♪ and the first thing i heard when i staped at some place in the middle of noplace -- ♪ >> all right men on behalf of the united states army the reception center here at this camp, we're glad to welcome you here today and into the united states army. we're glad to see all of your happy, smiling faces. now, fellows, during the few days that you'll be with us here at this camp, you'll be converted from civilian into a full-fledged soldier. you'll be interviewed by someone who will inquire into your past life before you came into the army. >> you were assistant machinist, construction of gun and gun

parts? >> that's right. >> what machines did you operate? >> i operated boring mills two grinders, drill presses, planes and -- >> forward, hut. hut, hut, hut. hut, hut, hut. pick it up. >> company halt. >> i don't want to give you the impression that it's only for religious services and advice that you can come to the chaplain. you can come to him at any time. for example, if you get in trouble with your girlfriend and she doesn't write you any more and you want to know how to propose, why just come see the chaplain and he'll give you some advice. or if you get in trouble with your first sergeant and you want to know how to handle him just come around and see the chaplain and he'll give you some advice. or if you're financially embarrassed, why that's simple too. just come around and see the chaplain, and he'll give you some advice. >> chaplain has just told you how to get along in this man's army. it's my painful duty to tell you what will happen to you if you

don't get along. it isn't a form of civility. it's merely a form of recognition used between members of the military service. the average man when he first learns to salute is awkward. it's a strange gesture to him and he feels shy. he usually sneaks his hand up in this manner and gives the broke-handed salute. or lowers his eyes gently like a shy maiden and salutes like that. when you salute an officer stand erect like a soldier. bring your hand up to your forehead in a military manner, tip of the forefinger above the center of the right eye. make sure your thumb is alongside your hand because if it's out here they may misconstrue it. then cut the hand sharply to the side. don't let it drop down like a dead fish. >> sit down. put your feet in the machine.

10 1/2. put your foot in there. stand up now, pick up both weights. put the weights back sit down. step down, put your shoes on and go in the next room. >> fall in. >> fall out. >> all right, men. strip down completely put every piece of civilian clothing that you have into that bag. now, when you are completely stripped and have everything into that bag, put on a set of summer underwear and a pair of shorts, a pair of white woolen socks. all right, now you try on your green herringbone fatigue hat first, that's the green hat with the brim on it. if it fits, place it into your barracks bag. don't mind if it's a little loose. >> but i made it, all of us made it. they put us through so many twists and turns, we didn't know whether we were coming or going but uncle sam did. we were going. he put us on the train that same afternoon for the replacement

center. we kept passing troop trains going back and forth all over the country. we finally arrived at the place called military secret. but this much i can tell you. it was cold. and even before we had a chance to thaw out, they had us in the school of the soldier. the sergeant gave it to us straight. >> you sleep in that bed you'll make it. if you wear them clothes, you'll wash them. you walk on that floor, you'll clean it. there's no service here. you understand that? >> and i bet right now, mama, i can make a bed better than you can. but before i have a chance to get the bed warm, there i was. in the beginning, the new hands were all feet. >> right face. to the front halt, to the rear halt. left flank halt right flank,

halt, left halt left halt hut, hut, hut, four. left, halt left flank halt right flank halt. left halt, left halt. hut hup hup. >> then game the first country marching. >> halt. take a ten-minute break. >> it was tough. hiking drilling kp, bivouacs tent pitching general orders, the top of the day to the the tougher the day, the shorter the night. but you get used to it. if you can't take it they got doctors. some of the best in the country specialists in every field. and a dental clinic. we have a wac, but even so this

is one kind of drilling no soldier likes. but after all the making beds and peeling potatoes and drilling and marching, they give you a rifle and teach you to shoot it. in no time at all, i could hit the broad side of a barn. it was fun. it's not all work. there's football. baseball. boxing. and oh yes, ping-pong. if you want to read, there's a library. can you imagine me listening to poetry? but it came in good the very next day i got a chance to use it. we were sent on a detail to a nearby camp. i saw some soldiering that was beautiful to behold. >> ten hut. forward march. hut two three four. hut two three four. hut two.

hut two three four. about face. left face. >> and you'd better tell uncle everett to quit joking about the wacs because these girls have forgotten more about jeeps and trucks than he'll ever know. and the next day was saturday night. ♪ she was very nice, mama. a real apple pie girl. just the right size and everything. just the kind you like. but in the army men proposes and gi disposes. and the next morning i was out there like the rest of them, getting tough.

in this man's army they want you to be tough. but tough, and i mean tough. and tough in the army means a good fighter who can stand up against a strong enemy and beat him to the draw. and after a hard week, a soldier welcomes a sunday. ♪ >> this morning i have a gi report. i think you'll all be interested in. this is an official statement from the war department. in the present world war, there are more than five times as many men with high school education in our armed forces than were in world war i.

this has meant an increase in officer candidates. official figures tell us in the present war, there are three times as many colored officers as in world war i. from a score of different schools, many have earned their commissions and taken their place alongside those who come from any one of the hundreds of rotc schools and the greatest of all military institutions, west point. ♪ >> mama, the next time you see me, i'll be wearing an officer's uniform. ready to get in there and get this war over with. that's a promise. your loving son robert. >> thank you, mrs. bronson. that's a promise millions of americans have made. thousands have put it into action. and every camp men are getting

their final workout. at tuskegee more pilots are earning their wings. ♪ in a short while these young officers will be full-fledged combat fliers, taking their place at the controls of our fighter planes. today high above their native land they fly. tomorrow what a surprise the nazis will get when black, brown, yellow and white men, all americans, land on the air fields of berlin and tokyo. in the far north seasoned soldiers are toughening themselves. for they know that in a fight against all that is evil, truth

must be ready ready to strike hard and often. no waiting for weather or temperature. any weather can be good weather, any temperature can be right when men know the meaning of their job and are determined to get it done come what may. and the men we knew as terroriststerrorist bricklayers, cooks architects bell boirks school teachers, farmers are today soldiers in a modern army. tank men, gunners, radio operators and motor mechanics. every man schooled in the meaning of teamwork. every man qualified to replace any of his teammates at any time. any man ready to do his share. the engineers, the fighting

builders ready to build bridges, highway, railroads ports, landing fields. the quartermaster, who moves troops and supplies, who provides food, fuel and clothing. the men who supply the means of communication, telegraph telephone and radio the cavalry ready to patrol, scout. ♪ the tank destroyers ready for swift and decisive action. hard hitting anti-aircraft units ready to knock zeros and messer schmidts out of the skies.

♪ and the infantrymen, the backbone of the army. this training has met the acid test of war. across the pacific, across the atlantic, the shadow of defeat hangs over the axis partners as the allies liberate town after town. but the job isn't finished. this is only the beginning. to win the final victory over germany and japan, our blows must be dealt harder and faster

and with all our strength. there can be no let-up in the flow of supplies. more and more food equipment and ammunition must reach our troops in the battle area. more airports landing fields, docks, bridges and roads must be built. our troops must build them through the swamps of the south pacific. the snows of the far north. over the mountains of india and across the rivers of europe. build them in record time and under enemy fire. build them right into the heart of berlin and tokyo.

robert brooks. colin kelly. meyer levine. doory miller. soldiers who knew no fear. men who would defend even unto death the land of their birth. soldiers who believed in this great country. to the enemy our country is something to destroy. our homes, our right to worship god, our little belongings, something to crush, to shackle to plunder. oh, god, we thank you for this land, which our fathers have helped to build.

grant that we may, with your help, be worthy of this heritage. and in our turn, enrich it for our children. so that government of the people by the people for the people shall not perish from this earth. ♪ christian soldiers ♪ ♪ marching as to war ♪ ♪ with the flag of freedom ♪ ♪ flowing on before ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ fought the battle of jericho ♪ ♪ the battle o jericho ♪ ♪ and the walls come tumbling down ♪ ♪ my country 'tis of thee ♪ ♪ sweet land of liberty ♪

♪ of thee i sing ♪ you've been watching a special presentation of our reel america series. join us every sunday at 4:00 p.m. eastern for more archival films by government, industry and educational institutions. watch as these films take you on a journey through the 20th century. again, that's reel america every sunday at 4:00 p.m. eastern on c-span3. we'd like to tell you about some you are other american history programs. join us every saturday at 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. for the civil war. we'll bring you the latest historical forums on the subject. again that's programs on the civil war every saturday at 6:00 and 10:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv. follow us on twitter twitter @cspanhistory.

connect on facebook.com/cspanhistory and check out our upcoming programs at our website cspan.org/history. each week american history tv's reel america brings you archival films that help tell the story of the 20th century.

remember this? this was france 1944. it was a kind of honeymoon for the american army and the american people. remember at home we were worrying about reconverting war plants to civilian production, remember we were worrying that we'd be left with too many shells and too many tanks when the war ended? remember we were looking around for a job? some civilian industry so we wouldn't get caught short when the need for machine guns and bandages were suddenly over? well the honeymoon ended. on december 16th, the triumphant cheers died down in europe. in the christmas season of 1944, nobody was predicting that the war would end by saturday night or a week from wednesday. and today the good news from all fronts singing on all radios let us remember the dies days of

1944, the infantry remembers those days. they were not being reconverted for civilian production nor were they worried then or ever that they'd be left with too many shells or too many tanks. the army had come fast and far last fall. we had developed a certain tendency to become complacent. complacency came to an end in time for the christmas season. these men have never been complacent. as they fought, they did not seek employment in civilian industry that would secure them after the war. they did not complain about the scarcity of butter or roast beef or the high cost of living. the cost of living on the cologne plain was considerably higher than in the united states, but they did not discuss it in their clubs. in december we learned all over again the bitter lesson of war. war is conducted in mist and

turmoil and uncertainty. victory comes on no silver platters. the enemy sells nothing cheaply. the enemy is resourceful courageous desperate. the nazi party is willing to sacrifice every building and every soul in germany to stave off defeat. men and materiel had been horded for the day of counterattack. under cloudy skies, the close-hanging ground mist that defied aerial observation, the very much alive german army gathered its forces in the partest aisles to strike one strong decisive blow at the american army. new and refitted armies were brought up. the fury of rocket weapons was unleashed against our fronts.

in one day the enemy smashed through the defenses of the american first army on a 45-mile front and was biting deep into luxembourg and belgium and in 24 hours it changed hands and the german army which had put the word "blitzkrieg" into our languages, unleashed its desperate offensive. they had picked a time when the wh prevented us from using the air weapon the weapon in which we decisively outweigh them. this film is being shown for the first time. it was captured from a german cameraman.

he had taken it so the german home front might gloat over the success of rimstat's attack. in august it was germans who were convoys along the french roads. now it was our convoys, ruined and burning where they'd been overrun. the sweat and iron of detroit in pittsburgh became the wreckage of enemy. we lost more than jeeps and halftracks, shells and tanks and guns. we lost men. 78,000 in dead, wounded and missing. unarmed and defenseless american prisoners, comrades of these men, fell to the machine guns of our enemies. >> fire!

>> four weeks later their frozen bodies hands and ankles bound, were found where they fell. these belgian enemies of the third reich too were unarmed and defenseless. german smoked camels and chesterfields robbed from american dead and the nazi cameraman filmed it to amuse and reassure the moviegoers of munich and berlin. men who had not retreated since their arrival in europe plodded back along the mean roads of belgium. convoys of trucks streamed to the rear with supplies that had been painstakingly accumulated

at forward dumps, supplies that could not be moved were put to the torch. millions of man-hours of work to be put in all over again. to stop counterattacks huge new reserves of supplies are called for, but that is how war is. wasteful, unpredictable uncertain, dangerous, demanding constant wariness, constant preparation for the worst, a constant and unflagging spirit in the face of all alarms and disasters. gallant american units surround and cut off and fought in a sea of enemy armor. anti-aircraft guns were fired point blank until they were overrun.

cooks, bakers quartermaster and line of communications troops picked up their rifles and fought tenaciously against nazi columns. the weather cleared and the air force took to the skies to bomb and strafe the rejuvenated luftwaffe to the ground. the army held in belgium. the attack was blunt of the spearhead stopped. the nazi columns contained and thrown back by men who had flung themselves into the breach.

in the wild gamble of war, a momentary equilibrium had been gained. the cost had been great. and there were no guarantees being issued on engraved paper on the western front that the time of counterattacks was over. nor, despite the great victories in the pacific were there guarantees being issued that there would be no counterattacks against the many islands we'd won back from the japs. in the general uncertainty of war, one fact remains certain. the enemy is always dangerous. the enemy always wants to kill americans. the enemy does not slack off. is the news good from russia? remember the lesson of december. as another japanese admiral died, remember the ardennes

forest. does it look as though finally we can take it easy? remember those 78,000 americans lost in the christmas holidays. the men on the line pay for counterattacks in dead wounded and missing. how do you intend to pay? what were you doing the week the german army came back to belgium? what are you doing this week? what will you be doing next week? ♪

you've sh watching a special presentation of our reel america series. join us every sunday at 4:00 p.m. eastern for more archival films by government industry and educational institutions. watch asfilms take you on a journey through real history. that's on american history tv on c-span3. we'd like to you tell you about our lectures in history series. joins students every saturday at 8:00 p.m. and midnight eastern to hear lectures on topics. lectures in history every saturday at 8:00 p.m. and midnight eastern here on american history tv. and we'd like to hear from you. follow us on twitter twitter @cspanhistory. facebook.com/cspanhistory. and check out our upcoming

programs on c-span.org/history. each week american history tv's reel america brings you archival films that help tell the story of the 20th century. >> 70 years ago on december 16th, 1944 the german army launched operation watch on the rhine better known as the battle of the bulge. in a plan by adolf hitler to surprise the allies and capture the port of antwerp. the u.s. army's "the big picture county "narrated by actor paul newman. it chronicles the story of the infantry division during the battle and including american and german veterans reflecting on their experience about 20 years later. >> all together we were on the siegfried line for about three

weeks. my memories of that are pretty much blurred. it was mostly mud and cabbages. every now and then we did have a slight move forward but we were just in foxholes usually filled with water. >> american soldiers on the whole, i believe find it very difficult to hate. we spoke of the germans and thought of the germans as our enemy, enemy, but there was no such thing as violent hatred. >> an uncommissioned officer in the american army is unique. he has to be the leader of his men but the men under him can also be leaders. >> one of the chief problems that replaces any officer is measuring up to the opinions the men had of the officers that commanded them before. >> after we got all the battalions settled down in their fox holes for the night i dug

out a pair of blue silk pajamas that my wife had insisted i put in my bed roll and put them on and crawled in my bed roll to sleep for the night. of course this news spread around over the battalion immediately and my purpose was achieved because all of the men felt if the man had gotten in his silk pajamas and gotten into bed, certainly there was no trouble and they weren't in grave danger and they were able to relax and have a good night's rest. >> these are the men who served in the 84th infantry division. thus this story could be the story of any infantry division where the uncommon virtues of courage, endurance and self-sacrifice became the common place. ♪

by the beginning of november, 1944, the defeat of germany appeared imminent. to the east russian armies had pushed their way through poland and the balkans. to the south anglo american forces were moving relentlessly up the italian peninsula. to the west, allied armies having advanced through france and the low countries now gathered along the borders of western germany.

>> good old m-1 rifle semiautomatic, breach loaded, seems a lot heavier than it did 20 years ago. my name is john shaw. i was with the 84th infantry division as a buck private during world war ii. i was one of these astp boys, 3,000, shipped down to the 84th division in april before we went overseas, 1944, and we were trained hard and sent overseas in september and were in england for a while and then caught the red ball express. then before we knew it we were right on the edge of the line ready to go into combat. and we were, all of us, kind of

wondering what things were going to be like. we can see the shells going off, we could hear them. and we were all sort of nervous, but i don't think anyone was really fully conscious and aware of what was going to happen. >> the men of the 84th division had managed to penetrate the enemy lines a few hundred yards east of the dutch frontier. but the siegfried line barred the way to further advance. this traps and boxes had become a shield behind which weary german troops now assembled. general siegfried westphal chief of staff to von rimstadt had had to say. >> translator: it was essential for the german high command in the west to gain time in order to reequip the west

fortifications called siegfried line for defense purposes. we had to make every effort, therefore, to see to it that our troops could maintain this position as long as possible. the west fortifications had no weapons. the wire entanglements had been disabled, even the keys to unlock the rusty dugouts were missing. the defensive value of these constructions was so minimal that the soldiers preferred to live in the trench under the open sky rather than have the concrete ceiling collapse over their head. we reported this to hitler, who flew into a rage and reported the whole world trembles in fear of this phenomenal achievement of german technology.

>> the 84th division's immediate mission, a general offensive was to crack the siegfried line at the town of gellenkirken and then establish beachheads on the nearby river. beyond lay the main objective the rhine. >> i'm lieutenant truman. i was a colonel, chief of staff and chief of staff to alexander r. bowling, the commanding general of the 84th division. the intelligence which we received was of the very best. the individuals clear down to the squad level were indoctrinated, instructed exactly what their jobs were to be. there is no question that that we had very much confidence that we'd be able to carry out this mission. i know also that the regiments the battalions of the companies and the platoons and squads had that same feeling of confidence.

>> the 84th division would be supported by the british on the left and the american 2nd armored and infantry on the right. facing them were a number of divisions and crack panzer units. at precisely five minutes to 7:00 on the morning of november 18th, an ar rilry ryartillery barrage signaled the attack had commenced.

>> gellenkirchen was three miles from where we were. our regiment was leading the attack and i happened to be in the first platoon and the first squad of the first platoon and so happened that i was the first scout. so i was first. and we came through a little woods and out on to a sport lot. so we shot across this clearing and into the outskirts of the town. and there was a trench there, and we walked up the trench all of us feeling pretty happy at this point and pretty proud of ourselves for having gotten that far, and we seemed to me a whole company was strung out in one big line. all of a sudden a german in a window about three blocks away opened up on our column in this trench with a machine gun. of course, we all hit the dirt. and we just waited there for

somebody to do something. finally, a british tank lumbered up the street off to our side and fired two shells right into that window. and that was the end of that. >> i'm richard k. hawkings, i was the first lieutenant with "a" company 334th infantry of the 84th infantry division. it was necessary for complete cooperation between various branches of the army, and since it was necessary for the infantrymen to attack on foot seize the ground and hold it, it was also necessary for artillery to neutralize these positions before the infantrymen jumped

off. it was a wonderful show of cooperation between these different branches. >> we got through gellenkirchen. and we started on the road that we thought was taking us to berlin. we felt great and we were pretty excited about being in the war. next we'd gone about 500 yards up the road and the 88s started coming in. like fools we ran into a little woods and all of us tried our best to dig into the ground. we used our hands to just try to claw the dirt, trying to dig in. meantime, these shells were coming into the trees the and bursting all around us. and our friends were being hit and were screaming for medics. this lasted it seemed for about half an hour. i suppose it lasted about five minutes.

>> i am fritz kramer. i was with the 84th division as a rather elderly soldier from my 35th to my 37th year. i do remember very clearly now the feelings we had like all men who go into battle for the very first time. we were uncertain. we were very unsure of ourselves. we knew very well that combat was very different from training. and i remember this excitement and i may rightly say for all soldiers who may come after us we were also full of fear. not necessarily fear of the enemy, but fear of our own making it or not making it. how would we stand up. i think our general told us later that he had been trained

in those hours and he committed the men he trained the first time for combat. i know now that we all know now that the battle went well and that our one regiment that was attached to combat proven british forces did well and we immediately gained extraordinary increase in self-confidence. we had met the enemy and, while we certainly hadn't performed any great heroics, we felt our self-confidence greatly increase. >> i'm donald phelps. i was a sergeant in the 333rd infantry of the 84th division. we would sneak up to pill boxes easily at night and hit and run. the biggest problem in this type of action was that the rigor and

placements of the german army in the pill boxes had everything so zeroed in that all major road intersections were under constant interdicting fire. by the 21st of november the siegfried line had been dented. the objectives in and around gellenkirchen had been taken. the 84th now headed for the aurora river three miles distant. general bolling picked the city of linich for the crossing. >> before our actual combat experience, we always thought that engineers were people who came along after we passed

through and repaired bridges and so forth. we actually had engineer squads with each regiment, platoon, whose function was to place explosive charges in pill box and this helped a great deal in overcoming this resistance. >> the murderous frontal attack that followed, several discoveries were made. all sectors of the german western front had strict orders to relinquish as little german territory as possible. every inch of ground was to be defended tenaciously. the uncertainty concerning the allied situation posed an especially conspicuous problem.

>> one never knows what the enemy has up his sleeve. one does not know for certain how strong he is. one does not know about his disposition. many things can only be guessed. but there are certain impressions one does acquire. we were of the opinion that the american unit, excellently equipped and under good leadership, was headed for ultimate success confident of victory. besides, the command was prudent advancing step by step, justly trying to avoid bloodshed wherever possible. ♪ >> by the end of november, the

german defenses west of aurora had been either captured or neutralized. on december 2nd, the coveted prize of lenok had fell to the 102nd division. >> to sum up the actions of the 84th division, in the siegfried line, it had reduced or captured eight strong points or villages, it had captured or destroyed over 112 bunkers. it had captured 28 officers and over 1,500 enlisted men. it had engaged 15 different kinds of german units to include ss troops and panzer units. we might say as an overall sumup, every mission had been accomplished.

♪ while the allies made preparations for the crossing, the a major offensive was about to be launched by the combined german forces. the offensive code named watch on the rhine would be known as the battle of the bulge. it was hitler's last opportunity to achieve the initiative on the western front. at least 28 divisions would be engaged in this desperate gamble. >> the field that i am on this afternoon is representative of

those around belgium that are being farmed again. in december of 1944, much many contrast, these fields were not being farmed. there were streams of refugees all through the area. again, moving out because the intelligence was or the rumors were that the germans were coming into the town of marsh. at about 9:00 on the morning of the 20th of december, again bowling and four mps went where the first army headquarters was. he asked what the enemy information was. the only thing they could tell him was that it was fluid. also, he asked for what position of the division would be in the marsh area.

he was told that there the division should go into an assembly area. >> as the front bulged further westward, the principal roads fell to the germans. capitulation seemed certain. unless marsh remained in allied hands, it seemed possible the germans could sweep on to paris. the 84th division was ordered to withdraw from the positions and take up a defensive line along the marsh road.

>> it was at this time that we got sudden orders to move. we were loaded into the army trucks, and we started moving back. we heard all kinds of rumors. we heard the germans had broken through. we heard there was a big offensive. everything was confused. all we knew, we were on the road and moving again. of course, it had only been a month before that we had moved up by trucks. so we were kind of used to it. but this was a night move in the dark, around the back corners. orders were changed constantly. we never knew from one minute to the next what was going on. on our way back, we ran into trailers bringing up assault boats to cross rivers with. they apparently were for us. but we weren't going to be there to be with them. we finally found at the end of this truck route, which was very circuitous, we ended up in the

town of marsh in belgium. we were told to hold the town at all costs. we had our first snow at this point. digging fox holes in icy ground was a little difficult. but we kept always on the move. our company was -- seemed to be ending up at division reserve. so we were sent here and there on little jobs and filling up the gaps and trying to get the situation under control. >> we spent our first night in belgium in a huge stone barn with hay and cows and horses champing around us. we were excited to be where once again there was life. we went down the road and had chicken dinner with eggs and milk, food we hadn't had it seemed like weeks and weeks. there seemed to be no nervousness about germans until later that night when we spotted way across the valley a column of tanks going up the road. somebody pointed out that those

were german tanks. we had been told we were miles behind the front. that's when we realized there was a good deal of confusion in the again picture in belgium. after that, we went by truck to a little town and met a very lovely belgian woman and a french -- in a belgian chateau who had two daughters. she was getting into the car to drive to brussels. they had an appointment. it was later we realized she was fleeing as fast as she could. she knew the situation was very bad. later on that night, we had our first encounter with some german tanks which came along and fired at us. we fired back. they went on back the road that they had come from. we realized we were in what they call a fluid situation with nobody certain where the front

lines were. least of all us. >> i was a commander in general bowling's rail splitter division during world war ii. i arrived at the 84th division in holland on the 20th of december 1944. and moved down with the division on the 22nd of december. to say that the situation was fluid is putting it lightly. every other house was occupied by germans. there was firing up and down the streets. the 334th infantry had organized

divisions along the front edge of the ridge. i can remember that the fox holes were sometimes 150 yards apart. they had been dug in frozen ground sometimes with the aid of explosives. the position was considerably over extended. and various pockets of german tanks and infantry existed all up and down the line. during the day, the germans had infiltrated tanks and infantry into a wooded area back of the front lines and in front of the reserve elements. and they were discovered quite by accident by a small unit going up to reinforce an attack that took the wrong road and ran

into this pocket of german tanks and infantry. and they backed off and reported this. the 84th division artillery fired on this pocket which was pretty well defined, and though knocked out all of these tanks and killed several hundred germans. when the artillery had finished firing, one battalion -- i remember the 326 had only six rounds of ammunition left. we had other ammunition on the way, but no one knew when it would get there. it was a rather touch and go situation. there were many things imprinted on my mind that will make me always remember the kind of stuff our american soldiers were made of. one incident in particular occurred during the battle of the bulge. we were advancing and a mortar shell came in and wounded several men close around me.

one man was almost in arm's reach of me. i could see that he was hit badly. the back of i had head practically blown off. he was in a state of shock. i tried to comfort the man, prop his head up until the medics could reach him. all this time -- i shall never forget this -- this man was trying to apologize for me for being hit and sorry almost crying because he would not get to carry on with the battalion and continue to fight. >> the line situated as it was at the extreme tip of the bulge received the full weight of the german attack. chance had placed the fate of this offensive in the hands of an american infantry division. for the men of the 84th, there was no question as to what must be done. see it next on the big picture.

>> i found the safest place to be in any attack was in the assault wave. because we were upon the enemy before he knew we were coming. we escaped much of the small arms fire. in addition, we didn't get the retaliation from the artillery that the waves following us got. >> in this town as we did on all of our on theives, each company commander and separate platoon was ordered to take a certain position, followed the practice of writing a message on a fresh egg that they had taken their objective and what time and send this by messenger to the sergeant major at battalion headquarters. this is where we got fresh eggs as we crossed germany.