The Red Army was bleeding the Wehrmacht white in the east. The British and Americans had liberated France and begun the final assault on the German homeland. Yet the Third Reich had one last desperate, deadly offensive in it: the Battle of the Bulge. Launched through the nearly impassable, hilly Ardennes, the Battle of the Bulge began 70 years ago Tuesday as 250,000 German troops attacked some 80,000 Americans defending the weakest point of the Allied lines in northwestern Europe. Using the cover of fog, the element of surprise and such creative tricks as English-speaking commandos in American uniforms, the Germans attempted to penetrate the American defenses, and initially met with success, pushing a massive bulge — hence the battle’s name — in the Allied lines. But the Americans wouldn’t break. Nowhere, perhaps, was American resolve demonstrated as bluntly as it was in the beleaguered town of Bastogne, with a defense led by General Anthony McAuliffe. Pressing hard on the American forces in the town, the Germans eventually sent a message demanding the town’s surrender. Read the U.S. Army translation of the German message below:
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 13:14:25 +0000
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