Jack Agnew
U.S. Army, 101st Airborne Divison
506th Parachute Infantry Regiment
Pathfinder
Tuesday, January 16th
The Siege of Bastogne
The Battle of the Bulge which lasted from December 16, 1944 to January 28, 1945 was the largest land battle of
World War II.
Bastogne was a strategic position which both the Germans and Americans wanted to occupy. The American 101st Airborne
divisions occupied the city and were quickly surrounded by Germans who laid siege to the city and demanded its
surrender. Brigadier General Mcauliffe responded with his now famous "Aw, nuts" which had to be interpreted
to the Germans. Jack Agnew, a member of the 506th Parachute Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, jumped into
the encircled Allied forces at Bastogne to set up a landing zone for supplies. Using actual battlefield maps, he
will talk about the encirclement and the daily movements of the Allied and German forces during critical days of
the siege of Bastogne.
BATTLE FACTS
The coldest, snowiest weather
"in memory" in the Ardennes Forest on the German/Belgium border.
Over a million men, 500,000 Germans,
600,000 Americans (more than fought on both sides at Gettysburg) and 55,000 British.
Three German armies, ten corps,
the equivalent of twenty-nine divisions.
Three American armies, six corps,
the equivalent of thirty-one divisions.
The equivalent of three British
divisions as well as contingents of Belgian, Canadian and French troops.
100,000 German casualties, killed,
wounded or captured.
81,000 American casualties, including
23,554 captured and 19,000 killed.
1,400 British casualties, 200
killed.
800 tanks lost on each side,
1,000 German aircraft.
The Malmedy Massacre, where 86
American soldiers were murdered, was the worst atrocity committed against American troops during the course of
the war in Europe.
Article from local newspapers...
Jack Agnew speaks of his experiences
Vet recalls life as one of the 'Dirty Dozen'
Jack Agnew today
A Christmas Present for by Richard E. Killblane
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