- Pronouns
- He/Him
Picture it in your mind, you are an allied soldier serving in the Ardennes region of France. It is January 25th 1945 and you are standing watch when suddenly the thick forest comes to life, yelling, gun fire and in the distance tank shells and artillery begin firing in earnest. Your first thought is the cold is setting off mines which sounds like incoming fire, but the noise gets louder and closer and suddenly it is all too real.
You're in trouble.
No where to run, no where to hide. Your unit is surrounded. Weeks ago when the 101st Airborne received the surrender demand, the response of 'Nuts!' from General Anthony McAuliffe was more than chutzpah, it was the combined determination of the entire 101st Airborne to hold Bastogne and to turn back the incoming Germans and to save the shattered front line of the Allies. Now, as your unit begins to surrender you wonder where does the war go from here now that Germany has won the 'Battle of the Bulge'.
Now that is obviously just a dramatization, as we all know the Allies conquered more than bad weather and the near improbability of a single division holding Bastogne against as many as 5 or 6 times their strength. But the what ifs that abound with the Battle of the Bulge are almost as many as with Stalingrad. What if Patton's 3rd Army never reached Bastogne or if the weather did not clear up. How far could the offensive have gone? What if the Battle of Elsenborn Ridge wasn't where the Allies stopped the German advance cold?
The purpose of this debate is to rewrite history and to ask and answer the questions that may arise. Could Germany have won? If so, could they sustain the offensive and prolong the war in Europe? Or was this the final gasp of the Reich, doomed at the start against the might of nearly 100 Allied Divisions standing at the front line to counter them and drive them back into the fatherland.
You're in trouble.
No where to run, no where to hide. Your unit is surrounded. Weeks ago when the 101st Airborne received the surrender demand, the response of 'Nuts!' from General Anthony McAuliffe was more than chutzpah, it was the combined determination of the entire 101st Airborne to hold Bastogne and to turn back the incoming Germans and to save the shattered front line of the Allies. Now, as your unit begins to surrender you wonder where does the war go from here now that Germany has won the 'Battle of the Bulge'.
Now that is obviously just a dramatization, as we all know the Allies conquered more than bad weather and the near improbability of a single division holding Bastogne against as many as 5 or 6 times their strength. But the what ifs that abound with the Battle of the Bulge are almost as many as with Stalingrad. What if Patton's 3rd Army never reached Bastogne or if the weather did not clear up. How far could the offensive have gone? What if the Battle of Elsenborn Ridge wasn't where the Allies stopped the German advance cold?
The purpose of this debate is to rewrite history and to ask and answer the questions that may arise. Could Germany have won? If so, could they sustain the offensive and prolong the war in Europe? Or was this the final gasp of the Reich, doomed at the start against the might of nearly 100 Allied Divisions standing at the front line to counter them and drive them back into the fatherland.
Anyone have anything to add?