| Submit your comments on this article |
| Europe |
| Americans and Belgians mark 70th anniversary of Battle of the Bulge |
| 2014-12-14 |
| Braving snowy weather, Americans and Belgians gathered in the Ardennes on Saturday to mark the 70th anniversary of one of the biggest and bloodiest US battles of the second world war, the Battle of the Bulge. In the town of Bastogne, where soldiers of the 101st Airborne held out despite being cut off and surrounded, shops and windows were decorated Saturday with American and Belgian flags. One local restaurant posted a drawing of an American flag and the message “thank you”. Starting on 16 December 1944, and for nearly six weeks, more than 600,000 American soldiers, fighting in freezing conditions and often hungry and dog-tired, took part in desperate efforts to contain, then throw back, a surprise German counteroffensive masterminded by Adolf Hitler himself. The British prime minister, Winston Churchill, hailed the ultimate result as “an ever-famous American victory”. But it came at a high cost: 80,987 US casualties, including 10,276 dead, 47,493 wounded and 23,218 missing, according to the US army’s official history. Total German casualties are estimated at 81,834, including 12,652 dead and 30,582 missing. After the end of the battle, on 28 January 1945, Allied forces attacked Germany in unison, eventually leading to the Nazi surrender and the end of the war in Europe. From the Grauniad, no less (though it's a stock story from the Agency that Cannot Be Named.) |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #4 Security guard/retired cop at my first job had been a motorcycle courier who got pressed into service in the Bulge while making a delivery. Didn't talk much about it except to say it'd been damn cold. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2014-12-14 18:52 |
| #3 Just finished "Killing Patton" wherein the battle is detailed. Good read. |
| Posted by: Slolutch Phaiting3678 2014-12-14 18:35 |
| #2 A uncle was in the Bulge. His lessons? Walk deep in forests. Avoid all vehicles. (this after being shot out of 3 halftracks). |
| Posted by: 3dc 2014-12-14 14:54 |
| #1 The British prime minister, Winston Churchill, hailed the ultimate result as “an ever-famous American victory”. Had to say that because Monty made a pubic statement to the effect that he pulled their American's bacon from the fire. Not good PR. Meanwhile Patton was busy actually linking up with the isolated airborne in Bastogne (unlike the other bloke who had left his lads, at the end of the line, wanting a few months earlier). |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2014-12-14 08:54 |