Band of Brothers Ep. 6: About the Battle of the Bulge

I mentioned in my previous blog about Band of Brothers that Ep. 6, "Bastogne", told the story of the Battle of the Bulge from a different perspective. That difference is captured in a bit of text shown on screen over the closing scene:

On December 26, Patton's 3rd Army broke through German lines, allowing supplies and evacuations to flow. The story of the Battle of the Bulge is of Patton's army coming to the rescue of the encircled 101st Airborne. No member of the 101st has ever agreed that the division needed rescue.

The 101st was given a really tough job. They had to hold a position, as infantry, against enemy artillery bombardment. Oh, and they were woefully under-supplied. But they undertook the mission with confidence that their superior training, skills, and confidence in their fellow soldiers (i.e., their band of brothers) would see them through.

There's an apocryphal quote from the same campaign that became a calling card for the 82nd Airborne, a counterpart similar to the 101st Airborne at the time, showing the men's courage:

Why it's Called Battle of the Bulge

You can pick up from dialogue in the episode a bit about why the battle for Bastogne became known as the "Battle of the Bulge" in history books. To understand more it helps to study a bit of history beyond just what's in the miniseries.

The Allies took Bastogne and the areas around it. Then German forces managed to surround them, cutting them off from overland support. Ally field command was centered in the town. Various units like Easy Company deployed in the forest around the city, establishing a perimeter. Germans units attacked that perimeter at numerous places. Many of the Allied units fell back or were overrun. The perimeter of Allied control shrank... except for places where units in the field held their ground. There the perimeter line seemed to bulge outward. Easy Company of the 101st was one of those units that held its position. They were the "bulge" in the line.

"Nuts"

The Germans felt they were winning the battle of Bastogne. They were shrinking the allies' perimeter in towards the town center, inflicting heavy casualties, and they knew the Allies were under-supplied. The German commander sent a supercilious request for their surrender on Christmas Day, 1944. General McAuliffe (US Army) sent a stern reply. The miniseries incorporates this little gem of history:

Watch on YouTube

The surrender offer and McAuliffe's one-word reply are documented history. Here it's related by Col. Sink when he visits Easy Company in the field on Christmas Day.

Great stuff.

Hiking Russian Ridge. Twofer!

Saturday afternoon we weren't sure at first what we were going to do. I set out in the morning intending a twofer— we'd hike the Brooks Falls loop in the morning, eat lunch, then hike somewhere on the peninsula, likely Russian Ridge. The morning hike ran later than expected because we left a little late then met up with our friend David in Pacifica. Then lunch ran a little long because we sat down with David for something faster (and better) than quick service food. Then Hawk was feeling in pain from the hike and the chair at the restaurant so we weren't sure we'd make it to a twofer.

I suggested we start with a scenic drive down the Pacific Coast Highway, California Route 1, to Pacifica, then up the mountains on Route 92, then south on the Skyline Drive, Route 35. If nothing else the views were beautiful in our convertible with the top down. Yes, it was a cold day, cooler than normal even for January, but that's what sweaters and the car's heater are for. Other than the chill in the air it was a beautiful day. 😎

As we reached Russian Ridge Open Space Hawk was feeling up for a short hike again. And that's one of the great things about Russian Ridge.... The network of trails is like a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure park. You can go for a short, medium, or long hike, and almost whichever way you go you get mountain views, bay views, and ocean views.



Today we picked "short hike". We also angled for "not steep trail" as we were concerned the steeper trails might be slippery with mud from the 3 week deluge of rain that ended only 2 days earlier. Thus we started from our favorite usual trailhead in the middle of the park and turned left to climb up Borel Hill. The trail is never steep... and it starts looking easy, like there's only 100' or so of ascent (see above).... but really it's at least twice that, maybe even triple. It's thankfully gradual, over the course of 1/2 mile.



Along the way you get those varied views. Above is a view across the flank of Borel Hill in the foreground to Mindego Hill in the midground, to the Pacific Ocean in the distance. Last year in January we hiked Mindego Hill.

Soon enough we reached the summit of Borel Hill, 2572 feet (784 meters) and enjoyed the views in all directions.



As usual— at least on a clear day— we could make out the towers of San Francisco in the distance. ...Distance being, in this case, about 30 miles away!

We walked back down the hill tired and happy. Oh, and cold. It's a good thing we packed multiple layers of clothes (extra sweaters, etc.) for today's trip!

In beauty we walk.