Bastogne, Belgium - December 1944

The 101st Airborne were called in to hold the lines against advancing German divisions at the key junction of Bastogne. As they moved in the Germans cut the road south, leaving them surrounded. Easy Company would hold a thin line of defence, without artillery support or winter clothing, and only limited food and rations in record cold weather, culminating in what veterans came to call ‘hell night’, when German artillery unleashed a terrifying barrage of cannon fire on Easy’s position.

The generals thought the war would be over by Christmas, and then wham! What happened? The Bulge – hello Bastogne. Hitler had caught ’em with their pants down. Bill Guarnere

Above: 2nd Battalion and Easy Company positions in the Bois Jacques, ‘Jack’s Woods’, during the Battle of the Bulge. Below Left: 28th Division leave Bastogne.

When we got to the outskirts of Bastogne, we saw the 28th Division coming out, they’d been torn to pieces, the Germans had run over them. So we were taking their weapons and ammunition because we didn’t have any. We didn’t expect to have to move that quick, that’s why we were so ill-equipped. There were about four or five highways and two or three railroads that went through Bastogne, that’s why they wanted it so bad. So the 101st set up a circle around Bastogne. They had us completely surrounded by Christmas Day. JB Stokes

Ruhr, Germany - April 1945

At the beginning of April 1945 Easy Company were deployed to the Ruhr pocket, on the west bank of the Rhine facing Sturzelberg. In a war that was clearly drawing to a close, they became increasingly wary of taking risks, especially those men that had survived against all odds in Bastogne. While stationed in Sturzelberg the company found themselves only occasionally scrambling from artillery fire, carrying out a handful of hesitant patrols across the river, but seeing predominantly less action in the whole, that for some was received with open arms.

Above: Richard Winter’s personal map of the Sturzelberg area in the Ruhr pocket