Battle of the Bulge remembered in an Iowa opinion
"Flamboyant General Patton was controversial, for harsh discipline and extreme language. Yet, he immediately, instinctively recognized the great threat of the Ardennes attack, and Third Army troops performed with monumental ability, moving rapidly over difficult terrain in terrible winter weather."
Sadly, the Christmas season is also the anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, the largest land battle in the history of the United States.
On Dec. 16, 1944, Nazi Germany launched an enormous offensive through the quiet, thinly defended Ardennes Forest in Belgium. Adolf Hitler and planners in Berlin achieved total surprise; initially German forces rapidly gained ground.
 |
| General George Patton (1885-1945) |
For Europeans among the Allies, the attack was eerily reminiscent of the 1940 German drive that overran France and secured Nazi domination of the continent. Among General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s comrades at Supreme Allied Headquarters, fear was visible along with alarm.
The tide of the battle did not clearly turn until General George S. Patton’s Third Army broke through to the 101st Airborne Division, surrounded by the Wehrmacht in the crossroads town of Bastogne, on the day after Christmas.
Brutal fighting continued through January.
The tide of the battle did not clearly turn until General George S. Patton’s Third Army broke through to the 101st Airborne Division, surrounded by the Wehrmacht in the crossroads town of Bastogne, on the day after Christmas.
Brutal fighting continued through January.
Nevertheless, the Nazi hopes of breaking the Western Front, and Anglo-American alliance, were defeated.
Other battles in U.S. history were in certain respects more costly or complicated. During the Civil War, Gettysburg and other engagements resulted in a higher percentage of casualties among combatants. During World War II, such enormous amphibious invasions as Normandy, Iwo Jima and Leyte Gulf in the Philippines were inherently more complex in logistical terms than the Bulge. In the European theater, the scale of the war on the eastern front was much greater than in the west.
Nonetheless, in American history the Battle of the Bulge remains our biggest single land engagement. Approximately a quarter of a million United States troops were pitted against a comparable number of German forces.
Basic lessons of the Bulge include personnel and matériel. Eisenhower’s skills include remarkable capacity to get difficult personalities to work together, plus constant attention to logistics. Casualties on both sides were enormous, in both men and supplies The Allies could replace them; the Germans at that point could not.
Flamboyant Patton was controversial, for harsh discipline and extreme language. Yet he immediately, instinctively recognized the great threat of the Ardennes attack, and Third Army troops performed with monumental ability, moving rapidly over difficult terrain in terrible winter weather.
African-American soldiers, generally prohibited from serving in combat, operated the Red Ball Express, a gigantic truck convoy system that supplied the front. Under the enormous pressures generated by the Bulge, they were offered the opportunity to serve in combat units but had to sacrifice earned military seniority.
Thousands volunteered on these terms, and were vital to Allied victory. At the tactical level, Corporal Henry F. Warner near Dom Butgenbach Belgium knocked out two German tanks, and then his 57-mm anti-tank gun jammed.
Other battles in U.S. history were in certain respects more costly or complicated. During the Civil War, Gettysburg and other engagements resulted in a higher percentage of casualties among combatants. During World War II, such enormous amphibious invasions as Normandy, Iwo Jima and Leyte Gulf in the Philippines were inherently more complex in logistical terms than the Bulge. In the European theater, the scale of the war on the eastern front was much greater than in the west.
Nonetheless, in American history the Battle of the Bulge remains our biggest single land engagement. Approximately a quarter of a million United States troops were pitted against a comparable number of German forces.
Basic lessons of the Bulge include personnel and matériel. Eisenhower’s skills include remarkable capacity to get difficult personalities to work together, plus constant attention to logistics. Casualties on both sides were enormous, in both men and supplies The Allies could replace them; the Germans at that point could not.
Flamboyant Patton was controversial, for harsh discipline and extreme language. Yet he immediately, instinctively recognized the great threat of the Ardennes attack, and Third Army troops performed with monumental ability, moving rapidly over difficult terrain in terrible winter weather.
African-American soldiers, generally prohibited from serving in combat, operated the Red Ball Express, a gigantic truck convoy system that supplied the front. Under the enormous pressures generated by the Bulge, they were offered the opportunity to serve in combat units but had to sacrifice earned military seniority.
Thousands volunteered on these terms, and were vital to Allied victory. At the tactical level, Corporal Henry F. Warner near Dom Butgenbach Belgium knocked out two German tanks, and then his 57-mm anti-tank gun jammed.
He was firing a pistol at a third approaching tank, when the German driver backed up and withdrew.
One of Warner’s shots had killed the commander, and the crew was unable to proceed, a characteristic reaction among German troops.
One of Warner’s shots had killed the commander, and the crew was unable to proceed, a characteristic reaction among German troops.
American, British and other Allied soldiers were much more likely to improvise and continue fighting after their officers were hit. Warner, later killed in action, was awarded the Medal of Honor.
When the Nazi Reich surrendered, Eisenhower commented the war had not yet been won. True victory would require Germany to embrace democracy and stability.
Admirable and effective, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was selected as 2015 “Person of the Year” by TIME magazine. The Allies have won the war, undeniably.
Honor Chancellor Merkel, and honor Ike and associates, who got the job done.
Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College and author of “After the Cold War” (NYU Press and Macmillan). Contact him at acyr@carthage.edu.
When the Nazi Reich surrendered, Eisenhower commented the war had not yet been won. True victory would require Germany to embrace democracy and stability.
Admirable and effective, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was selected as 2015 “Person of the Year” by TIME magazine. The Allies have won the war, undeniably.
Honor Chancellor Merkel, and honor Ike and associates, who got the job done.
Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College and author of “After the Cold War” (NYU Press and Macmillan). Contact him at acyr@carthage.edu.
Labels: General Patton
posted by Juliana L'Heureux | 5:08 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home