Koskimaki - The battered bastards of Bastogne: a chronicle of the defense of Bastogne, December 19, 1944-January 17, 1945

Drawn by Peter Barnette

T he segment of World War II history that follows has never been recorded before. This history of the defense of Bastogne is the product of contributions by 530 soldiers who were on the ground or in the air over Bastogne. They lived and made this history and much of it is told in their own words.

Pieces of a 50 year old puzzle come together in this book, when memories related by one soldier fit with those of another who may have been in a different unit, or when pursuing the battle from a nearby piece of terrain.

The material contributed by these men of the 101st Airborne Division, the Armor, Tank Destroyer, Army Air Force and others, is tailored meticulously and placed on the historical framework known to most students of the Battle of the Bulge. The author, George Koskimaki, has again demonstrated his ability to use recollections provided by soldiers, from private to general, to fashion a narrative that could not be made more exciting by an author of fiction.

There is no evident and repetitious formula, from interview forms, emerging from the introduction of contributors as most works of military history that include personal offerings display. The story is the thing and each individual contribution, by a participant in the defense of Bastogne, is placed in historical perspective and becomes a logical, effective and personal part of this unique history of the men who amazed friend and foe with their tenacious defense of Bastogne.

An additional bonus for the reader is the fact that George Koskimaki was there. He was assigned to Signal Company. He was the Radio Operator for the division commander and he knows most of those who submitted their recollections to be used in the book.

The Battered Bastards of Bastogne follows D-Day With the Screaming Eagles and Hells Highway , the intimate historical accounts of the 101st Air-borne Divisions vital role in the invasion of Normandy and the liberation of the southern part of the Netherlands. It completes the trilogy of the most hard fought and bloody battles by the Screaming Eagles in World War II.

The Battered Bastards of Bastogne will take you from the peaceful interlude in Mourmelon, where the major action was between the airborne soldiers of the 101st and the 82nd Airborne Divisions on pass to Rheim, to the mopping up operations that followed the resolute defense while enormously outnumbered by German Mechanized and Infantry Armies.

The word that propelled the defense of Bastogne into the media and the attention of the world was NUTS. NUTS was an audacious answer to the Germans demanding surrender. This was a clear indicator of the spirit of the Screaming Eagles and the general disdain for the ability of the German divisions to overrun the 360 degree perimeter.

Many who read about the NUTS answer to the surrender demand did not know the price in life, blood and frozen limbs the men of the 101st paid for their stubborn and arrogant stand against the infantry, tanks, artillery and air bombardment of the Germans.

The pages that follow are probably the only chance you will ever have to read, in their own words, how the men who held Bastogne accomplished that momentous task and their feelings about its accomplishment while they were involved in winning one of the pivotal battles of World War II.

Sixty of those who contributed material for this book have died. They leave a legacy of courage and fortitude to all Screaming Eagles who now serve and who will serve in the 101st Airborne Division in the future.