Our original design is available on a Made in America shirt and a vintage option and includes these historical references:
- What became known as the "Battle of the Bulge" was the Ardennes Offensive, and the response of the Allies, the Ardennes Counteroffensive.
- The battle lasted for five weeks from December 16, 1944 to January 28, 1945, towards the end of the war in Europe.
- The 101st Airborne Division was surrounded at Bastogne and being shelled.
- "NUTS" was the (probably sanitized) reply from Brig. Gen. Anthony Mcauliffe to the letter from the attacking German Forces offering an opportunity to surrender.
- An excerpt from Mcauliffe's Christmas Letter to his troops:
We are giving our country and our loved ones at home a worthy Christmas present and being privileged to take part in this gallant feat of arms are truly making for ourselves a Merry Christmas.
/s/ A. C. McAULIFFE
/t/ McAULIFFE
Commanding.
- The Sherman Cobra King that broke through to link up with the 101st Airborne Division on the outskirts of Bastogne on December 26.
- The line running down the center is a tracing from the map of enemy positions on December 25.
Includes a card with the entire Christmas letter that McAuliffe had distributed to his troops, the letter from the German Commander offering McAuliffe the opportunity to surrender his encircled troops, and the propaganda flier that the the Germans distributed to American troops encouraging them to desert.
The shirt:
- Military green — 100% cotton shirt. 4.3 oz. Sizes: S - 3XL.
All shirts are printed in New England.
Included with every shirt: A 5" x 8" card with an image of Brig. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe’s 1944 Christmas letter to his troops, and on the back, the typed offer to negotiate a surrender that the Germans presented and the propaganda flier that the Germans dropped.
This design is also available in a crewneck shirt for men and women, a women's v-neck shirt, hooded sweatshirt, and a long-sleeved shirt with UPF protection.
Browse through all the original designs in our WWII collection, including Pearl Harbor, Midway, "V" for Victory with all of the battles listed, History Nerd paratrooper / Operation Overlord, Operation Market Garden, She's a W.O.W., a print with more than 100 posters from the homefront, our Victory pin, and more.
Historical accounts and background
The US Army's account of the "NUTS" reply.
Sherman Jumbo "Cobra King"
Company C, 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division
As shown in the photo above, the M4A3E2 Sherman Cobra King is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Army outside of Washington, DC.
This is the text on the panel beside the tank:
"M4A3E2 Sherman Cobra King links up with encircled defenders of the 101st
Airborne Division on the outskirts of the town of Bastogne on 26 December
1944. The breakthrough opened the way for Allied forces to begin the counteroffensive that ended the Battle of the Bulge. In March 1945, Cobra King was put out of action during the unsuccessful mission to liberate American prisoners of war at a POW camp near Hammelburg, Germany.
"CREW MEMBERS
- 1st Lt. Charles P. Boggess,
- Cpl. Milton Dickerman,
- Pvt. James G. Murphy,
- Pvt. Hubert S. Smith, and
- Pvt. Harold Hafner after the Bastogne linkup."
Here's the story of how the tank was tracked down and authenticated in 2008.
Thanks to Larisa for her suggestion of a Battle of the Bulge shirt and to her, Martin Quinn, and Mike Manning for reviewing the historical details.