Fighting Back The Bulge: America’s Astonishing WWII Defence | Battlezone | War Stories

[Music] um [Music] the alliance conquest of the area in the north bordering the river was complicated by the enemy's control of the dams along that stream this problem which was to recur as the allies pressed farther into germany prompted allied engineers to experiment in advance with scale models to determine just what land area would be flooded if the enemy were to open the dams by releasing the flood waters the enemy would have trapped allied forces had they tried to cross the roar early in december in mid-november elements of the u.s sixth army group drove rapidly towards frostburg a french city is situated on the banks of the rhine [Music] on the 23rd of november the french second armored division reached strasbourg but the city was not completely one until four days later after a bitter nazi defense with germany in view just across the rhine the alliance forces in spritsburgh redoubled their attacks against the nazis on the opposite shore in the little german town of hill meanwhile the 44th and 79th american divisions made swift progress toward agno to the north against stubborn resistance [Music] the enemy was not quitting france without a fight [Music] nazis surrendered at argano on december 12th to allow any germans to remain west of the river in the upper rhine plain would be certain to cause us later embarrassment all along the allied front the men began to show the effects of the months of battle springs as the infantry replacement problem became acute we resorted to every kind of expedient to keep units up to strength all these measures however failed to keep filled the ranks of the infantry formations as winter approached the allied commanders were faced with added problems the infantry which in all kinds of warfare habitually absorbs the bulk of the losses was now taking practically all of them these were by no means due to enemy action alone in other respects too the infantry suffered an abnormal percentage of casualties because of exposure in cases of frostbite trench foot and respiratory diseases were far more numerous among infantry soldiers than others to keep those casualties to a minimum every precaution possible was taken against the spread of these afflictions maintenance of morale was a problem of first importance we established divisional centers in the rear of the lines where a company or a battalion could occasionally get out of the fighting zone and the men could secure baths warm beds and a day or two of rest the effect of prolonged combat is always bad if a unit is brought out of line before the processes of physical and mental fatigue have gone too far it can be ready for re-entry into battle far sooner than one that has been kept in line too long moreover periodic rests for the front-line soldier on the uso and the red cross the services of these devoted people to soldiers in the field were beyond praise we also established a furlough plan which gave at least some men the opportunity to go back to paris to help make the gis stay in the city as enjoyable as possible the red cross opened several allied clubs which proved a haven for soldiers confused by a strange language but the foreign flavor of paris had a universal appeal to visiting gis and those lucky enough to be stationed there to a combat soldier a trip to the french capital seemed like a visit to another world a 10-day pass in paris worked wonders in terms of the gi's morale an especially important factor at this critical time by mid-december 1944 the allies had penetrated the german border in the aachen sector and were threatening to push the entire battle line into germany hitler realized some months earlier that only by a large-scale counter-attack could germany regain the initiative and save off final defeat a little longer during the early autumn appearer called in his top military advisors field marshal wilhelm keitel chief of staff of the supreme command equivalent to the minister of war and colonel general alfred yodel chief of the armed forces operations staff they analyzed the situation on all fronts to the most minute degree to determine the best place to attack the allies in the west with the limited resources available to carry out the heavy attack hitler mustered all the divisions he could spare on other fronts and speeded induction of young german youths to strengthen the morale of the nazi troops there were more frequent decoration ceremonies no attack was too difficult to a young german soldier who had just received an award for valor from a high-ranking nazi commander as autumn waned the forces which were to make the attack were secretly masked the nazi command had finally decided on the ardennes region as the area to attack preparations were rushed so the assault could be started before the end of the year the nazis hoped to isolate important allied supply routes like the albert canal which linked years just behind the elias front with antwerp and the sea if the enemy seized liege key maintenance and communication center feeding the allied 12th army group the allied force on that front would be seriously crippled alliance supply centers all the way to the coast where the principal objectives of the nazi commanders they hope thus to make the whole allied supply position virtually untenable and at the same time split the allied forces in two with supply centers cut off allied hopes for an early victory would be considerably [Music] dimmed the german attack started after preparations had been completed in the greatest secrecy on december 16th it was a blow of staggering proportions the nazis employed three armies for the assault totaling some 14 infantry and 10 concert divisions the morning of december 17 it became clear that the german attack was in great strength the enemy was employing considerable armor and was progressing rapidly to the westward in two important points the enemy had gained definite surprise the first of these was in time we had believed that he could not be ready for a major assault as early as he was the other point in which he surprised us was the strength of the attack on the morning of december 17 two gaps were torn through our line when the u.s 7th armored division came down from the northern flank on december 17 the situation was still far from clear it pushed forward to support the left of the eighth core and became semi-isolated in sam eat [Music] savvy was an important point on the road net of that area and necessary to the enemy finally the continued and heavy pressure of the germans tended further to isolate the seventh armor a concentrated attack by several divisions on december 20th drove it to the west in the area north of samvig consequently it was ordered to withdraw the next day to join the allied lines which were now building up on the north flank of the german salient but the great stand of the division had badly upset the enemy's timetable thereafter with three proved and battle-tested units the first second and ninth divisions holding the position the safety of our northern shoulder was practically a certain the withdrawal was covered by tanks only since the thickening weather excluded any possibility of air support the allies principal problem was to keep the bulge from widening on the flanks however far the nazi's central thrust carried them they must be prevented from expanding to the north and south beginning late in december the allies launched a counteroffensive with the us third army attacking from the south and later the first army from the north on the northern flank all allied ground forces were placed under the operational command of field marshall montgomery this group included the major part of the us first army and the u.s ninth army commanded by lieutenant general william simpson i radioed montgomery saying our weakest spot is in direction of nemour the general plan is to plug the holes in the north and launch coordinated attack from the south across the bulge general bradley was suitably located to command the forces on the southern flank of the salient consisting mainly of the us third army it was bradley's responsibility to outline the exact unit sectors together with other local details of direction and cooperation i issued verbal orders for patton's attack under bradley to begin no later than december 23rd it was arranged for patton to concentrate his attacking core of three divisions in the general vicinity of arlon the german attack made rapid progress through the center of the sailing [Music] during the first weeks of the battle of the bulge the germans took several thousand american prisoners and promptly took advantage of the opportunity to stock up on the highly prized american cigarettes after years of smoking inferior nazi cigarettes the siege the defense of baston was not only a spectacular feat of arms but had a great effect upon the outcome of the battle bastan lay in the general path of the sector of advance of the german fifth panzer army on december 19th 101st prepared to defend baston that morning we did not know whether bastan was yet surrounded but the strength and direction of advance of german troops in that area indicated that it quickly would be consequently the 101st division prepared for all-round defense and although the assaulting armored divisions of the germans bypassed it to participate in the attack to the northwest the division was under constant pressure from other german units from that moment onward until released [Music] one of the breaks in our favor occurred on december 23rd this was a sudden temporary clearing of the weather in the forward areas which released our air forces to plunge into the battle the important road center of bastan could not have been held by the 101st division during the german counter-offensive in december 1944 except for the airplanes that delivered 800 000 pounds of supplies to the division during the critical days between the 23rd and 27th of december by early january the real danger to the alliance position had passed the exhausting process of pushing the enemy back to his former line began patton's third army had cut a corridor through the german-held territory to beleaguered bastogne additional reserves were brought up to strengthen the new allied offensive which hammered the retreating nazis continuously the ground for which the enemy had fought so bitterly and paid such a heavy price was once again in the hands of the allied armies the german air force had come out in the strongest attack it had attempted against us in months reaction of our own planes was swift the enemy lost almost half his entire attacking force two days later the first army began its attacks on the northern flank and all danger from the great german thrust had disappeared from that moment on it was merely a question of whether we could make sufficient progress through his defenses and through the snow banks of the ardennes to capture or destroy significant portions of his forces [Music] from both flanks we continued attacks in the direction of upper leaves where we joined up on january 16th with the meeting of the us third and first armies at buffalies north of beston the gap was closed and the battle of the bulge was ended both armies turned eastward and continued the drive to push the nazis back into the heart of their country but the going was slow on the icy terrain the motorized vehicles which could function in almost every type of country had never had quite the problem they faced as the allies plotted eastward in miserable fighting weather [Music] the first and third armies continued eastward to drive the germans beyond their initial lines the losses on both sides in the battle of the ardennes were considerable our own were high altogether we calculated our losses at a total of 77 000 men of whom about 8 000 were killed 48 000 wounded and 21 000 captured or missing the enemy suffered serious casualties in tanks assault guns planes and motor transport these we estimated at 600 tanks and assault guns 1600 planes and 6 000 other vehicles field commanders estimated that in the month ending january 16th the enemy suffered 120 000 serious casualties in view of the fact that after the war german commanders admitted a loss of about ninety thousand this estimate of our own would seem to be fairly accurate i wanted to pass to the general offensive as quickly as possible because i was convinced that in the battle of the bulge the enemy had committed all of his remaining reserves i counted on a greatly weakened resistance because of the widespread discouragement that i felt sure would overtake the german armies [Music] eli's immediate objective was the clearing out of all nazi troops west of the rhine this difficult assignment was to fall to three army groups the 21st in the north the sixth army group in the south and in the center the 12th army group composed of the us first army and general patton's third army under the overall command of general bradley on the eastern european front the russians began a drive of massive dimensions along the entire battle line on january 12 1945 [Music] the offensive was spearheaded by four russian army groups commanding one was marshall georgie zhukov was already becoming a hero of epic proportions of the russian people the russian generals counted heavily on the success of one crushing blow [Music] the russian offensive staggered the nazis in 60 days the drive by some 300 infantry divisions and 25 tank corps was to push the enemy back across poland east prussia and across germany to the odor river a distance of roughly 300 miles in the west the major alliance drive was also getting started as soon as the us first and third armies had joined forces at opalis on january 16th montgomery returned to specific preparation for the advance montgomery and i agreed on the proper timing for his initial attack originally we had wanted to make a simultaneous assault by the canadians and americans both of whom could be ready by february 10 however neither montgomery nor i felt it wise to wait he proposed and i approved that the canadian attack should begin as quickly as possible even if a period of two weeks or more had to intervene before the american army could join in the operation the canadian army jumped off february 8th it made satisfactory initial gains but the troops quickly found themselves involved in a quagmire of flooded and muddy ground progress was slow according to the plan the keynote of the operation was to be speed but the weather conditions could hardly have been more unfavorable for a rapid advance alive hopes for a quick breakthrough were killed and the fighting developed into a bitter slugging match in which the enemy had to be pushed back yard by yard when the canadians launched their attack the enemy was slow to respond but the attacker's difficulty in moving fast over the waterlogged terrain gave the nazis a chance to consolidate their defenses soon every offensive move by the canadians was met by stiff resistance every square mile of territory was fought for [Music] savagely general marshall suggested that i send my chief of staff to malta to participate in a conference that was to take place there between the president the prime minister and their respective staffs before they went on to yoda the combined chiefs of staff endorsed general eisenhower's plan questioned by the british command for cleaning out the area west of the rhine by a series of crushing blows i well knew that with general marshall backing me there would be no danger of interference in dealing with nazi targets groups of fighters could now be located at forward fields near the rhine and in spite of their comparatively short range could operate over almost any nazi target as the effects of the air offensive accumulated there developed a continuous crisis in german transportation and in all phases of her war effort the effect was felt also by the luftwaffe it had a definite influence upon the ground battles by this time also the air had achieved remarkable success in depleting the german oil reserves by early 1945 the effects of our air offensive against the german economy were becoming catastrophic [Music] two weeks after the canadians launched their drive in the north general simpson's us ninth army and elements of the first army joined the attack preceded by a violent bombardment the ninth got off as scheduled the gis could do little but wait until the floodwaters of the rohr river receded sufficiently for a crossing to be attempted the opening of the roar river dams by the nazis had flooded the roar valley and caused the level of the river itself to rise about four feet for two weeks the floodwaters poured down the roar valley and held up the advance of the u.s ninth [Music] army [Music] but by february 23rd the flood had subsided somewhat and the ninth army's drive was launched in earnest initially the troops encountered great difficulties particularly because of hostile artillery fire upon their floating bridges once across the roar advancing gi's had to fight their way through the german city of eunuch urlic had been heavily bombed and shelled by the allies before ninth army troops entered the city which they captured on february 24th the day after they had crossed the road the rubble resulting from the allied air and artillery bombardment slowed the passage of allied vehicles and equipment through the city on route to the front in spite of delays simpson's forces made fine progress in less than a week the ninth army captured mentioned gladbach i entered the city with general simpson shortly after its capture this was the largest german city we had captured in the war up to this time the whole area was rapidly cleared of the enemy everything went like clockwork the seventh core on simpson's right first overcame heavy opposition then continued a spectacular advance and on march 5th was on the outskirts of cologne we had calculated that this city would be stubbornly defended but by the afternoon of the 7th of march general collins had taken over the city the hastily trained and astonished defending troops were by no means the equal of those we had met earlier in the [Music] campaign [Music] [Music] alone was completely won in less than two days time the celebrated cathedral was one of the few buildings still standing after the heavy allied bombings while collins seventh corps was making these great advances hodges launched the third and fifth core south eastward toward the rhine the third corps reached the river at remagen on march 7. here it encountered one of those bright opportunities of war which produced incalculable effect on future operations the assaulting americans found the ludendorff bridge over the rhine still standing at remark when bradley reported that we had a permanent bridge across the rhine i could scarcely believe my ears i fairly shouted into the telephone how much have you got in that vicinity that you can throw across the river that was one of my happy moments of the war the traditional defensive barrier to the heart of germany was pierced american engineers quickly repaired the damage inflicted on the ludendorff bridge by the germans at the same time we established floating treadway bridges which were easy to transport quickly installed and capable of sustaining heavy military loads the first quad way bridge across the rhine a 330 yard span was completed in 10 hours and 11 minutes and the first load was on its way across the river other treadways were constructed and after five days the ludendorff structure was no longer needed the ramadan bridgehead across the rhine was quickly consolidated the german effort against the ludendorff bridge finally began to weaken it seriously and on march 17th the center span fell into the river it carried with it a number of our fine engineers some of whom we were unable to rescue from the icy waters north of brumagan montgomery prepared for a forced crossing the rhine was a formidable military obstacle particularly so in its northern stretches study of conditions indicated the great desirability of naval participation in the attack we needed vessels of sufficient the assault on the night of march 23rd was preceded by a violent bombardment [Music] our preparations for the crossing had been so deliberately and thoroughly made that the enemy knew what was coming we anticipated strong resistance since we would achieve surprise only by the timing and strength of the assault on the front of the two american divisions making the attack the 30th and 79th 2000 guns of all types participated [Music] to assist the troops of montgomery's 21st army group who were to make the assault a heavy smoke screen was laid down over the area where the crossing was to be made this assault across the rhine constituted the major allied effort in the north in this phase of the battle for germany to general eisenhower the crossing of the rhine was one of the most important steps in the hastening of the nazis final defeat [Music] we received a series of encouraging reports everywhere the landings appeared completely successful the two american divisions making the assault on the ninth army front suffered a total of only 31 casualties during the actual crossing we were encouraged to believe that we could very quickly achieve such an eastward advance that the communications leading into the roar would be cut the airborne units were scheduled to make their drop on the far side of the rhine at ten o'clock on the morning following the assault in small boats the airborne troops were transported to the assault area in a total of 1572 planes and 1326 gliders the planes were heavily loaded for the trip the takeoff was a breathtaking operation in this operation the two airborne divisions were to drop close to the front lines merely far enough back so that they would not be within the zone of our own artillery fire from those positions they were to wreck the enemy's artillery organization and participate directly in the tactical battle [Music] [Music] the airborne units arrived over the area of basil unscheduled and the paratroopers readied themselves for the jump preparations were also made for cutting the toe lines and setting the gliders at ripped on the whole the landings went off smoothly only a few allied planes were shot down operation varsity the name given to the airborne phase of this attack was the most successful airborne operation we carried out during the war [Music] meanwhile the ground forces of montgomery's 21st army group crossed the rhine in increasing numbers the preparatory artillery fire and bombing had proved most effective and a firm foothold was established on the east bank of the river [Music] the town of basil was rapidly cleared the enemy's resistance had been confused and disorganized and the defending force was quickly [Music] overwhelmed [Music] uh [Music] with his top american field commanders generals bradley patton and hodges general eisenhower plotted carefully the exact course of the allied armies in the final phase of the battle for europe it was desirable to thrust our spearheads rapidly across germany to a junction with the red forces thus to divide the country and effectually prevent any possibility of german forces acting as a unit in berlin nazi party leaders like propaganda minister joseph gibbles were reminded more and more forcibly that the allies were drawing closer allied planes now paid daily visits to the german capital resistance to the allies was becoming much more difficult for the nazis in all phases of their war effort with fuel supplies at a new low german trucks in berlin were often taken in tow by trolley cars on every level the operation of the life of the city was crippled more seriously as the fronts on both the east and the west were pushed closer to berlin the nazis were trapped in their doomed capital but still refused to submit to the inevitable the allies sent out urgent appeals for the german people to surrender via broadcasts in their own language from allied control stations such as radio luxembourg these broadcasts reached many thousands of german citizens the german people were also advised that they would not be tortured and executed an idea that had been drummed into them by the nazi propaganda machines surrender these broadcasts were effective as the american soldiers took over control of nazi towns and cities many germans no longer dominated by the vermont were quick to put themselves in aligned hands many were still fearful that the nazi claims about their torture by allied soldiers might be true but were soon convinced to the contrary it now appeared that a double envelopment would not only finally and completely sever the industrial ruler from the remainder of germany what would result in the destruction of one of the major forces still remaining to the enemy the industrial importance of the roar to germany had been greatly diminished even before we surrounded it as a consequence of the threats now developing on both sides of that area it would have seemed logical for the germans to withdraw their military forces for use in opposing our forward advances certainly it should have been clear that with the ruler surrounded there would be lost whatever military forces might be jammed into its defenses [Music] bradley's forces on the south and montgomeries in the north fought steadily toward their appointed meeting place near castle the resistance to simpson's ninth army which was on the right of montgomery's army group was more stubborn than that encountered by the first and third armies advancing out of the frankfurt area as a result the southern arm of our pincers swung well around the eastern and northeastern flanks of the roar to meet simpson's advancing columns in the vicinity of lipstop near potterborn [Music] the germans had now suffered an unbroken series of major defeats on april 18th the whole german garrison in the roar surrendered originally we had estimated we would capture about 150 000 of the german army in the roar in the final count the total reached 325 000 including 30 general officers we destroyed 21 divisions hitler must have hoped that the siege of the roar would be as stubbornly contested as was that of breast but within 18 days of the moment the roar was surrounded it had surrendered with an even greater number of prisoners than we had bagged in the final tunisian collapse almost two years earlier during the final phase of the battle for europe the nazi soldiers looked less and less formidable the vermont once composed of the pick of german young manhood now included in its ranks youth who were really still children policing the nazi prisoners had become a more demanding job sometimes former inmates of nazi concentration camps were put in charge of guarding captured nazi soldiers the vital industries of the ruler now completely lost to the nazis further crippled the badly weakened german war effort the foundation on which hitler's plans for world conquest had been built lay hopelessly smashed with the allies pushing steadily eastward general eisenhower paid a visit to general patton at gota on april 12th a notable date for the supreme commander before the day ended the scenes i saw etched the date in my memory general patton's army had overrun and discovered nazi treasure hidden away in a deep salt mine in one tunnel they found a hoard of gold estimated to be worth about 250 million dollars most of it in gold bars there was also a great amount of minted gold from different countries in europe and even from the u.s the same day i saw my first hara camp it was near the town of gotok i have never felt able to describe my emotional reactions when i first came face to face with indisputable evidence of nazi brutality and ruthless disregard of every shred of decency up to that time i had known about it only generally or through secondary sources i am certain however that i have never at any other time experienced an equal sense of shock i visited every nook and cranny of the camp because i felt it my duty to be in position from then on to testify at firsthand about these things in case there ever grew up at home the belief or assumption that the stories of nazi brutality were just propaganda i felt that the evidence should be immediately placed before the american and british publics in a fashion that would leave no room for cynical doubt with enemy forces in the ruler eliminated the allied attack to the eastward picked up momentum on all parts of the front the route which every allied soldier kept constantly in mind lay toward the baltic sea and berlin the principal attack was a major thrust at the center of the german line by the 12th army group under general bradley's command [Music] bradley's advance was conducted on a broad front on the south the third army struck in the direction of the czechoslovakian border on patton's left the first army attack begun on april 11 made rapid progress [Music] on april 14th the third armored division of collins seventh corps reached the south practically on the elba this corps which had been in the original assault against the normandy beaches and soon thereafter had captured cherbourg had fought all the way across northwest europe from the coast of france to the river elba the stage was now set for the final allied moves of the campaign the enemy had no means of restoring a single front against either the russians or ourselves throughout western germany as the allied front moved swiftly eastward some units were charged with checking on areas which the front-line troops had passed through hurriedly the gi's rounded up a number of spies and in addition german soldiers who had quickly changed into civilian clothes whenever any nazis in either classification were caught the penalty was quickly executed by allied military units [Music] as more and more territory was captured by the allies thousands of american soldiers held captive by the germans were recovered many of them had been taken prisoners early as december 1942 in the early battles in tunisia and some of the british soldiers had been captured as far back as dunkirk nearly five years before in many instances the physical condition of the prisoners was so poor that great care had to be exercised in their feeding the weaker ones were hospitalized and for a period our hospitals were crowded with men whose joy at returning to their own people was almost pathetic but who at the same time were suffering so badly from malnutrition that only expert care could save them my name is charles j short from akron ohio i was captured in the battle of the ball december 19 1944 after making us walk for about 40 miles i believe our worst experience was being packed on a small box car 60 men to one car during this time we had received absolutely nothing to eat after we had gotten on the box car received about this amount of bread one day is rational occasionally we got a bucket of water to drink with elise and the russians drawing within range of each other both forces had to use extreme caution to keep fifth the trolls of the 69th division of the fifth corps met elements of the red army's 58th guards division on the elba meeting took place at torgau 75 miles south of berlin the fifth core like the seventh had participated in the initial assault on the beaches of normandy and it seemed fitting that the troops of one of these corps should be the first to make contact with the red army and accomplish the final severance of the german nation in late april 1945 the savage battle for berlin so long feared by the german people was begun the russians under marshall zhukov had penetrated deep into the nazi capital the battle raged on for some 12 days of intensely heavy fighting the russians had to rock the nazis out of every cranny in the city and in some cases from hideouts below the ground the last of the defenders surrendered to the russians on may 3rd soviet commanders estimated that the feudal defense of berlin had cost the germans half a million killed and captured the climax of a war which had cost both sides hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded was finally over after four exhausting years in which they had beaten the nazis off in their drive toward moscow the russians had won berlin [Music] the nazi swastika symbol of hitler's new order no longer flew over the city berlin was no longer a seat of german government no longer capital of a german nation for the first time in a century a foreign power was in possession of the capital of the once mighty german nation the russians who first occupied berlin were elated at the damage resulting from the saturation bombings by the british and american air forces in the months preceding the fall of the city the nazi empire which hitler had predicted would last for a thousand years had been crushed to death only 12 years after its beginning the devoted nazi party followers had run the gamut from fanatical mass hysteria following their early victories to humiliating total defeat the conquerors of berlin took a special delight in unfurling their flag from nazi symbols of military glory like the brandenburg gate and the sacred precincts of the reich's chancellery were now invaded by the calm but exultant russian leaders reminders of the once worshiped fearer no longer had a place of eminence in late april the first official surrender by a nazi area command took place at kuzerta italy the envoys of the top nazi generals in the italian theater surrendered unconditionally to the allies on april 29th the german surrender of nazi hill territory in italy and austria was to become effective at noon on the second of may in the north at luneburg heath on may 4th the germans surrendered to the allies represented by field marshal sir bernard montgomery all their forces in northwestern europe except for the nazi garrison in norway the german command to carry out at once and without argument or comment all further orders that will be issued by the allied powers on any subject disobedience of orders or failure to comply with them will be regarded as a breach of the surrender term and will be dealt with by the allied powers in accordance with the accepted laws and usages of war the decision of the allied powers will be final if any doubt or dispute arises as to the meaning or interpretation of the surrender term that is the text of the instrument surrender and the german delegation will now sign this uh this paper and uh they will sign in order of seniority and the general admiral von cederberg will sign first hmm now uh general kinsell will sign next now i will sign the instrument on behalf of the supreme allied commander the general eisenhower now that concludes the formal surrender and there are various matters now of detail to be discussed which we will do uh in closed session complete nazi capitulation came on may 7th at ras when the allies represented by general eisenhower's chief of staff general walter bedell smith accepted the surrender of colonel general alfred yodel on behalf of the nazi high command all hostilities were to cease at midnight on may 8th surrender instrument was signed by yodel at 2 41 in the morning of may 7 1945.

Channel: War Stories

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Keywords: military history, war, war documentary, military tactics, war stories, history of war, battles, wwii, battle of the bulge ww2, ww2 summary, rhine ww2, ww2 rhine bridge, adolf hitler defeat, world war 2, war films, archive footage, ww2 documentary, battlezone, band of brothers battle of the bulge

Id: XrpuivUmcAk

Length: 51min 16sec (3076 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 28 2021