The Best Christmas Present in Modern American Military History

In the Battle of the Bulge 80 years ago, the Allies turned a major setback late in World War II into a triumph.

T hey said it was the coldest Christmas season in Western Europe in 38 years. This was the daunting and frigid environment of ice and snow that the American Army faced 80 years ago in what would become its ultimate battle test of the European theater of operations during World War II.

On the freezing and snow-filled Christmas Eve of 1944, the paratroopers of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division were hunkered down and surrounded by some four German divisions of tanks and infantry in the small Belgian town of Bastogne, located in a hilly and forested area known as the Ardennes.

Their commander, General Anthony McAuliffe, illustrating that unique American ability to maintain a sense of humor in the face of the most stressful circumstances, had just sent a radio message to General George Patton reminding him that there was only one more shopping day until Christmas. But this was deadly serious business. McAuliffe knew Patton’s Third Army, relentlessly attacking the Germans from the south, was the only hope of relief for the 101st that would save them from total destruction.

The successful June 6, 1944, D-Day invasion in Normandy marked the beginning of the great Allied offensive to liberate Western Europe and inflict a final defeat on Nazi Germany. However, by November 1944, the advancing Allied armies had encountered stiff German resistance and had stretched their supply lines, so they temporarily transitioned to a less aggressive strategy. This pause in the Allied offensive gave the German army, which was battered and weakened, the ability to regroup and reinforce.

Adolf Hitler, the Nazi dictator, badly needed a major reversal in the fortunes of war to give Germany a chance to negotiate a more favorable peace agreement than the “unconditional surrender” that President Franklin Roosevelt had in mind. So, Hitler decided to risk everything on a daring winter surprise attack on the sparsely defended American front lines in the Ardennes. The goal was to divide the American and British armies and drive all the way to the Belgian port of Antwerp on the North Sea.

Because of Allied air superiority, the Germans had to move large numbers of troops and tanks at night or in bad weather to keep from getting spotted by Allied aircraft. In an impressive feat of stealth that marked one of the worst Allied intelligence failures of the war in Europe, the Germans managed to assemble 250,000 men and almost 1,000 tanks in the Ardennes area. At dawn on December 16, 1944, the massive surprise attack was unleashed against the unprepared American forces in the Ardennes.

The thinly manned American north-to-south front lines in the Ardennes were overwhelmed by the ferocity of the German assault. There were only four American divisions spread out over a 70-mile line in what was supposed to be a “quiet” front. Two of the divisions had never been in combat, and two were resting from continuous combat since the D-Day campaign in June. The 106th Infantry Division, which had never been in combat, was ripped to shreds and suffered the surrender of two of its regiments (approximately 7,000 men) to the Germans.

The Germans pounded out a “bulge” some 60 miles long and 40 miles deep in the American lines, giving the battle the name for which it’s known: “The Battle of the Bulge.” Right in the middle of the Bulge was the small vital crossroads town of Bastogne, with its seven important roads stretching out from the center of town. The Germans had to capture Bastogne to adequately supply their advancing army with ammunition, gasoline, food, and medicine. It would be the key to this epic battle.

Fortunately, shortly after the battle had begun, General Dwight Eisenhower, the commanding general of all Allied forces, realized the magnitude of the events that were taking place. Ike called a meeting of the American high command for December 19 at Verdun, France, to find out who might quickly be able to pull their troops out of winter combat positions and rush them to the Ardennes to reinforce the faltering American forces.

Before leaving for the Verdun meeting, General Patton and his staff had studied the evolving battle situation map. They concluded that attacking the southern German flank and moving toward Bastogne would be the primary military objective. His staff immediately began the intricate and challenging planning to enable such an attack to occur.

When Ike asked who could quickly help deal with the deteriorating situation in the Ardennes, Patton stunned everyone in the room by saying he could attack with three divisions in 48 hours.

It was a seemingly impossible undertaking to which Patton was now committing his Third Army. The logistics were mind-boggling to disengage three divisions from combat while stabilizing their prior positions and moving them 100 miles over icy roads in 48 hours straight into a major attack against the southern German flank. But in an unprecedented display of dedication and endurance, three of Patton’s divisions pulled out of their cold winter positions and did what Ike thought was impossible. They moved almost a hundred miles north in 48 hours with no sleep or hot food and attacked fiercely the southern German flank on December 22.

Understanding the potentially terrible consequences of the German attack, Ike had also ordered the 101st Airborne to be loaded onto trucks and transported to Bastogne on December 19, where they were instructed to “hold at all costs.” The 101st arrived in Bastogne just ahead of the lead elements of German panzers and prepared to withstand a brutal siege.

By December 20, Bastogne was completely surrounded by German forces. On December 22, the German commander demanded the surrender of the 101st, or they would be “totally annihilated.” After a brief discussion with his staff, General McAuliffe gave his immortal reply to the German demand for surrender — “NUTS.” When Patton was told of McAuliffe’s reply, he said, “A man that eloquent has to be saved.” Patton knew the surrounded 101st could not last long against overwhelming odds, and he was determined to break through to Bastogne by Christmas.

A tragic event occurred on the second day (December 17) of the surprise German attack when they were driving rapidly through the disorganized American lines near Malmedy, Belgium. An armored panzer unit of German Waffen SS troops ran into a group of roughly 120 American rear-echelon soldiers attempting to retreat back to the collapsing American lines. After putting up only slight resistance, the Americans surrendered. Shortly thereafter, the SS troops marched the Americans into a nearby field and opened fire on them with machine guns. The SS killed 84 Americans; however, before they were hit by machine gun fire, a few of the Americans were able to run into a neighboring woods and escape execution.

Most of the survivors managed to work their way back to American lines and report the massacre they had witnessed. News of the Malmedy massacre rapidly spread among the American soldiers in the Ardennes. Resistance to the German advance was now electrified. Just about every fight at a small village or crossroad became a fight to the death. Why surrender if you thought you would probably get executed? Ironically, the massacre at Malmedy backfired on the Germans because the success of their surprise attack was dependent on speed. The increased, desperate level of American resistance substantially slowed the rate of German advance. The Germans had to move fast in a small window of time before the Americans could regroup and reposition their forces.

Meanwhile, on the northern flank of the Bulge, the Second and 99th Infantry Divisions were stubbornly dug in along an area called Elsenborn Ridge. In spite of the fact they were also greatly outnumbered, they had the high ground and, for several days, had repelled continuous German panzer attacks. To reinforce the northern flank, Ike ordered the tough 82nd Airborne Division to be rushed in. The large-scale German offensive now seemed somewhat contained, with both the northern and southern flanks holding, albeit precariously. The fate of the battle now boiled down to the race to Bastogne. Could Patton’s men fight their way through the ice and snow and relieve the embattled 101st before they collapsed under the German pressure?

Christmas Day dawned with clear skies. One of Patton’s most daring tank commanders from the Fourth Armored Division, Lieutenant Colonel Creighton Abrams (the namesake of today’s Abrams tank) could see American transport planes dropping supplies into the smoky ruins of what was left of the town of Bastogne. However, Abrams was furious because a strong force of Germans still stood between him and Bastogne. He got on the radio, requested a heavy artillery barrage, and informed his superiors that his tank battalion was launching an aggressive attack against the German forces and would fight through the Germans into Bastogne.

He proved to be a man of his word. On the afternoon of December 26, the troopers of the 101st had their prayers answered when they saw a column of American Sherman tanks commanded by Abrams appear in the distance on one of the roads leading into Bastogne. They carefully and joyfully watched the Shermans fight their way straight into town to link up with the 101st and break the German siege.

Thanks to the rapid response and gallant efforts of numerous American forces, and with Bastogne secure, the German offensive was foiled. The task of driving out all of the Germans from the Bulge would take another month of brutal winter fighting and require the deployment of more American divisions.

The Battle of the Bulge remains the largest battle ever fought by the American military. Some 600,000 personnel ended up being involved in what became the bloodiest American battle of World War II. Casualties include 19,246 killed, 62,000 wounded, and 26,000 missing or captured.

The aftermath of the decisive American victory at the Bulge left the German army on the Western Front as a substantially depleted fighting force. It was too exhausted to put up much of a fight to defend the German homeland. In slightly more than three months, on May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered unconditionally.

As we enjoy the prosperous Christmas season of 2024, reflect back to that anxiety-filled Christmas a mere 80 years ago when the fate of the world hung in the balance, and give thanks for the honor and bravery of our “Greatest Generation.” They fought and won the monumental conflict that determined that the second half of the 20th century would be dominated by the spread of freedom rather than tyranny and oppression.

And might I suggest that you do like me and toast to the highly motivated men of General Patton’s Third Army who successfully delivered the best Christmas present in American military history — even if it was a day late.