Audio Transcript

Narrator (00:05)

Stemming Von Rundstedt's drive into Belgium, Yank troops move up against heavy German counter attacks. All along the way wrecked American equipment attests to the fury of the Nazi attempt to stall the Allied offenses towards Cologne and the czar.

(00:26) Allied military government men shepherd civilians from areas under fire to comparative safety at the rear. Meanwhile, the front lines need vast quantities of ammunition and other supplies to stop Von Rundstedt's drive through the dense forests and rocky hills of the Ardennes.

To prevent infiltration by the Nazis, mines are placed in the wooded country along the roads.

(00:53) Road blocks are set up. One light tank is camouflaged as a haystack. Troops scatter through the fields searching for Nazi paratroopers dropped behind our lines to disrupt communications. An abandoned parachute equipment container and a white snow cape are picked up. The Nazis tried every trick, even dressing their troops in captured American uniforms and sending them in Jeeps to penetrate our lines. It was necessary for MPs to halt our own troops and check their credentials.

(01:25) These and following scenes are the Allied fight to halt the German breakthrough on the Western front were released by signal corp, air force, and official British newsreel sources.

(01:52) The first few days found the weather perfect for Von Rundstedt's thrust. Allied plans were grounded and the infantry had to fight it out alone.

(02:14) But as soon as the weather broke, the eagerly awaited air support arrived. The huge bombers roared over Nazi positions and dropped thousands of tons of bombs. Bombardiers attack an important road junction choked with enemy supply trains. The RAF alone dropped an average of ten thousand tons every 24 hours on German positions.

(02:52) Patton's armor races madly to the relief of Bastogne where parts of the 9th and 10th army divisions and the 100 First Airborne, tough paratroopers and glider men, were surrounded by the enemy. Thousands of these heroic men held grimly to their positions in the face of murderous fire until their comrades opened a corridor from the south. Dug into hillsides, they eagerly welcomed supplies delivered by fleets of air transport planes.

(03:29) 1500 tons of supplies were parachuted to the besieged offenders. New supplies of ammunition are put to work immediately. And now the Nazis begin to feel the renewed might of Bastogne's defenders. Enemy equipment is shattered and many prisoners are taken. This is Bastogne, the town that General McAuliffe refused to surrender. Smashed American equipment testifies to the courage of its defenders. It's only fair that we should send them more.