General Mcauliffe's Leadership In The Siege Of Bastogne

Siege of Bastogne

On December 22, 1944 Brigadier General Anthony C. McAuliffe the Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division received an ultimatum from General Heinrich Freiherr Von Luttwitz of the German forces to surrender or U.S. troops will face total annihilation from the six battalions of Armor and the corps of Artillery that have encircled his position in Bastogne, to which he replied with the one memorable word reply of “NUTS!”. The Siege of Bastogne, which lasted from December 20, 1944 to December 27, 1944, was a part of the larger Battle of the Bulge, which lasted from December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945. The Battle of the Bulge was the Germans last major scale offensive of World War II. The retaining of the town of Bastogne by U.S. forces would be a key for the Allied forces in the Battle of the Bulge because of the tactical value it held being the intersection of the roads that passed thru the dense and mountainous Ardennes Forest.

The key leaders in the Siege of Bastogne were Brigadier General Anthony C. McAuliffe and Colonel William Roberts of the U.S. forces and Hasson Van Manteufelle and Heinrich Freiherr Von Luttwitz of the German Forces. Brigadier General McAuliffe. General McAuliffe was the commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division during the Siege of Bastogne and was one of the most influential commanders of World

The reasons why they were so short on supplies was that the 101st Airborne were not fully equipped before they departed to occupy Bastogne that they even had to get supplies from Combat Command Bravo upon arrival of Bastogne, and because the severe weather conditions were not allowing aerial resupplies. The Allied forces would finally catch a break on the December 26, 1944 with the multiple airdrops from 289 planes, which the bulk of cargo was carrying artillery