WWII allies, Germany mark 75 yrs since Battle of the Bulge

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By RAF CASERT and MARK CARLSON

BASTOGNE, Belgium (AP) — Side by side, the Allies and former enemy Germany together marked the 75th anniversary of one of the most important battles in World War II — the Battle of the Bulge, which stopped Adolf Hitler’s last-ditch offensive to turn the tide of the war.

At dawn on Dec. 16, 1944, over 200,000 German soldiers started the most unexpected breakthrough through the dense woods of Belgium and Luxembourg’s hilly Ardennes. Making the most of the surprise move, the cold, freezing weather and wearied U.S. troops, the Germans pierced the front line so deeply it came to be known as the Battle of the Bulge.

Initially outnumbered, U.S. troops delayed the attack enough in fierce fighting to allow reinforcements to stream in and turn the tide of the battle by Christmas. After a month of fighting, the move into Germany was unstoppable.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper paid tribute to over 19,000 U.S. troops who died in one of the bloodiest battles in the nation’s history.




Read more: https://apnews.com/754480954e9587acd887dde548edf2b8

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Photos: Scenes from the Battle of the Bulge, which started 75 years ago: https://www.omaha.com/news/trending/photos-scenes-from-the-battle-of-the-bulge-which-started/collection_beab3839-98eb-539c-b653-94df9f51e3ce.html#1

[OnlinePoker]

1. Can you imagine 19,000 deaths in one battle today?

The press and public would be calling for the President's and general's heads on spikes. I hope we never have to see something like that again and these men deserve the accolades they receive for what they went through.

[melm00se]

14. oh pshaw

Battle of Verdun
Third Battle of Ypres
First Battle of the Somme
Hell, during the Battle of the Frontiers, the French had 27000 men killed....in one day.

All make the Battle of Bulge look like a day at the office.

Seriously though, US leadership was the target of public protests after the Battle of Tarawa and that was with 1,696 killed and 2,101 wounded (Allied casualties never mind the the 97% casualty rate of the Japanese).

[Siwsan]

2. My Uncle Ray fought in, and survived, the Battle of the Bulge. Well, he survived, physically.

He died at about age 50. He was a wonderful man, but there was always a sense of something raging beneath the surface.

Same thing with my Uncle John, who was in the Navy, in the Pacific, and had 2 ships blown up, beneath him. He survived slightly longer than Uncle Ray but what he saw never finished haunting him.

[Duppers]

13. My father was there.

Had no injuries due to the battle but he also died too young at 45. He also lived with rage but his often came to the surface.

My mother had no understanding of what he went thru.

[CatMor]

3. A family member fought in the Battle of the Bulge ...

these photos are eye opening to see the conditions they all fought under.

[Crowman2009]

4. My grandfather was an Army medic during that battle.

He didn't tell me about having to pick up the dead soldiers who were executed in the Malmedy massacre, and liberating the death camps until later in life. He wept when describing what happened.

[Javaman]

5. An Uncle and a Cousin were there.

My Uncle was in a halftrack, which was blown up, but he survived. and my Cousin was a foot soldier pinned down for several days before he and his company (what was left of them) were able to make it to the rear.

my Uncle passed away in 1974 from a heart attack brought on by angina which was brought on from stress from the war.

my Cousin lived into his 80's but never spoke about the war, only after he died, his wife told us what he went through in the war and the night terrors after the war.

we are not made for war. we are not made to fight. if we were, we wouldn't have PTSD or stress related deaths as a result.

I miss them both.

[MaryMagdaline]

6. My father fought in the Battle of the Bulge

82nd/17th Airborne, 507

He got frostbite, which caused him pain for years. A shrapnel injury (not sure from what battle) caused him zero problems.

I am continually amazed at the many opportunities presented to him to die ... D-Day, Bulge, Operation Varsity, Operation Market Garden.

I just posted on Facebook about a paratrooper who died 1/8/45 ... the battle went on through 1/25/1945. There is a website run by a daughter of a paratrooper from the 507 and she posts something on every serviceman's birthday and tells us which battle they died in. Issic Anderson was the paratrooper born 12/16/1921 who died 1/8/45 in the Bulge.

The 507 wasn't initially involved. They were brought in when the original American soldiers retreated and held. My dad pointed out the soldiers strolling in at the end of the Bulge movie while the credits were rolling and said "that's where we were."

[JudyM]

7. My dad, too, infantry. What heroes they all were!

[MaryMagdaline]

8. Salute!

and lucky to have lived through it. Brutal!

[yellowdogintexas]

11. Mine as well

He nearly lost his feet to frostbite.

As a corporal he was the highest ranking soldier left in his communications team and led them through the snow stringing signal wire to keep the lines open. He was awarded a Bronze Star.

[JudyM]

16. Wow, that's great! Wild what great teamwork everyone stepped up to to wipe out Hitler.

If only our country was unified like that today.

My dad also got a bronze star... he scouted out a German encampment our side wasn’t aware of, made it out alive and unseen.

[jcmaine72]

9. .

[FailureToCommunicate]

10. Thanks for this post Omaha Steve.

We owe so much to our parents - the Greatest Generation - who fought to contain and defeat fascism.

[dalton99a]

12. Kick

An American artillery position during the Battle of the Bulge (Robert Capa)


An American soldier walks past a casualty during the Battle of the Bulge (Robert Capa)


U.S. soldiers scatter across a field during the Battle of the Bulge (Robert Capa)


An American soldier rests in his foxhole during the Battle of the Bulge (Robert Capa)


An American soldier points a gun at a German prisoner of war (Robert Capa)


American troops ride on a tank while German POWs are held nearby (Robert Capa)

[steve2470]

15. my dad was there, artillery, now my dad is deceased nt