Vivid new Battle of the Bulge photos
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These are amazing Sam. The picture of the soldiers in the snow is outstanding, there is something about the grainy pictures that removes some of the realism. These clear pictures really transport you there.
Great stuff, thanks for sharing. |
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Funny - i thought this thread was going to be photos of snookie gaining weight again and bulging over :)
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Great pics! Thanks so much for posting the link Sam.
Love this one: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/...39_470x677.jpg |
Family lore has it that one of my uncles got a Purple Heart during the Battle of the Bulge (Eugene Bay, of Cambridge, Ohio). I tried to research that online real quick but could not. Anyway, he always down-played his medal in particular in view of the service of other family members.
But ... everything I think I know about the battle I learned from the History Channel (or somewhere). Needless to say to history buffs, the battle was a surprise counterattack by the fast retreating Germans in a desperate gamble to counter-attack somewhere ... anywhere ... just perhaps to check the Allied advance. But the Allied air forces reigned supreme over the skies at that point. The Germans could not effectively move tank and/or armor divisions at night without being readily discovered. So the Germans gambled on foul, over-cast weather. And the gamble worked ... for a while ... for the while, that is, that the Allied planes were grounded due to inclimate weather. The Germans could concentrate power without being detected and without being vulnerable in any event to the overwhelming Allied air power. So you might notice that the pictures during the heaviest fighting are under overcast skies. That last picture shows what was one of the chief factors that quickly counter-checked the German concentration of power:– clearing skies. When the skies were clear enough, the Allied planes came roaring back, like angry hornets. And those contrails show that. |
If you are interested in the Battle of Bulge read about Lt. Eric Fisher Wood, Jr. He was a bad ass that kept fighting when the rest of his squad surrendered. He waged a private guerilla war on the Germans...
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My Grandfather was in the Battle of the Bulge. He was wounded, captured and held as a POW for 6 months. I used to be in the Army, and he picked me up from Basic Training graduation and told me the whole story of it. It was completely amazing, he talked of the cold, hunger and countless forced marches. He also hadn't told anyone else in my family, I felt honored.
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It would be absolutely amazong to speak with anyone that would share their experience in the war. I never did a lot of travelling when I was younger because I have always really been in to my sports like wakeboarding and such so that is where I spent most of my money. I would love to do a WWII inspired trip to see all the sites.
My dad has always been a history buff and a few years ago when the first Band of Brother's came out I got in to it more. I think everyone should have to watch that series to get some sort of idea what these soldiers went through. I personally can't even imagine being in any of those type of situations especially back in the 40's when clothing wasn't what it is today. Just wearing a pair of leather boots in the snow. May be if more people actually thought about it we wouldn't have things like Occupy Wall Street. We should send everyone through a tour of Auschwitz or Dachau and maybe they will change their tune. Men coming home from war were just happy to be alive and to see the sense of intitlement people have today is disgusting. |
While not the Battle of the Bulge, I'm reading my great uncle's journal that he kept while flying missions during operation torch. He just wrote a few words each day about the missions he was flying but it tells the story. Pretty amazing stuff.
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"May be if more people actually thought about it we wouldn't have things like Occupy Wall Street."
That will be the day when the one percent go to war! anyway, all my dad has ever said about the battle of the Bulge was that it was snowy like in the second picture posted here, kinda pretty without the tanks! |
"May be if more people actually thought about it we wouldn't have things like Occupy Wall Street."
Things like Occupy Wall Street and other protests are what we were fighting for. |
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