birthday 64 year battle of the bugle

[michaelharadon]

At the same time as the Battle of The Bulge, the Gemans staged a diversionary attack across the Rhine in Alsace, France, known as Operation Northwind. The United States' Seventh Army put a stop to it.

The Other Side of Time, by Brendan Phibbs, is the incredible tale of the Seventh Army's march across France and Germany, told in the first person by Phibbs himself. Some of the most moving literature (the book almost won the Pulitzer) I know of are the chapters on the battles to the north and south of Strasbourg during Northwind. He was a combat surgeon with them the whole way.

It is one of the best books I have ever read.

[Second Air Force]

My uncle Elmer was a bazookaman and came up with Gen. Patton's Third Army during the battle. The only thing he ever told me was that it was COLD up there. He declined to say any more.

Scott

[muddyboots]

Several years ago I met a fellow in a grocery store who's demeanor and bearing just screamed that he'd been in the military. Asked him which branch he'd served in and where. He was quite surprised that I'd guessed (He couldn't figure out how it was so obvious to me) and told me that he'd served in an anti-aircraft outfit in Europe. I think from what I remember that they had 90mm AA cannons, but he said that they rarely if ever used them against aerial targets. He said that many times they were using them for direct fire against enemy troops at relatively close ranges. I'm pretty sure that they were part of the drive to get to Bastogne. Wish I'd had more time to talk to him.

Ryan

Now that would have been an interesting conversation. Wish I'd been a fly on the wall. The 90's went away in the early 50's, when we switched over to SAM's.

[Neal Nurmi]

Very tough times. My father was in Patton's army -- mostly antiaircraft gunner and driver on those half track things with the 4 .50 cal machine guns. He weighed 190 pounds when he landed in Normandy a few days after the first landings. He went through the outskirts of Paris 2 weeks before Paris was officially liberated, went through the Battle of the Bulge, got caught behind German lines with his unit at one point during the Battle and survived for three weeks on frozen turnips dug up with bayonets, lost most of his toenails to frostbite, went 6 months without a bath, and weighed 143 pounds on V-E day. Then after hostilities ended he was assigned to guard a food supply dump and had to shoot an 11 or 12 year old kid trying to steal some food. The kid had gotten hold of a Luger somewhere and took a shot at my Dad when he was discovered. My Dad said he would have stolen some food for the kid if he'd had a chance, as many of the German women and children in the area were near starvation at that point. I only heard most of these stories when he got really drunk -- he almost never talked about the War when sober.

For whatever it's worth, he never had anything good to say about Patton -- I remember him describing Patton as "that f**cking butcher" more than once. Of course he was always drunk at times like that, and he had only been a lowly tech sergeant grunt, so what did he know...

Ah, the Glory of War...

[michaelharadon]

"...he had only been a lowly tech sergeant grunt, so what did he know..."

Who better to know?

[willys-MB]

Thank you for all these men died as hero

[Robbie Roberts]

Did Patton really have a Padre make a good weather prayer? What a genius General the US had and never used him to his fullest extent. "Give me that gas and I'll be in Berlin in one week"

YES- Patton DID have a prayer done for good weather. I have seen original copies, and have read a book by the padre's brother in law(who mentioned him in passing)

I had friends who served with Patton- and every one of them said the same thing- You either LOVED him, or HATED him- no in between. Most of them LOVED him- He got some killed, but a lot less than Monty did "straightening his lines" constantly. Pattons 4th Armored Division- the same one he turned 90 deg. to Bastogne- was usually so far behind the Germans it was incomprehensible! They would send a thin spearhead, then reinforce the flanks, and build up. It worked very well- 4th Armd. went the farthest East, ending up in Breznitz, Czechoslovakia at the end of the war.(They ended up fighting Russians there, but that is a story for a different thread.)

And when it comes to the Bulge, I had the honor of meeting and spending a few hours talking with Gen. Bruce C. Clarke, who held St. Vith for several days, keeping the Germans pinned there... I got to meet him around 20 years ago, personally invited to his home. A true hero, and another of Patton's Best.(He'd been a 4th Armd. Combat Commander)

By the way- Please correct the title of this entire thread- It is "Battle of the BULGE", not "Battle of the BUGLE"!lol!

Robbie

[Mudge]

My favorite uncle was killed during the battle. He was with Patton. Due to the snow covering everything, they didn't find his body until March. No dogtags. The only way they could ID him was by his name in the waistband of his pants.
Buried at American Cemetery Luxemburg.

Mudge the sad