On Dec. 22, 1944, during the darkest days of the Battle of the Bulge, General Anthony McAuliffe replied to a German demand for the American surrender with one word: “Nuts!”
McAuliffe's command, the 101st Airborne, continued to hold out until it was relieved by the Third Army five days later.
The previous spring, American, British and other Allied forces had landed a massive military force in Normandy, France, that liberated Paris within weeks.
The Allied triumphs were checked in September, however, when the ambitious Operation Market-Garden failed to capture a key bridge in Holland. Many who believed that the war in Europe would be over by Christmas faced the reality that the war would drag on into 1945. By the beginning of December 1944, the Allied armies in Europe prepared to slow down operations against Nazi Germany until the spring.
Anticipating a quiet winter while the Germans husbanded their resources for the next year, the Allies were taken completely by surprise when the Wehrmacht launched a major attack into Allied positions in Belgium, Luxembourg and France on Dec. 16. The attack sprang from the dense Ardennes forest region, which provided plenty of cover for the Germans' movements. The Germans had exploited the area in 1940 with their initial invasion of France, and now it appeared that history was repeating itself.
Chaos reigned in the Allied lines for days as generals and soldiers desperately tried to stem the German tide. Cooks and regimental band members — enlisted men who hadn't touched a rifle since basic training — were suddenly thrust into the battle. Critically, the Allies' great advantage — air power — was negated by the snowy conditions. The weather ensured that no Allied planes were present to interdict and harass the Wehrmacht's advance.
Though Germany's greatest threat lay to its east, with the massive Russian Red Army barreling toward Berlin, Adolf Hitler believed this gamble in the west would pay off.
Hitler's hope was two-fold: First, he hoped his armies would reach the critical Allied port and supply dump at Antwerp, Belgium. There they could capture oil and other resources that were in short supply in Germany. Secondly, Hitler hoped that if he could deal a stunning blow to the American and British armies, the Western Allies would sue for peace and he could turn the full weight of the Wehrmacht against the Russians.
The strategy characterized Hitler's increasingly wishful thinking. Had the attack succeeded, it is unlikely the Allies would have given up. By late 1944, both the British and the Americans were committed to defeating Hitler, and both took seriously their pledge to their Soviet ally not to abandon the struggle.
Sitting in the middle of the Wehrmacht's path was the Belgian town of Bastogne. Like Gettysburg in an American war 80 years earlier, Bastogne had an important geographic significance: It was a spot where many roads came together, making it logistically important for the Americans to hold and the Germans to take.
With Bastogne in German hands, it would be much easier to keep the Wehrmacht supplied, reinforced and maneuverable. Without it, such military necessities would prove much more difficult.
Shortly after the beginning of the attack, the American 101st Airborne Division, a unit that served to great effect at both Normandy and Market-Garden, was ordered to Bastogne to hold the critical town. Within days of the assault, the Germans' Fifth Panzer Army sent three divisions toward Bastogne, and one German commander noted that the town was “an abscess on our line of communication” because it was in the 101st's hands.
The 101st Airborne prepared for battle despite a lack of proper command leadership. The division's commander, Maxwell Taylor, had flown to Washington, D.C., for a meeting with his superiors. The second-in-command was in England discussing the failures of Market-Garden with other officers. Also, the division's chief of staff had committed suicide a few days before the battle. By default, command of the 101st Airborne fell to McAuliffe, its artillery commander.
In his book “The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945,” historian Rick Atkinson wrote: “Having graduated from West Point at the end of World War I, McAuliffe had risen slowly through the ranks of the interwar Army as a gunner with an interest in both technological and sociological innovation: before joining the 101st, he had worked on development of the jeep and the bazooka, and on a study of race relations in the service. He had parachuted into Normandy and landed by glider in Holland; now he drove to Bastogne at the head of a division he led by default.”
On Dec. 20, the German spearheads clashed with the GIs at the edge of town, and before long the American positions in Bastogne felt the full weight of the Wehrmacht's assault. Atkinson notes that “Forty Sherman tanks were demolished in a single night.” The American lines held despite the savagery of the fighting, and U.S. engineers began work to block roads and passes, forcing the enemy to seek unobstructed avenues for its advance.
The situation was growing desperate for the Americans. Food and ammunition were running low, and the Germans appeared to be gaining ground. After two days of intense fighting and constant shelling of the American positions by the heavy 88 German guns, the Wehrmacht sent a four-man delegation, under a flag of truce, into the American lines. They carried a note for the 101st's commander that read:
“The fortune of war is changing ... There is only one possibility to save the encircled USA troops from total annihilation: In order to think it over, a term of two hours will be granted beginning with the presentation of this note. If this proposal should be rejected, one German artillery corps and six heavy AA battalions are ready to annihilate ... All the serious civilian losses caused by this artillery fire would not correspond with the well-known American humanity.”
To this, McAuliffe responded with his famous one-word reply: “Nuts!”
The uncomprehending English-speaking German officer who received the note asked if the reply was in the affirmative or in the negative. He was assured the response was “decidedly not affirmative.”
The American delivering the reply then stated, “We will kill every (expletive) German that tries to break into this city.”
The battle continued to rage, and men on both sides perished. A few days later on Christmas Eve, McAuliffe issued a statement to his men: “We are giving our country and our loved ones at home a worthy Christmas present and, being privileged to take part in this gallant feat of arms, are truly making for ourselves a Merry Christmas. A. C. McAuliffe, commanding.”
In his book “Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne From Normandy to Hitler's Eagle Nest,” historian Stephen E. Ambrose wrote: “The men were not as upbeat as General McAuliffe. They had cold white beans for their Christmas Eve dinner while the division staff had a turkey dinner, served on a table with a tablecloth, a small Christmas tree, knives and forks and plates.”
The assault against the 101st at Bastogne finally ended on Dec. 27 when elements from George S. Patton's Third Army attacked the Germans from the south, breaking their siege of the town.
The 101st Airborne Division at Bastogne has gone down as one of the greatest military defensive actions in history. The courage and determination of the defenders of Bastogne kept significant German forces tied up during the first critical days of the Battle of the Bulge and helped to shatter Hitler's hopes for victory.
Cody K. Carlson holds a master's degree in history from the University of Utah and currently teaches at SLCC. Cody has also appeared on many local stages, including Hale Centre Theatre and Off Broadway Theatre. Email: ckcarlson76@gmail.com.