Anthony McAuliffe

Brigadier General McAuliffe

Anthony Clement McAuliffe (born July 2, 1898 in Washington, DC , † August 11, 1975 there ), also known as General Nuts McAuliffe , was an American general . He temporarily commanded the 101st Airborne Division in the Battle of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II .

Military career

Anthony McAuliffe studied at West Virginia University from 1916 to 1917 and graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point in November 1918 . In 1918 he was appointed second lieutenant . In December 1941 he was assigned to the War Ministry's supply staff. In this role, he oversaw the development of new technologies, particularly jeep and bazooka .

He commanded an artillery unit of the 101st Airborne Division . On D-Day 1944 he parachuted during Operation Overlord in Normandy and then took part in the fighting in Holland.

In December 1944 he commanded the 101st Airborne Division as Brigadier General during the Battle of the Bulge, since General Maxwell D. Taylor was absent. McAuliffe was surrounded by German troops during the siege of Bastogne and asked to surrender on December 22, 1944 by General Heinrich von Lüttwitz . His first verbal reaction to it is said to have been: "Aww, nuts". The official answer was: “To the German Commander, 'NUTS!' The American Commander. “( NUTS! Eng." Nonsense! ") And was handed over to the Germans by Colonel Joseph H. Harper, the commanding officer of the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment. Harper had to explain to them whether the word was meant positively or negatively, and described it as go to hell (Eng. "Goes to hell"). Some sources suggest that McAuliffe's initial reaction was not quite as strong an expression. But in 1954 he said in an interview that he had said "shit" (German: shit ).

McAuliffe did not surrender and was able to hold Bastogne until the 4th US Armored Division under General Patton came to the rescue. Through Patton's intervention and an improvement in the weather, McAuliffe and his troops were freed from Bastogne. For this he was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross . After Bastogne he was promoted to major general. From January to July 1945 he commanded the 103rd US Infantry Division . On May 3, he captured Innsbruck and the Brenner Pass and the city of Sterzing , which offered the possibility of uniting his units with the 5th US Army, which had captured Italy from the south. However, this no longer played a significant role militarily, as Germany unconditionally surrendered 5 days later

In 1953 McAuliffe took command of the 7th US Army in Europe and in 1955, after being promoted to general, became Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army Europe . He retired in 1956 and continued to work for several years in various positions in the US civil sector.

He died on August 11, 1975 in Washington and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

A central square in Bastogne, the Place Général Mc Auliffe , is named after him.

Awards

Selection of decorations, sorted based on the Order of Precedence of Military Awards :

• Distinguished Service Cross
• Army Distinguished Service Medal (2 ×)
• Silver Star
• Legion of Merit
• Bronze star

literature

• Anthony C. McAuliffe , in: Internationales Biographisches Archiv 25/1956 from June 11, 1956, in the Munzinger Archive ( beginning of article freely available)

Web links

Commons : Anthony McAuliffe  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Short biography of the Arlington National Cemetery (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ John C. Fredriksen: American Military Leaders: AL. v. 2. MZ , Verlag ABC-CLIO, 1999, ISBN 9781576070017 , pp. 487-488 [1]
2. ↑ "NUTS!" Revisited. ( Memento of the original from March 14, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on: thedropzone.org 
3. ^ Fifth Army History • Race to the Alps, Chapter VI: Conclusion [2] "4 May; the Reconnaissance Troop, 349th Infantry [88th Division], met troops from [103rd Infantry Division] VI Corps of Seventh Army at 1051 at Vipiteno, 9 miles south of Brenner. "