Battle of the Bulge - Team Desobry Holds Noville Against the German Advance - Animated

Go to ground.news/TOR to stay fully informed. Subscribe through my link and get 40% off unlimited access this month only.
At the beginning of the surprise German offensive that would become known as the Battle of the Bulge, Team Desobry of the US 10th Armored Division must desperately hold onto the town of Noville for as long as possible, so that Allied units can be rushed into the line behind them.
Please support us on Patreon here: www.patreon.com/TheOperationsRoom
For Situation Maps, visit the outstanding www.Project44.ca/
Support them on Patreon at / project1944
Music: www.purple-pla...
Top down figures courtesy of Grantovich, check him out here: / grantovich

[@TheOperationsRoom]

Go to ground.news/TOR to stay fully informed. Subscribe through my link and get 40% off unlimited access this month only.

[@outofturn331]

Noted

[@rickflash448]

"You fellas are going to get a silver star for that!" "WHAT?" your hearing loss has been determined not to be service-related.

[@aditya3127]

But ha silver star

[@ficklefingeroffate]

Hats off to the German patrol who let the Jeep with a badly wounded Major Desbry pass to get to a field hospital. They certainly did not have to do that.

[@UTubeExo]

Yeah, especially since it seemed they were surprising the Americans with encirclement. Letting someone go back their own lines, potentially telling them where you are and what you are doing, is morally brave.

[@evilstorm5954]

The Germans were very humane, not like the ameriKans, who would’ve machine gunned the ambulance/ mercy mission.

[@sthrich635]

The Germans probably didn't knew his actual rank and thought he was a regular wounded private. And keep in mind during this stage Germans had good reasons to conserve everything, from fuel, bullets, and men. They thought no need to add another round or two to someone who wouldn't likely be holding a rifle again any time soon.

[@lennart266]

I feel like it has to do with the average German knowing the war was hopeless at that point.

[@DarkDodger]

@@sthrich635 They had enough ammo to shoot up a jeep with a driver and a wounded soldier, that wasn't a consideration. However, even back then war had rules that soldiers were supposed to adhere to. People like to namedrop the geneva conventions when it comes to committing atrocities, but most of those documents was about the treatment of wounded and prisoners of war. That's why war crimes are called crimes: They're illegal, and you're supposed to behave differently.

[@brokenbridge6316]

These little battles that happened in between the more famous ones don't get enough attention. They deserve to be remembered.

[@mindeloman]

A little battle with lasting consequence. In 1972 General Desobry headed the design studies of what would become the M1 Abrams tank. He stated the battle of Noville as the place the M1 Abrams was designed because he took everything he learned from the battle and applied it to the M1 Abrams.

[@brokenbridge6316]

@@mindeloman---how nice

[@b.p.879]

@@mindeloman That's really awesome!

[@Ghoulza]

There where so many of these smaller battles that had huge impacts but have been overshadowed by the larger battles. Some have been lost to history and will never be know. That's why I love this channel and channels like this that bring as many as they can back

[@MrOtistetrax]

I thought E Company of the 101st won the battle of the bulge all by themselves!

[@Deleteaware]

“Hey I’ve seen this before this is a classic.”

[@tedarcher9120]

Armored push without infantry or artillery support, like in the old days!

[@Theendofhistoryandthelastman]

Foggy Dew

[@gort8203]

Suggestion. Perhaps the maps would benefit from at least some faint contour lines so we could see the elevation variations of the terrain. It looks like flat ground when it is not.

[@Idkman.........]

Good idea

[@theni4880]

Very good suggestion.

[@greentriumph1643]

Not sure. It would make the maps much busier. It's a tradeoff.

[@rigby250]

@@greentriumph1643 Simply put less contour lines but have them represent larger distances. At least something to give us a feel for the lay of the land of the battle.

[@loganwc99]

“Hey go there we’re attacking” is the most airborne shit I have ever heard

[@luuk341]

"Ohh we're attacking? That's the most detailed briefing we've had in months! Let's do it!" Wild dudes in the airborne

[@TheOperationsRoom]

I’ve got a favour to ask! If you enjoy this documentary, please double check that you’ve liked the video and subscribed to the channel! That's a small way you can help us carry on doing this, really appreciate you!

[@TheEDFLegacy]

I can't subscribe though! Every time I try, it unsubscribes me! 🥺😏

[@Airborne675]

Where was the Big Red One Division during the Battle of the Bulge?

[@jasonklassen3972]

As always, you get my comment to boost the algorithm. Great content as always

[@truckjones3798]

@Airborne675Moving up as backstop for the 2nd and 99th infantry divisions on the northern flank of the Ardennes front, holding the northern ‘shoulder’ of the Bulge against a number of SS Panzer divisions.

[@MightyTiki]

“It’s always seemed regrettable to me that Combat Command B of the 10th Armored Division didn’t get the credit it deserved in the Battle of Bastogne. All of the newspaper and radio talk was about paratroopers. Actually, the 10th Armored Division was in there a day before we were and had some very hard fighting before we ever got into it. And I sincerely believe that we would never have been able to get into Bastogne if it had not been for the defensive fighting of the three elements of the 10th Armored Division, who were first into Bastogne and protected the town from invasion by the Germans.” - General Anthony McAuliffe (Commander of the 101st Airborne Division during the Battle of Bastogne)

[@tjadams8]

Roberts had a great quote during the Tiger on the Loose, 10th Armored Documentary. Something like, "Without my armor, those boys would've been over run in no time. Without the troopers flesh, we couldn't have held. But the combo was just enough to fight back every attack. If the Germans would've attacked in two spots at once, we were done. They never did." Edit: I went back & watched the doc & Roberts' quote is directly before McAuliffe's quote you gave. Too funny.

[@bboyhope545]

A 26 year old commander is insane

[@Born2bwire]

Crazy, huh. But then I realized that Dick Winters was probably 27 when he got his majority.

[@bmoney2011]

Considering the time period and the state of the spearhead of the Allied assault into the European mainland at that point, I'm not entirely convinced it wouldn't be more common than one might think. Edit: just looked up William Desobry, and he legitimately was just a very young, but highly capable commander. Had only been serving as a commissioned officer for 4 years before being given command of the 20th Armored Infantry Battalion.

[@EneTheGene]

Perhaps many of the older potential commanders had been killed at this point?

[@antonseoane9092]

The average age was extremely low to begin with ​@@EneTheGene

[@imakro69]

Probably that before the invasion the US army numbers were low, so they simply didn't have as many old officers, to make new units.​@@EneTheGene

[@christopherconard2831]

Ahh, when the fog of war literally is a fog.

[@manuelacosta9463]

This was an intense and wild battle. The fog moving in, the chivalrous act of allowing a wounded officer get treatment, an M8 Greyhound scoring a tank kill etc. The defenders gave their all and inflicted quite the amount of damage.

[@dx-ek4vr]

It's crazy how the fog helped and hindered both sides

[@Saint5404]

The Americans shouted halt and the Germans proved they were too good at following orders

[@MrNicoJac]

It helps that Halt is very similar in (American) English and German. American would probably sound a bit more like Holt and German like a very very clear Hahlllt. But with fog and running engines, it was probably close enough that they didn't dare risk a friendly fire incident. Although that's speculation on my part - it might just be that they had such a militarized culture that it was automatic, haha.

[@Chris-fn4df]

@@MrNicoJac Prob worth mentioning that Germans wearing American uniforms were a major feature of this battle.

[@dynasty0019]

I wouldn't be surprised if the sentry purposely shouted "Halt" in a more German pronunciation in order to positively ID they were the enemy. By this point in the Battle of the Bulge the Americans are fully aware of infiltrators and German movements. The sentry probably felt 90% sure that any mechanized column from the east is the enemy, and he needed just that final 10% to confirm.

[@NlGHTSKY]

1:54 I live in the area and have been metal-detecting this very particular place. I found many fired US casings and grenades parts, and only a few german ones, a testimony of how one sided this interaction was.

[@NlGHTSKY]

The only difference i spot with this video, is that most of the casings i found where on the upper part of the road, not exactly where the us troops are drawn here. maybe someone already detected the lower side of the road.

[@DanelectroJazz]

Amazing. I would love to metal detect in europe. Seems like so many artifacts are still out there waiting to be found. I live in northeast USA so I come across the occasional revolutionary war or civil war relics, maybe an arrow head here or there. Someone found a while british revolutionary war cannon buried near me which was amazing. What has been your most interesting find thus far?

[@NlGHTSKY]

@@DanelectroJazz I understand. It's true that here in europe we're lucky to have so much history buried inches underground. Some of my best recent finds are the following : destroyed Tiger 1 parts (from one of the only 8 tiger 1's who participated in the bulge), German belt buckle, US compass, plane parts from US and German crashsites, and many more. I have a place where i put photos of all of my finds regularly but youtube or this channel deleted my comment as soon as i mentioned where to find them. So sorry it's only for imagination i guess ...

[@NlGHTSKY]

@@DanelectroJazz i'll try one last time to escape the comment remover algorithm " Bastogne Battlerelics " on the app that starts with 'inst' and ends with 'agram'

[@nrxhavoc]

@@NlGHTSKY I love history. That's awesome!

[@jamesallen8418]

Thank you Operations Room. Your method of overhead maps give me a clear idea of the action. Most sources sat Team Desobry did a holding action then retreated. I now see that the action was far more involved.

[@phineas_SW]

Annnnnnnnd everything else can wait NEW UPLOAD!

[@GenericShirtNinja]

10:18 That Greyhound winning the lottery

[@tuffsheddweller]

the Greyhound had a Gaijin moment

[@Salvothegamer]

@@tuffsheddwellerthe Panther had a 500% booster on for sure!

[@mattw785]

Much better to watch this than Super Bowl....

[@annehersey9895]

Agreed!

[@MJsonniedee]

Those M18 Hellcats are legendary.

[@Jack-h6k]

A "The Operations Room" bumper sticker would be cool. I would buy ASAP.

[@b.elzebub9252]

13:11 Imagine the massive brass balls it takes to not only have such a small force stand their ground against an entire panzer unit with at least 14 confirmed tanks and a number of APC's, artillery and infantry, but to then go 'Get in, losers. We're counter attacking!'. Absolute madlads. Mad respect.

[@sailordude2094]

Love the detailed battles, thanks!

[@andrewharrison7767]

nice to hear about someone other than easy company at bastogne

[@1-501Infantry]

I agree. Everybody over looks the 501st PIR but they were the first unit to arrive, and the first to make contact.

[@VFRSTREETFIGHTER]

Former B Co. 1/506th, though many decades later. Thank you for telling a small piece of my predecessors story.

[@bmoney2011]

Fascinating anecdote about Maj. Desobry's medevac through Foy. That was a noble gesture by the German leader that allowed them passage. I'd love to know if that German commander was aware of the bigger picture (and was calculating they could take Desobry prisoner after the Allied medical staff took care of him), if it simply was just a case of battlefield chivalry, or a combination of the two.

[@Tekisasubakani]

Given that it was just a patrol, likely lead by an NCO, it was probably just a gesture of decency.

[@sthrich635]

The Germans probably didn't knew his actual rank and thought he was a regular wounded private. And keep in mind during this stage Germans had good reasons to conserve everything, from fuel, bullets, and men. They thought no need to add another round to someone who wouldn't likely be holding a rifle again any time soon.

[@DustinHorvath1987]

@@Tekisasubakani Yeah, this sort of mutual respect wasn't too uncommon. There are a lot of practical reasons that it's good practice not to kill medics or execute wounded; once you start doing that then you're on the way toward a war of annihilation like you had in the Pacific, and no one wants to be part of that sort of hellish experience. You don't want to do things that start turning your medics/wounded/civilians into *targets*. That's also why it's (I think) illegal to pretend to be a civilian or a medic and then try to do murdery soldier things. You make your opponent stop respecting your non-combatants.

[@JagdPanther101]

Thanks for picking my comment on Patreon for the end slide! There were a lot of units that had a big hand in making the stand at Bastogne possible, but they rarely get mentioned next to the 101st Airborne Division. General McAuliffe even had said post-war that those units, particularly the 10th AD, didn't get the credit they deserved.

[@andymage7179]

"Lt. George Rice" Jimmy Fallon on a jeep 😂

[@XMan-mi6gs]

Another masterpiece. Fantastic video!

[@TheAIIncomeAdvantage]

Excellent as always! Love ALL of your WWII content and SO THANKFUL you continue to keep the original soundtrack for your episodes! I can't imagine any of your videos using anything else! 👌

[@twiggledy5547]

Fantastic video. Amazing how such a knock-down drag out fight gets lost amid the insanity that was the Battle of the Bulge

[@Tom_Cruise_Missile]

More of these PLEASE! Tell the stories we've never heard, and no mainstream source would ever care about.

[@TheIrishvolunteer]

Your work on the Bulge is fantastic! Really helped me understand the battle!

[@JHenrySmith2]

Incredible episode, this is why I love this channel, absolutely unreal story.

[@ladyponfarr5479]

You have the best documenties on battles on all of utube, Thanks for your efforts.

[@mindeloman]

If you want to read a soldier's point of view on this battle, "Seven Roads to Hell," by Don Burgett is an amazing read. He was in Company A of the 506th. While Easy was digging in in front of Foy, A company went ahead to Noville as a delaying action. Burgett's writing on this is the stuff of nightmares.

[@sihhaoo]

i really like that you put sponsorship in the beginning of the video, as this would disturb the viewing flow, and I would listen through the sponsorship entirely, all parties win in this arrangement.

[@DustinHorvath1987]

Yeah I appreciate that as well. It feels brash and icky to jump from someone's horrid war experience to "now buy our mobile game!" lol. Yuck.

[@hillbilly4895]

The Operations Room is easily one of my top 5 KZbin Channels...stunning work boys, keep it up.

[@khoipham1657]

I played CoD 1 and United Offensive and I absolutely love that mission to the point that I spent months finding documentaries about it, but somehow it's usually glossed over when the Battle of the bulge is covered. Thanks TOR for making this video, as the veteran of this battle deserved more recognition.

[@txdino6063]

These intense little known battles are what I want to see.

[@antonyono2257]

Another amazing video, great work as always!

[@claytontarin1090]

YES!!! Love this series! Can’t wait to put this on!

[@hiddentruth1982]

I had a great uncle that died during the battle of the bulge in Belgium. My grandfather was taking a colonel to a meeting near the front when he passed his brother. His brother was going to the front. When my grandfather got to the meeting he requested permission to go see his brother and it was granted. By the time he got to the front his brother had already been killed. According to records I was able to find he died facing overwhelming forces with artillery support. The captain received a medal of honor during the fight. If I remember right it was just a few days before the battle of the bulge. His company was ordered to hold a flank that protected a town and it was held. His name was George V Thomas and is buried in Belgium.

[@greghanson5696]

Love your channel! Keep up the great work.

[@glassofmilk3474]

About to go to sleep... until I saw this in my recommended.

[@nenesundog]

Nice. Great to hear about other battles at the bulge. Good job.

[@Vuk_Stajic]

WW2 Ops Room makes me very happy! Thanks team!

[@nicopoisonwood4171]

Great work as always!

[@TrustyLicious]

Great video! Looking forward to the next.

[@Bill-qz8jv]

I love these WW2 episodes. Great visuals and narration!

[@AJAJ-tg6uw]

OPS ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!! Been a while since I did that. Hope all is well my brother!!!

[@Cape_Coddah]

Thanks for this presentation. I visited Noville last summer as part of a history trip and it is hard to imagine that quaint little village being destroyed in such heavy fighting.They have a park in the village that honors the American defenders.

[@richardmcgowan1651]

The training of the American airborne troops couldn't have been anymore perfect for this type of battle.

[@robbabcock_]

Thanks for a great video about an incredibly pivotal battle of WW2!

[@Zay-bc6fp]

A Bar Room Brawl ~ shit hit the fan

[@jeffcarroll1990shock]

I did not think we'd be back at the Bulge. Good stuff.

[@DZELTEK]

Great video on this battle! Amazing bravery by these Soldiers!

[@kendraper9091]

This is so well done. I’ve read a few accounts of this battle and this was very accurate.

[@RockTheClive]

Imagine putting such a heroic fight as a unit only to be almost completely annihilated on your way back to friendly lines

[@RaymondCore-ts5jl]

Ground News is the best because it identifies biases. It's funny to see how different outlets cover the same stories so differently.

[@mariuszkonieczny3393]

Great episode!

[@rickb1973]

26 years old.....with a Battalion.....Its funny where a fella can find himself.

[@sjonnieplayfull5859]

A different breed of men

[@sdinvt]

GOTTA DROP EVERYTHING, NEW UPLOAD!

[@atomf9143]

Calling it a "bar room brawl" feels appropriate. The battle for Noville was immensely chaotic, and the Americans who fought to defend it should be absolutely remembered for their courage and competence.

[@pulsed13]

9:20 These M18s have truly taken advantage of the Hellcat's speed, letting them join the defense of Noville in time, as well as relocating quickly when needed. So much so that the Germans thought they were up against a full TD battalion instead of what is practically just a platoon of TDs.

[@DustinHorvath1987]

Yeah zooming around at 55mph with an ~80mm antitank cannon is wild. I was pretty floored when I heard that top speed.

[@turbowankel1264]

Excellent new day starts with OR post

[@xtramagtheoriginal]

Fantastic video!

[@b.p.879]

My grandfather was a cook, in the motorpool of the "Phantom" 9th Armored Division. He was part of supply gathering details that went out looking for broken vehicles to fix or salvage, and once while driving a disabled Sherman back to base, he and his buddy were shocked to suddenly see a large group of malnourished and wounded german soldiers desperately trying to surrender and get food and medical attention. And that's how my grandpa, a cook in the motorpool of the 9th armored division "captured" nearly an entire platoon of Germans during the Battle of the Bulge. I still remember one particular entry in his diary that has stuck with me all these years, and that was "Pulled into St Vith today, worst day of my life so far."

[@AlbertComelles1970]

Impressive, thank you!

[@goofygoober2382]

hell yeah another TOR video

[@josephahner3031]

Spielberg did the 10th Armored Division and the tank destroyers dirty in Band of Brothers.

[@yveaux500]

BoB was a great series but it does not do justice to all the units that fought next to the Easy Company in Bastogne. For example the battle of Foy was depicted as if it was only Easy Company (and little bit of 3/506) doing the work. But in fact 3/506 and 11th armoured also played a big role. But you never get to see this in BoB.

[@johnm1720]

Great job as usual.

[@yveaux500]

Thank you for this! Stellar work as always. The actions of Team Desobry were also covered in the third part of your amazing Battle of the Bulge series (truly a fantastic series on your part which I have watched many many times). @TheOperationsRoom Can we expect more videos of individual actions from that battle?

[@tkt8994]

Wow German patrol letting wounded go. What a class act in the darkest times of humanity.

[@edewaal97]

I recall this battle form Battlefield 1942. It's cool to see how the real battle took place, as well as the accuracy of the terrain and the weather at the time of the battle.

[@DarkJak2050]

Dang, these "in-between" videos in the 8 Battle of The Bulge videos are making a bit of a mess in my playlists.

[@colinbrazier8511]

Great as usual. The battle of the bulge is a very interesting part of WWII in Europe.

[@iamnolegend2519]

Always good work !

[@christoon_123]

babe wake up, the operations room just released a new video

[@clarkl1209]

Great content as always

[@annehersey9895]

Absolutely fantastic! I was on the edge of my seat as if I was watching John Wayne on the big screen of my neighborhood movie theater as a kid!

[@NoName-be2ch]

Cant help Myself but Im qdddicted watching these kind of videos

[@bigsarge2085]

Time to learn something incredible!

[@gareththompson2708]

18:20 Another oddity. Reguardless of whether that's a 75mm or 76mm gunned Sherman, I'm pretty sure it should have no trouble with the side armor of a Panther. It's the frontal armor of the Panther that's formidable. Perhaps that Panther somehow ended up with it's front to the Sherman in reality? Or perhaps it was at a bit of an angle, with both the side and front visible to the Sherman, and the Sherman's rounds just ended up hitting the front?

[@richardstephens5570]

Or the Sherman might have only had explosive shells and no armor piercing.

[@gareththompson2708]

@@richardstephens5570 I suppose that's possible. It certainly wouldn't surprise me if the first round was HE, if that crew preferred to have a round loaded at all times. How common would it be for a Sherman to go around with no AP though? Even if they expect to mostly fire HE, I'd expect then to still carry some AP. Even if they don't expect to encounter any tanks at all that day, a mix of HE and AP can still be handy for other things, such as anti-structure work (HE can blast the outer walls, while AP can bunch into the interior of a building).

[@BlitkriegsAndCoffee]

I think its just an example of IRL not caring what the stats say on paper. That greyhound shouldn't have been able to kill that Panther, the Bazooka Team really shouldn't have needed 6 rounds to (fail to) kill a Panzer IV, etc. Beyond that, the Sherman may have been working with a steep angle for that side shot, or even just had defective ammo. The distances involved could also just be much greater than the video portrayed.

[@jeff3229]

That was intense! Amazing defense

[@Rickardsson99]

Those were some tough boys.

[@1918BARsam]

There are reports of the hellcats playing a key role during the retreat also.

[@13thravenpurple94]

Excellent video 🫶 Thank you and God bless 😇

[@moistmike4150]

At first I was surprised to hear that the M-18 Hellcats' 76mm gun could punch thru the Panther's highly angled frontal armor, but I did a bit of googling on the subject and found that, by that time in the war, German metallurgy had taken a steep dive due to a dearth of metals like molybdenum, vanadium and chromium which are alloyed to strengthen armor plate. A huge contributing factor to weaker German tank armor was the fact that, by the last 3 years of the war, the Germans were no longer coming close to their prior precision of regulating the percentages of metals with which they were alloying their steel. And compounding the problem, the level of impurities like carbon, sulfur and phosphorous they began to tolerate during steel production made for brittle steel and far weaker armor welds. It's rather ironic, but given the Reich's resource exigencies of the latter war period, the German philosophy of "Qualitative Advantage" was just no longer realistic, at least insofar as steel production was concerned.

[@BlitkriegsAndCoffee]

Theoretically, the 76mm could penetrate the Panther frontally from ~200m. (More if it had APCR/HVAP rounds.) In the West, the average engagement range was usually between 400-600m for tank battles, so this was still way too short for comfort. However, real life has a way of not caring what the paper stats say as well. On Paper, that Greyhound shouldn't be able to kill the Panther, that Sherman should have gone right through the side of that Panther, and that Bazooka should have killed that Panzer IV in 1 shot, not failed to do so in 5. In practice I suspect the Fog did a lot of important work here. It denied the Allies their air cover, but also forced the Germans into very close range fights. The Germans moving their armor into the town without adequate infantry support was likewise a death sentence for most of the German Armor.

[@cobytang]

A 26-year-old major, leading hundreds of men in a losing battle up to that point. Damn, they are the greatest generation.

[@sidneysun5217]

i still can't believe how young these soldiers are. 26 yr old and a major? wow. amazing. but also sad they're so young

[@kevinmassey1164]

Great work

[@tjadams8]

Periscope Films did a great documentary a few years after the war with all of these guys in it. On YT its title is: "BATTLE OF THE BULGE / U.S. ARMY TV SHOW "THE BIG PICTURE" 10th ARMORED DIVISION 73732" but the actual documentary is called "Tigers on the Loose" Its great.

[@1228carlito]

16:00 You talked about Private Don Addor and him getting recommended for a Silver Star. Did that ever happen? What was his fate since you mentioned him by name.

[@demonicspire1345]

I actually looked him up. I think I have the right guy. He got a bronze star and a purple heart for his actions. He survived the war and died in his sleep in 2014 at age 89. Going by his obituary it looks like he lived a pretty full life.

[@HunterTN]

A lot of award recommendations died with the man in charge of submitting the paperwork.

[@maynard1138gibbons]

great video!

[@cseivard]

Thanks for the story fascinating.

[@nickgardner1507]

Nice Job!

[@Max_Flashheart]

That fog was OP

[@MihzvolWuriar]

These men, they weren't called the best generation for nothing, I love hearing these small tales of valor, that prove those weren't mindless men, but real soldiers that names deserve to be remembered through times.

[@benjaminbrewer2569]

Love your vids.

[@elgenvalcin6885]

General Desobry had his fingerprints on the RnD of the Abrams main battle tank later in his career