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Here's something good on women's health and longevity. To learn more, go to lifemd.com slash iHeart. This is Lee Habib and this is Our American Stories. On December 15th, 1944, it looked as if the Allies had the war in Europe in the bag, as some might say. France was back under Allied control, and to the east, the metaphorical elephant in the room that was the Soviet Union crept closer and closer to Berlin with each passing day.
That would all change on December 16th when Adolf Hitler made one last-ditch attempt to force Britain and the United States into a negotiated surrender. The offensive would become known as the Battle of the Bulge, and one American general named Anthony McAuliffe was about to make a name for himself with a single word. Here to tell the story is Kirk Higgins, Vice President of Content at the Bill of Rights Institute. Let's get into this story. Take it away, Kirk.
December twenty second, nineteen forty four, Best One. Belgium. Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe and his troops were in trouble. McAuliffe and his men, mainly from the 101st Airborne Division, were tasked with defending and holding Bastogne at all costs. The Germans were hoping to reverse their dwindling fortunes in World War II by launching a surprise attack.
McCallus' men had fought bravely, but the odds were stacked against them. A letter was sent to McAuliffe from the German commander demanding the American forces surrender. The fortune of war is changing, the letter warned. The USA forces in and around Bastan. have become completely surrounded by superior German armoured units.
The only possibility to spare the American troops from total annihilation. in their honorable surrender. That is when McAuliffe sent a famous and curt reply celebrated to this day. Nuts. The Germans were confused by the American expression, but the American commander who delivered the note made the meaning clear.
Nuts. meant go to hell. In that one short note, he had summed up the courageous and relentless spirit that had defined his entire life. Um Anthony McAuliffe was born in 1898 in Washington, D.C. His parents stressed the importance of education and had a sizable home library.
He became an avid reader and a talented student. He had hoped to earn a spot at the United States Military Academy at West Point upon graduating high school, but there was a problem. Washington, D.C. had no representation in Congress, and he could not get a congressional appointment. He was undeterred.
He spent a year at the University of West Virginia, established residency, and secured his appointment to West Point. He would not spend much time there. With World War I raging in Europe, West Point was operating at an accelerated schedule. McAuliffe would finish his studies at West Point just as the war was ending. He did not see any combat, but, of course, that would not last.
Even during peacetime, the U.S. Army realized it had a talented officer and Anthony McAuliffe. He oversaw the development of the Jeep and the M1 rocket launcher, also known as the Bazooka. By 1935, he was promoted to the rank of captain. But, with war clouds looming on the horizon, his promotions came more quickly.
Between September 1941 and August 1942, McAuliffe was promoted to lieutenant colonel, then colonel, and finally brigadier general. By 1942, McAuliffe was serving as an artillery commander for the 101st Airborne Division.
Now a middle-aged man and commanding troops half his age, he was not slowing down at all. McAuliffe, at the age of 44 years old, learned how to parachute out of airplanes. McAuliffe parachuted into Normandy in the early hours of June 6, 1944. McAuliffe led a force that captured and held the town of Carentan, fighting hedgerow to hedgerow. Months later, Makaloff rode a glider into the Netherlands to command troops in Operation Marketgarten, a fierce battle to outflank German forces at Sease Key Bridges.
However, They were too lightly armed to face a German panzer assault. After the ill-fated attack, the exhausted American airborne units were sent back to France for rest after a grueling campaign. They would not get to rest for long. McAuliffe was a man who led from the front, shoulder to shoulder with his troops. He had already shown great courage during the war, and soon he would have to draw on that courage.
to lead his men through a siege from desperate German forces. By December 1944, the war effort was going poorly for Adolf Hitler. The Allies had liberated Paris and the Germans were under relentless pressure from Soviet forces to the east and American and British forces to the west. Himmler tried one last desperate gamble. On December 16, 1944, German forces launched their last major offensive of the war, a fierce movement that became known as the Battle of the Bulge.
Hitler's goals were ambitious. He wanted his troops to fight their way through the Ardennes forest, split American and British forces, and capture the critical city of Antwerp. A strategically important supply port, Hitler hoped by capturing Antwerp, he could cut off vital supplies to Allied troops and perhaps negotiate for peace. Chaos reigned supreme in the desperate fighting. Nobody knew it.
Nobody realized it. Not even the Allied High Command. The Germans had saved up. 25 divisions. Eisenhower sent word out to the 101st Airborne Division, get up there.
The Germans achieved total surprise, their armor cut through American lines, and casualties mounted. Yeah, there was snow all over the road, all over the ground. And There's like a mist You can't see anything yet. But the German tanks were on the left flank, right flank. And they opened up and artillery started.
To stall the German advance, McAuliffe and the 101st Airborne were deployed to Bastogne and ordered to hold it at all costs. They grabbed as much equipment, ammunition, and rations as they could hold and hopped on hundreds of army trucks, racing at full speed, while the Germans approached Bastogne with heavy firepower and moved to encircle the town. Conditions were brutal, temperatures were below zero, and American troops were short on crucial supplies, including ammunition, food, medicine, and warm clothing. The situation was dire. They were lightly armed, but determined to hold the line.
By December 20, 1944, German forces had Bastogne surrounded, and they outnumbered American forces by about five to one. Two days later, German forces believed McAuliffe and the 101st Airborne had reached their breaking point. We were given an order by the German commander to surrender or be annihilated. McAuliffe didn't need a letter from the Germans to tell him that he and his men were in a tough spot. He read the letter and reportedly exclaimed angrily: us?
Surrender? Ah, nuts. McAuliffe and his officers discussed how best to respond to the Germans. Lieutenant Colonel Harry Kinnard told McAuliffe he liked his initial response best. Nuts.
But call for Greed. He wrote four letters on that paper. N U T S To the German commander. Nuts. The Americans would not surrender, and the German assault continued.
McAuliffe and his troops were bombarded for six long days. On December 26, 1944, troops from General George S. Patton's Third Army reached them. They broke the German stranglehold on the city and relieved and reinforced McAuliffe's troops. For his defensive best own, McAuliffe was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and promoted to Major General.
By March and April, the Allies were swarming over the country, enforcing the surrender of hundreds of thousands.
Meanwhile, the Soviets closed in from the east and captured Berlin. By May 7th, 1945, the Germans signed an unconditional surrender in France, and the war formally ended. The following day, May 8th, the war in Europe was over. Yeah. General Anthony McAuliffe died on August 10, 1975, at the age of 77.
He was buried with full honours at Arlington National Cemetery. The central square in Baston, Belgium, where he and his men fought so bravely, is now known as Place General Macaulay. The headquarters building for the Hundred and First Airborne at Fort Campbell in Kentucky now bears his name too. But Mauliff and his men are perhaps best remembered as enduring symbols of courage against overwhelming odds. courage that was summed up by one word when they were asked to surrender.
Nuts. And a special thanks to Kirk Higgins for his storytelling and to the Bill of Rights Institute for sending us these stories. To find out more about what they do, go to mybri.org: the story of General Anthony McAuliffe's moment of defiance during the Battle of the Bulge. Here on Our American Stories. This is Tony A.O.
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