Battle of the Bulge

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81 years ago today, the crew of a 105mm artillery piece belonging to the 9th Armored Division load and fire on enemy positions during a concentrated barrage near the border of Luxembourg. 🪖

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During the Battle of the Bulge, Pvt. Charles Preston of the 5th Infantry Division brushes snow from a M1917 Browning machine gun mounted on his jeep as his unit moves in against the German offensive. 🪖

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In December of 1944, a US 1st Army soldier mans an 81mm mortar while listening for fire direction on a field phone during the German Ardennes offensive. 🪖

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In December of 1944, paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division move out of Bastogne. 🪖

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81 years ago today, men of the 82nd Airborne’s 325th Glider Infantry Regiment move through the fog to their new position in the Ardennes. 🪖

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On this day in 1864, Savannah, Georgia falls to the Union army. The following day, General Sherman offers the city to President Lincoln as an early Christmas present.

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Today in 1944, General Anthony McAuliffe of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division gives a famously succinct reply to a German ultimatum demanding the surrender of Bastogne: "Nuts!"

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Eisenhower asks Patton when he could launch a counterattack on the enemy, "As soon as you're through with me." Patton said. "The Kraut has stuck his head in a meat grinder, and this time I've got hold of the handle!" 🇺🇸

Patton mobilized 3 divisions and moves them to Bastogne. 🪖

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Today in 1894, a Jewish officer in the French army by the name of Alfred Dreyfus is falsely convicted of treason for supposedly passing military secrets to Germany. A decade later, the revelation that he is in fact innocent rocks France and lays bare deep rooted antisemitism.

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In December of 1944, an American patrol moves in on a smoldering tank to check the status of its occupants in Belgium. 🪖

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In December of 1943, a machine gun crew of the 5th Army loads a pack mule with a machine gun & ammunition for the long trek up a mountain pass near Venafro, Italy. 🪖

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During the Battle of the Bulge, the Luftwaffe made an attempt to supply SS Kampfgruppe Peiper from the air. ✈️

Only about 10% of the dropped supplies, fuel, ammunition, food, landed in German-held territory, the rest was taken care of by grateful American soldiers.🇺🇸

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81 years ago today, General Anthony McAulliffe is formally asked to surrender by the Germans.

His reply: NUTS! 🇺🇸

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Soviet assault on Koenigsberg with a ZiS-2 57mm anti-tank gun and PPSh-41 submachine guns in April, 1945.

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81 years ago today, an American soldier tries to absorb some warmth from the pale sunlight in freezing temperatures during the Siege of Bastogne. 🪖

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Today in 1914, a German plane appears over Dover, England and drops the first bomb to ever fall on British soil in wartime. It lands in a garden in the town. "We didn't then know that it was possible for an aeroplane to come over and drop bombs in anger," recalls one resident.

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On this day in 1814, the Treaty of Ghent officially ends the war between the United States and Great Britain. News of the peace deal takes weeks to reach the frontlines where the fighting continues into the new year.

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Merry Christmas 🎄 everyone