Secret Heroes/Battle of the Bulge: Difference between revisions

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Even at this late date, while we celebrate the magnificent story of the bravery of our servicemen in stopping the German’s Ardennes offensive, very few people know the real story of the tragedy of the Battle of the Bulge. It is only through the honest and accurate revelations of those few Commanders who were able to know that we can understand this tragic snafu that cost 19,276 American lives. For this, we must wonder why British historian Charles Whiting’s final words in “The Last Assault” were “General Dwight D. Eisenhower had gotten away with it” and we need to take our hats off to General Omar Bradley for telling it like it was in his frank autobiography “A Soldier’s Life”. It was Eisenhower who put British General Bernard Montgomery in command of two American Armies with the 21st Army Group, a move which most historians acknowledge was detrimental to the Allied response in the North at the Bulge. General Omar Bradley honestly admitted “In the face of this astonishing German build-up, I had greatly underestimated the enemy’s offensive capabilities”.

== Ardennes battle credit — USFET letter-order (7 July 1945) ==

On '''7 July 1945''', Headquarters, United States Forces, European Theater (USFET; redesignated from ETO HQ on 20 June 1945) issued a letter-order (AG 200.6 OpGA) announcing further units awarded battle participation credit for the '''Ardennes''' campaign under AR 260-10 and War Department General Orders No. 40 (1945). Personnel present with a listed unit during the campaign’s limiting dates were to have the credit entered in their records, supporting a bronze service star on the theater ribbon.

The order is mostly a long unit list, but it explicitly includes several Camp Ritchie–style intelligence teams and related detachments:

* [[Team IPW 19|IPW Team No. 19]]

* [[Team OB 35|OB Team No. 35]]

* [[Team IPW 69|IPW Team No. 69]]

* [[Team IPW 141|IPW Team No. 141]]

* [[Team IPW 174|IPW Team No. 174]]

* [[Team MII 474-G|MII Team No. 474-G]]

* 4th CIC Detachment; 75th CIC Detachment; 502nd CIC Detachment

* Engineer Technical Intelligence Teams 2891, 2892, 2897, and 2944

This is '''unit''' battle credit, not a roster of individuals. It is useful corroboration that these teams were among those recognized for Ardennes service after the campaign.

* [[:File:HQ_USFET_Battle_Participation_Awards_Ardennes_7_Jul_1945.pdf|HQ USFET Battle Participation Awards — Ardennes Campaign, 7 July 1945 (PDF)]] (also on [[Training materials#Featured: Ardennes battle participation awards (USFET, 7 July 1945)|Training materials]])

== Notes ==

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== See also ==

* [[Training materials]]

* [[Themes]] — theme face galleries hub

* [[Refugees who enlisted]]

@@ Line 165: / Line 165: @@
 Even at this late date, while we celebrate the magnificent story of the bravery of our servicemen in stopping the German’s Ardennes offensive, very few people know the real story of the tragedy of the Battle of the Bulge. It is only through the honest and accurate revelations of those few Commanders who were able to know that we can understand this tragic snafu that cost 19,276 American lives. For this, we must wonder why British historian Charles Whiting’s final words in “The Last Assault” were “General Dwight D. Eisenhower had gotten away with it” and we need to take our hats off to General Omar Bradley for telling it like it was in his frank autobiography “A Soldier’s Life”. It was Eisenhower who put British General Bernard Montgomery in command of two American Armies with the 21st Army Group, a move which most historians acknowledge was detrimental to the Allied response in the North at the Bulge. General Omar Bradley honestly admitted “In the face of this astonishing German build-up, I had greatly underestimated the enemy’s offensive capabilities”.
+== Ardennes battle credit — USFET letter-order (7 July 1945) ==
+On '''7 July 1945''', Headquarters, United States Forces, European Theater (USFET; redesignated from ETO HQ on 20 June 1945) issued a letter-order (AG 200.6 OpGA) announcing further units awarded battle participation credit for the '''Ardennes''' campaign under AR 260-10 and War Department General Orders No. 40 (1945). Personnel present with a listed unit during the campaign’s limiting dates were to have the credit entered in their records, supporting a bronze service star on the theater ribbon.
+The order is mostly a long unit list, but it explicitly includes several Camp Ritchie–style intelligence teams and related detachments:
+* [[Team IPW 19|IPW Team No. 19]]
+* [[Team OB 35|OB Team No. 35]]
+* [[Team IPW 69|IPW Team No. 69]]
+* [[Team IPW 141|IPW Team No. 141]]
+* [[Team IPW 174|IPW Team No. 174]]
+* [[Team MII 474-G|MII Team No. 474-G]]
+* 4th CIC Detachment; 75th CIC Detachment; 502nd CIC Detachment
+* Engineer Technical Intelligence Teams 2891, 2892, 2897, and 2944
+This is '''unit''' battle credit, not a roster of individuals. It is useful corroboration that these teams were among those recognized for Ardennes service after the campaign.
+* [[:File:HQ_USFET_Battle_Participation_Awards_Ardennes_7_Jul_1945.pdf|HQ USFET Battle Participation Awards — Ardennes Campaign, 7 July 1945 (PDF)]] (also on [[Training materials#Featured: Ardennes battle participation awards (USFET, 7 July 1945)|Training materials]])
 == Notes ==
@@ Line 175: / Line 192: @@
 == See also ==
+* [[Training materials]]
 * [[Themes]] — theme face galleries hub
 * [[Refugees who enlisted]]