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N0KFQ > TODAY 16.12.10 19:34l 62 Lines 2402 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Dec 16
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Sent: 101216/1616Z @:N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA #:23805 [Branson] FBB7.00i $:23805_N
From: N0KFQ@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
To : TODAY@WW
Dec 16, 1944:
Battle of the Bulge begins
With the Anglo-Americans closing in on Germany from the west and
the Soviets approaching from the east, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler
orders a massive attack against the western Allies by three
German armies.
The German counterattack out of the densely wooded Ardennes
region of Belgium took the Allies entirely by surprise, and the
experienced German troops wrought havoc on the American line,
creating a triangular "bulge" 60 miles deep and 50 miles wide
along the Allied front. Conditions of fog and mist prevented the
unleashing of Allied air superiority, and for several days
Hitler's desperate gamble seemed to be paying off. However,
unlike the French in 1940, the embattled Americans kept up a
fierce resistance even after their lines of communication had
been broken, buying time for a three-point counteroffensive led
by British General Bernard Montgomery and American generals Omar
Bradley and George Patton.
Fighting was particularly fierce at the town of Bastogne, where
the 101st Airborne Division and part of the 10th Armored Division
were encircled by German forces within the bulge. On December 22,
the German commander besieging the town demanded that the
Americans surrender or face annihilation. U.S. Major General
Anthony McAuliffe prepared a typed reply that read simply:
To the German Commander:
Nuts!
From the American Commander
The Americans who delivered the message explained to the
perplexed Germans that the one-word reply was translatable as "Go
to hell!" Heavy fighting continued at Bastogne, but the 101st
held on.
On December 23, the skies finally cleared over the battle areas,
and the Allied air forces inflicted heavy damage on German tanks
and transport, which were jammed solidly along the main roads. On
December 26, Bastogne was relieved by elements of General
Patton's 3rd Army. A major Allied counteroffensive began at the
end of December, and by January 21 the Germans had been pushed
back to their original line.
Germany's last major offensive of the war had cost them 120,000
men, 1,600 planes, and 700 tanks. The Allies suffered some 80,000
killed, wounded, or missing in action, with all but 5,000 of
these casualties being American. It was the heaviest single
battle toll in U.S. history.
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
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