Bastogne, Belgium. December 22, 1944.
German forces surround the town and the cold, beleaguered American soldiers within. The Germans outnumber the Americans 5-to-1. The Americans are low on rations, ammunition and medical supplies.
Two German officers approach American lines under a white flag of truce.They carry a letter (an English and a German version) from General von Lüttwitz to the American commander (Brig. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe). In pertinent part the letter reads:
"The fortune of war is changing. This time the U.S.A. forces in and near Bastogne have been encircled by strong German armored units. More German armored units have crossed the river Ourthe near Ortheuville, have taken Marche and reached St. Hubert by passing through Hompre-Sibret-Tillet.Libramont is in German hands. There is only one possibility to save the encircled U.S.A troops from total annihilation: that is the honorable surrender of the encircled town...."
General McAuliffe’s reply was just as shown above, except for the date, salutation and signature (“From the American Commander,” it read).
McAuliffe’s reply was taken to the waiting German officers by two American officers. The story (link: www.army.mil/...) picks back up here:
The two blindfolded German officers were then driven, again by a roundabout route, back to their entry point at the Kessler farm. At the farm, the group was rejoined by PFC Premetz. The blindfolds were removed and the Germans opened and looked at the reply. They asked, "What does this mean?" They obviously didn't understand the American slang. Harper and Premetz discussed how to explain it. Harper suggested, "Tell them to take a flying shit!" Premetz thought about it, then straightened up, faced the Germans and said, "Du kannst zum Teufel gehen." He told Harper it meant "You can go to Hell."
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The Americans in Bastogne held out. They and the town were relieved within another five days. The German siege was broken. Across the long battlefront the German offensive (“The Battle of the Bulge”) ground to a halt.
Another two hard, loss-heavy months of fighting lay in front of the Americans before March 1945, when the German lines truly began collapsing. Even then Hitler and the Wehrmacht would hold out until late April, when, with Soviet troops overwhelming Berlin from the east, Hitler, deep in his bunker, would finally rant, whine and blame everyone else one last time, then. . . .
Hang in there, folks. Fight the bastards.