The Battle of the Bulge
Dan Snow's History Hit
History Hit
4.7 • 12.9K Ratings
🗓️ 21 December 2022
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Lasting six brutal weeks, from December 16, 1944, to January 25, 1945, the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes region of Belgium was Adolf Hitler’s last major offensive in the Second World War against the Western Front.
Anthony Tucker-Jones had a former career in British intelligence and is now a defence writer and military historian. Dan welcomes Anthony back to the podcast to discuss Hitler’s aim to split the Allies in their drive toward Germany, the attack on the battle-fatigued American troops and how ultimately, the German troops’ failure to divide Britain, France and America with the Ardennes offensive paved the way to victory for the allies.
Produced by Hannah Ward and edited by Dougal Patmore.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello everyone, welcome to Dan's Notes History. I'm talking about the Battle of the Bulge |
| 0:03.9 | Day. Hitler's, well, one of his last throws, a major operation launched to try and stave |
| 0:09.9 | off the inevitability of defeat in Europe. I've made several programmes about the Battle |
| 0:15.4 | of the Bulge over the years and several documentaries, many which are available on History at TV |
| 0:19.0 | everyone, go and check it out. And I'm always very struck by one piece of testimony that |
| 0:22.4 | was left behind by a German during the Battle of the Bulge. It was a Belgian school teacher |
| 0:27.6 | got back to his smashed classroom to find a message written on the blackboard. May the |
| 0:33.6 | world never again live through such a Christmas night. Nothing is more horrible than meeting |
| 0:39.6 | one's fate, far from mother, wife and children. Is it worthy of man's destiny to believe |
| 0:47.4 | a mother of her son, a wife, her husband or children of their father? Life was bequeathed |
| 0:53.7 | us in order that we might love and be considerate to one another. From the ruins out of blood |
| 0:59.0 | and death shall come forth a brotherly world. It was signed simply a German officer. The |
| 1:06.4 | campaign was fought in the depths of winter, snow was on the ground, it was, well like |
| 1:12.0 | so many other second-wobble battles, a hideous experience for everyone caught up in it. |
| 1:17.9 | And now a new history has been written from the German point of view, trying to make sense |
| 1:21.6 | of Hitler's decisions and those of his generals in those dark days of 1944 and 1945. It's |
| 1:28.3 | written by Ansi Takajones, he's been on the podcast before, he was a British intelligence |
| 1:33.1 | officer, he's our defense writer and military historian, he's Britain Hitler's winter. |
| 1:37.9 | And I want to catch up with him and hear by his insights into the bulge. Why not |
| 1:42.5 | let the Hitler launch it in the first place and did have any chance of success? Enjoy. |
| 1:57.8 | Anthony, thanks very much for coming on the pod. Thank you very much for having on History |
| 2:10.6 | here again. Coming into the winter of 1944, what are Hitler's options at this point? The |
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