‘Battle of the Bulge’ is an American classic war movie
it was made in Spain and hit the screens in 1965
The starring cast included Charles Bronson
The world premiere of the movie was in Hollywood
was the 21st anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge
The producers tried to condense a month long battle into three hours
The battle extended across sections of Germany
Some of the landmarks that were used for the film did not even resemble locations where the actual battle took place
This left the filmmakers open to criticism for historical inaccuracies
even though they maintained that they had “re-arranged” the sequential order of events in the movie credits to amplify the remarkable story for the moviegoers
Most World War II sagas contain depictions of real senior Allied leaders
the ‘Battle of the Bulge’ contains virtually none
this is because of the disagreements about the battle itself during and after the war
an imaginary German soldier presumed to be based on SS – Standartenführer Jochen Peiper and General Kohler (Werner Peters) are talking about the allocated time for an attack on the Allies
Kohler shows him a clock that is counting down from 50 hours
Hessler is told that if victory is not in their hands by this time
the Nazi troops will run out of supplies and have to pull back
Nazi troops disguised as American soldiers
are tasked with capturing strategic bridges and causing chaos behind enemy lines
where he alerts Allied Command that the Nazis are preparing to launch another all-out offensive
All of the available intelligence indicates that the Germans don’t have the manpower or the resources to launch another full-scale attack
Kiley visits a US infantry stronghold on a captured portion of the Siegfried Line under the command of Maj
Some very inexperienced and young Nazi soldiers were captured during a patrol led by Sgt
Kiley draws the conclusion that the experienced German troops have been replaced by these young soldiers
while the experienced Nazi troops had been gathered for the offensive that Kiley was certain about
Wolenski and his infantrymen head into the wooded area of the Schnee Eifel
where an intense fire-fight ensues; they try to fight them off but the German assault is too strong and Woleski and his men are overrun
Guffy (Telly Savalas) is attempting to slow the Panzer Division
but Guffy’s tanks’ inadequate guns and thin armor make their defensive effort futile
capture the only bridge capable of supporting heavy tanks over the Our River
Hessler maintains his spearhead moving toward Ambleve
Schumacher and his men take control of a crucial junction connecting the Siegfried Line
take the wrong road to Malmedy; nearly the entire unit is massacred
The US troops become suspicious when they observe Schumacher’s “military police” incorrectly placing munitions on the Our bridge
Hessler’s Panzer Division and the Nazi infantry attack Ambleve and the town finally falls into German hands
and others find an escape route to the River Meuse
American forces regroup and begin plans for a counterattack
Kiley conducts an aerial scouting mission in an effort to find the main German front
In an attempt to listen for the German tanks
he instructs the pilot to shut off the engine and glide over the enemy area
he sees Hessler’s tank column advancing on American lines
but his plane is shot down by German artillery and Kiley crashes near an American fuel depot
The heavier guns and stronger armor of the Panzer tanks methodically destroyed the American tanks
Most of the surviving American tanks and their crews
Hessler decided to take a detachment to the fuel depot to capture its inventory
Upon arrival at the fuel depot Weaver instantly recognizes Lt
who is still impersonating an American MP and his men have seized command of the fuel depot
the masquerading Nazis are fired upon and are all killed
The US defenders saturate the road with gasoline and set it afire
The remaining German forces concede defeat and retreat all the way to Germany
The tank battle mentioned above is a vague representation of the Battle of Celles fought on December 26
where the German 2nd Panzer Division was defeated by the U.S
The movie creates the untrue impression that great numbers of American tanks were destroyed by the heavy Tiger IIs and in the process decoyed the enemy off course so they would run out of gas
Even the tanks used in the film are not historically accurate (despite the claims of the producer in an interview)
The tank used in most of the scenes was the M24 Chaffee light tank
they were not in use in the numbers that were seen in the movie
The American M47 Patton in the film that represented the German Tiger tanks
expressed the superior size and firepower which the M4 Sherman tanks had to contend with
depicted by the aforementioned M24 Chaffees
Apart from the early American confrontations with the German assault
there is also the absence of the actual weather conditions in which the real battle was fought
such as cold weather and snow; there is no trace of snow at all in the major tank battle scene
Other inaccuracies were that some battle scenes that were fought in the flat and bare territory; taking into consideration the mountainous
The film was actually shot on location in Madrid
Spain and the Sierra de Guadarrama mountain range of the Iberian peninsula
Schumacher and his men were based on Operation Greif
the Nazi plan to parachute English-speaking Germans using American equipment behind American lines to capture bridges and to spread confusion in the enemy lines
Absent from this film is the attack by Gen
whose Third Army alleviated the siege of Bastogne
Although British troops had a smaller part in the battle than the Americans
in the movie there is absolutely no reference to British forces in the area
Eisenhower ceding temporary command of two American armies to British Field Marshal Montgomery in the northern half of the Bulge
This decision was made to split the Bulge into two fronts; the film implies a completely American offensive
The movie also made no mention of the role the Allied air power had as they hit the Germans forces hard when the weather cleared
does mention both Montgomery and Patton in the beginning
saying: “In the south was Patton’s Third Army
Montgomery’s command was actually the 21st Army Group
was actually in Italy during the Battle of the Bulge
Patton was in charge of the Third Army during the battle
it was one of four American armies that constituted the 12th Army Group under Gen
Patton’s Third Army in the south was only part of a much larger American force
The film does realistically capture some major aspects of the battle
representing how inexperienced American replacement troops positioned in the Ardennes were initially overpowered and how confused the situation was
It refers to the dominance of the German heavy tanks
along with their primary weakness; a lack of fuel
which showed briefings among German officers
accurately portray the Third Reich’s desperate need to cut the U.S
– British supply lines and to nullify the Allies’ huge logistical superiority
the Spanish Army supplied approximately 500 fully equipped soldiers and 75 tanks and armored vehicles
Although former President Eisenhower was retired
he denounced the film at a press conference for what he considered such a gross historical inaccuracy
the film was one of the most popular movies at the British box office
Huge fan of war history and rural history and a motorbike rider
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When the Battle of the Bulge raged across Belgium and Luxembourg in late 1944 and early 1945
it scarred a beautiful landscape and forever changed the people who lived there
During the seven decades that have passed since then
the ghosts of the fallen have haunted those forests
leaving powerful memories that remain fresh to this day
The fighting that unfolded there during 45 days of combat has not been forgotten despite the fact that fields are harvested
The many memorials that dot the 1,250 square miles/804,360 acres of this battlefield are reminders of its violent past
grocery stores and fast food restaurants adjacent to sites where young American and German soldiers shivered in the deep cold
but you will also find museums that present their stories to the 21st century
Those museums combine individual accounts with big-picture context in compelling ways for both specialists and those learning about the battle for the first time
the Ardennes is a unique place of pilgrimage
you can walk in the footsteps of American fighting men who battled their way across frozen ground in the bleak mid-winter against a vicious enemy who still had lots of fight left in him
For anyone interested particularly in the firearms used during the Battle of the Bulge
a handful of museums located in Luxembourg and Belgium display artifacts that you will never see anywhere else
Because this epic battle rolled across countryside inhabited by civilians
pistols and machine guns left behind afterward were occasionally deposited in barns and tool sheds
creating a sort of time capsule of the winter of 1944-1945
One such museum is the relatively new Baugnez '44 Historical Center in southern Belgium
which houses outstanding displays featuring firearms and the accessories that go with them
an MP40 and every variation of magazine pouch the Germans made for them
an MG34 sits on its maschinengewehrlafette recoil buffered mounting system in a glass case that allows you to see both sides of the machine gun
A video monitor above the display plays a German MG34 training film that demonstrates the proper methods for loading
changing barrels and clearing stuck cartridge cases
but few are as engaging or evocative as this one
Click here for a "Guns of the Battle of the Bulge" Photo Gallery.
Every year, millions of tourists travel to other countries just to drink wine, taste regional cuisine, or experience the local music scene. Firearm enthusiasts and collectors travel abroad, too, and as long as that is the case, the museums dedicated to the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium and Luxembourg represent a fulfilling destination.
Long respected for its world-leading military small arms, Heckler & Koch, through its American factory and engineers, has taken the pulse of U.S. shooters—and the new Concealed Carry 9 mm Luger micro pistol is poised to quicken it.
Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.
Despite a slight decline in demand for new firearms, the industry’s economic impact rose from $90.5 billion in 2023 to $91.7 billion in 2024.
Since its inception, Kahr Arms has been most well-known for its single-stack line of concealed-carry pistols, but, in 2025, the company is moving into the double-stack market with its new Premium X Series.
Henry's Special Products Division has officially released its first line of unique offerings in its HUSH series of suppressor-ready lever-action rifles.
Built primarily from thick 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum, the Multi Cal. Steady Rest from Ransom Intl. is an incredibly robust and stable gun rest designed for use with pistols and long guns alike.
CategoriesCategoriesEnglishGENERALGoogle predicts flooding of Belgian rivers with AI model22 May 2023
Google is distributing flood forecasts for a number of rivers in Belgium
The predictions look up to seven days ahead using artificial intelligence (AI)
41 people died following extreme rainfall and flooding in the east of Belgium
Google started predicting river floods using AI in 2018 in India
the company expanded its service to several countries in Africa
On the platform
Google predicts the evolution of water levels in the Dender
NGOs and residents of risk zones to be better prepared
The company is working on extending flood warnings in its search engine and Maps app
Google says its hydrology model is the first working model that uses machine learning to generate improved forecasts in locations around the world
the model processes public data on precipitation and temperature
Belgium saw heavy rainfall wreak havoc on large parts of the country
Forty-one people lost their lives as a result of the extreme weather
mainly around the Vesdre river in the province of Liège
which was ravaged by floods in July 2021 © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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