Nuts - The Siege of Bastogne, Battle of the Bulge, December 1944

In the central sector of the Battle of the Bulge, the Germans had smashed through the American 28th and 106th Infantry Divisions before approaching the key crossroads town of Bastogne on 19 December. In the meantime the veteran 101st Airborne Division had been rushed from their camp in France to Bastogne to take up the defense. What followed was an epic seven-day struggle with the defending airborne troops besieged by four German divisions.

On 26 December the siege was broken by the arrival of the American 4th Armored Division and a few days later the Americans went on the attack.

However, the Germans were not done. On 31 December Hitler launched the last German offensive in the west, Operation Nordwind. German divisions along the Lorraine front attacked into the old French Maginot Line where the Americans had dug in. With many of their reserves sent north to face the Ardennes offensive, the Americans were taken by surprise.

Their third and final book in their Lorraine and Ardennes themed series is Nuts, The Siege of Bastogne, Battle of the Bulge, December 1944. As the title suggests this book covers the fighting around Bastogne, the US 101st Airborne Division’s epic defense and the German attempts take the town. The name of the book comes from General McAuliffe, acting commander of the 101st Airborne Division, in his reply to the Germans’ ultimatum to surrender Bastogne on 22 December 1944, when he simply replied ‘Nuts!’

However, Nuts also covers Operation Nordwind, the German attack in Northern Alsace-Lorraine, just south of the Ardennes. The German launched this attack take advantage of the distraction caused by their Ardennes offensive. Both German operations saw the first heavy use of new Volksgrenadier Divisions, the new type of infantry division introduced by the Germans, designed to fully utilize their limited manpower by introducing increased firepower with new weapons like the StG44 assault rifle.

Nuts can be used in conjunction with Blood, Guts, and Glory and Devil’s Charge to recreate the wide variety of battles seen through campaigns of late 1944 and early 1945 throughout Alsace-Lorraine, the Ardennes and on the German border. The US infantry forces from Devil’s Charge and US armored forces from Blood, Guts, and Glory are also designed to represent the forces facing the Germans during Nordwind. Volksgrenadier divisions also faced US infantry forces from Devil’s Charge as well as fighting during the Lorraine campaign against US armored forces.