Battle of the Bulge ... German spies behind Allied lines

From World War II: An Interactive Package of Media and Text (1989, pp. 320-321):

A feature of the attack was the activities of the so-called 150th Panzer Brigade, a unit of some 2,000 English-speaking German commandos who knew American service slang and customs.

Under Colonel Otto Skorzeny, using captured American Jeeps and wearing American combat jackets over their German uniforms, the Germans advanced far ahead of the main force, cutting telephone wires, turning sign posts, setting up false red minefield indicators and creating as much confusion as possible. Each was under orders, if captured, to tell their captors that thousands of Germans were loose in American uniforms, driving Jeeps.

The success of the first group was outstanding -- forty Jeeps got through the American lines to commit their sabotage, and all but eight got back again. Those that were captured duly carried out their orders and spread rumors of a vast force of Germans in U.S. uniform -- with the result that huge traffic jams developed on the narrow roads through the forest as Jeeps were stopped and checked. Hundreds of Ameican soldiers who failed to prove their American origin by answering check questions correctly were arrested. Many a GI had cause to reflect in the cooler that a little more attention to school day lessons about the height of the Empire State Building and the content of the Gettysburg Address might have saved him a lot of bother.

Later groups of ... saboteurs were less successful although one man captured on the 19th launched a fresh rumor of an attempt on Eisenhower's life which caused a rash of extra security precautions that did much to slow the Supreme Commander's progress for days.

Since the activities of the 150th Panzer Brigade were entirely contrary to the Geneva Convention, the Americans began summarily to try and shoot the men captured in U.S. uniform, and this ended their incursions.[my emphasis]

More World War II history should be taught in public schools.

WW II: Battle of the Bulge ... beginning of the end

December 16, 1944 ... sixty-three years ago today ... World War II's Battle of the Bulge began in Belgium and Luxembourg between the Allied forces and Germany. One of the coldest winters on record in Europe, there was snow, freezing rain, frigid temperatures approaching 0 degrees.

Half-a-million Americans took part in the series of battles that lasted until January 25, 1945, including two of my uncles, recently deceased, who had trouble with frostbite on their feet all their lives as a result of that battle. As a child, I heard them talk about the winter weather of the war but had no idea how intense that cold or that battle were until adulthood.

It was the beginning of the end of World War II ... Hitler's plan was to break through the Allied line but he succeeded in only creating a "bulge." He pushed the Allies back 60 miles but by Christmas they had retaken the lose positions.

Over 1 million combatants were involved including 500,000 U.S. troops, 500,000 Germans, and 55,000 British. Casualties were high with 81,000 Americans affected including 19,000 who were killed, 34,000 injured, and 23,500 captured ... the Germans suffered over 100,000 killed, wounded, or captured.

Most of those involved in the battle were young men in their teens or early 20s. They were half a world away from home, it was Christmas time, and the weather was unbearably cold. And, yet, they did what they had to do to protect the world. Some came home ... some did not. Those who survived are now World War II veterans in their 80s and 90s.

We honor and thank them for their sacrifice ... not only for the U.S. but also for the world.

More information about the Battle of the Bulge:
- Battle of the Bulge
- Battle of the Bulge
- Battle of the Bulge