4. An Admirable American Defense was Put on Bastogne
During the early German advance through the Ardennes, the town of Bastogne stood in their way to cross the Meuse River. The small Belgian town rested at a crucial road junction, all seven roads through the Ardennes converged there. On December 19th the Germans attacked and had the town under siege by December 20th. The 101st Airborne Division under the command of Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe and other divisions were surrounded by German troops by December 21st and outnumbered 5 to 1. The men were low on supplies, had no cold-weather gear, little ammunition, and no senior leadership as most of the commanders had been dispatched elsewhere. With terrible weather conditions, reinforcements were slow and there was no way for planes to drop supplies or provide tactical support.
Despite the bad situation, the G.I.s responded with defiance and sarcastic comments. When an ultimatum was given by the Germans to surrender, General McAuliffe did not know what to answer. His men, remembering a funny response he had given to his superior, urged him to respond the same way: “Nuts!”. In a typewriter, the 4-letter word was written and sent to the Germans, which had to be translated. The bravery of the men at Bastogne never faltered despite suffering heavy losses. The divisions held the city on their own until December 26th when General Patton arrived with his 3rd Army and pushed the Germans back.