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December 16, 1944 As predicted, the weather over northeast France and eastern Belgium has turned rotten!
Overcast, unusually cold weather and snow to blizzard level.
Just what Hitler wanted, so he could launch his drive across Belgium to the port city of Antwerp..and he could do it without the overwhelming air power the allies could launch to foil his plans.
Hitler launched his operation, making great progress, except for that unique town named Bastogne, where several major highways intersected. The town was key to Hitlers plan, since his armored divisions needed those roads.
One problem, the 101st Airborne division held that town, and wasn't about to give it up very easily. So Bastogne was soon surrounded on all sides by German forces.
Gen Eisenhower fully understood how key Bastogne was, to stopping the the thrust designed by the Nazi leader. Unfortunately, since the Ardennes was considered a "quiet" area, so there was no effective units nearby to break the encirclement.
In desperation, Ike calls upon "Old Blood & Guts", whose 3rd Army is far down in the Alsace sector, well over a hundred miles south of Bastogne, readying itself to break through the Siegfried line and advance into the Saarland area of Germany.
Patton says "I can be there with the 3rd army, within 4 days"... Well he did it in 3 days! He wheeled the 3rd Army 90 degrees , to place it on a course to Bastogne.
Considering the inclement weather, the logistics and mechanical challenges, many said that no other general at the time could have accomplished such a feat, but Gen Patton's 4th Armored division was on hand to break into Bastogne.
First tank to enter Bastogne, was a lead tank of the 37th tank battalion..commanded by Lt Col Creighton Abrams.
Shortly after breaking through the German lines into Bastogne, Lt Col Abrams was told thatthe German forces had closed back up..to which Abrams quipped....
"So they have us surrounded again..the poor bastards !" This event is of particular interest to me, because in just a few months over 10 years later, I was serving in that same 4th Armored division.
For a time the 4th armored was referred to as the "breakthrough" division, because of this feat..but never adopted any such slogan..simply saying "name enough". However, it did earn those great 4th armored troops the French forteguerriers, which is a red & green braided decoration which wraps around the left shoulder.
We later 4th armored troops proudly wore that decoration, reminding us of the great courage of our predecessors of the 4th AD.
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2017/05/26/colonel-creighton-abrams-at-the-battle-of-the-bulge/
