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Battlefield Tour of Hitler's Doomed Ardennes Offensive | Beyond Bastogne | Battle of the Bulge

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Bastogne dominates the story of the Battle of the Bulge — the stand of the 101st Airborne immortalised by the Band of Brothers. But the Battle of the Bulge was not just Bastogne as WW2 historians James Holland and Al Murray explain from the depths of the Ardennes forest.

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Before dawn on 16 December 1944, Hitler launched Unternehmen Herbstnebel — Operation Autumn Mist. His objective was clear: break through American lines in the Ardennes, reach the River Meuse within three days, then drive on to Antwerp, splitting the Allied armies in two and repeating the dramatic 1940 breakthrough during the Battle of France.

The main effort fell on the northern thrust. Volksgrenadier divisions struck the US 99th Infantry Division, expected to clear the way for the Sixth Panzer Army and its Panzers. Instead, they ran into organised, well-dug American infantry backed by coordinated artillery. When the 12th SS Panzer Division pushed forward, it found blocked forest roads, disciplined resistance, and Sherman tanks covering key exits. Reinforcements from the US 2nd Infantry Division stiffened the line.

From the first hours of 16 December 1944, Hitler’s desperate gamble was already behind schedule.

Chapters:
00:00 – Battle of the Bulge: Not Just Bastogne
04:33 – Hitler’s Desperate Plan: Operation Herbstnebel
07:15 – The Siegfried Line & The Ardennes Battlefield
10:49 – December 16, 1944: The Opening Artillery Barrage
12:19 – US 99th Infantry Division Under Attack
17:15 – The Northern Thrust Begins to Stall
23:52 – 12th SS Panzer Division vs Sherman Tanks
26:30 – Elsenborn Ridge: The Crucial High Ground

#BattleOfTheBulge #Bastogne #BandOfBrothers #ArdennesOffensive #WWII #SiegfriedLine #Panzer #ShermanTank

20 Comments

@timaddison707 4 months ago Pinned

Love this stuff, keep up the good work chaps!

@WW2Headquarters Creator 7 months ago (edited)

Hi everyone! We really hope that you enjoy this episode, there are lots more to follow, including some amazing bravery from the stout American's holding up the German advance, Pieper's murderous road to nowhere and much much more. Let us know what you think in the comments and don't forget to hit SUBSCRIBE if you've not done so already!

@haydnsamuels73 7 months ago

James making a cunning distinction between summer and winter by use of a cap

@bobleicht5295 7 months ago

The Sherman behind the guys in Bastogne center was an 11th U.S. Armored Div vehicle, Dad’s unit. Assigned to the 3rd Army, the unit entered Cherbourg the 2nd/3rd week of Dec, and was almost immediately alerted for movement north. After about a 400 mile forced march, the 11th was committed to combat SW of Bastogne on 30 Dec. The tank was lost that day with three of the crew KIA, two captured. History is fortunate that it was saved from the scrappers.

@jbellos1 7 months ago (edited)

My Dad, a PFC Rifleman 1st Battalion Co B 393rd 99th, was on the line, overrun, and regrouped at Elsenborn. They took way more than 30% casualties just on the first day. He was one of the few, maybe a dozen men, out of about 193 officers and other ranks from B Company that made it back to friendly forces at the Ridge. He had to sneak back at night, through the Volksgrenadiers and the rest of the 6th SS Army. The mishmash of stragglers at Elsenborn stopped the Germans from further advances, slaughtering 1000's of Germans in the snow. A real horror scene of the dead German soldiers piled up where they were killed. He spoke very little about that time. He was 19 years old. The North Shoulder at Elsenborn Ridge held the line and the story is almost never told. Thank you.

@gkky_ 7 months ago

This absolutely saved my day from being overwhelmingly depressing, you legends

@TCK71 7 months ago

Absolute gold, listening on Spotify and watching these guys on YouTube is a privilege.

@morganhale3434 6 months ago

The Battle of the Bulge is the largest battle that the U.S. Army has ever fought and over half of the casualties that American ground troops suffered in Europe came during this struggle. Truly epic.

@jeroenverwaetermeulen3633 7 months ago

The daughter of general Mcauliffe’s interpreter during the battle of the Bulge lives in a retirement home in Brussels. She is 91 years in good spirit and loves to talk about that period. She met the general frequently. I ’ve met her a couple of times. These stories should be recorded.

@kimfjeldseth427 7 months ago

two men in a field. this is entertainmant.

@njlauren 7 months ago

Love that you did this in winter . My dad was there ( he was in a TD battalion ) and the cold and misery was part of the story . People probably look at the trees of the Ardennes and think it doesn't look all that difficult to traverse, but they think of strolling through it, not armor and trucks and masses of troops.

I remember in the book Ardennes: 1944 it saying that to this day they cannot harvest wood in that forest bc the trees are loaded with shrapnel from the battles fought there.

@LeslieBurton-je4zp 7 months ago

Gentleman the content and how you explore and discuss is nothing short of fantastic. Whilst "world at war" was and is considered a great series.

I genuinely believe you have taken it to another level. Please keep it going. And many thanks to the both of you and all the crew for sharing your thoughts and knowledge .

@richardowen4936 7 months ago

Absolutely brilliant guys. This is going to be another amazing series. As always great work by the whole team. You guys are very special

@fredslipknot9 7 months ago

27:10 I love hearing Al laugh like this

@dwtsotcarefulnow 7 months ago

Very evocative filming this in the snow but eerily calm and quiet making it difficult to imagine the noise of battle and carnage witnessed on both sides.

@SAFCish 7 months ago

Great video, this place looks so much better in the winter time.

@yveaux500 6 months ago (edited)

These two are a joy to listen to and to watch. So much knowledge combined with humor. You didn’t need to bring all that fake snow though. We already think you’re great.

@michaeldowd8422 7 months ago

Everyone just thinks of Al Murray as the pub landlord. You can see here that he's a dedicated historian.

@thumper1747 1 month ago

Morning Al and Jim, I’ve been watching and listening to your films and interviews for a month or two now and absolutely love it. I’ve become a paid up member and you’re worth every penny. I’m going to keep going until be caught up. Walking the Ground adds to the mix and your combined knack of delivering what could be utterly appalling details with frustration and humour is priceless. Such entertaining content and yet so respectful! My Dad went over on day three and spent a year laying cables from the coast to various cities along the way. Many thanks Geoff