CHRISTMAS SEASON 1944

Belgium, sixty five years ago:




The Battle of the Bulge was the single largest and bloodiest battle American forces experienced in World War II.

In all, 840,000+ Allied soldiers participated in the Battle, with 1,300 medium tanks, plus tank destroyers, and 394 artillery pieces.

19,246 Americans were killed in the Bulge, 47,500 wounded, 23,000 captured or missing (an astonishing 89,746 total casualties), approximately 800 tanks destroyed. 200 British soldiers were killed, 1,200 wounded or missing.



They fought and died for our freedom. Remember them as you enjoy your Christmas festivities this year, and every year.





Due to horrific conditions at the hands of the Wermacht, many of these GI's did not survive their captivity.


The German Wermacht went into the offensive with 500,000 men, 1,800 tanks, and 1,900 artillery pieces. 67,200 German Wermacht killed, 32,800 wounded or missing and appoximately 700 tanks destroyed. On top of these staggering statistics, approximately 3000 civilians were killed during the course of the Ardennes campaign of 1944-45.


At this time I am playing catch-up with Blog STORMBRINGER - I will cover the Battle of the Bulge with greater, in-depth analysis as this Christmas season unfolds. - S.L.




The text reads:

Dec. 23, 1944 - "Battle of the Bulge" - An entire U.S. armored division was retreating from the Germans in the Ardennes forest when a sergeant in a tank destroyer spotted an American digging a foxhole. The GI, PFC Martin, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, looked up and asked, "Are you looking for a safe place?" "Yeah" answered the tanker. "Well, buddy," he drawled, "just pull your vehicle behind me...

I'M THE 82nd AIRBORNE, AND THIS IS AS FAR AS THE BASTARDS ARE GOING."




I have lived in and around the Fort Bragg area for many years. There are not too many of WWII paratrooper veterans left, but I have had the honor to meet a few over the years. I knew a retired Sergeant Major who served with the 101st in Normandy, the Low Countries and was at Bastogne. I asked him once, "How did you do it? How on Earth did paratroopers fight tanks, and hold out?"

"Oh, well, we just did what we had to do to stay alive."

"I always heard they put you guys in there without any winter gear?"

"All we had was bedsheets, white bedsheets, over our uniforms."

"Oh man. How did you do it? How did you deal with the cold?"

"Oh my Lord, that was the coldest I have ever been in my entire life. I will never forget that cold, as long as I live. On Christmas day, they served turkey stew. We were on the front lines, we'd have to go back one at a time. They'd fill our canteen cups with turkey stew, and by the time we'd get back to our positions, the turkey stew would be frozen solid."

Kind of puts the great Blizzard of 2009 into perspective, doesn't it? - S.L.

BATTLE OF WATERLOO

Today is the 194th anniversary of the great Battle of Waterloo. 25,000 Frenchmen killed or wounded, 7,000 captured, 15,000 missing; 22,000 Englishmen, Dutchmen and Germans killed or wounded; all in the space of an afternoon.
Lord Arthur Wellesley the Duke of Wellington
Several myths and legends surround the Iron Duke; he was English coolness-under-fire, personified. One anecdote has him napping under a tree with a newspaper over his face when his subordinates alerted him to the nearby presence of the Emperor of France, Napoleon himself. "Shall we shoot at him, sir?" The cool-as-a-cucumber-reply, "Certainly not! Generals have far more important things to do than take potshots at each other."
Other notables include Prince William of Orange, future King of the Netherlands. This is back when royalty earned their titles, apparently; Prince William was wounded during the battle.

Prince William of Orange

Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher arrived late in the day. His Prussian Legions tipped the balance of power on the battlefield and decided the issue.
Field Marshall Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher
At the height of the battle, the French cavalry charge the British lines:

The British Infantry squares held, of course. Here's how it looked to the oncoming French:

My neighbor in Stuttgart, an elderly gentleman who remembered the French coming to town at the end of World War II, said this of Napoleon: "Only Hitler was worse!"

When my youngest daughter was one, we used to joke and call her "Napoleon" because she had a curl like this in the middle of her forehead. She used to sulk just like this, as well.


Waterloo is a tiny village in Belgium, just south of Brussels. I was able to visit this place when I was stationed in Germany.

Viewing the great panoramic painting of the battle, inside the ancient museum. The panorama was painted by Demoulin at the turn of the century.

Team member VA Shepard once remarked, "Napoleon had his Waterloo, we had Gettysburg. The difference was, after Gettysburg our war still ran on for two more years."

I cannot imagine combat on this scale.



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THIS WOULD BE DROP-DEAD FUNNY . . .

. . . if it wasn't so deadly serious:

LA TIMES: Al Qaeda Recruits Back in Europe, But Why?

The incredible adventure story of wannabe Jihadi's and their harrowing journey to BadGuyLandistan . . . the teaser line beneath the headline says it all:

"Four men say their training experience in Pakistan wasn't what they hoped for. Anti-terrorism officials wonder if they're just biding their time, ready to strike in Europe."

Read this remarkable story down to the telling line:

"Anti-terrorism forces have detected at least one American, a convert to Islam, who trained with Al Qaeda in Pakistan during the last year, Western officials say."

The United States has had traitors in every war it's been in. This one is no different.

STORMBRINGER SENDS