Battle of the Bulge videos

[Big Boss]

The Enemy Strikes

American newsreel from March 1945 set in a sober tone for the homefront. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu1AIiqARiQ

 

The Battle of St. Vith

U.S. Army documentary from 1965 narrated by actor Robert Taylor. Several American and German veterans of the battle describes their experiences including Rundstedt's Chief of Staff General Siegfried Westphal and General Bruce C Clake CCB 7th AD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIb4dBEsin0

 

Kaiserbaracke Crossroads

Unsorted German footage, some of which used in the Wochenschau Newsreel.

 

 

Edited January 17, 2016 by Big Boss

[Big Boss]

Some more wartime allied newsreels from the Bulge. This time its British material.

 

Battle Report from Belgium (British Pathé)

 

 

 

The Bulge - British Pressure (British Movietone)

 

 

 

The Bulge Shrinking (British Movietone)

[gnarly]

Great posts Big Boss! Helps a lot to give the game 'life'

[Warts 'n' all]

Love the ice skating Firefly in the Movietone footage.

[bodkin]

Not video but the only colour photography of Bastogne battlefield I know of.

 

http://old.506infantry.org/his2ndbnwwiiarticle08.html

[Childress]

On 1/16/2016 at 10:24 AM, Big Boss said:

The Enemy Strikes

American newsreel from March 1945 set in a sober tone for the homefront. 

Surprising that  Hasso von Manteuffel's commentary was in German. He was said to have spoken perfect, idiomatic English and, in fact, gave lectures to American military colleges in that language after the war.

And I find it striking that in the video US troopers (and Germans) were constantly lighting up cigarettes. WW2 was a nicotine fueled victory. Take that, smoking abolitionists.

[Big Boss]

5 hours ago, gnarly said:

Great posts Big Boss! Helps a lot to give the game 'life'

Thanks! I always like to watch footage from the battles I play.

4 hours ago, bodkin said:

Not video but the only colour photography of Bastogne battlefield I know of.

 

http://old.506infantry.org/his2ndbnwwiiarticle08.html

Very nice find bodkin, I have never seen this before although I've seen some LIFE photos in color before.

http://time.com/3628396/battle-of-the-bulge-rare-photos-from-hitlers-last-gamble/

[Big Boss]

19 minutes ago, Childress said:

Surprising that  Hasso von Manteuffel's commentary was in German. He was said to have spoken perfect, idiomatic English and, in fact, gave lectures to American military colleges in that language after the war.

And I find it striking that in the video US troopers (and Germans) were constantly lighting up cigarettes. WW2 was a nicotine fueled victory. Take that, smoking abolitionists.

I’ve also read that he spoke fluent English but maybe he was asked to speak in German as not to confuse the audience:).

On the anecdotal side, It is said in Bergströms The Ardennes, 1944-1945: that when the German infantry infiltrated between US outposts during the early hours on the first day of the offensive that they could tell that the men in the trenches were American by the sweet smell of their Virginia tobacco. The Germans had to do with the much harsher Turkish tobacco or Ersatz.

[Childress]

Very interesting. I read that when US troops surrendered- and they surrendered in quantity during the Bulge-the first thing the Germans did was to strip the POWs of their Lucky Strikes. Hitler was a smoking abolitionist, in some ways a proto-progressive on the subject (and others like disarming civilians), but gave up in the face of the Landsers' nicotine demands. 

Resolved: the great number of smokers among the troops, the more formidable the army.

Edited April 6, 2016 by Childress

[mbarbaric]

is this THAT guy???

 

 

Edited April 6, 2016 by mbarbaric

[Childress]

Yep, the one second from the left.

The Germs could have laid down a decent smoke screen with all that puffing.

[Big Boss]

Smoke 'em if you got 'em!

 

8th Air Force Air Attack (British Pathé)

Some nice interdiction films from January 1945. Don't know if its from the Bulge exactly though.

 

[Hafer]

Some footage posted by Peiper itself (!)

;-)

 

[oldbluelight]

Thanks for the videos. Having activation issues. Sitting in the bunker so this keeps me occupied.

[Big Boss]

Tanks firing (British Pathé) American tank destroyers being used as artillery somewhere on the westerns front winter 44/45.