The Battle of the Bulge

Our original design is packed with historical references: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.

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.

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