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Battle of the BulgeThe Battle of the Bulge began 16 December 1944 and became the last offensive by Nazi Germany in World War II. As soon as the Allies had broken out of the Normandy Beachhead, they pushed the Germans back rapidly until they had reached the German Frontier in November and December. The U.S. was giving some Divisions a rest and inserting newly landed Divisions into the front lines, not thinking that the Germans were capable of any offensive action and if so that they would certainly not be bold enough to try in Winter. Winter War: The Bulge and Beyond Films
The Allies had no clue that the Germans were going to start a massive offensive in the most unlikely of locations, the dense Ardennes Forest. Under the cover of bad weather, when aerial reconnaissance was not available, the German Army struck at dawn (0500) on the 16th with thirteen infantry divisions and eight armored divisions opening up with an artillery barrage on the American positions. The tanks and infantry ran right over green U.S. troops that were not prepared or equipped for the weather or the Germans. Their Germans' goal was to get to the port city of Antwerp. Surprise caught the American troops unprepared. Military intelligence was caught unawares. It took two days to determine that this was a full scale operation by the Germans. Immediately, the 101st Airborne was thrown back into the line and headed to Bastogne, a city that was located at the junction of five highways, a communication center and location where a large sector of the country could be supplied and reinforced. As the Germans advanced a large Bulge was created in the U.S. lines, giving rise to the name Battle of the Bulge. The front was over 50 miles across and at one point the deepest penetration by the Germans was over 50 miles. As the Bulge grew the city of Bastogne became surrounded, but the 101st Airborne and some units of the 10th Armored held stubbornly and would not surrender. However, the weather prevented any air support or re-supply, so these men were on their own. When the 26th of December arrived, the weather was clearing and re-supply was available. Additionally, elements of 4th Armored Division broke through the German lines and entered Bastogne on the 26th. The Germans started to run low on supplies, the offensive stalled and the bulge began to collapse. It took until the end of January to repulse all the German units back to the lines the Allies held on 15 December. There would be more fierce fighting ahead but all of it would be on German soil. The Battle of the Bulge was Germany's last chance at glory. Hollywood In 1965, brought to the silver screen, a fictionalized version of The Battle of the Bulge as was told through the eyes of an American Intelligence officer, Lt. Colonel Kiley (Henry Fonda) and German Panzer Commander, Colonel Hessler (Robert Shaw). It had an all star cast that included, Robert Ryan, Dana Andrews, George Montgomery, Charles Bronson, Telly Savalas, James MacArthur, Werner Peters and many others. Combat Reels Combatreels is in the process of creating our next series of DVDs containing raw combat footage taken by the Signal Corps Photographers of the US Army. As with all of our previous DVDs footage will shown by individual Division. We plan on releasing individual DVDs as they are completed. This will be our largest Series to date and include some new units not seen before. This series will be our Battle of the Bulge Series. Winter War: The Bulge and Beyond Films
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World War II History
Combat Reels FilmsNotice: These films are not documentaries. They are not ww2 movies like those produced by hollywood. When hollywood actually uses real footage; this is the type of film they use. This is raw archival combat footage that has been watched, researched and watched again to determine the facts of the film; it then goes into a compilation of clips that make up a particular DVD on a military unit. That makes these world war II movies unlike any others. Nothing has been done in a lab or on a sound stage, its all the real deal with no interruptions or distractions. It's pure military history. The films produced by Combat Reels are not intended to tell the complete story of any particular unit. The goal of these dvd videos is to reveal that actual footage of particular divisions that has been organized into volumes within a campaign series format. All footage has been left silent, as it was originally recorded during the war. There are some clips as well as releases that will have some sound and color, but the majority of the film is silent. Each DVD description will provide any clarification. We do not dub over or voice over on any of these films. The quality of the pictures in the scenes are just like they were developed by the branch of service that too the shots. Some footage is of fantasic quality, while others may be grainy and dark. But we want to show you as much as we can find and identify to a unit regardless of the quality. We have utilized slates at the beginning of chapters or clips, to explain to the viewer what they are about to see. In order to keep the costs for each video down there has been no effort to digitally enhance the images or include narration and studio sound effects. This is a unique opportunity to see the men and locations of your favorite division in a conflict. You will find that these films are a fantastic research tool and are great for the family historian, genealogist, historian and military enthusiast! They are great for schools, history departments and libraries too! Meticulously researched and assembled, you will not see this much footage together on our unit history films anywhere else. So don't be fooled, there are films out there claiming to be of your favorite unit, but we have seen a lot of erroneous claims. So don't make the mistake of buying one of 'those' films and get your DVD's from Combat Reels. Order your Combat Film DVD's Today! It's military history on film. |
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