71st Anniversary of the Bulge

[XLVIII Pz. Korp]

May have to watch one of my favorite TERRIBLE movies today, Battle of the Bulge. 

[Warhorse]

It's so bad, it's good!!

[RADO]

May have to watch one of my favorite TERRIBLE movies today, Battle of the Bulge. 

The only thing decent in the movie was the blonde prostitute he kicked out of his room. LOL

[Kool Kat]

Gents:  

Upon seeing this film in Munich the former German commander of the Fifth Panzer Army, General Hasso von Manteuffel, told the press:


"The content of this film is completely fictional and has hardly anything to do with the events of those days... It also presents a distortion of the facts and actual conditions under which the battle took place... The film is an insult not only to the American soldier who fought in the Ardennes, but also a scandal for all soldiers including those on the other side."





I prefer more "fact" than "fiction" when viewing WW2 film content! 


A much better film is "Battleground" starring Van Johnson and Ricardo Montelban.

[Big Ivan]

I have to agree with you there Mike.

Battleground is a great flick!

[Crossroads]

I have to agree with you there Mike.

Battleground is a great flick!

Battle of the Bulge | World War 2 in Europe | 1944-1945 | WW2 Documentary: The Enemy Strikes
WW2 documentary short film depicting the breakthrough of Von Rundstedt's German forces in Europe and how complacency on the American home front may have contributed to near-disaster for the Allies. Much of the footage is from German war film, captured during the Battle of the Bulge. The Battle of the Bulge was launched by Adolf Hitler on December 16, 1944, and resulted in 19,000 Americans being killed before the German Army was driven back to their previous line.



Link to YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheBestFilmArchives

Lots of original footage there.

[Kool Kat]

Gents:  

Here's some more info on "Battleground" - certainly a worthy film to commemorate the Battle of the Bulge anniversary!   

Battleground (1949)
d. William A. Wellman

WWII, The Battle of the Bulge (Siege of Bastogne in Belgium), December 1944

Noted as the first significant post-WWII film in the US. It told about a WWII platoon, a group of raw American recruits in the elite 101st Airborne Division ("The Screaming Eagles") trapped at the strategic crossroads of the city of Bastogne in late 1944 during wintry conditions. A solid, ultra-realistic, grim and authentic-looking war drama, it was nominated for six Oscars (including Best Picture), with wins for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay (by Robert Pirosh, a veteran of the Battle of Bastogne) and Best B/W Cinematography.

The soldiers were dug in behind the German lines during the German's last-ditch advance at the Battle of the Bulge (the Siege of Bastogne), surrounded and outnumbered and awaiting their fate. The story was told as a character study of the various stressed-out GI comrades and dogfaces from around the country - including their fears, hopes, light-hearted humor and courage. When caught in inclement weather (the "fog of war"), the infantry group was cut off from supplies (reinforcements of food and ammunition) and military intelligence.

The star-studded cast included James Whitmore as tough, tobacco-spitting lead Sgt. Kinnie suffering from frostbitten feet, Van Johnson as paratrooper Pfc. Holley, while Ricardo Montalban played the part of Pvt. Johnny Roderigues, a religious Latino from LA, John Hodiak was featured as Jarvess, an enlistee and Kansas newspaper columnist, Marshall Thompson as innocent and idealistic rookie Pvt. Layton - the film's narrator, and George Murphy as Pop Stazak, the oldest member of the platoon.

Eventually when the skies cleared, the platoon survived after airplanes dropped parachutes with supplies, and they were relieved by fresh troops.

[Big Ivan]

Well Turner Classic Movies went and did it. They had Battle of the Bulge on last night!

Not sure why they did it, maybe in honor of ground hog day...

Got my Battle of the Bulge movie fix for a few more years now.

ItB