Battle of the bulge
- Thread starter MP-44
- Start date
Well, a couple of episodes of Easy Company are dedicated to the defense of Bastogne, which was part of the BOTB.
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Interesting Bulge tidbit: My dad was an ETO vet. He was anti aircraft, which actually was a relatively cushy job given what the allies had done to the Luftwaffe by the time AA crews were on the continent. During the German's initial push, the need for artillery was so great that AA crews were directed to fire low in the direction of the assault. Yes, we attempted to use AA against ground troops. He doubted that the small AA shells did much even if they hit near anything, but it give you a sense of what each side was pouring at the other.
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Interesting Bulge tidbit: My dad was an ETO vet. He was anti aircraft, which actually was a relatively cushy job given what the allies had done to the Luftwaffe by the time AA crews were on the continent. During the German's initial push, the need for artillery was so great that AA crews were directed to fire low in the direction of the assault. Yes, we attempted to use AA against ground troops. He doubted that the small AA shells did much even if they hit near anything, but it give you a sense of what each side was pouring at the other.
The "Battle of the Bulge" from 1965 was pretty good every time I've seen it. I don't know that a tightly focused one the way "Private Ryan" was would have much of a market.
However, I'd love to see one where dischord's dad was featured using AA guns on advancing armor and infantry....!
However, I'd love to see one where dischord's dad was featured using AA guns on advancing armor and infantry....!
Will Beararms
New member
I had a customer who was a member of Patton's staff. He told me towards the end, Patton issued a shoot on sight order for German POW's. When they encountered a Concentration Camp once, Patton ordered only combat hardened long timers to liberate the camp. They were ordered to shoot every German in unionform whether they had a white flag or not. When they apporached the camp, an SS Officer was standing at the front gate with a black uniform and white gloves on. The SS Officer saluted Patton clicking his heals and Patton ordered a tank driver to cut him in half with a .50 Cal and that is what happened.
My friend also told me when they were ready to take a Bridge (Remagen I think), Patton had two duece and a half trucks parked near him. He marshalled all the troops together to give a speech and said something to the effect of this: " Tommorow, we will take that bridge by 6:00 PM or your dog tags will fill the back of both of these trucks."
My friend got shot and was sent to England for six weeks and then went right back to the front.
These days Patton would have been court marshalled. God help us.
My friend also told me when they were ready to take a Bridge (Remagen I think), Patton had two duece and a half trucks parked near him. He marshalled all the troops together to give a speech and said something to the effect of this: " Tommorow, we will take that bridge by 6:00 PM or your dog tags will fill the back of both of these trucks."
My friend got shot and was sent to England for six weeks and then went right back to the front.
These days Patton would have been court marshalled. God help us.
dischord,
I'm all for it!
The success of the comedy "M.A.S.H." was due to the humor of the surrealistic and mundane events of everyday life under combat conditions.
In Vietnam, we "acquired" a wringer type washing machine for the hooch maids to use on our clothes. There was a real need because the traditional way for them was to put our uniforms, etc., into a shallow tub of water, dump in about half a box of Tide, and then do the foot stomp on them for a while before a brief rinse, air drying, and giving them back to us, usually laden with Tide and sand.
Anyway, the washer was one of those with a large tub, a center agitator, and a wringer mounted on the side. Once installed and the hooch maids shown how to use it, somebody hollered to come watch them using it. Most of them were watching one standing in the tub stomping the clothes and hollering about the agitator hurting her feet. They figured out how to take the agitator out, then they were quite happy stomping in comfort.
We gave up, and learned to be content with rationing Tide, making sure they had plenty of water, and providing a sand free area for them to "do in the laundry" because they pretty much killed the concept of clean, rinsed, and residue free clothes...
I'm all for it!
The success of the comedy "M.A.S.H." was due to the humor of the surrealistic and mundane events of everyday life under combat conditions.
In Vietnam, we "acquired" a wringer type washing machine for the hooch maids to use on our clothes. There was a real need because the traditional way for them was to put our uniforms, etc., into a shallow tub of water, dump in about half a box of Tide, and then do the foot stomp on them for a while before a brief rinse, air drying, and giving them back to us, usually laden with Tide and sand.
Anyway, the washer was one of those with a large tub, a center agitator, and a wringer mounted on the side. Once installed and the hooch maids shown how to use it, somebody hollered to come watch them using it. Most of them were watching one standing in the tub stomping the clothes and hollering about the agitator hurting her feet. They figured out how to take the agitator out, then they were quite happy stomping in comfort.
We gave up, and learned to be content with rationing Tide, making sure they had plenty of water, and providing a sand free area for them to "do in the laundry" because they pretty much killed the concept of clean, rinsed, and residue free clothes...
Isn't one of the shows in the Band of Brothers series dedicated to the Battle of the Bulge? I remember a scene where the 101st were getting hammered by artillery in the woods and couldn't get air drops because of the weather. That series is definitely patterned after Private Ryan, as a matter of fact I believe Tom Hanks had a hand in the creation of the Band of Brothers. If you haven't seen it, it's definitely a must.