4/29/2015 7:33:39 AM

Battered Bastards of Bastogne

From a soldier's point of view by John Enney

“T’was the 19th of December, …..of ‘44

Many allied soldiers are fighting; to survive one day more

The Battle of the Bulge is making its run

Encircled in Bastogne….. is the 101

Never heard was a complaint, nor a groan

From those ‘Battered Bastards of Bastogne’

Why were they there, you may ask

They were sent to do the impossible task

You must keep the railhead, they were told

If you can’t,….. the Allies will lose their hold

Many days and nights, …..they were trapped

While the thin allied defense lines, were being snapped

Supplies and ammo was very low

The weather nasty, from falling snow

Most had neither warm coat nor dry change of clothes

The weather prediction was for more coming snows

Food was low, no shelter, no phone

For those Battered Bastards of Bastogne

They didn’t give up, the enemy lost in the mist

But every man knew, when the ammo is gone, we’ll use the fist

Time after time,….. the German advances

Was stopped,.. because, they took their chance’s

They threw them back, the rest of the world could see

Fueled by their heritage to fight, to forever remain free

There would be no help from any allied friend

The Ardennes had fallen, it could spell the end

Because the lines had broken, the Germans ruthless

Any allied resistance, was proved to be useless

But they stopped them cold, though chilled through to the bone

Those ‘Battered Bastards of Bastogne’

The enemy tried pushing on, for victory they could see

So, their German general sent out, this decree

Surrender 101, you don’t have the guts

The answer from General McAuliffe was in one word: Nuts!

This answer was given, in a loud and proud tone

Those battered soldiers were his very own

As George Patton and his army, fought to gain ground

The Bastogne defenders, though shattered, held sound

They were neither shaken, nor surrender prone

Those ‘Battered Bastards of Bastogne’

Low on warm clothes, ammo and food

They didn’t waste their time to brood

Down to 3 rounds of ammunition, per defender

Their only thought was, “101 will not surrender”

No, they fought back, many of them boy’s half grown

Tough they were; ‘Those Battered Bastards of Bastogne

To help them hang on, just a bit longer

A plan was made, should they flounder

If the weather should clear, we need to fly

Their ammo is low, supplies running dry

So, to them, in bits and pieces, some supplies were flown

To save the ‘Battered Bastards of Bastogne’

December 26 arrived, a day not to forget

The day that the 101 and Patton met

Rescued and told, you cannot take rest

“You’ll fight”; you’re showing them, who’s the best

Across the Rhine, moving east

You’re going to stop that Nazi beast

The allies marched to the enemy front door

And forced their surrender, they were a threat no more

But let us not forget those, who stood alone

The Battered Bastards of Bastogne

War is nasty….. filled with strife

All gave some, a great many; their life

US soldiers have gone to foreign shores…, to lay their life on the line

To save citizens of other lands, not allowing civil world decline

We need to remember those soldiers, to never forget

They fought for our freedom, from General to Cadet

Remember our military, honor them well

It was revealed that Nazi rule, would be another kind of hell.

At the time of this war, it was either enlistment or the draft

They had to stop a Madman, whom was believed to be daft

When the call came, enlistment was this soldier’s choice

He came back to his loved one, her name was Loyce

This narrative is dedicated to my brothers, Roger, Terry and Randy.

Note: At the time of the Normandy storming, Dad was in the 82nd Airborne, but following that invasion, the 8th Air Corps, 17th, 82nd, and 101st Airborne morphed into one and the same unit. The 82nd was disbanded in 1948, but there is still a 101st Airborne to this day.

(From now I’ll refer to them as the 101st) The 101st was trained tough and back then, they were compared to the Rangers, a special force unit. Later days, they would morph into the Green Beret’s. (The Rangers) They are still held in revere to this day, having this reputation: “If it’s a tough job, send the tough unit, the 101st Airborne”.

To you that haven’t experienced the life of a serviceman, I’m going to enlighten you a bit. While being schooled when in basic training, it’s pounded into your head that your country comes first and you second. Those soldiers, whom either enlisted or were drafted for WW ll, had that same mindset. In those times of war, your time of duty lasted until the enemy either surrendered, you receive a wound that was a permanent handicap, or you lost your life. The Bastogne defenders knew going in that they had a tough assignment. Bastogne was the main intersection for roads and the railhead supplying the German advance; they converged there. In order to stop the Nazi advance, their supply lines needed to be cut. The US Army commanding general sent the 101st these orders: “You have to hold Bastogne, or we will lose all the gains we have made so far”.

They were outnumbered 5 to 1, an incoming bomb had hit the medical center and killed all the trained medical personnel present, there would be no air cover for help, and they had been fighting without rest for several weeks. Their supplies were exhausted and with the bad weather, and all 7 roads east, now back under Nazi control, re-supplying them would be almost impossible. General McAulliffe expressed these concerns to the higher command stating “they cannot do it, you are sacrificing * the 101st”. High command responded with “if we sacrifice them, that will be our only choice, we cannot let that railhead fall back under Nazi control”.

When General Von Luttwitz sent McAulliffe the surrender message, he gave them 2 hours to comply. If not “I’ll use 1 German artillery corps and 6 heavy AA Battalions to reoccupy Bastogne”. His famous reply of “Nuts” baffled the General, as he didn’t know its meaning.

Allied forces heard of the stubborn resistance of the 101st and that news boosted their morale immensely. Patton pushed his advancing army to their limits, stating, “If they can do it, so can you. They’re showing those Nazi sonsabitches just what a fighting soldier is, and how it’s done, and we’re not going to let them down. You will get to that railhead before it’s lost.

When they arrived, the 101st had done what was deemed impossible, by both the Allies and Germans; they had held the railhead.

Casualties for the 101st:

341 killed 1691 wounded 516 missing

Over 20% of them had frostbite from lack of proper winter clothing.

We brothers are lucky to be here.

When Patton arrived with his army, the Bastogne defenders didn’t get their needed rest; Patton directed them to continue the fight East, toward the German homeland.

The weather for those few days played a big factor in the outcome. It was misty/foggy to the point that the allied supply planes couldn’t fly, as visibility was down to about ¼ mile. However, the Germans couldn’t see anything either. That didn’t stop them from trying though. They launched attack after attack, but were thrown back each time, to the point that German moral was dropping. The 101st had the reputation of being tough and they used that to their advantage. Some of that reputation was exaggerated of course, but there was an incident that bolstered the story of the 101st being tougher than a Junkyard Dog. One document reads where 2 Germans surprised a lone sentry and managed to get his weapons. Somehow, he had regained the upper hand, and had knocked one of them unconscious with a well-directed punch. Still, without a weapon, he was fist fighting with the other German and holding the upper hand against him, when help finely arrived. His statement of “their 4 fists against my 2 wasn’t really a fair fight, I still had them outnumbered” made him an inner legend.

By late 1944, the Germans could see that the end was coming. Hitler ordered that all captured allied soldiers were to be shot; they were not to take any prisoners. Usually, prisoners were exchanged across to each side. I’m not sure if the Bastogne defenders were aware of that decree, as all the communication lines had been cut, or if they were informed and had that bit of added information to make them fight harder. But don’t make the same mistake that the Nazi’s and Allied high command did. They thought that it would be a matter time of before the 101st would be overrun. The Nazi’s learned the hard way that it isn’t the size of the dog in the fight, but rather, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.

Call those soldiers what you want; David verses Goliath, or the Mouse that roared. Or just call them what all their rescuers referred to them as: The Battered Bastards of Bastogne. They will always be remembered as the “ones that were victorious over impossible odds”.

But be proud of these Bastogne soldiers, and one in particular, our father, I sure am.

*Sacrificing a unit in war time means that if you lose 1 fighting man but can save 5, do it.

5/9/2016 7:22 AM

I wrote this a year ago and sent it down to Mother for Mother’s Day. I thought that you might want to read it.

On that line

They threw them back; the whole world could see

The press in London, and those that were following the fighting forces reporting back to the World Press, published that the 101st was surrounded in Bastogne. The press didn’t have anything directly from the 101st because the communication lines had been cut. However, they knew that Bastogne was being held, because the advancing German army wasn’t coming in sight. They also knew, and reported, that if Bastogne fell, the war would be extended for quite some time. That was what the whole world was watching.

Think Ernie Pyle, a war correspondent, he was in there somewhere and was doing the reporting on the fighting action. He relayed his information back to several World Press writers/reporters. Remember William Shirer, Eric Sevareid, and Edward R. Murrow? You may have read their reports on the allied advancements.

“To help them hang on just a bit longer”

The weather cleared for just a short time, so some supplies were dropped, although not nearly enough. Many of those soldiers didn’t even have cold weather shoes. That led to many with frost bit feet.

You are a believer; me not so much. Dad told this to me one time. When they were storming the beaches, the weapons firing, the explosions, soldiers dropping, their post Chaplin stood up and threw his arms skyward shouting; “We need help down here!! Don’t send your Boy on this one, this is a job for you”!! His clothing was hit; shells landing all around him, but not one piece of artillery hit his body.

He also told me of the conditions while the 101st was surrounded in Bastogne. I gleaned a lot of my information from my memory from someone that was there.

Every time I see some flag burner, someone walking on it, someone refusing to stand for the National Anthem, or the Pledge of Alliance being banned in the schools because it offends someone that never fought for it, I get angered. My Grandfather left his country and came here. He loved both of them, but was a loyal American through and through. Don’t expect me to defend anyone that doesn’t know the words to the Star-Spangled Banner or the Pledge of Alliance. “Nuff” said.

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