopers have a job to do but so did the infantry. Patton’s great strength in my opinion, was preparation and total commitment although I was not there I am sure that the 101st welcomed the presence of 3rd Army troops. One outfit did not win the war.
My Godfather was a Sniper in Patton's fighting 45th Division. He fought at the Bulge. His Division and Tank Army were sent from Southern France up to the Bulge to rescue the 101st Division.
"We fought the wrong enemy".
-General Patton.
So true
He was absolutely correct, wasn't he?
He was that pissed at Montgomery?
My father was not there, not even my grandfather. I was there ! (last 7 months all over Europe but starting with Von Rundstedt in the Ardennes. 5th Div Patton's 3rd Army. Was lucky in never having to retreat but did suffer a hairy German counterattack after a river crossing.
Hard for me to believe and I've had doubters of my comments, too.
It doesn't make me sore, as I can't believe my own life. (I can't even believe "reality"
After the war I experienced two years of "Wild Westing" in Mexico's "Hot Country." (Daily trash truck pickup of previous night's casualties in communal farm)
97 yrs
Thank you for your service, Edgar Valderrama. Congratulations on being part of the Greatest Generation.
I'm glad you came home. Thank you for commenting. As a young grunt in VN, I used to think are least I'm not at Iwo, Dday, Bulge or Chosin, so I felt lucky.
@@stevek8829 "War is (always) hell!"
God bless you, sir. And thank you for your service.
@@richardjohnson1261 Thanks.
They weren’t called the greatest generation for nothing.God bless them all.
Jim “Pee Wee” Martin….what a soldier and hero!! Rest easy Jim…
My Dad was there, these guys are heroes, freedom is not cheap. Now look what this generation has done
What did you do??
"No member of the 101st has ever said they needed to be rescued..." Resupplied, certainly but they held the line. 10th Armored and subordinate units included, yes, but that line didn't break despite the odds. That, my friends, is the United States Army.
Airborne units are trained to be surrounded. If anything, it must have been a comfort to have armor and more than usual amount of artillery.
DonMeaker, agreed. Definitely agreed. And they pulled this off woefully short of supplies going in. The right stuff indeed!
Finally someone mentioned the 10th armored. They do not get enough credit for their role in this battle. My grandpa was in the 10th and it always pissed him off that they are rarely mentioned. He was a machinist and had a mobile shop that drove right there with the movement.
Richard Anderson, I wholeheartedly agree.10th Armored was vital to the defense and, yes, the 101st got all the press. The more I've studied this engagement, the more I've become convinced that the miracle of Bastogne lay in that disparate units were thrown into the cauldron and worked as a unified unit despite what their shoulder patches said.
All respect and salutes to your grandfather. Such us the stuff that unsung heroes are made.
@@andyboog2010 If I remember correctly, the 5th Div. collective opinion was that the Tenth Armored was second only to our favorite Fourth Armored.
This is a SPECTACULAR documentary! (big thanks for it!). How come I didn't see it before??
Documentary is fantastic. Absolutely fantastic
General Troy Middleton, defending Bastogne, had a Very long and Brilliant career! From fighting and commanding from Mexico, to WW1 France, North Africa, Sicilly, Italy, Normandy, Germany. Nowadays, little noticed. One the US best. He ended up a four star! Same as Patton.
"They've got us surrounded again, the poor bastards." Creighton Abrams.
Great documentary. Thanks.
Patton ) was one of the best generals in history) America needs another general like patton) a WINNER)
I think we had one. Stormin Norman,
... our armed forces are still the best in the world the tip of the spear 🫡💜🇺🇸
My Opa was a Major with the German Pioneer Infantry (engineers in ENG). The one man the OKW feared was Patton. He had the fortune of Serving Rommel, Surviving Stalingrad and Translating for Patton. At the End of the war he had respekt for all 3. No More wars between brothers.
I served in The Airborne. We absolutely had the entrenching tool.
My dad still has his he was 4th ID and later 75th Rgt back in the 80s lol
PATTON WAS AN AMAZING MAN AND GENERAL AMEN 🙏
Patton was a racist and anti sémite psychopath. He was a good, not a great, general.
He was a No Bullshit General!!!
@kevinkranz9156
Yes he was, no doubt about it. But the few things that tainted his reputation and career in the military which is when he hit two soldiers at Sicily. Look it up if you want more information or don’t believe me.
@@cameronkedas3375yes that was unfortunate. Maybe he had a little fatigue going on himself. Who knows.
Rumor has it he was killed or rather targeted
My Father was part of the Airgroup that participated on Christmas Day. From what I can tell, the Germans inflicted severe damage, with a high American death toll. A very nasty couple of weeks....
What a great "Battle of the Bulge" Documentary! Really interesting and informative!
it explains why the Germans were not able to just run over them with their tanks....
Patton was that type of a General, never give up, fight, go forward, don’t hesitate, and he led his army….other Generals are in the rear, cautious, undecided, that is why the battle of the bulge occurred…….
It was about an intel fracture and lack of supplies more than anything. This was about common sense becoming an uncommon virtue not at all about battleground leadership.
"His guts, our blood" is what the infantry said - but more as a matter of fact than with resentment.
So very true, at one point Eisenhower held needed tires..
Patton attended the Virginia Military Institute for one year before transferring to West Point. Anyone who went to VMI (in those days) learned about Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson's story as a general whose primary military strategy was, once you have the upper hand on the battlefield, pursue the enemy relentlessly until you KILL THEM ALL. No mercy! Maybe Patton used this himself...
I still have my great grandpa's machete and shovel from WW2 and I also have I believe it's a 72mm tank shell I also wore his long johns from the war and let me tell you, those cotton long johns were the best I've ever wore. Honored to call him family. Went into France, Italy and North Africa and was hit by friendly fire and had shrapnel in his back until he died in 2016 at the age of 99 and a day before his 100th bday. Miss ya poppy. "Sure shot" is what his military badge said.
🙏🙏
my great grandpa was a paratrooper in World War II. He was in the 82nd Airborne and parachuted into Sicily and the Salerno Beachhead.
He was transferred from the 82nd to the 101st Airborne after his unit was withdrawn from Italy and jumped into Normandy on D-Day and Market Garden in Holland. He also served at Bastogne. After the war had ended, he volunteered for railway service in Europe until 1947 in the Army Service Forces. I am also in the same Native American tribe (Choctaw) as 1Sgt. Jake McNiece who was the leader of the “Filthy Thirteen”/ 1st demolition section of the HQ company, 3rd Battalion, 506th Regiment, 101st division. They were the 101st troopers who wore warpaint and Mohawks on Normandy. He jumped into Normandy and Holland until he voluntarily joined the pathfinders where he jumped into Bastogne and as an observer with the 17th Airborne in Operation Varsity
Why does everyone seem to think the 101st Airborne Division was rescued? They consider themselves relieved, as they called themselves," The Battered Bastards of the Bastion of Bastogne!"
matter of semantics...101 was a prideful bunch...still are....
Patton’s ego.
Both Americans and Germans fought in the WORSE conditions!! Unbelievable fighting will with LESS man power the Americans had! Brave men!
The Bulge came about after American divisions, caught in the folds of the Seigfreid Line retreated, General Eisenhower committing all of the airborne forces to make a stand. It was a bitter cold day in the middle of January 1945, and the paratroopers, having given their blankets to the wounded, shivered, packed like sardines in the foxhole. There was a canteen cup full of water on a shelf which began to shake. The sky turned as dark as late evening and a deafening roar scared the men. Was it the end of the world? A volcano? It was the U.S. Army Air Corps, with six or seven flights of the 16,000 aircraft committed to the Bulge, flights stacked over flights, telescoping over Model's communications lines, catching the enemy in the open with no antiaircraft or fighter cover. Repeated in two weeks, the enemy was routed, not to advance again. I knew one of the paratroopers in that foxhole.
Patton saw it coming.
My father was there with the Big Red One. Was wounded, but survived and went on as far as Czechslovachia.
That was very near the best presentation of the battle of the bulge, with one critical point. Early on the existence of the 10th Armor units functioning in the area was of critical importance and McAuliffe was very aware of this, and utilized this weapon very effectively to blunt the German and then use his artillery. Of the 101st was what held up the attacking German troops. The point is this was more complex than the impression this makes.
There was a lot of US artillery and ammunition in Bastogne that provided support to the Airborne units who had no artillery when they arrived. Great infantry but no assigned artillery organic to the airborne units carried in trucks.
Present in Bastogne:
CCB of the 10th Armored Division
CCR of the 9th Armored Division
705th Tank Destroyer Battalion
35th and 158th Combat Engineer Battalions
58th and 420th Armored Field Artillery Battalions
755th and 969th Field Artillery Battalions of 8th Corps
@@johnspurrell1200 Glad you pointed this out and one of the artillery units was an African-American unit that sang in rhythm as they operated their guns.
I always enjoy these . It lines up with my grandfather's stories and makes it so much better
This is a good documentary, but it focuses on the 101st Airborne troops and fails to mention the other units that were also there and that were so key to the defense of Bastogne, in part because they had artillery and tanks, which the 101st did not. They were:
Combat Command B of the 10th Armored Division
CCR of the 9th Armored Division
705th Tank Destroyer Battalion
35th and 158th Combat Engineer Battalions
58th and 420th Armored Field Artillery Battalions
755th and 969th Field Artillery Battalions of 8th Corps
The 101st were amazing, of course, and had already distinguished themselves at D-Day and Market Garden. They accomplished a miracle at Bastogne, and General McAuliffe of the 101st was in command, But the soldiers of the 101st were not alone in that victory. Almost half of the 23,000 American defenders of Bastogne were from the other 8 units involved in the defense of Bastogne.
Yes i forget the artillary unit but they played their hand magnificently.Kept moving around from the center and any lines getting attacked could be reached quickly. Any where jerry attacked could be met with shelling. The Germans later said they thought there was much more Artillary than there really was. Had the Wehrmacht bought an attack on all fronts @ Bastogne instead of one sector at a time things may have been different
Thanks. I did not know this.
6th Armored Division…..
My father was in the ninth armoured
My father was in Combat Command B with the 10th Armored. He passed away in 1984.
I have many friends whose Fathers and Grandfathers who fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
They said that Germans were tough,as usual,and it was the coldest they had ever been.
But they atuck it out and then things got easier when the skies cleared and our mighty Air Force destroyed the Germans.
One of the best general in WW2
Interesting and informative. Excellent photography job making it easier for viewers to better understand what the orator was describing. Historians did a very good job presenting actual facts from fiction.Class A research project!!! Orator presented the documentary very well. Rough combat operations on both sides. Special thanks to the allied veteran guest speakers. Sharing personal combat experiences making the documentary more authentic. Who's fighting/perishing/surviving those fierce combat missions. Made this documentary possible.
Bastogne was the Gettysburg of this fight. The 1st Brit Parachute, the 82nd & 101st American Airborne had to hold that critical town until relief could arrive. They were like Gen. Buford's Union cavalry waiting for General Reynolds (Patton). This was Hitler's last gasp so everything banked on this thrust into Belgium. At the Verdun meeting Patton said he could have 3 armored divisions up there in 2 days. Everyone there knew that it was a 4-day trek in that winter weather. What Patton told nobody was that he had started those divisions 2 days before. Two days later they entered the Bastogne perimeter. My father was a lieutenant with an armored infantry unit of the 4th Armored Division. Patton remembered history.
I remember the 5th Div. thought of the 4th Armored as incomparable; in a class of its own.
Have you read the complete battle for St. Vith? St. Vith took the brunt of the initial German onslaught.
I'm sorry, but you're confusing Operation Market-Garden with the Bulge.
The British 1st Airborne was decimated at Arnhem and wouldn't go on another operation til the Spring of 1945, going to Norway to disarm and round up surrendering German troops. The 82nd wasn't at Bastogne, but was miles to the north around Werbomont taking on the 1st SS and 2nd SS Panzer Divisions. The 101st of course was at Bastogne, but they were far from alone. Combat Command B, 10th Armored Division, CCR 9th Armored, 705th TD Battalion, Team Snafu (remnants of the 28th Infantry Division) plus numerous artillery units were also part of the garrison.
Great book to read on the Bulge: "A Time For Trumpets" by Charles MacDonald. MacDonald was there as an infantry company commander with the 2nd Division, was later the Army's Deputy Chief Historian and wrote a number of books on WW2, including a memoir which is considered a classic.
@@kennethcurtis1856: I agree. The fighting around St. Vith is definitely overlooked. All most folks remember (if they remember at all) is the surrender of the 422nd and 423rd IRs on December 19th, giving the impression that the defense collapsed like the proverbial house of cards. There's far more to the story than that.
I know about Market Garden - one lone road from bridge to bridge. When writing the above I trusted my memory of a map I'd seen. It's possible I put the 82nd too close to Bastogne to be considered as being part of that fight. But I do still feel there are comparisons to the expectations felt at Gettysburg. Nothing is ever exact. But thank you for being so exact.@@lawrencemyers3623
😎👍Very truly totally very cool and very nicely greatly wonderfully informatively explained and executed in every detail way shape and format provided on the "Siege of Bastogne"; A job very fabulously well done very nicely indeed Sir's!👌.
Thank you for the history lesson.
Now a day,there are combat boots for our troops that are impervious to cold,heat and water.
All the poor Dudes who served in previous wars suffered greatly.My respect to them.Brave Warriors.
Blurring the atrocities of war is an insult to everyone that was wounded and/or killed.
Blame TH-cam, not this channel. Because I'm sure this channel and all the others that constantly get bitched at for this horrible offense, are aiming to insult those who were killed or wounded. Geez.
But TH-cam will show the murder of a police officer with no problem totally uncensored.
True. Especially the atrocities committed by Eisenhower (smothering to death German P.O.W.'s in train cars, TWICE!) and the Allies.
Amen. Our generation and every generation needs to see the atrocities of total war. To realize what the men and women of the world were willing to sacrifice.
If also strikes me as offensively stupid.
My Dad served in Pattons 3rd Armor and I was born in Germany so I've had a love for the German people. I was taken in by this story and as stated about the bridge as I watched this documentary I felt too that the bridge took on a character and for me I wanted to see it stand and not be taken out. Amazing history I really enjoyed this story.
My unit in Vietnam, the 3/506, was assigned a sector at Bastogne. The problems of course that we encountered in Vietnam were entirely different than Bastogne. Those guys were my antecedents, so to speak.
I’m confused. You were stationed close to Bastogne during Vietnam?
Explain, please, your statement doesn't make sense.
Was there a sector in Vietnam labeled "Bastogne?"
or were you trained there?
@@edgarvalderrama1143 I’m guessing a stolen valor type of dude
@@tinali9200 You are the second person to say that here.
Somebody pissed me off saying that a long time ago and I foolishly posted my discharge - which I'm not going to do again.
I'm afraid I'm going to have to let you live with your (natural) suspicions - at least it's no skin off my nose.
@@edgarvalderrama1143 I was talking about the original poster lol…. The dude talking about bastogne from the battle of the bulge in WWII yet mentioning Vietnam in the same sentence. Not only that but you and I have both called him out asking for additional info and zero explanation.