Posted
on December 22, 2015
On
this date in 1944, two pivotal things happened.
First,
in Belgium, German troops demanded the surrender of United States
troops. American General Anthony McAuliffe famously responded,
“Nuts!”
Second,
in Indochina – what is now Vietnam – in response to Japanese
occupation, the Vietnam People's Army formed.
In
Belgium...
General
McAuliffe's famous response was in context of the hard-fought “Battle
of the Bulge.” The Germans sent a 165-word ultimatum to McAuliffe –
165 words that could be summed up with three: “surrender or else!”
The ultimatum was addressed “To the U.S.A. Commander of the
encircled town of Bastogne,” and it was signed, “The German
Commander.”
When
the Americans sent back the official reply, it looked like this:
To the German Commander:
NUTS!
The American Commander
The
German major who received the message and was about to take it to his
general didn't understand what “NUTS!” meant in this context. So
he asked the colonel who had brought him the typed reply what it
meant. The American said, “In plain English? Go to H---.”
(General
McAuliffe was famous for using words like “oh, nuts!” instead of
curse words. NOT cursing was pretty unusual in the military.)
McAuliffe
and the other Americans were able to hold off the German attackers,
and it was an Allied victory. (The Allies were the U.S., Britain,
Russia, and other nations fighting against the Nazis and the
Japanese.) And of course, the Allies went on, eventually, to winning
the war.
In
Indochina...
Of
course, the Allied forces eventually defeated the Japanese in the
Pacific. The Vietnam People's Army went on to drive France out of
Vietnam and to fight against the U.S.-backed South Vietnamese forces
in the Vietnam War.
This
army still exists in Vietnam and is celebrated every December 22
(Armed Forces Day).
Also
on this date:
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