This country is at war with Germany.

We shall go on to the end.

I remember the sheets of flame which came up and almost blinded us from our guns.

Hello and welcome to the podcast.

In this episode, I'm joined by acclaimed historian and best-selling author Alex Kershaw to explore one of the most pivotal moments of the Second War, the Battle of the Bulge.

This December marks the 80th anniversary of the battle, a critical turning point

where General George S. Patton's bald leadership and daring actions, most famously, the dramatic

relief of Bastogne, helped shift the tide in favour of the Allies. Alex joins me to share

fascinating insights from his latest book, Patton's Prayer,

a powerful exploration of faith, determination and sheer grit that defined one of America's

most legendary generals. Thanks for joining me. We should perhaps set the scene.

Where was Patton's Third Army in late 1944? What condition were they in? Good place to start would

be November 1944. Third Army is in a very difficult fight, a very depressing fight for Patton.

They're attacking in the rain, a series of forts centered around Mets, and they're not doing a very

good job. In fact, German commanders

post-war, when they were into the, said that they were very disappointed by Patton's behavior

during this period that they thought strategically he made a very serious error, which was to attack

fixed positions that were really well fortified in supply.

So his headquarters by early December of 1944 at Nancey, which is about just over 100 miles

due south of Luxembourg City. And he's in a difficult situation that's an unusual situation

of a pattern. He's the definitive American cavalryman. And his philosophy of war, as one of his

tank commanders, wrote, was pretty simple. It was speed, speed, speed. Don't worry about your flanks.

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