Seven American and German Soldiers Sat Down and Enjoyed a Christmas Dinner Together During the Battle of the Bulge
Elisabeth Vincken had listened to artillery fire for eight straight days before someone knocked on her cottage door on Christmas Eve in 1944. She opened it to find three lost American soldiers, one with a gunshot wound. Hours later, four German Wehrmacht soldiers showed up as well. The German woman forced both groups to surrender […]
The 106th Infantry Division's Forgotten Sacrifice During the Battle of the Bulge
On Dec. 16 1944, German artillery opened fire on an inexperienced American division that had been at the front for less than a week. Within 72 hours, two entire regiments of the 106th Infantry Division ceased to exist. Approximately 7,000 American soldiers became prisoners of war in one of the largest mass surrenders in U.S. […]
101st Airborne Division Troops Return to Bastogne to Mark 80th Anniversary of Battle of the Bulge
“The snow turned red,” machine gunner Vincent Speranza recalled, as the hastily dug-in troops of the 101st Airborne Division opened up on attacking German infantry and tanks to defend the Belgian crossroads town of Bastogne 80 years ago. Then-Pvt. 1st Class Speranza, the son of Italian immigrants, said his lieutenant had ordered the first-line defenders […]