Bourbon for Bravery

The West Wall fortifications stood between the Allies and the German homeland. They would make the enemy pay dearly for each step into Germany. Near the old city of Aachen, American soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division, the ’Big Red …

1944-10-08

W12

The West Wall fortifications stood between the Allies and the German homeland. They would make the enemy pay dearly for each step into Germany. Near the old city of Aachen, American soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division, the ’Big Red One’, would find this out for themselves. Captain James ’Skinny’ Blake from Chattanooga, Tennessee gathered his squad leaders together to plan the assault on the pillboxes. He had been saving a bottle of his favorite sour-mash bourbon for the day he entered Berlin. With the grim task before them, the Captain cracked the seal and passed the bottle around, Berlin would have to wait.

Aachen, Germany

The Battle of Aachen was a major combat action of World War II, fought by American and German forces in and around Aachen, Germany, between 2–21 October 1944. The city had been incorporated into the Siegfried Line, the main defensive network on Germany's western border; the Allies had hoped to capture it quickly and advance into the industrialized Ruhr Basin. Although most of Aachen's civilian population was evacuated before the battle began, much of the city was destroyed and both sides suffered heavy losses. It was one of the largest urban battles fought by U.S. forces in World War II, and the first city on German soil to be captured by the Allies. The battle ended with a German surrender, but their tenacious defense significantly disrupted Allied plans for the advance into Germany.

Wikipedia: Battle of Aachen

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