Jules Crittenden, Thank You For Remembering WWII’s The Battle of the Bulge

 

Please take time today and visit Jules Crittenden  as he recounts one of the most Batle_Buldge_snowfamous and important battles of WWII ,  The Battle of the Bulge. The Battle of the Budge has always had significant and personal meaning to me as being a history major in college and my namesake having taken part in the battle as he serving under General George S. Patton’s Third Army. He would never go into great detail of these days that left a lasting mark on him the rest of his life. It was not until later on in his life that he would open up and recount some of the stories. Please take a moment to remember “the Greatest Generation” and what they sacrificed for our freedoms. The tern heros is used all too often these days and without merit. Those that sacrificed across the battlegrounds of Europe and in the South Pacific … they are truly deserving of the word hero. 

The Battle of the Bulge began  December 16, 1944 …

It began at dawn on Dec. 16, 1944, 64 years ago today, with rapid assaults through the Ardennes forest, as the Germans blitzed one last time, hoping to split the Allied armies and take Antwerp. As Guderian reportedly liked to say, “Man schlägt jemanden mit der Faust und nicht mit gespreizten Fingern.” You punch with the fist and not with the fingers spread.

Hitler’s hope was to cut supplies to the Allied armies, divide the Brits and Americans, get a separate peace in the West and turn his full attention to the Russians. The Germans punched a bulge in the Allied line deep into Belgium, giving the battle its name. But the bulge wasn’t nearly big enough, and they quickly got bogged down well short of their objective. The battle took on the qualities of a strange Teutonic nightmare. 1st SS Panzer Division elements executed 88 American prisoners in the snow at Malmedy, survivors being finished off with headshots, … read much more

Posted December 16, 2008 by
heroes, Military, Personal | 13 comments


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  • Comments

    13 Responses to “Jules Crittenden, Thank You For Remembering WWII’s The Battle of the Bulge”

    1. Dolf on December 16th, 2008 8:19 am

      Respect.

    2. Richard on December 16th, 2008 8:39 am

      The terrain in the area where the attack took place was difficult. Apparently some military experts concluded that because the terrain was difficult, therefore no attack would take place there.

      Consequently, the troops in that area were relatively new and untested.

      I’ve read that many of the Germans were dressed in American uniforms, so that nobody really knew who was friend and who was foe.

      The attack was a shocker … but according to some, was the last desperate gamble of the Third Reich. Had the Germans pulled behind the Rhine and stayed on the defensive, I’ve read (nobody can know for certain, of course), achieving their final defeat would have been a lot more difficult.

    3. Dolf on December 16th, 2008 9:43 am

      correct Richard!!

      btw. lets not forget the British soldiers who were also involved.

    4. EURobert on December 16th, 2008 9:53 am

      If it wasn’t for these guys we would have spoken German (or Russian!!!) over here now.

      So, thanks to all allied soldiers that fought here back then! (Even the Russians…)

    5. Rusty Bridges on December 16th, 2008 1:02 pm

      Thank God for all the brave soldiers past and present. Thank God Hitler expelled the scientists that could have developed nuclear weapons for Nazi Germany.

    6. Kay Zee Ess on December 16th, 2008 2:49 pm

      God Bless the greatest generation of America!

    7. Kay Zee Ess on December 16th, 2008 2:50 pm

      Yes, our Allies were important as well!!!

    8. Scared Monkeys on December 17th, 2008 6:46 am

      Yes, thank you to the Allied forces as well.

      Look what happens when the world comes togather against evil. Evil does not just go away, it always must be delt with.
      R

    9. Dolf on December 17th, 2008 8:52 am

      the US was crucial to the victory in the pacific.
      USSR was crucial to the victory in Europe (without the US the germans would have lost against the USSR too) We in western Europe are very very glad that the USSR didn’t make it to the North Sea coast.

      Japan lost the war as soon as they attacked the US.

    10. EURobert on December 17th, 2008 12:22 pm

      # 9 Dolf

      “… (without the US the germans would have lost against the USSR too) …”

      That is not absolutely sure.

      Shortly after the Germans invaded Poland and later the USSR the US supplied the Sovjets with al kinds of military equipment (tanks?, airplanes?). If the the US hadn’t done that the outcome of “Operation Barbarossa” could have been a different one.

    11. Dolf on December 18th, 2008 1:49 am

      EURObert, the tanks of the American army was no match for the German tanks (only really late in the war).
      Same goes for the planes.
      The help for the UK was more important and had a greater impact.
      USSR only lost the first fase of Barbarossa because of the “restructuring” of the red army

      The best tank of ww2 is the Russian T34.
      That and the masses of troops

      and about the outcome of the war…if that German commander had driven straight into Stalingrad instead of regrouping……

      If Hitler hadn’t started a progrom against the Jews…(think this costed him the war)

      so many ifs in a war

    12. Rusty Bridges on December 18th, 2008 9:04 am

      #9 Dolf”(without the US the germans would have lost against the USSR too)” US helped the Germans?Huh????????????

      Germans owned Europe and were winning in Russia until the US entered the war. Sorry we couldn’t get there faster, we had Japenese forces engulfing the Pacific working their way for a mainland attack.

      We gave covert assistance and war supplies to help. When we were able to enter the war it was a quick turn around of fortunes. The Germans were only a couple of days from defeating Russia until we attacked occupied France directing Hitlers forces from finishing Russia off.

      Do you know how close it came from complete victory for the Germans? The last remaining Russian tank factory was bombed daily. They had to relocate more than once, the entire factory!. They were turning out unpainted tanks directly into battle a couple of miles away. That is close, a couple of extra panzers and 10 bombers would have all that was needed, but they were in France fighting Allied forces British, Canadien, and Americans as well as free Europeans.

    13. Dolf on December 19th, 2008 1:43 am

      no.

      Stalin relocated his industry behind the Oeral.

      I know that the US wants all the credit but fact is that the Russians did win the EU part of the war.

      Just give those Ruskies the respect they deserved.

      (and yes I am thankfull for the US, wouldn’t have wanted to speak Russian)

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