Battle of the Bulge - a guide to the battle (4K)

My Uncle Tony was an infantryman in the 101st....he was right in the middle of all this and was confirmed by the author of this book as I had the pleasure to speak with him years ago... Battered Bastards of Bastogne Paperback – December 12, 2011
by George Koskimaki ...my Uncle survived and I have his brass plate that says nuts on display in my house...

My Uncle Louis Novak was Killed in Action on January 5th. 1945 in a town called Beffe, his brother Bob fought in Italy all the way up into Germany.

It has been reported that Patton was the commander who 1st initiated and voluntered his troops to make the thrust from their position in the South to relieve Bastone vs. being "tasked" with that movement...? That movement in the dead of winter was logistically considered by most to be almost impossible. Still, the determination of the surrounded defenders can never be downplayed: all units involved performed heroically!

Beautiful and Humbling

My dad fought there. He said the worst thing was the artillery tree bursts. I can't imagine living outdoors in winter under those conditions. Thanks, Dad, for your service.

Never forget or history will repeat itself

Most of the soldiers in the Ardennes forest were exhausted troops that were sent there to get rest in a relatively light combat zone. They were out numbered out gunned and warn out from previous combat engagements. Combat engineers saved the day blowing up bridges and preventing the German advance.

Great tribute to all the soldiers who served and died there!

Great video! The sacrifice is hard to grasp. All respect to those who have served in every war or conflict. 🇺🇲❤

Father was in the 99th div. 393 infantry .

Your poignant narration nailed it.

You forgot,the day after Christmas glider pilots voluntary flew through a hail of enemy ground fire and delivered medical supplies and ammunition way ahead of Patton's tanks.

good job

My Uncle Harold Haupt who was in the Big Red 1 was killed Dec. 24th. Iam told he was captured and executed. His body was brought home by his brother and is buried In Lackawaxen PA.

My Uncle Harold Haupt who was in the Big Red 1 was killed Dec. 24th. Iam told he was captured and executed. His body was brought home by his brother and is buried In Lackawaxen PA.

All those people suffered and died ... stupid war

nice video, happy to not hear a AI narrrator. But you do NOT pronunce the s in Ardennes -- it is silent.

Look up Combat Command B 10th Armored Division at Bastogne

Yeah, you mentioned that one M-4 Sherman tank that was so important in holding off the Germans! What, the 101st Airborne didn’t have any tanks! Yes, like most coverage of the battle no one mentions who was there before and after the 101st. Who’s General Mc Aufille said they never seems to get any credit but we could not have held out without them! They were here before us and stayed here after us. Who? Combat command B 10th Armored Division! Even in the movie the band of brothers that medical evacuation point where the mayor’s daughter worked as a nurse and was destroyed by a German bomb was housing 10th Armored Division soldiers! We will never forget our brother tankers! “Death before dismount!”

Real TC, C-33 3rd battalion 63rd Armored brigade formed from the 745th tank battalion of WWII!

Excellent work! Thanks, appreciate it a lot 👍
Greets from the Netherlands 🇳🇱, TW.

We owe these brave men a debt we can never repay but we can always remember what they endured and never forget what they did

It's nice to see the memorials.

The problem here - is that you didn't cover anything but Bastogne.

A major success on the part of the Americans - was the 82nd holding the Northern Shoulder of the battle and the American Engineers blowing all the bridges so the German tanks couldn't get across.

This was nice for what it is - but - it's incomplete.
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My uncle Krause dropped with the 101st. He was at the bulge as well. What a tough man.

You missed the bit where the US was warned by the English with their Enigma ,that the German's were about to attack but for whatever reason they ignored it.😢 Many Americans would die because of the failings of the higher-ups.

Very well done indeed.

But of U.S. national parks are your thing, what prompted you to do this? Was it the 80ty Anniversary? An intention to get a lot of hits, likes, and increased profits from Your Tube?

Those tanks, and their markings, while traveling on the Summer, all seem quite unconvincing.

Tony McAuliffe forever!

Very well done .

For depicting such a historically important event, you make a significant mistake by showing Panzer IIs (being 1939-40 tanks) instead of: Tiger II, Tiger I, Panther, Panzer Mark IV, Hetzer, Jagdpanther, Stug III and IV, Nashorn, Sturmtiger, SkDfz 162 IV/70, and Jagdtiger.... all being later War vehicles. Facts like these make a difference.

Good job.
Thanks

Semper Iratus Fidelis

I knew several veterans of that terrible battle. All gone now Gone are there suffering. They admitted they were there. Would speak of it but never talked about it only amongst themselves. Wonderful gentleman would do anything to help you Never talked only how bitter cold it was. We’re blessed to have been friends with them. Ruff guys but gentle to all of us kids.

I had a math teacher who was a Tank commander in the Battle of the Bulge. You should have seen his scars.

The key factor other than the lack of fuel for the Germans was the weather clearing up and the allies getting back their air superiority .

Wake me when the intro is over........

Great video 🙏🏼I visitid almost all the places shown over the the last years .

Excellent video.
I, too, would like to see a similar video on the northern shoulder of the Bulge.
My dad, was in the 99th Infantry Division. They were moved into the northern part of the Ardennes in November of 1944. G-2 (Intelligence) had told the 99th that there was one horse drawn artillery piece across the Siegfried line from them.
On the 16th of December, the 99th Division and surrounding US forces, endured the longest German artillery barrage, on the Western Front, during WWII. One GI was heard to say, “They’re sure working working that horse to death!”
Dad’s regiment, the 394th, held out for two days in the crossroads town of Losheimergraben. During the night of the third day, they began a “strategic withdrawal” back to the west and the twin villages of Rocherath-Krinkelt. It was there, Dad told me, that the soldiers of the 99th Division found out that the Russian invention of the Molotov Cocktail, (gasoline in a bottle with a rag lighted on fire), worked well on German armor, when deployed from above.
The 99th eventually was moved to the Elsenborn Ridge. On the high ground there, American artillery destroyed the German advance.
The road net west of the towns of Spa and Liege, gave the Germans the shortest route to Antwerp. The actions of the 99th Division, along with other US forces, prevented the Germans from using the roads in that area.
While the 101st Airborne, gets the majority of press, and rightly so, the 82nd Airborne was extremely important to holding the northern shoulder.
Because of the size and weight of many of the German armored vehicles, only certain roads and bridges could be used in their advance. The actions of many US Engineer units, prevented the Germans from using those roads and bridges. The line most often heard from German commanders was, “The damned engineers!”
What the Germans didn’t have was time and gasoline. An excellent museum in the northern shoulder of the Bulge, is at La Gleize, Belgium. Here, Kampfgruppe Peiper, ran out of time and gas.
There is a King Tiger tank on display outside the December 44 Museum in La Gleize. The tank wasn’t destroyed by American action but was abandoned after the Germans ran out of fuel.
The Battle of the Bulge was won by the Americans because of small unit actions and courage and resourcefulness of the American soldiers.

The broad front strategy was a mistake.

My father was in Liege, Belgium when the battle started. He was with the 72nd Ordnance Group. His brother Mike was front line infantry near St Vith. After the Germans overran his unit’s position on the 16th of December, my Uncle Mike and other survivors were redeployed into St Vith. In the ensuing fight he was awarded two Bronze Stars. I only learned about it years later after reading a magazine account of the war experiences of Westmoreland County Pa men. When asked what he did in the war, my Uncle Mike would simply say…” I brought home a Luger.”

Nobody ever covers the TRUTH about the northern shoulder.
The TRUTH destroys the British myth about Monty saving the day.
It was USA 2nd armored division who STOPPED and destroyed 2nd ss panzer at Celles, then went on to destroy 2nd panzer at Humaine that stopped the german drive.
It was USA 3rd armored, along with 82nd airborne who stopped sepp Detreichs armor drive north.

Between USA 2nd & 3rd armored, and MANY other USA units, they STOPPED and destroyed the German attack.

A few brit units came in BEHIND 2nd armored at Celles then pushed south to mop up.
But as Churchill publically said in parliament when he admonished Monty for trying to take credit, this was one of the largest American battle an victories of WW2.
The 2nd & 3rd armored division history books cover the Bulge in depth. But they are very hard books to find. I have them as my Grandfather was with 2nd armored from start to finish. 1942 to 1945.
He said the worst part if the war was the bulge. Because we used so much artillery & air that the bodies & body parts were everywhere. And without looking very closely, which they DIDNT, you couldnt really tell WHO they were. Ours, theirs, civilians. He said it was really bad. And finding body parts in the tank tracks which had to be cleaned daily so the tracks wouldnt freeze, was just horrendous.

Amazing video!

Great work, i visited the Bastogne area, Foy, Malmedy (massacre place) an a big American cemetery in Neupré in the summer and must say when you are standing on this grounds all i can think off is to thank the brave man who liberated us from the Germans, i also went to the Hurtgen forest, Vossenack, Kall-trail, Hill400 etc. area aswell, also there is the same feeling, we can't thank them enough for this. maybe an idea to make a video about the Hurtgen forest aswell? I would be happy to guide you to this places. Greetings

Salute boys! Thank you to my friends Don (101st) and Ted (82nd) . I'll never let your memories die.🙏

Nice work! Like to see you cover the 'Northern Shoulder' next.

Good presentation. However, too heavily focused on Patton and the 101st around Bastogne. Bastogne was not in the most important sector of the Battle of the Bulge. It was on the southern periphery. The majority of German, and American, forces were to the north and west. The battle was really won and lost elsewhere. The US 1st Army, which did the majority of the fighting, was commanded by Montgomery from December 20th. Patton had a smaller and less significant role than Montgomery.
Cheers.

Hello, i live 30 miles from Bastogne, i know a lot about this battle and i can tell you that germans never went inside Bastogne. There were never street fighting in Bastogne, all the fighting took place outside the city.

I see you went in the small 101 museum, that's great, it's way better than the big one.

Nice video, cheers from Belgium :-)

Il faudrait évoquer tout les zones des combats autres ,stavelot, st vite,Rochefort, surtout à ce 80 em.

Overall Good minus the Patreon style clips.

Well photographed, well edited, well scripted and well narrated, with a fitting score to boot. Great job for an overview video, just right for the 80th anniversary!

Very informative