04x06 - n*zi Tank Hunters

[bunniefuu]

NARRATOR: December 1944, when an American

scout loses his way behind enemy lines

he does his best to collect

important information and create havoc.

(expl*si*n)

(yells)

In response, German forces

strive to locate the intruder

and close in on his position.

(dramatic music)

GERMAN SOLDIER: Halt.

NARRATOR:

On June 6th, 1944,

Allied forces

finally land troops in Normandy

to open the Western Front.

Ten-hut. Fire!

NARRATOR:

But n*zi fanatics and diehards

continue to fight ferociously

for survival.

(expl*si*n)

(g*nshots)

D-Day was a battle.

They still need to win the w*r.

(theme music plays)

December 22nd, 1944,

the Ardennes sector, Belgium.

American Lieutenant Michael McDonald

peers out into a dark winter night.

The main fighting force of the 3rd Armored

Division pulled out two days before

to meet the German attack

launched into Belgium.

Thirty three miles from the border,

the village of Hotton

was thought to be far from the front line.

This left McDonald, some engineers,

and a mix of reserve forces

when a surprise German attack

hit the village the next day.

BORYS: They're soldiers

that are working the logistics, in supply,

they're clerks, they're mechanics,

they're drivers,

there's priests,

and there's headquarters staff,

what we call rear echelon troops

or rearguard troops.

(clicking)

NARRATOR: But not necessarily

the battle-hardened soldiers

a commander would want to defend

against a German tank attack.

McDonald is a scout

and should have moved out too,

but he was in sickbay with pneumonia.

As one of the few

combat officers available,

McDonald dragged himself

out of bed and now directs the fight

from a schoolhouse in the north of Hotton.

For the last 26 hours,

he has called down mortar fire on the

German forces probing the edge of town.

He's one reason the Germans

have not swept through the village.

(dramatic music)

Send out a flare.

NARRATOR:

From his observation post,

McDonald radios for a flare

in front of the schoolhouse.

(thuds, sizzles)

The illuminated field

swarms with German soldiers.

AMERICAN SOLDIER:

Ready.

NARRATOR:

McDonald uses the artificial light

to call out German positions

to his mortar team.

(expl*si*n)

But he's cut short.

A German soldier

with a panzerfaust spots him

and launches a rocket

at the American lieutenant.

MCDONALD (yelling):

Panzerfaust!

(expl*si*n)

NARRATOR: The rocket

rips into the schoolhouse

and blows McDonald across the classroom.

The chaplain responds and moves forward

to drag McDonald to safety

(g*nf*re in distance)

(g*nf*re)

as another rocket

tears into the building.

(expl*si*n)

Word will go out,

the north of Hotton has fallen.

These troops must retreat

into town and hope for reinforcements.

(g*nf*re)

By December 1944,

the w*r on the Western Front

reached a stalemate.

RICHIE: The Allies have

broken out from the Normandy landings

where they were bogged down,

and they really raced ahead.

But the big problem that they're facing is

that they have overrun their supply lines

and they can't get

enough material to fight on.

So the idea is to consolidate,

to rest for a little while

before they carry on

the fight into Germany.

NARRATOR:

Instead, German forces attack

and pour into Luxembourg

and Belgium on December 16th

to recapture the critical

supply port of Antwerp.

The Germans follow the road

network from town to town.

RICHIE: The small towns mark

where there are crossroads or bridges.

And it's one thing to move

men and material in through an area,

but in order to get heavy

equipment like tanks across,

you do really need to rely on the bridges.

NARRATOR: The German 116th Panzer,

or Greyhound Division,

is in search of one such bridge.

LIEB:

It fought in Normandy

and its performance

was criticized by some superiors.

Nonetheless, the 116th Panzer Division

is one of the best German divisions

in the Western Theater

of w*r in late 1944.

Its emblem is a greyhound,

and it shows that this is a very quick,

fast and furious division.

NARRATOR: During an opening blitz

of the Battle of the Bulge,

these Greyhounds

raced 18 miles in a day and half.

On December 21st,

a Kampfgruppe or Battlegroup from the

Greyhound Division arrives in Hotton

to capture the timber bridge

across the river Ourthe,

at the western-most edge

of the famous Bulge.

BORYS: The Germans are the farthest west.

They are closest to the Meuse River.

If the Germans capture Hotton,

they can cross the Meuse River

and then they get a direct beeline

to the important city of Antwerp.

NARRATOR: American command

labels the relief and defense of Hotton

as a key priority for the U.S. Army.

One solution is to bolster the Allied line

with airborne units like paratroopers.

Members of the 517th Parachute Infantry

Regiment set out for Hotton.

The 517th were undergoing a retrofit

when they're rushed to the Front.

They receive weapons so new,

they're still covered in cosmoline.

Cosmoline is a type of material that's

used to preserve weapons during shipment.

Typically, it's intended to prevent rust.

NARRATOR: It's a waxy grease

that must be stripped away

for the weapons operate properly,

a challenge in the cold.

The paratroopers use gasoline

to remove the cosmoline,

but they do not have time

to test or sight the weapons.

Soldiers don't like going into

combat with a new weapon

because they don't know

how it's gonna perform.

You don't know if there's some damage

that occurred to the weapon.

The only way you can trust a weapon

is to fire it before you

bring it out into combat.

(dramatic music)

NARRATOR: The normally airborne troops

board trucks in freezing temperatures.

(truck rumbling)

After more than 20 hours, they unload

near the town of Soy, Belgium.

AMERICAN SOLDIER:

Let's go!

With little preparation, 1st Battalion is

ordered to attack along the highway.

(g*nf*re in distance)

Camouflaged armor hidden in the

woods quickly opens fire.

The Germans repel the attack

and the battalion fails

in its first bid to relieve Hotton.

After the setback,

the 517th splits their unit.

One task force

will advance along side roads

to outflank enemy troops to reach Hotton.

While another task force

continues to strike German defenses

along the main highway

towards the village.

(g*nf*re)

But instead of attacking in the open,

Captain Dean Robbins,

Commander of B Company,

moves his men off the highway

and into the woods.

Biddle.

NARRATOR: He summons

Private First Class Melvin Biddle

Need you out front.

NARRATOR:

and sends him to scout ahead.

ZALOGA: The scout is the

reconnaissance element of an army unit,

and that's the soldier

or small group of soldiers

that goes out to see

where the enemy is located.

If the enemy is setting up an ambush,

if there's a way

to get across a key river.

So their mission is to lead ahead

with the main body.

NARRATOR: In the quiet of the woods,

Biddle advances in bursts.

(tense music)

He worked in a factory

when he received his draft notice

two years before at the age of 19.

He's the third of three brothers

to enter the service.

(g*nf*re in distance)

When g*nf*re pierces the silence,

the scout hits the snow.

(g*nf*re continues)

He continues to pick a path

through the dense trees

near some train tracks.

Despite his limited field of view,

he discovers a camouflaged German

position occupied by three soldiers.

BORYS: Biddle is a good scout

for a number of reasons.

He's calm under pressure.

He's an excellent marksman, but most

importantly he has excellent eyesight,

and this means he can see the enemy

before the enemy sees him.

NARRATOR: With this target,

Biddle circles around and closes in.

NARRATOR: Private First Class Melvin

Biddle creeps towards a German position.

He must proceed carefully.

Any sound or movement

could give away his location.

When within 30 yards,

he crouches and takes aim.

A German soldier goes down.

Biddle lines up a second shot,

yet hesitates to pull the trigger.

He considers taking the

other two prisoner,

but they reach for their r*fles

to return fire.

(g*nsh*t)

Biddle shoots

the second German in the torso.

The last soldier bolts.

(g*nshots)

Biddle fires off two more shots

hitting him twice.

But he stays on his feet

and stumbles toward the rear.

Biddle approaches the German position

but there is no sign of the fleeing

soldier through the brush.

He turns to the second soldier

who has a severe wound to his stomach.

The man is young

and reminds Biddle of himself.

He reaches to release the belt of the

dying German to relieve the pressure.

Suddenly, the woods around him

erupt in mortar and small arms fire.

(g*nf*re)

It appears the third German

has made it back to his own line

and alerted them to Biddle's presence.

(dramatic music)

(dramatic music)

Throughout much of

southeast Belgium on December 23rd, 1944,

German forces exploit the weakness

of the Allied line in the Ardennes region.

RICHIE: The Ardennes

is considered to be a bit of a backwater.

One of the main reasons is the terrain.

It's very hilly and boggy and wooded,

and there's the assumption

that the Germans

are simply not gonna come through there.

Eisenhower has troops

to the north and to the south

that he's planning to sort of send forward

once the military,

once the battles start up again,

but the Ardennes

has really been overlooked.

NARRATOR: This allows

German tanks and soldiers

to plunge more than 30 miles into Belgium

in their quest to retake Antwerp.

(rapid g*nf*re)

(expl*si*n)

Melvin Biddle crawls away from

the fierce crossfire to the highway

(rapid g*nf*re)

(expl*si*n)

which connects the Belgian town of Soy

to neighboring Hotton in the west.

(g*nf*re continues)

(expl*si*n)

As he approaches the road,

Biddle sees vehicles up ahead.

He creeps forward to take a better look.

(distant g*nf*re)

(suspenseful music)

BORYS: As Biddle gets closer he sees

that they are American vehicles

with the star on the side,

but at the same time, the soldiers

around those vehicles are speaking German,

and that makes him very suspicious.

NARRATOR: He decides

he must tell his commanding officer.

The captured vehicles could be used

to infiltrate the American lines.

BORYS:

Biddle's a good scout.

He realizes that he's discovered

an important piece of information

and now he has to get back

and report back to headquarters.

NARRATOR:

At the western edge of the German advance,

the other task force

of American paratroopers

from the 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment

have traveled along back roads

to the besieged town of Hotton.

(expl*si*n)

They rendezvous

with Lieutenant Michael McDonald

and the other 3rd Armored Division

reserve troops who defied the odds.

(g*nf*re)

BORYS: This delay

of the German advance is impressive.

These are soldiers that had

very little front line combat experience

and here they are holding back

the tide of Germans.

NARRATOR:

But while the Germans can't take Hotton,

the combined American forces

can't break out of the village either.

(expl*si*n)

They're trapped together

and continue to hold the town.

(g*nf*re)

The delay frustrates

the Greyhound Panzer Division troops

- who need to cross the Ourthe River.

- AMERICAN SOLDIER: Go, go, go, go, go!

NARRATOR: Unable to capture

the Hotton bridge quickly,

they move southeast

to find easier passage.

The rerouting takes

the spearhead unit further off course.

It also has larger implications.

AMERICAN SOLDIER:

Come on.

RICHIE: Hitler begins

the Ardennes offensive with the idea

that he's going to surprise

the Western Allies.

That they're gonna be so shocked

that they won't know what to do

and he's just gonna

race through, take Antwerp.

Well, of course that doesn't happen

quite the way Hitler planned.

The more time the Allies have to scramble,

to react to this surprise attack,

to bring in more troops,

more ammunition and tanks and equipment

and actually fight back.

NARRATOR: As the Greyhounds move out,

German Volksgrenadiers move in

under the command

of Oberstleutnant Helmut Zander.

LIEB:

Zander joins the army in the late 1920s,

initially as a ranker and then as an NCO.

He gets commissioned only very

late in 1940 as a first lieutenant,

but then pursues a quick

and successful career during the w*r.

He's a battle-hardened Eastern Front

veteran and highly decorated.

(dramatic music)

NARRATOR: Zander's men continue

to hammer the Americans in Hotton

and along the Soy-Hotton

highway with tank destroyers.

The Americans must locate and eliminate

these camouflaged g*n positions

if they hope to fully

reunite their forces.

(rapid g*nf*re in distance)

(tense music)

After reporting to his commanding officer,

Private Melvin Biddle

and two other paratroopers

set out to investigate the suspicious

American vehicles as night falls.

They've also got orders

to seize an enemy soldier if possible.

BORYS: Capturing German prisoners

is pretty standard protocol.

If they can capture a German prisoner,

they can get even more information

on the situation.

NARRATOR: Along the highway,

the trio spot a German officer

next to an American decoy vehicle.

One of the men with Biddle,

a sergeant takes aim.

When they try to capture the German

officer things go a little awry.

The sergeant tells

the German officer to halt.

Halt.

BORYS: And he does this twice,

but very quietly.

AMERICAN SERGEANT:

Halt.

BORYS: Almost so that

the German officer can't hear.

NARRATOR:

At very close range, only about 15 yards,

the sergeant fires at

the officer, but misses.

BORYS: At this point, the German officer

fires back and everybody scatters.

Hey, Johnny!

(g*nf*re)

NARRATOR: While his partners

race back to the US line,

Biddle freezes.

BORYS:

Biddle is shocked.

He can't believe the sergeant

missed the German officer twice.

NARRATOR: He finally

pulls himself together and starts to run.

But in his haste Biddle turns away

from the American line.

(dramatic music)

US Private First Class Melvin Biddle

runs in the wrong direction

toward German positions in the forest.

He carries his M1 Garand,

a knife, and some grenades.

In addition to being lost,

American a*tillery targets German activity

in the woods, and now falls around him.

Despite the danger of friendly fire,

the 21 year old resolves

to continue his mission.

BORYS: When Biddle realizes

he's behind enemy lines

he's going to do what he's

always done, he's a scout.

He's going to try as quietly as possible

to gather as much information as he can.

(tense music)

NARRATOR: He prowls through the trees

and tries to pinpoint enemy positions

without revealing himself.

As Biddle watches,

a German patrol nears his location.

Out of the darkness

he hears another German challenge.

- GERMAN SOLDIER: Halt!

- NARRATOR: "Halt."

The German patrol calls back, "Hottentot."

Hottentot.

NARRATOR: Although Biddle

does not understand or speak German,

he recognizes "hottentot"

as the password to the challenge, halt.

The information could save his life if he

stumbles into a German post by mistake.

But there's a problem.

BORYS: Biddle is worried

about his Indiana accent.

The simple fact is that

if he yells out "hottentot,"

and he doesn't sound German,

the Germans are gonna know

an enemy is in their midst.

NARRATOR: He decides

if he does encounter anyone,

he will have to be quick

to challenge halt first.

BORYS: He figures it'll be easier

to say for a boy from Indiana.

NARRATOR: As Biddle continues

to roam in the darkness,

he does more than collect information.

He decides to eliminate

a machine g*n nest he identifies ahead.

Despite the risk of exposing his presence,

Biddle pulls the pin on a grenade.

(dramatic music)

After it explodes, he opens fire

with his M1 Garand to clear the soldiers.

He fades back into the night

while the Germans search for the attacker.

US troops currently hold out

in Hotton, Belgium

under attack from enemy

forces outside the town.

The American goal is to protect a bridge

across the Ourthe River

which would allow German tanks

access to the Belgian road network

and to race towards Antwerp.

Members of Biddle's regiment also try

to attack the German forces from the rear

along the highway from the northeast.

Hidden in the German line, Biddle stumbles

across tank destroyers in the forest.

BORYS:

These tank destroyers have been key

in allowing the Germans

to beat back American attacks

and now Biddle knows where they are.

If he can get this information back to

headquarters, the tide of battle can turn.

(dramatic music)

NARRATOR: After-action reports

often misidentified enemy

tank destroyers as tanks.

ZALOGA:

When American Gis would encounter

a German armored vehicle

on the b*ttlefield,

usually it was covered with pine boughs

or tree branches

or other forms of camouflage.

So, whether it was a Panzerkampfwagen IV

or a Panzerjäger or some other type,

the Gis had a hard time

telling what it was.

NARRATOR: But armored vehicles

serve different purposes.

ZALOGA: The German tank destroyer,

also called a Panzerjäger

is a dedicated anti-tank vehicle.

Its weapon is located

within a fixed casemate,

a fixed superstructure without a turret.

NARRATOR: The tank destroyer's low profile

made it difficult for the Americans

to get a fix on its position.

Its primary purpose is to attack enemy

tanks, so it must be well protected.

ZALOGA: A German Panzerjäger

usually has more armor than a tank,

and at the same time,

it usually has a more powerful g*n.

NARRATOR: He notes

the location of the tank destroyers.

Biddle doesn't attack the tank destroyers

because he's just one man,

and he's a scout.

His job is to gather information.

NARRATOR:

With this key intelligence, he moves on.

(suspenseful music)

But out of the darkness,

a voice stops Biddle in his tracks.

GERMAN SOLDIER:

Halt!

NARRATOR:

When a young American private

tries to answer

a password challenge in German

Hottentot.

NARRATOR: the enemy sentry

does not buy it.

Nein.

NARRATOR:

As the German soldier raises his r*fle,

Melvin Biddle takes off into the night.

- The soldier opens fire

- Halt!

NARRATOR: but the shots go wide.

GERMAN SOLDIER:

Alarm!

NARRATOR:

Biddle runs deeper into the woods

finds cover

and waits.

(dramatic music)

Members of

the 560th Volksgrenadier Division

under Oberstleutnant Helmut Zander

(yelling in German)

must locate the enemy interloper

who has created havoc in the German lines.

(tense music)

Biddle hears boots in the snow.

The Germans creep nearer.

BORYS:

Biddle is extremely cold,

in fact he's worried

that his fingers are so cold

he won't be able to pull the trigger

if he gets into trouble.

(g*nf*re in distance)

NARRATOR:

He makes a quick decision.

BORYS:

His solution is to use his left hand

to pull the trigger finger of his right

hand in case he gets into a fire fight.

(inaudible)

NARRATOR: In the darkness,

a German soldier gets so close,

his boot lands next to Biddle's hand

but he does not detect

the American scout's presence.

The German soldiers move on.

After the threat passes

(g*nf*re in distance)

Biddle hears g*nf*re in the distance.

He recognizes the sound of

his own machine g*ns.

(g*nf*re continues)

Every machine g*n makes a distinct sound

and when he hears the American

machine g*ns firing at the Germans,

he can sort of pinpoint

the location of the Americans.

(g*nf*re continues)

NARRATOR: Biddle tracks

the g*n chatter in the direction

of what he hopes is friendly fire.

Back along the American line, Biddle's

fellow paratroopers from the 517th

are in a firefight with German defenders

over a key crossroad

along the highway from Soy.

(rapid g*nf*re)

After a big US push, the Germans

counterattack with everything at hand.

(dramatic music)

(expl*si*n)

The nighttime fight is

fierce and in close.

BORYS: The German machine gunners

in between bursts are yelling,

"Merry Christmas, American b*stards."

And this incites the Americans.

Many of them don't even know

they're fighting on Christmas Eve,

and this is sort of fuel

to the attacking fire.

NARRATOR: Defense by a platoon from

C Company holds off the German as*ault.

(g*nf*re in distance)

They then advance about ten yards

and the enemy fire drops off.

The paratroopers seize the moment.

The platoon rises up and

charges, firing as they go.

Others join in from B and A Companies.

They overrun the dug-in German positions

to finally take the crossroads.

The capture of the crossroads

is extremely important,

because now the Americans can push on to

Hotton and relieve the men fighting there.

NARRATOR:

The lost scout, Melvin Biddle

gets closer to the sound

of the American machine g*ns

when he hears something different.

(airplane droning)

It's a German Junkers JU 88,

a reconnaissance plane flying low.

Its wings almost touching the treetops.

Biddle watches as the German

aircraft nears his position

when a second plane appears.

An American P-61 Black Widow

speeds overhead.

(distant g*nf*re)

ZALOGA: The P-61 was the U.S. Army

Air Force's dedicated night fighter.

It was a very large aircraft.

It had twin engines, had a three-man

or sometimes four-man crew.

It had a very good air-to-air radar,

so that the fighter could locate

enemy aircraft at nighttime.

It didn't have to see the enemy aircraft,

it could pick them up simply by its radar.

NARRATOR: Suddenly one of the planes

erupts into flames.

(dramatic music)

Under attack

from the American night fighter,

the German Junkers JU 88

falls from the sky.

Watching an aircraft battle

at night would've been pretty surreal.

It would've been loud,

especially at low altitude.

You would've at first celebrated

the fact that the American plane

had emerged victorious

and then you would've started to panic

as the German plane started to come

down really close to where you are.

NARRATOR: The wreckage misses

Private First Class Melvin Biddle.

But it crashes nearby

and illuminates the forest.

Biddle sets off again to locate

the American line in the darkness.

He's been gone since the day before

and doesn't know the new

password for December 24th.

He worries he might get shot

because he can't properly

answer the challenge.

As Biddle moves forward

- he hears a voice.

- Biddle, is that you?

- Yeah.

- BORYS: An American soldier hears him

and instead of sh**ting

or asking for the password,

he actually calls him by name

and Biddle is able to make it back safely.

NARRATOR: Biddle locates his

company commander, Captain Dean Robbins.

BORYS:

Captain Robbins thought Biddle was dead.

And when Biddle turns up,

Captain Robbins is very happy to see him.

But he's even happier to know

that Biddle has an extremely important

piece of intelligence to give him.

(dramatic music)

NARRATOR: Biddle identifies German

machine g*n emplacements,

and most importantly,

shows Robbins where the camouflaged

German tank destroyers are dug in.

With an attack planned for early, Robbins

dismisses Biddle to eat and get some rest.

Biddle leans against a tree

and opens a tin of cold rations.

He eats the food and closes his eyes.

BORYS: In the early hours of December

24th, the 517th has had no rest,

and to top it off,

they're really, really cold

and most of them have to

keep moving around to avoid freezing.

(somber music)

- NARRATOR: Biddle manages to drift off

- Biddle.

NARRATOR: but is soon shaken awake

with a familiar command.

Need you out front.

BORYS: Captain Robbins is happy

that he's there and he says to him,

"You're so damn lucky,

we want you back out there."

And Biddle finds himself

right at the front again.

(dramatic music)

NARRATOR:

Robbins positions his paratroopers

in front of a contingent

of American armor.

They have tried twice

to breakthrough into Hotton

and the hidden German tank destroyers

turned them back.

BORYS:

This time they have an advantage,

because of Biddle they know

where the tank destroyers are

and they're gonna be able to target

these German pieces of armor.

NARRATOR: As Biddle gets underway,

his sergeant gives him a signal

(whistles)

then motions for him to drop.

Biddle hits the snow

as the Sergeant fires.

BORYS: Scouts normally work in teams,

and this time it saved Biddle's life.

He didn't see the camouflaged German

soldier, but his teammate did.

(tense music)

NARRATOR: Biddle gets to his feet

and continues ahead of the paratroopers

from the 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment

fighting through to stranded Americans

forces in Hotton, Belgium.

Biddle has orders to hold the left flank

while American armor moves toward

the German tank destroyer positions.

He crawls ahead.

In the distance, he sees a group of enemy

soldiers, but the brush limits his view.

(distant g*nf*re)

Biddle moves to a seated position.

From here, he spots a line of helmets

bobbing along, about 200 yards out.

He tucks his elbow

below his knee to steady his r*fle,

takes a deep breath

and fires.

(dramatic music)

The posture assumed by Private First

Class Melvin Biddle looks unusual.

It's called the seated position,

and it is one of four drilled into

American recruits during basic training.

The goal is to always have

the soldier's bones

and not his muscles support the r*fle.

In the seated position, the rifleman

secures the r*fle strap as a brace

and twists slightly before resting

the left elbow below the knee.

BORYS: The seated position

is an extremely awkward firing position.

You have to practice it a lot to get

that muscle memory to do it effectively.

NARRATOR: It allows

Biddle to see just over the rise.

He is not exposed, but he has

eyes on the enemy helmets.

Biddle fires, aiming a little high

to compensate for the distance.

(dramatic music)

(g*nsh*t)

At about 200 yards,

his shots find their mark repeatedly.

(g*nsh*t)

BORYS: Back in basic training

as he's practicing it over and over again,

he thought to himself

he was never going to need to use it.

He obviously thought wrong.

NARRATOR: Biddle makes at least

a dozen successful shots,

but chose not to look for himself.

BORYS: Later in life Biddle was glad

he didn't go and inspect the dead Germans.

He felt that would've been

a horrific memory to carry with him.

NARRATOR: To Biddle's right,

American armor rumbles toward Hotton.

Assisted by the intelligence

from his scout the night before,

they approach

the camouflaged German positions.

Schnell, schnell.

(inaudible)

(speaking German)

NARRATOR: The German tank destroyers

turn to confront the American force

(inaudible)

but the Americans fire first

and finally eliminate the German armor

which has stymied their advance for days.

(dramatic music)

With the combination

of US armor and paratroopers,

the German defenses give way.

At this time, the Germans

are fighting on two fronts.

You've got the American troops

fighting out of Hotton,

and you've got another American force

pushing along the highway westwards.

So, what remains of the German forces

melt down to the south.

NARRATOR: The two American groups

tie in on the outskirts of Hotton.

(inaudible)

BORYS: These rear echelon troops had just

spent days defending against Germans.

Germans in the town, Germans in the

forest, Germans in the houses.

And then all of a sudden,

it's an American soldier,

and it means the

battle's over. They did it.

NARRATOR: Hotton and its bridge

are now firmly in Allied hands.

The devastation and the wreckage

show the steep cost

of the battle to the combatants

and the residents of the village.

(somber music)

Most members of the 517th

are sent back to get some respite

and Christmas dinner in Soy.

For B Company and Biddle,

they can't rest yet,

but B Company returns to the crossroads

Biddle. Need you out front.

NARRATOR: to clear the woods

and secure the highway.

1st battalion of the

517th parachute infantry Regiment

earns a Presidential Unit Citation

for their actions at Hotton.

The trapped men of 3rd Armored Division

also distinguish themselves

within the village.

Defensive maneuvers there

earned the grudging admiration of even

the German general, Hasso Manteuffel.

Private First Class Melvin Biddle

earns the highest award

in the American Army

for actions in combat,

the Congressional Medal of Honor,

for his intrepid courage and superb daring

which enabled his battalion

to break the enemy grasp on Hotton

with a minimum of casualties.

Biddle's actions were

worthy of a Medal of Honor

because he went above

and beyond the call of duty.

Often, we think of battles as large

formations achieving grand objectives.

But often battles come down to the bravery

or the decisions being made

by one or two people,

and this is what happens here at Hotton,

and Biddle makes a major difference.

NARRATOR: The 517th and the 3rd Armored

hold off the Greyhound troops at Hotton,

but it's only a delay.

German troops soon divert to La Roche,

Belgium and cross the Ourthe River there.

However, like the other panzer troops

soon outrun their supply lines.

RICHIE: There's an old expression that,

armchair warriors look at tactics,

but the true generals look at logistics,

because if you can't supply your troops,

you can't supply your men,

you can't defend the flanks,

then you're in big trouble.

LIEB: The Battle of the Bulge

was the last German attempt

to win back the initiative in the west.

However, it failed,

and it was at great costs

because the Germans deployed

their last armored reserves,

and they were more or

less naked in the east.

On the 12th of January,

the Soviets start their Winter Offensive

and break quickly

through the German defenses

and pushed through Poland towards Berlin.

NARRATOR: And the w*r in Europe will

still rage for nearly four more months.

(airplane drone)