The Battle of the Bulge Wasn't Won at Bastogne. It Was Won by Empty German Fuel Tanks

Описание: "They can afford to burn 2 million gallons to deny them to us. What are we doing here?"
SS Colonel Joachim Peiper, watching American fuel depot burn, December 17, 1944
Hitler's last offensive was supposed to split the Allied armies and capture the port of Antwerp. He threw his best SS divisions at us. His Tiger tanks—the most powerful armored vehicles in the world.
There was just one problem.
They gave their tanks 31,000 gallons of fuel. The distance to their objective was 65 miles. Their tanks burned 2.5 gallons per mile.
They didn't have enough gas to get there. Their entire plan was to steal ours.
So we burned it. 8 million gallons in the first week alone. More than Germany had allocated for the entire offensive.
At Stavelot, we set 2 million gallons on fire rather than let them have it. The German commander watched from his tank turret for five minutes, then said: "What are we doing here?"
This is the story they don't teach you. How the Battle of the Bulge wasn't won by courage alone—it was won by abundance. By oil wells and refineries and 23,000 truck drivers who delivered more fuel in a day than Germany had for the whole offensive.
75% of those drivers were Black. This is Willie Crawford's story.

#BattleOfTheBulge #WWII #WW2 #WorldWar2 #MilitaryHistory #GermanTanks #TigerTank #BlackHistory #RedBallExpress #VeteranStories #ArdennesOffensive