THE PROMINENT ST-VITH BATTLE, AT LONG LAST OVERPASSES THE BASTOGNE LEGEND...
VOLUME XXVI NUMBER 3 THE ARDENNES CAMPAIGN AUGUST 2007
106TH NOT RECOGNIZED
[Editedslightly] I came across the article, on page 25, indicating a book Alamo in the
Ardennes was soon to be published. The release date was supposed to be March 5,
2007.
Nowhere in
the write-up, in bold print, did I see a reference to the 106th Infantry
Division. ... Evidently he has not researched the maps and battle positions of
all those outfits that participated in the Battle of the Bulge.
..., he
would have noticed that the 106th Division, with three regiments of infantry
spread over 26 miles of front each of St.Vith was hit by the major thrust of
the German Fifth Panzer Army, in the center and southern flank and the Sixth SS
Panzer Army north of center.
He would
also have noticed that the 14th Cavalry, as well as the 422nd and 423rd
Infantry Regiments of the 106thInfantry Division, while taking very heavy
casualties delayed the Germans to such an extent that it was six days before
the Germans were able to take St. Vith. That delay alone was a major factor in
the final defeat of the Germans. That delay was a contributing factor in
causing the Germans to run out of fuel for their tanks.
I am not
detracting from the brave fighting and courage of the men in those other
divisions and units who fought in the battle and I recognize that the stand of
th(advisable) [as received], I refer you to the book 'St-Vith Lion in the Way' by Colonel R. Ernest Dupuy, published and copyrighted, in 1949, by Infantry
Journal Press, Inc, Washingtcn, DC.
This is the
history of the l06th Infantry Division, from its inception on November 29,
1942, to the decommissioning in 1945........
In my
opinion, before any such book purporting to be an accounting of such a
horrendous battle ought to have been reviewed at least by people who were
familiar with the entire picture Not just som incidents by a few.
I am sorry
to say that this is just an other example of "the sign of the times."
The 101st Airborne Division at Bastogne, along with the advance of Patton ’s
3rd Army was the turning point"
However, I
do strongly think that the 106th Division deserves at least a little credit for
having held the Germans thos precious six days, at a cost of over 6,600 dead, wounded,
missing and captured brave soldiers. We continued to fight and support the
combat throughout the battle, albeit with only a minimum strength 424th
Infantry Regiment and one battalion of artillery, the 589th (four 105 MM
Howitzers), as well as eight engineers from our 81st Engineer Battalion. We were
finally relieved in mid-March.
Also re:
article "U.S. & German Field Artillery...." A glaring error
concerns the infantry divisions on the front lines of December 16. 1944
First, the
major thrust of the German offensive was in the region manned by the 106th
Infantry Division-not the 2nd Infantry Division. The 2nd w a s relieved man for
man and gun for gun on December 10, 11 and 12, 1944, by the 106th Infantry
Division. We held our positions for five days while the divisions on either
flank gave way within the first two days. Have you ever heard of St.Vith.
Belgium? We lost over 6,000 casualties (killed captured and wounded) those
first five days.
Second, the
records show that we were expert in the use of both the 105MM and the 155MM
Howitzers. One of the reasons the Germans were held up for those five d a y s
.......
Robert S.
Scherer
106 INFD
ARTY HQ
FRENCH
MEDAL OF HONOR
I was a
member of the 307th Airborne Medical Company, 82nd Airborne Division, during WWII.
A while back I received the highest and most prestigious award from the Republic
of France.
Of only 14
Americans, I was awarded the French Medal of Honor, the first time given in the
United State s Prior to this time (since Napoleon’s day) it was only given in France
Amelio
Cucinelli
82 ABND 307
ABN MED CO
48 DAYS IN
BASTOGNE
I was in
the 101st Airborne Division with the 907th Glider Field Artillery Battalion, B
Battery, Gun #3. We had the snub nose 105 mm.
We were in
the encirclement in the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne. We were there for 48 days
and had plenty of incoming artillery and they were 88’s not 105's. I don’t know
where all the information about 105’s came from.
When yon
heard the shell coming and you could fee! It and the ground it was not an 88
But let me tell you they were all 88’s that came in at us. The 88’s were
smaller than the 105’s, but nearly twice as long.
If we were
there now I could show you just where some are - they went into the ground and
never went off In fact of all the artillery guns we captured, we never saw a German
105. Talk of resupply-all through France and Holland the Germans never had to
move artillery shells.
They were
stacked in piles all over the country. They just set up the gun by the shells
and started shooting and those piles were all 88’s.
G. A.
"Bud" Lauer
101 ABND
907 GIB B
THANKS TO
MR. BIGGIO
I would
like to elaborate on the excellent article on the organization and operation of
the field artillery by Charles Biggio, Jr., that was in the November issue of
The Bugle.
In addition
to the artillery battalions that a repart of infantry divisions, there a
reartillery battalions attached to corps that a resent in support of infantry
divisions within the corps a re a that need added fire power.
My
battalion artillery, the 955th Field Artillery 155 mm Battalion was part of the
V Corps artillery organization.
Our
battalion received a special letter of commendation from the CO of the 1st
Infantry Division for our support of the 26th Infantry Regiment in the
Bullingen-Monchau area during the Bulge. Our after action report of January 31,
1945, indicates that the 995th FA Bn had tired in combat 50,000 rounds since
our arrival shortly after D-Day into Normandy.
Thanks for
Mr Biggio's artillery article.
P.S. Our
battalion at the end of the war was awarded five battle stars.
E. W.
Mortensen
955 FA BN
HQ
GEN. HASSO VON MANTEUFFEL 5th PANZER ARMY COMMANDER
Defense of St. Vith Area and Impact on
German Offensive
Submitted
by Ray Brassard
774th Tank
Destroyer Battalion
[This is a
speech prepared by a general for presentation to a group of former 106 'ers at
the 23rd Annual Reunion of the 106th Infantry Division at St. Vith, Belgium,
July 1969. He did not appear at the reunion, but his speech made its way to the
106th Infantry Division History archives.]
Whereas
Bastogne had an honorable place in American military history, St.Vith is hardly
mentioned . The heroic defense in the St.Vith area has suffered depreciation
and a strange denigration at the hand of the popular media. The Battle of the
Bulge was not fought ONLY or solely in Bastogne or by the admirable
coming into
action of Patton’s Third Army. Around St.Vith were all elements of tragedy , or
heroism, and self-sacrifice which make up the human experience at its most
acute phase, when it is under the strain and stress of War!
The actions
around St.Vith exerted a great influence on the result of the German
intentions. A whole army corps was delayed by your defense around St.Vith, in
spite o f the ill-fated elements of your division in the Schnee-Eifel, you held
up the German 66th Army Corps five days longer than their time table allowed.
You forced the detour of attacking forces so much more as the right neighbor,
the 6th Panzer Army, had no success of the attack.
The 6th
Panzer Army’s attack to the north was bogged down in the first few days of the
offensive by the brave soldiers of the 106th Infantry Division that were left.
Under those
circumstances the energy and momentum of the attack in this area was diminished
decisively!
In this
respect, the actions around St.Vith are in my opinion and from the Germ an
side—equivalen t to the defense of Bastogne!
The fact
that this area around St.Vith was obstinately and successfully defended, the
result, as demonstrated by the gallant men of the 106th Infantry Division and
the CCB 7th Armored.
The attack
of the Germans on both sides of the Schnee-Eifel outflanked these units, parts
of this "green division" (that means inexperienced soldiers without
combat experience ), that "rest-camp" as the departing veterans
quipped.
The units
were encircled! While they marched and fought through that terrible terrain, in
winter time, fire came from the left and fire came from the right, and from the
rear also. These units suffered heavily. Further, they did not know what was
happening on their flanks and in the rear, the sources of communication with
the rear was destroyed.
The cavalry
on their flank made no attempt to put up a fight and drew back. The visiting
patrols were shot or captured. The ammunition was gone with except for a few
rounds per gun for their machine guns. No help or assistance came by the
artillery no supplies came in. Most of the men had not had a drop of water or a
bite of food. These units were over whelmed , in a real sense of a word by
powerful German forces, superior in numbers and arms with great intensity--the
Germans fired into their massed ranks with every cannon they had. It was a rain
of steel, no tank destroyers were available, there was confusion and temporary
panic spread out. All of that with the blood, dirt, cruel weather, deep snow
with fog, cold and confused was what happened in those days in Schnee-Eifel.
They did
not weaken, they broke into small groups, they formed improvised perimeter defenses,
even though they did not know what was happening on their flanks and in the
rear their unbreakable will to fight, thus in destructible "esprit de
corps."
These
surviving elements of the 106th Infantry Division joined by the very brave men
of the CCB, fell back to the crossroad east of St.Vith and stayed and fought
until they were killed, wounded or captured.
….
VOLUME XXVII NUMBER 1 THE ARDENNES CAMPAIGN FEBRUARY2008
I am
finally getting around to writing my story concerning John McAuliffe’s account
of 'The Invisible Soldiers of WWII," which appeared in the November, 2006,
issue of The Bulge Bugle.
I was in
the 591st Field Artillery Battalion of the 106th Infantry Division. Battery B.
 |
| 105mm Howitzer. |
I was a gunner in the third section 105 MM howitzers. We relieved the 2nd
Division on December 10, 1944, at Steffeshausen, Belgium, and for five days had
occasional fire missions day and night at targets who were directed by our FO
and the targets never returned fire during this time.
There was a
battery of 155MM howitzers behind us who would fire their 155’s over our
position occasionally also These were black artillery men.
We were
awakened at 5:30 a.m., December 16th, by the first returning fire of the enemy.
A heavy barrage of artillery including screaming Meemies We were returning fire
a s fast as possible, We could hear the incoming shells and also the returning
fire from the 155 battery behind us.
We held our
position for two days while we were being encircled by the enemy and our
battery stayed and furnished supporting fire while our 424th Infantry Regiment
pulled back at dusk on December 17th at which time our battery left one of our
105’s stuck in the mud and pulled back under cover of darkness and traveled in
convoy on a secondary road which was the only open road out of there, moving
slowly, towing our 105’s with a man
walking in
front of each truck, guiding the driver with a small penlight.
The enemy
was within 300 yards of this road. Sometime during the night we stopped and dug
through the snow and spread our blankets on the ground no bedrolls as yet and
waited for daybreak.
We joined A
and B Batteries at Burg Reuland and then moved to Grufflingen and set up our
guns and started firing although almost out of ammo. A truck made it through
with a load of ammo.
Sgt Joe
Gross, with a crew of six men, went back to our former position and retrieved
our Number 2 gun which we had abandoned on the 17th. We were back In business
full force.
I had
forgotten about the men at Steffeshausen until reading John McAuliffe's story
about them in the November issue I was surprised to learn that they had been
captured and yet we came out safely because they had been behind us. They
retreated toward Schonberg where two of our regiments were captured-the 422nd
and 423rd Infantry Regiments. We went to Burg Reuland guess that is what saved
us from capture. I am so glad that John wrote the story about the
"Invisible Soldiers" and their 155 howitzers, it being the first that
I had heard them mentioned but was sorry to hear that eleven of them had been,
captured and slaughtered at Wereth.
John
Scherer wrote about our 106th Infantry Division in the August Bulge Bugle and
it is true that there was hardly mention of our four artillery
battalions-589th, 590th, 591 s ta n d 592nd-left fighting in support of other
outfits wherever needed.
We helped
take back the ground that we lost earlier and stayed on the front until March
15, 1945. Our 591st Battalion stayed in support of 424th Infantry Regiment a s
Combat team. Most writers never bothered to write about us but that’s okay as
long as we ourselves know that we were there.
Eugene
Morell
106 INFD
591 FA BN
THANK YOU
ALL!
My father,
Andy Semonco, served in the 5th Infantry Division, Company B, during World War
II. He was one of many who fought and sacrificed themselves in the greatest
American battle ever fought. My father was a machine gunner who ended up having
his feet frozen while fighting in this great battle.
I listen to
my father intently about his field experiences which I know were not
exaggerated. I know the e experiences were true because I watched the tears that
rolled down his cheeks or I would just simply catch him staring off at times
and I knew what was on his mind.
I am an
associate member of VBOB, but some issues have come up that I think need to be
addressed. As a supporting member of VBOB, I hope that the following contents
of this letter to the editor will bring ALL VBOB members a s ONE and not a
separated group of anointed soldiers. The entire front of the German offensive
was over 80 miles long with MANY individual divisions: infantry, artillery, radio,
mortar, supply groups, armored, etc.
So now to
the meat of this letter! It wasn’t JUST the 101st Airborne that took the brunt
of the fight. (The very thought of that is absurd!) Every Infantryman, every
medic; EVERYBODY on that front took the brunt, just like everyone else starting
December 16, 1944. This is not to bring any disrespect to the brave defenders
of Bastogne, but facts are true and we really know what these facts are after
60 years.
The 101st
Airborne was where it was supposed to be at the time. This unit did not have it
any harder or suffer any worse than anyone else. I do believe the fair credits
should go where it belongs, and I know that every other subscriber of VBOB
would agree. For this magazine as well as the entire VBOB to survive, I think
that the over accreditation of the 101st needs to cease.
I have
drilled it into my two sons about the sacrifice and importance of this war. The
fact is that we must realize that in the first few days, the American Army got
their a— kicked along the whole 80 mile front: Hence—"Bulge."
Bastogne was not the main German objective. Antwerp was the objective because
of its port and supplies. When I hear men of the 101st saying 'We were down to
8 rounds per man." Let’s face it! The Germans could have taken Bastogne
anytime they wanted. If the Germans really knew the situation of the 101st
Airborne in Bastogne, they would have taken it.
My father
was part of Patton’s 3rd Army who went up to relieve Bastogne, and I’m sure the
101st was glad to see them, along with the air drops the air force supplied.
Supply trucks moving again, and yes—replacements! And on that note the training
that the 101st Airborne received was not any tougher than what the marines
took, along with the army. I am also sure that the air force took a beating as
well. Statistics show how many men were killed in the air force. 1, the son of
a member of the VBOB, ask that ALL SERVICES that were engaged during the battle
to please send in your stories and experiences. God bless the medics, the red
ball express and ALL those who were Involved, because without you, there will
not be a VBOB much longer! So, to the 101st Airborne! Thank you!
Andrew E.
Semonco
Associate
Member
[Thank you,
Andrew, for the appeal for more stones. It is never our intent to praise any
unit more than another We print what we receive. We often hear: "There's
too much about Patton," "There's too much about the armored," "There’s
too much about the infantry," I believe since the
inception of
this newsletter there has been ONE story submitted about the Red Ball Express
and we happily printed it. There are lots of the bigger units out there and they
tend to submit more information. The words in these stories are not our words,
they are the words of the person who wrote the story. If you were in a small
group and have a story, please send it.]
WE GET
ADDITIONAL CRITICISM
[Four or five
members wrote in criticism of the tally of Military Veterans which appeared in
November 2007 issue on page 21. We are not sure who supplied information and
sincerely feel that the person simply thought the information might be found
interesting with no other thought in mind. It was used simply as a filler. The information
which appears in this newsletter is as was submitted by the members. We have no
research staff.
We have no
doubt that occasionally things we publish may not be historically correct.]
THE REAL
STORY HAS BEEN LOST
 |
| St Vith and 106th Inf. Div. |
"Patton"-"Bastogne"-"Nuts."
These three words sum up the story of the "Battle of the Bulge" for the American public.
These three words sum up the story of the "Battle of the Bulge" for the American public.
Unfortunately,
over the years, the real story has been lost.
What
Maurice Kunselman in the May issue (2007) wrote is exactly correct in his
perceptive and concise letter about Bastogne. It is true that the city was not
a strategic target for the German Fifth Panzer Army. Bastogne was off on the
edge of their axis of attack and the order, by von Manteuffel, was "Forget
Bastogne—go for the Meuse." They did not want to be delayed in any
long-term siege action.
But the
U.S. press, enamored of Patton a s they were, built up the story until now the
three icons of-Patton, Bastogne, and Nuts are all
that is left.
The real
story will always be the fighting at St. Vith, Trois-Ponts, La Gleize, Manhay
and Celles where the majority of the German armor was defeated by those U.S.
Army divisions that were ignored back then by the press and are now forgotten.
The fight in the northern section delayed, hindered, and destroyed (Kampfgruppe
Peiper for example) the panzer columns that were tasked with the job of
reaching Antwerp as fast a s possible.
Mr.
Kunselman is also correct in his comments about the bravery and sacrifices of
the men who were in Bastogne-fighting well and dying bravely. Combat is combat,
and the action in and around Bastogne was just a s tough a s it was in the
north. But still, Bastogne was not the whole fight, and Patton did not win the Battle
of the Bulge.
James K.
Cullen
3 ARMD 36
AIR
The Battle of the Bulge and the Hollywood' Legend..
Plot
In mid-December 1944 Pvt. Jim Layton (Marshall Thompson) and his
buddy Pvt. William J. Hooper (Scotty Beckett) are fresh
replacements assigned to separate companies in the 327th Glider Infantry
Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. As a newcomer Layton receives a chilly
welcome from his squad. PFC Holley (Van Johnson) returns to
the company after recuperating from a wound sustained from fighting in the Netherlands.
Instead of going on leave in Paris, the squad
is trucked back to the front to help stop a surprise German breakthrough in the Ardennes. They stop that
night in the town of Bastogne.
The platoon is put up for the night in the apartment of a local young woman,
Denise (Denise Darcel),
with whom Holley hopes to fraternize. Jarvess (John Hodiak) is informed
by Denise that she is taking care of two orphaned French girls. Jarvess later
goes on guard in the village, where he runs into a group of battle weary
soldiers. The soldiers inform Jarvess that they are making a "strategic
withdrawal". The next morning, led by Platoon Sgt. Kinnie (James Whitmore), the men
are ordered to dig in on the outskirts of town . Just as they are nearly done,
they are ordered to a new location and have to dig in again.
Holley, Layton and Kippton (Douglas Fowley) stand
guard that night at a roadblock. A patrol of German soldiers, disguised as American soldiers,
infiltrates their position and later blows up a nearby bridge. In the morning
the squad awakes to a heavy winter storm. Roderigues (Ricardo
Montalbán), a Latino from Los Angeles, is delighted
by the novelty of snow, but his foxhole mate
Pop Stazak (George Murphy),
awaiting a "dependency discharge" that will send him home, is
unimpressed. Layton goes over to see his friend Hooper, only to find that he
had been killed hours before, and that no one in his company knew his name.
Kinnie informs the squad about the
infiltration and sends out a patrol—Holley, Roderigues and Jarvess to move
through the woods. Just before they start out, the platoon is shelled by German
artillery, causing Bettis (Richard Jaeckel) to panic
and desert. During the barrage Layton reminds his squad leader, Sgt. Wolowicz (Bruce Cowling), of his
name and finds for the first time that he has been accepted as a part of the
squad. Holley's patrol briefly skirmishes with the infiltrators. Roderigues is
wounded by machine-gun fire from an enemy tank. He is unable to
walk, so Holley hastily conceals him under a disabled jeep half-buried in
snow, promising to return for him. Unfortunately, by the time they can get back
to him, Roderigues has died due to the exposure of the elements (freezing to
death).
Wolowicz, who has been wounded by shellfire,
and a sick Cpl. Standiferd (Don Taylor) are
sent back to a field
hospital. Not too long after, Doc (Thomas E. Breen) informs the 3rd
Squad that the field hospital had been captured. Holley is appointed the new
squad leader, and partnered with Layton, while Pop Stazak is paired with Hansan
(Herbert
Anderson). When Pop's discharge comes in they find out from Kippton
that the 101st is
surrounded forcing Pop to stay with the men.
Moved again and again, 3rd Platoon is attacked
at dawn. Garby (James Arness)
is killed by machine gun fire. Hansan demonstrates bravery by crawling out of
his foxhole and being the first to fire on the Germans. Just when it appears
that the platoon will be overrun, Hansan is wounded and Holley loses his nerve
and runs away. Layton follows Holley. Ashamed of his cowardice, Holley leads a
flanking counterattack that defeats the German attack. The platoon leader, Lt.
Teiss (Brett King),
announces that he will recommend Hansan for a Silver Star. Jarvess's
foxhole partner, country boy Abner Spudler (Jerome Courtland), is
killed while trying to put on his wet boots.
After they get Hanson to the aid station, the squad
runs into Bettis, who is doing K.P. duty in the rear
and gives them a hot meal. Holley discovers that Layton is a quick learner,
finding him being entertained by Denise. Later, while on guard duty, they
encounter a party of Germans who have come under a flag of truce to offer Brig.
Gen. McAuliffe (Ian MacDonald)
surrender terms, resulting in his famous reply of "Nuts!" to the
puzzled Germans.
In the bitter, foggy weather, the squad is
short of supplies – supply transport aircraft are grounded. Several men attend
impromptu outdoor Christmas services held by a chaplain (Leon Ames). That night the Luftwaffe bombs
Bastogne. Denise is killed. Bettis, slowed by his fear of going back to the
lines, is killed by a collapsing house. The "walking wounded",
including Hansan and mess sergeant he befriended (George Chandler), are
recalled up to duty for a last-ditch defense of the town.
As the platoon is down to its last few rounds
of ammunition, the weather clears, allowing the Allied fighters to attack the
Germans and C-47
transports to drop supplies, enabling the 101st to hold.
Afterward, the siege lifted, Kinnie leads the survivors of the platoon toward
the rear for a well-earned rest. As they move out, they spot a relief column of
clean, well-equipped soldiers marching toward Bastogne. Kinnie begins calling
"Jody cadence"
and the veterans pull themselves together, proudly chanting the refrain as they
pass the other GIs.
Cast
Van Johnson as
Private First Class Holley
John Hodiak as Donald
Jarvess
Ricardo Montalban as
"Johnny" Roderigues
George Murphy as
Ernst J. "Pop" Stazak
Marshall Thompson as
Jim Layton
Jerome Courtland as
Abner Spudler
Don Taylor as
Cpl. Standiferd
Bruce Cowling as Sgt.
Wolowicz
James Whitmore as
Sgt. 1st Class Kinnie
Douglas Fowley as
"Kipp" Kippton
Leon Ames as the
Chaplain
Herbert Anderson as
Hansan
Thomas E. Breen as Doc
Denise Darcel as
Denise
Richard Jaeckel as
Bettis
James Arness as Sgt.
Garby
Scotty Beckett as
William J. Hooper
Brett King as Lt.
Teiss
Ian MacDonald as
Army Colonel (uncredited)
Dickie Jones as
Tanker (uncredited)
Dewey Martin as
G.I. Straggler (uncredited)
George Chandler as
Mess Sergeant (uncredited)
Production.
Battleground was originally an RKO property, which
was called "Prelude to Love" to hide its subject matter,[5] but
was shelved when production head Dore Schary resigned,
despite $100,000 having been put into the property to that point. When Schary
went to MGM,
he purchased the rights to the script from RKO, over the objections of Louis B. Mayer, who
believed that the public was tired of war films. At MGM, Robert Taylor and Keenan Wynn were
reported to be penciled in for the film, along with Van Johnson and John
Hodiak, and the project was budgeted at $2 million. Wellman put the cast
through some military training with Robert Taylor, a former navy officer
dropping out for not feeling the role was right for him. He was replaced by Van
Johnson.
Robert Pirosh had based the script on his own
experiences during the Battle of the
Bulge,[8] although
he did not serve with the 101st Airborne. Many of the incidents in the film
were based on actual events, including the rejection of a German demand for
surrender on December 22, 1944, with the one word response "Nuts!" by
Brig. Gen. Anthony
McAuliffe. Twenty veterans of the 101st were hired to train the
actors and appeared in the film as extras. Lt ColHarry Kinnard, who had
been the 101st's deputy divisional commander at Bastogne, was the film's
technical advisor.
The film was in production from April 5 to
June 3, 1949, with location shooting in northern California, Oregon and
Washington state. Fort Lewis,
Washington was used for the tank sequence showing the relief of
the 101st
Airborne by Patton's Third Army.
Shooting took 20 days less than was scheduled, due in part to innovative
measures taken by Schary such as processing film as it was shot, then dubbing
and cutting it so that scenes could be previewed within two days of being shot.[6] The
film came in almost $100,000 under budget.
Battleground received a number of
premieres before its general release. A private showing for President Harry S. Truman was
arranged even before the premiere in Washington D.C. on
November 9, 1949, which was attended by McAuliffe, who commanded the 101st
during the siege. Two days later, the film premiered in New York City, and then on
December 1 in Los Angeles.
The film's general American release was on January 20, 1950.
Response.
Battleground was MGM's largest grossing
film in five years.[6] According
to studio records it earned $4,722,000 in the US and Canada and $1,547,000
elsewhere resulting in a profit of $2,388,000, making it the studio's most
profitable picture of the year. It was rated by Photoplay as the
best picture of the year.
MGM released a similar film in 1951, Go for Broke!,
also starring Van Johnson and directed by Pirosh.
Awards and honors.
Battleground won two Academy Awards: for Best
Cinematography, Black-and-White (Paul C. Vogel) and for Best Writing,
Story and Screenplay (Robert Pirosh). It was
also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (William A. Wellman), Best Film
Editing (John D. Dunning), and Best Actor in
a Supporting Role (James Whitmore). James
Whitmore won a 1950 Golden Globe Award as
Best Supporting Actor, and Robert Pirosh's script won Best Screenplay. Pirosh
was also nominated for a Writers Guild
Award for Best Written American Drama.
Accuracy.
Although the film is a fictionalized version
of the siege of Bastogne, it is highly accurate with one major exception. There
were no Germans disguised as Americans around Bastogne. Operation Greif, as it was
known, only operated in front of the 6th SS Panzer Army, many miles to the
north. However the scene depicting the quizzing of each other by G.I.s to
verify their identity as Americans did occur across the battlefield after
rumors of the operation became widely known.
A minor inaccuracy is that, at the time of the
Battle of Bastogne, the 327th Glider
Infantry Regiment did not have an Item Company. When the
airborne divisions were conceived early in World War II, the Army's senior
commanders decided that the glider regiments would have only two battalions
each. The first battalion would be made up of Able, Baker, Charlie, and Dog
Companies, while the second would have Easy, Fox, George, and How Companies.
When by 1944 it became evident that these two-battalion regiments were not
suited to combat operations, certain glider regiments were broken up and their
battalions attached to others. The 327th was assigned the First Battalion of
the 401st Glider Infantry Regiment, getting "doubles" on Able, Baker,
Charlie, and Dog Companies. Thus "the 2nd Squad, 3rd Platoon of Item
Company, 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division," did not
exist at the time of the Ardennes campaign. The producers did not want to have
someone complain that he was in Item Company during the fighting around
Bastogne, and that no such thing happened.
An interesting explanation of "„Hey, Kinnie - what ever happened to Jody?“
"
