{"id":1786024,"date":"2022-12-24T18:33:16","date_gmt":"2022-12-24T23:33:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1786024"},"modified":"2022-12-24T18:33:50","modified_gmt":"2022-12-24T23:33:50","slug":"blizzard-bluster-and-bombs-christmas-eve-at-the-siege-of-bastogne-1944","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/blizzard-bluster-and-bombs-christmas-eve-at-the-siege-of-bastogne-1944\/","title":{"rendered":"Blizzard, Bluster, And Bombs: Christmas Eve At The Siege Of Bastogne, 1944"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fblizzard-bluster-and-bombs-christmas-eve-at-the-siege-of-bastogne-1944%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1786024&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>American service members have often spent their holidays away from loved ones \u2014 and in harm\u2019s way \u2014 and the men who found themselves in the besieged Belgian city of Bastogne just before <a href=\"https:\/\/dailywire.com\/news\/whats-merry-about-all-this-read-the-letter-general-anthony-mcauliffe-sent-his-exhausted-surrounded-men-at-the-battle-of-the-bulge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Christmas of 1944<\/a> were no exception.<\/p>\n<p>Bastogne, which sits just a few miles from the border of Luxembourg, had been under German control since <a href=\"https:\/\/encyclopedia.ushmm.org\/content\/en\/article\/german-invasion-of-western-europe-may-1940\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">May of 1940<\/a> and had only been liberated by Allied troops a few months earlier in September \u2014 and much of the 101st Airborne Division remained in and around the city.<\/p>\n<p>Other divisions were scattered throughout the surrounding area, many composed of replacement troops who had only recently arrived in Europe: among them were elements of the 106th Infantry \u201cThe Golden Lions,\u201d the 9th Armored \u201cPhantom\u201d Division, and the 28th Infantry \u201cThe Bloody Bucket.\u201d Some were still waiting for supply drops, ammunition, and even winter uniforms.<\/p>\n<p>The surprise attack began on December 16th when German Panzer divisions pushed back towards Bastogne, catching the mostly-green American troops in the frozen Ardennes Forest off guard and breaking through roadblock after roadblock. Some put up a good fight, but many were driven back into Bastogne and forced to regroup.<\/p>\n<p>On December 17th, just outside of a nearby town called <a href=\"https:\/\/encyclopedia.ushmm.org\/content\/en\/article\/the-malmedy-massacre\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Malmedy<\/a>, a Hitler Youth graduate turned Waffen SS (Schutzstaffel) General Joachim Peiper and his men captured over 100 American soldiers, all part\u00a0Battery B of the 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion. After a brief skirmish, the Americans who were unable to escape into the woods surrendered \u2014 and after taking their personal possessions from them, Peiper\u2019s men lined the unarmed Americans up in eight rows in a nearby field and opened fire. The few who survived by pretending to be dead recalled hearing laughter as the SS soldiers fired.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-480713\" class=\"wp-image-480713 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/GettyImages-535821117-725x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"725\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/GettyImages-535821117-725x576-1.jpg 725w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/GettyImages-535821117-300x238-1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/GettyImages-535821117-768x611-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/GettyImages-535821117.jpg 1024w\" style=\"display:none\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-480713\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Massacre of American soldiers near Malmedy, 1944, Belgium, Second World War war, National archives, Washington, . (Photo by: Photo12\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>By December 20th, the city of Bastogne itself was under siege, entirely surrounded and vastly outnumbered by the enemy \u2014 and word of Peiper and the massacre at Malmedy had gotten to soldiers and civilians alike. Snowy and frigid weather conditions made supply drops all but impossible, and even on the ground, visibility was limited.<\/p>\n<p>Bastogne had also been inundated by \u201cstragglers\u201d \u2014 soldiers who had been assigned to units that had been overrun as the Germans had moved to encircle the city \u2014 and so Team SNAFU (Situation Normal, All Fouled Up) was born. Men from tank battalions, men from artillery groups, cooks, barbers, it no longer mattered: if they could carry a weapon and stand a post, they were temporarily reassigned to SNAFU and used as much-needed replacements to aid the 101st Airborne.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.asomf.org\/the-battle-of-the-bulge-asom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Two days into the siege<\/a>, on December 22nd, a German contingent approached waving a white flag \u2014 and delivered an ultimatum to Major Alvin Jones, who commanded\u00a0the 2nd Battalion, 327th Glider Infantry Regiment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fortune of war is changing. Battalions are ready to annihilate the U.S.A. troops in and near Bastogne,\u201d the letter read. Demanding surrender \u2014 within two hours \u2014 the German commander threatened to destroy the city if the Americans did not comply. He also promised that the Americans would be blamed for any resulting civilian casualties.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe order for firing will be given immediately after this two hour\u2019s term,\u201d the German commander wrote. \u201cAll the serious civilian losses caused by this Artillery fire would not correspond with the well known American humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey want us to surrender,\u201d Jones told Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe.<\/p>\n<p>McAuliffe, who was acutely aware of the situation, laughed in the face of certain doom: \u201cAw nuts!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He went to write a return memo, but told his staff, \u201cI don\u2019t know what to tell them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lt. Colonel Kinnard commented, \u201cWell, sir, that first remark of yours would be hard to beat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And so McAuliffe\u2019s reply read simply:<\/p>\n<p>To the German Commander:<\/p>\n<p>Nuts!<\/p>\n<p>The American Commander<\/p>\n<p>Colonel Joseph H. Harper, commander of 327th Glider Infantry, delivered the note to the Germans \u2014 reportedly delighting in the chance to explain to them what it meant: \u201cIf you don\u2019t understand what \u2018nuts\u2019 means, in plain English, it is the same as, \u2018Go to Hell.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McAuliffe followed that note with an <a href=\"https:\/\/warontherocks.com\/2021\/12\/nuts-mcauliffes-1944-christmas-letter-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">equally blustery<\/a> Christmas Eve letter to his troops, detailing both the German commander\u2019s demands and his response.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">75 years ago this Christmas Eve, Gen. Anthony McAuliffe wrote this letter to his troops during the Battle of the Bulge. Today we remember the service members who served during the holidays both then and now and wish you a Merry Christmas! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NoVeteranEverDies?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NoVeteranEverDies<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VuYyhYqqVj\">pic.twitter.com\/VuYyhYqqVj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 National Cemeteries (@VANatCemeteries) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/VANatCemeteries\/status\/1209458808587784192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 24, 2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s Merry about all this, you ask? We\u2019re fighting \u2014\u00a0it\u2019s cold, we aren\u2019t home,\u201d McAuliffe\u2019s letter read. \u201cAll true but what has the proud Eagle Division accomplished with its worthy comrades the 10th Armored Division, the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>American service members have often spent their holidays away from loved ones \u2014 and in harm\u2019s way \u2014 and the men who found themselves in the besieged Belgian city of Bastogne just before Christmas of 1944 were no exception. Bastogne, which sits just a few miles from the border of Luxembourg, had been under German &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":1786027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[6962,11686,10847,11685,11687,11688,10167,6922,6202,7252,6673,6195],"class_list":["post-1786024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire","tag-the","tag-11686","tag-and","tag-bastogne","tag-blizzard","tag-bluster","tag-bombs","tag-christmas","tag-daily","tag-eve","tag-siege","tag-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1786024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/93"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1786024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1786024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1786027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1786024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1786024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1786024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}