[1 of 4]

New Year's Eve in the Battle of the Bulge.

It snows all day. Patton thought the Germans might take advantage of the bad weather and attack when we can't take advantage of our air superiority.

Good news: the boys receive a desperately-needed resupply of boots!
[2 of 4]

Around this time (~5PM, which was about last light) American observers see German artillery moving forward into new gun pits.
[3 of 4]

As a result, some planned New Year's celebrations were cancelled and the boys are placed on high alert.

It was freezing. It was an absolutely miserable New Year.

The American and British boys wait for an attack that never manifests.
[END]

War correspondent Alex Pickley writes: "Never was the world plagued by such a year less worth remembering." [Alex never met 2020]

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with XVIII Airborne Corps🐉

XVIII Airborne Corps🐉 Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @18airbornecorps

2 Jan
[1 of 5]

January 2, 1945.

It is around this time in the fight that the proximity fuze (a highly guarded secret developed through British/US cooperation in the early stages of WWII) saw it first use against German ground troops in the Battle of the Bulge. Image
[2 of 5]

The fuze allowed our artillery greater effectiveness against troops in the open.

The proximity (or "VT") fuze exploded at a preset distance in the air, allowing gunners to fire shells to explode over German positions, showering them with deadly shell fragments. Image
[3 of 5]

Patton in a letter to the War Department during the Battle of the Bulge: "The new shell with the funny fuze is devastating. I'm glad you all thought of it first." Image
Read 5 tweets
1 Jan
[1 of 15]

New Year's Day, 1945: THE HANGOVER

The Battle of the Bulge continues....
[2 of 15]

On the morning of January 1, 1945, Hitler launches Operation Bodenplatte (Baseplate), an aerial assault by more than 900 Luftwaffe [Looft-wah-fah] planes flying at treetop altitude against Allied planes parked on airfields.

[Luftwaffe = aerial branch of the Wehrmacht]
[3 of 15]

Keep in mind that by this time, the Luftwaffe was neutralized by Allied air superiority and had lost a sizable chunk of its trained pilots to Allied air strikes.

The Germans had no control over the skies.
Read 15 tweets
31 Dec 20
1914. 1945. 1968.

Some years are so eventful, they are immediately recognized as pivotal to American history.

The year 2020 is certain to join the list.

Together, we'll revisit a chaotic, heartbreaking, inspirational journey in 21 tweets.

Let's do 2020 in 21.

[1 of 21]
[2 of 21]

The year was gutting for many Americans.

Yet it was a time when we persevered together, when the true character of the Nation revealed itself.
[3 of 21]

It started with a crisis. It would not be the last.

On January 1st, while most Americans were celebrating the dawn of a promising year, hundreds of Corps Soldiers were deploying to Iraq in response to inflamed passions in that country's capital.
Read 21 tweets
30 Dec 20
KING OF THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE: A THREAD IN 11 TWEETS

Few campaigns have exemplified the versatility, courage, & aggressiveness of the American artillery as well as the Battle of Bastogne. The battle illustrates what well-managed artillery can do in support of light infantry.
[2 of 11]

January 1st-8th, 1945, saw the greatest artillery battle of #WWII. Moving to positions on the outer fringe of the bulge, our artillery fought day and night ceaselessly, without rest or respite, in bitterly cold weather.
[3 of 11]

Observation was difficult; liaison air activity was restricted to a minimum. Despite this, arty inflicted massive casualties on Panzer troops & equipment. Artillery fire repeatedly broke up counterattacks as they were being formed.
Read 11 tweets
30 Dec 20
[1 of 10]

The Battle of the Bulge continues. It's Day 14

Let's pick up where we left off yesterday.

[2 of 10]

Ike was already mad at Monty.

On the AM of Sat, Dec 30, 1944, when super-nice guy Freddie De Guingand [this man], Monty's Chief of Staff, shows up in Ike's HQ in Versailles to report that Monty's wont' start the offensive until at least Jan 3rd, Ike has had it.
[3 of 10]

Ike is out with all of this. He can't even.

He tells Freddie and "Beetle" Smith (his own Chief of Staff, this man), he's going to write a telegram to the Joint Chiefs of Staff in DC with an ultimatum: it's either Monty or I.

One of us has to go.
Read 10 tweets
29 Dec 20
[1 of 7]

The Allies are preparing to turn the tables on the Germans.

It's Day 13 of the Battle of the Bulge.

We opened this account one year ago and since then we've spent a lot of time talking about Bernard Law Montgomery.

Not our favorite.
[2 of 7]

Monty seems to always overplay every hand, to press every advantage, to try to capitalize on every situation.

The man can't help himself.

On December 29, 1944, he does it again.
[3 of 7]

Amidst final prep for the Allied counterattack against the German forces, Monty writes Eisenhower a note.
Read 7 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!