Battle Of The Bulge (1965 Full Movie)

[Timothee Cazares]

Itwas a big operation for them as it involved three entire armies, two of which were armoured. The problem they faced by the end of 1944 was that they were firmly on the defensive on both the Western and Eastern Fronts as well as in Italy. Hitler was increasingly desperate to regain the initiative, but by this stage it was almost impossible. Hitler hoped his Ardennes offensive would open up a political rift between the British and Americans that would then delay their advance on the Rhine. Having done that he then wanted to turn east to conduct a similar counter offensive against the Red Army. He clung to the delusion that he might get a separate ceasefire or peace deal with the Western Allies, which would enable him to concentrate all his resources against the Russians.

SS Lt Col Peiper is held responsible for atrocities at Malmedy on the 17th To what extent is he guilty, and in addition his commanding officer, Brigadier Mohnke (who was responsible for the defence of the central government district at the Battle for Berlin a few months later)?

Wilhelm Mohnke and Peiper were responsible in the sense that they were commanders of the 1st SS Panzer Division, which carried out the atrocities. Many SS units experienced a completely different code of conduct on the Eastern Front where they systematically committed atrocities against both the Red Army and the civilian population with impunity. Although known as the Malemdy massacre the killings of American prisoners and Belgian civilians actually took place at a dozen different locations. The SS seem to have carried out most of these murders because they did not want to escort their prisoners to the rear. Peiper and others were found guilty after the war but their death sentences were commuted.

Even if Hitler had by some miracle got to Antwerp he would not have been able to hold the bulge. In the post-war debriefs of all the senior commanders involved, such as Gerd von Rundstedt, Sepp Dietrich, Hasso von Manteuffel and Erich Brandenberger, made it clear they had opposed the operation. My suspicion was that they were just saying this with the benefit of hindsight to save their military reputations. However, the more I researched it became very evident that they were opposed from the very start. Hitler had a number of options on the table in late 1944 and the Ardennes was certainly not the one favoured by his senior generals. Dietrich who was appointed commander of the 6th Panzer Army did not want the job nor did he have any faith in the attack. Planning was extremely inadequate from start to finish with every aspect of the operation.

There are a number of depictions on film of the battle, from the American side, including The Battle of the Bulge (1965) and episodes 5-7 in the HBO series Band of Brothers. Do you have a favourite?

As gangster Doyle Lonnegan, Shaw was extra evil in The Sting (1973). He played another bad guy in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974). However, it was the movie that came out the next year that made Shaw an icon. He played the role of fearless shark hunter Quint in Jaws (1975). He had a great role as the Sheriff of Nottingham in the totally forgettable Robin and Marian (1976). He was also in Swashbuckler (1976) a pirate flick with beauty Genevive Bujold and James Earl Jones.

George Montgomery played a small role as Sgt. Duquesne. Montgomery was born in Montana in 1916. At the University of Montana, he was a boxing champion. He moved to California and began coaching ex-heavyweight world champion, James J. Jeffries. Since he could ride he began to get work as a stuntman by 1935. By 1939, he was under contract with 20th Century Fox but was mostly confined to B-westerns. In 1942, he managed to get a couple of co-starring roles.

Hans Christian Blech played the war-wary German Sgt. Conrad. Blech was born in 1915 and spent 4 years fighting the Russians on the Eastern Front during WWII. It was during this time that he received the large facial scar he is known for. He also spent time in a Russian POW camp. Most of his films are German but in the late 1950s and 1960s he was popular in American war films. The two biggest were The Longest Day (1962) and Battle of the Bulge (1965). Blech did in Germany in 1993.

Werner Peters played the role of Nazi Gen. Kohler. Peters was born in Germany in 1918. He served in World War II as a German soldier. Following the war, he became a serious actor and moved to the west in 1955. He specialized in playing Nazis and spies. He had over 100 film and television credits when he died in 1971 at the age of 51.

Karl-Otto Alberty played German infantry commander Von Diepel. Alberty was born in Germany in 1933. He was an amateur boxer before he started acting. He was a well-known star in German. When he started making movies for the west he remained a supporting player. Alberty is known for The Great Escape (1963), Battle of the Bulge (1965), and Raid on Rommel (1971).

As the two men head down the hall American GIs run in and order the Germans to halt. It is actually a practice raid by German commandos headed by Schumacher (Ty Hardin). Hessler also meets commander Von Diepel (Karl-Otto Alberty) who will lead the infantry in the planned assault.

Next, we see a tank heading down the road with wine, cigarettes, and other contraband tied to it. The commander of the tank is Sgt. Guffy (Telly Savalas). Guffy is more concerned with making a profit than winning the war.

Kiley and the patrol come back with prisoners. Pritchard is there waiting. He sees the prisoners as mere kids. All of the prisoners are carrying rubber hoses. Kiley says the troops could be plants put in the frontline to fool the Americans. Kiley gets the info on Hessler so he knows who their facing.

The German commandos parachute behind the American lines. The attack kicks off with Hessler in the lead. The bunker where Wolenski is stationed is overrun by the advance but the men fall back to a fighting position. Wolenski and Kiley blow up one Tiger and Kiley gets to look inside. The tanks quickly overwhelm the Americans. Many are killed but a large number are captured. The Americans are running like their tails were on fire and their asses were catching.

Kiley and Wolenski meet at a road crossing and he realizes that the people at the bridge were military police and not engineers. An American tank comes to the bridge and kills a lot of the German commandos. They only hold it until the panzers arrive.

Kiley and Wolenski arrive at a hill above the Our River Bridge and see the Germans crossing. Kiley takes a shot at Hessler but the bullet ricochets and hits a truck window. The truck swerved and barrels fell off into the river. Kiley watches them float away.

Duquesne and Weaver along with other prisoners are herded into a field by Malmedy. German trucks back up around the field. The backs open and machine guns begin firing on the American prisoners. Duquesne is killed by Weaver gets away because of the Sgt. Efforts. During the real battle 84, American prisoners were killed at Malmedy.

Gen. Grey is evacuating his headquarters. When he sees an American private running but in total panic, Gray realizes it is time for the Americans to make a stand. He orders all units to stop and fight where they are. Pritchard apologizes to Kiley for being a douche.

Grey orders some large artillery pieces and the movie does a speeding train montage. You can see Germans in the distance radioing the movement in. When the train tries to go through a tunnel a German tank blocks the exit and blows up the train.

Grey establishes a new HQ and finds out that Louise is probably dead. Grey finally commits the American tanks to the battle. He knows the American tanks are inferior but he wants to run them out of gas.

Plot Summary

Fictionalized account of the battle of the Ardennes in December 1944.

An intelligence officer, Lt. Col. Dan Riley, is convinced that the

Germans are amassing tanks and troops for an attack

but he can't get anyone to believe him.

When the attack is finally launched, he correctly deduces that

a shortage of petrol will lead the tanks to a massive Allied fuel depot.

Along the way, we encounter a number of characters including

a green Lieutenant in his first battle, the grizzled

American tank commander who is worried about his

black market operation and a group of German soldiers

posing as American MP's.

Written by garykmcd

Trivia

* This film was denounced by former President (and Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during WW2) Dwight D. Eisenhower soon after its release in a press conference due to its glaring historical inaccuracies.

* The character of the German Colonel was first intended to be the real life Panzer officer Joachim Peiper, the youngest man in the Nazi Army to be make the rank of full colonel (SS-Standartenfhrer, the direct SS equivalent to an Oberst or full colonel in the German army). However, since Peiper, a protg of 'Reichsfhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler' , the head of the Schutzstaffel (SS) and the second most powerful man in Germany after Adolf Hitler, was promoted to the ran at the age of 29. However, as he was still living at the time the film was produced and was still a committed Nazi, his character was quickly changed to a fictitious Regular German Army officer, so as not to give Peiper any connection to the film or risk a libel suit. It was Peiper's unit of the Waffen-SS, Kampfgruppe Peiper of the 1st SS Division, Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (German for "Adolf Hitler's Bodyguard Regiment") that was responsible for the Malmedy massacre of American prisoners depicted in the film. After the War, he was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death. The sentence was commuted by the American Occupation Force as the trial had been fraught with illegalities, and he served only 11 years in prison, despite having perpetrated war-crimes on both the Eastern and Western fronts. Peiper was assassinated at his home in France, likely by French communists, in 1976.

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