Show 23: Christmas at the Battle of the Bulge

Christmas, 1944. The weakest sector of the American line is getting ready to celebrate the Yuletide when Nazi Germany, like a second-Mordor, disgorged multiple armies no one knew Hitler even had into the green American troops. The tide of steel was overwhelming. Hundreds of thousands of men would die. Hundreds of thousands of mothers would weep. And the Devil laughed because it was his best Christmas ever. The battle is the Battle of the Bulge – the bloodiest battle in American military history. It’s all here and it’s all free, our gift to you in this most holy time where the bird of dawning sings all night long and no spirit dare stir abroad. But with our battle tonight we’ll make the planets strike.

The beer this episode is Winter Lager by our favorite Patriots, Samuel Adams Brewing Company. 4.5 bullets out of five.
 

Download the show here: download

Battle Maps

German Plan of Attack
Actual German Attack
Red lines show German thrusts. Blue lines show Allied counterattacks. 

References

Battle of the Bulge Volumes 1 and 2 by Hans Wijers

Citizen Soldiers by Stephen Ambrose

The Second World War by John Keegan

The Longest Winter by Alex Kershaw

Atlas of the Second World War by John Keegan

Ardennes 1944: The Battle of the Bulge by Antony Beevor

Battle – The Story of the Bulge by John Toland

A Time for Trumpets by Charles Macdonald

 

2 thoughts on “Show 23: Christmas at the Battle of the Bulge

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