1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,480 Speaker 1: Hi, this is new due to the virus. I'm recording 2 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:05,960 Speaker 1: from home, so you may notice a difference in audio quality. 3 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: On this episode of Newsworld, I want to take you 4 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: back to three amazing military moments around Christmas and just 5 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: before Christmas that helped shape the United States that are 6 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:31,200 Speaker 1: part of our history, part of who we are, and 7 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:35,480 Speaker 1: frankly that at least one case, had it not succeeded, 8 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: we would not probably have become a country. So I'm 9 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:43,960 Speaker 1: going to talk a little bit about George Washington crossing 10 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:47,840 Speaker 1: the Delaware on Christmas Night. Then I want to talk 11 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 1: about the Battle of the Bulge and the tremendous shock 12 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:56,880 Speaker 1: in December of nineteen forty four, when most Americans really 13 00:00:56,920 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: thought we were right at the edge of victory in Europe. 14 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 1: People were talking about bringing the boys home and then boom, 15 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, we were in the fight of 16 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:09,920 Speaker 1: our lives in Belgium and Luxembourg. And then third, I 17 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 1: want to talk a little bit about probably the greatest 18 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 1: campaign in the Marine Corps history, the Fight from the 19 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:22,640 Speaker 1: Chose Reservoir in November and December of nineteen fifty when 20 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:30,160 Speaker 1: they were decisively surprised by the Chinese communists and describe 21 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:34,560 Speaker 1: what an amazing miracle was that they were able to succeed, 22 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaker 1: and the degree to which that Christmas was so different. 23 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:43,880 Speaker 1: Both in nineteen forty four and in nineteen fifty there 24 00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: was a general expectation that the war was over, that 25 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 1: the boys were coming home, and in both cases there 26 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:54,880 Speaker 1: was a life and death fight at a very point 27 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: where nobody inspected. There are three fascinating moments. The most 28 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: important of them is Washington crossing the Delaware on Christmas 29 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: Night seventeen seventy six, because I would argue had that failed, 30 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:12,600 Speaker 1: the odds were at least even money, the entire revolution 31 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:31,400 Speaker 1: would have failed. So let's start with George Washington's eleven. 32 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:38,040 Speaker 1: In the summer of seventeen seventy six, the colonies had 33 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:42,560 Speaker 1: declared their independence and there was a huge surge of 34 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:48,079 Speaker 1: popular feeling. The British had withdrawn from Boston, and there 35 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: was a sense that victory was on the way, and 36 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:55,079 Speaker 1: so by September Washington had an army of about thirty 37 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:58,600 Speaker 1: thousand men. But in a series of very tough battles 38 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: against the Essional, British and German soldiers that the British 39 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 1: embar had brought to bear in Brooklyn Heights and across 40 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:12,079 Speaker 1: the island of Manhattan. Washington's army was just pounded again 41 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:16,000 Speaker 1: and again and again, often out maneuvered. At one point, 42 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:20,080 Speaker 1: nearly three thousand men were a fort and had to surrender, 43 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:24,480 Speaker 1: made doubly humiliating because they had named it Fort Washington 44 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 1: as a sign of defiance, partly against Washington's own better judgment, 45 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:31,960 Speaker 1: because he understood that losing it would be a double 46 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 1: morale defeat. All through the fall, the Americans were retreating. 47 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 1: They retreated first from Brooklyn were very fortunate to get 48 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: across the East River. In fact, Washington always thought that 49 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:51,960 Speaker 1: the hand of Providence had intervened because a huge fog 50 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 1: rolled in, enabling them with the Massachusetts Boatman to row 51 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: across the literally take Bursley the entire army off of 52 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: Brooklyn over to Manhattan, even though the Royal Navy was 53 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:08,800 Speaker 1: sitting in the middle of the East River, and had 54 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:11,320 Speaker 1: there not been a fog, the Royal Navy clearly would 55 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 1: have just sunk the ships and the army would have 56 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:18,400 Speaker 1: been isolated and forced to surrender. So Washington had survived, 57 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: but at each step of survival he'd lost strength. Finally, 58 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:29,600 Speaker 1: in December of seventeen seventy six, he was faced with 59 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:33,880 Speaker 1: the reality that the armies and enlistments were running out. 60 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:36,359 Speaker 1: Most of the men would be free to go home 61 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: about the second week of January, and given the constant 62 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,839 Speaker 1: pounding and the constant defeat, and they retreat all the 63 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:48,000 Speaker 1: way across New Jersey. There was a sunset. Not many 64 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:51,600 Speaker 1: people were going to re enlist. And furthermore, the army 65 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:53,880 Speaker 1: had many wounded, It had people who were just sick 66 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:58,719 Speaker 1: from mont nutrition and from exposure. And so he'd dropped 67 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:04,159 Speaker 1: as an effect deep force from about thirty thousand down 68 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:08,680 Speaker 1: to twenty five hundred, and they were faced with, I 69 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:14,159 Speaker 1: think the crisis of the revolution. Washington understood that and 70 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:18,600 Speaker 1: called a council of war among his generals and said 71 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 1: to them, we have to win a victory. If we 72 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:24,680 Speaker 1: don't want a victory, the army is going to disintegrate. 73 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:28,960 Speaker 1: And in order to win a victory, I propose that 74 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 1: we crossed the river at night in the ice flows 75 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:40,120 Speaker 1: during a snowstorm March eight or nine miles to Trenton 76 00:05:40,839 --> 00:05:46,200 Speaker 1: at night and at dawn. Surprised the eight hundred professional 77 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 1: German soldiers called Hessians because they're from the state of 78 00:05:49,279 --> 00:05:53,719 Speaker 1: Hesse and win a victory, and that will restore morale 79 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:56,200 Speaker 1: and people will realize that we have to be taken 80 00:05:56,240 --> 00:06:01,159 Speaker 1: seriously and we can then continue the war. And his 81 00:06:01,279 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 1: generals were all opposed everything. They all thought that this 82 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:10,239 Speaker 1: was crazy. Crossing a river at night was very hard. 83 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 1: Marching the army at night was very hard. There was 84 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:17,159 Speaker 1: a grave danger that they would be discovered and that 85 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:20,960 Speaker 1: the professional German soldiers would be ranked against them. In 86 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:24,479 Speaker 1: an open fight. The professional German soldiers probably would win, 87 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:27,680 Speaker 1: leaving Washington defeated on the wrong side of the river 88 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:31,000 Speaker 1: and probably forced to surrender. So they gave him all 89 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:35,560 Speaker 1: these arguments. Now, what they didn't realize was the degree 90 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 1: to which Washington had a mystical sense of himself. Washington, 91 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:44,600 Speaker 1: as a young man, had been asked to go as 92 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:49,320 Speaker 1: the colonial advisor with General Braddock in the expedition which 93 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:53,120 Speaker 1: began in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and moved west against the French 94 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:57,000 Speaker 1: during the French and Indian War, and Washington had tried 95 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:01,200 Speaker 1: to advise Braddock that marching in red coach down the 96 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:04,160 Speaker 1: middle of a road in a wilderness was not a 97 00:07:04,279 --> 00:07:08,320 Speaker 1: very clever idea because the other side would cheat and 98 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:11,200 Speaker 1: they would use trees and they would shoot from behind 99 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:13,119 Speaker 1: the trees. Well, you guys would be out in the open. 100 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:18,120 Speaker 1: And Braddock shush demon basically explained that Washington just didn't 101 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:23,200 Speaker 1: understand how professional Continental Army has fought. So they finally 102 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:27,480 Speaker 1: end up in a huge ambush and Braddock has killed 103 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:32,120 Speaker 1: very early in the battle. And it's exactly what Washington 104 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:34,880 Speaker 1: had warned about. The French and the Indians were behind 105 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:38,520 Speaker 1: trees shooting at the British. The British were getting very demoralized, 106 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 1: and we're on the edge of literally falling apart as 107 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:45,840 Speaker 1: a fighting force. And here comes Washington. Now he's a 108 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:50,360 Speaker 1: colonial and isn't really in the chain of command the 109 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:53,440 Speaker 1: way the British Imperial Army thought of itself, but he 110 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 1: took command because somebody had to. And he is physically 111 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 1: huge six two put a big six two And I 112 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 1: always tell people if he played him nowadays, he'll be 113 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:10,360 Speaker 1: played by an NFL offensive tackle because he's just physically 114 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:12,800 Speaker 1: so large for his time, the time when the average 115 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:15,960 Speaker 1: mail is about five six. Furthermore, he was considered the 116 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 1: best horseman and the colonies, and he rode big horses 117 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:22,000 Speaker 1: because he was a big man. So he's towering above 118 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:27,160 Speaker 1: everybody else. And here's Washington out here riding around, rallying 119 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 1: the troops, organizing the retreat, stopping the French and the Indians, 120 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:35,679 Speaker 1: and getting shot at. In fact, he's shot at so 121 00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:39,120 Speaker 1: often that he has two horses killed under him and 122 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:42,000 Speaker 1: then springs off the side and isn't hurt by him. 123 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:46,280 Speaker 1: He has four bullet holes in his coat, but he's unharmed. 124 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:51,360 Speaker 1: About a decade later, he's at a conference with Indians 125 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:56,000 Speaker 1: and an Indian chief says to him, you know we 126 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:58,920 Speaker 1: all could see you. I mean you were right there 127 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:00,680 Speaker 1: in the middle of the bottle up a big horse, 128 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:05,400 Speaker 1: and we all shot at you. He said, I personally 129 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:09,080 Speaker 1: shot at you thirteen times. So I don't know what 130 00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:13,199 Speaker 1: your future is, but obviously your God has some role 131 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:17,319 Speaker 1: for you. So this is the person who is generals 132 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:21,000 Speaker 1: are advising. Has a deep sense of faith, He is 133 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:24,520 Speaker 1: a deep sense of doing what's necessary. He has absolutely 134 00:09:24,600 --> 00:09:27,760 Speaker 1: no fear, and he makes a point to them that's 135 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:31,319 Speaker 1: pretty decisive. He said, look, if we don't win a victory, 136 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:35,559 Speaker 1: the British are going to win because our army is 137 00:09:35,559 --> 00:09:40,040 Speaker 1: going to fall apart. When our army falls apart. Every 138 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:43,439 Speaker 1: person in this room is going to be hung as 139 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:47,640 Speaker 1: a traitor. So the good news is we have nothing 140 00:09:47,679 --> 00:09:50,600 Speaker 1: to lose, because you're either going to cross the river 141 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:53,600 Speaker 1: and win, or are you going to get hung, So 142 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:56,320 Speaker 1: you might as well cross the river and wind. So 143 00:09:56,640 --> 00:10:01,199 Speaker 1: with that kind of injunction, they are ready to move. Now. 144 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:06,319 Speaker 1: Washington was actually a very intelligent student of human psychology. 145 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:11,440 Speaker 1: He knew that the optimistic attitude of the summer, the 146 00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:14,360 Speaker 1: tone which had been caught in Thomas Pain's famous pamphlet 147 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:19,600 Speaker 1: Common Sense, which is a very uplifting, positive, wonderful kind 148 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:24,040 Speaker 1: of sense of the future, that that wasn't working because frankly, 149 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:26,920 Speaker 1: they were getting the tarbet out of him. And so 150 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:29,439 Speaker 1: he had taken Pain, who would enlistened as a rifleman, 151 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:31,440 Speaker 1: and he said to Paint more, I'll need you as 152 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:33,760 Speaker 1: a rifleman. We need you as a writer. I am 153 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:37,480 Speaker 1: taking you out of the ranks and sending you to Philadelphia. 154 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:44,840 Speaker 1: Write a pamphlet which will help us understand what we're 155 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:48,000 Speaker 1: living through. Why is this so much harder and so 156 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:52,560 Speaker 1: pained us? He writes, the crisis which begins, These are 157 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:56,320 Speaker 1: the times that try men souls and explains how hard 158 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:59,839 Speaker 1: it's going to be, and that resting liberty from the 159 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:04,319 Speaker 1: British is like resting salvation from Hell, and that you 160 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:06,840 Speaker 1: should expect to have to fight for it, but in 161 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:10,920 Speaker 1: the end you'll get there. Well, Washington has his officers 162 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:16,840 Speaker 1: reading Paine's brand new pamphlet published for this campaign. As 163 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:18,719 Speaker 1: the men are getting in the boats at night to 164 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:25,319 Speaker 1: cross the river, they're listening to Pain's wonderful patriotic exhortation 165 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:30,480 Speaker 1: to courage to persistence. And so the army with great 166 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:36,240 Speaker 1: determination crosses the river and it then marches. Now, the 167 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:38,200 Speaker 1: march took loan, and they thought it would because there 168 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:42,160 Speaker 1: was one extra ravine, which back then they didn't have horses. 169 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:45,080 Speaker 1: So they're man handling the cannon that they have with them, 170 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:47,439 Speaker 1: so they have to lower them down into the ravine, 171 00:11:47,760 --> 00:11:50,480 Speaker 1: get them across the stream, take them back up the 172 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:55,120 Speaker 1: other side of the ravine. All this is taking hours longer. Meanwhile, 173 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:58,160 Speaker 1: in part of what makes it such a miraculous night, 174 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:04,640 Speaker 1: Christmas night that changes history, a group of Virginia rebels 175 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:10,280 Speaker 1: had ridden by and fired at Trenton and then run 176 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:12,480 Speaker 1: away because they were just girls. They wanted to regular 177 00:12:12,559 --> 00:12:15,160 Speaker 1: organize force. They thought they were being helpful because they 178 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:19,440 Speaker 1: were annoying the Hessians. They were into Washington, who was horrified. 179 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:22,160 Speaker 1: He had hoped that the Germans were all going to 180 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:26,120 Speaker 1: be asleep, and here they had aroused them at about 181 00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:28,920 Speaker 1: three o'clock in the morning that all piled out of 182 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:32,520 Speaker 1: their various houses that had stood guard. They checked to 183 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:35,400 Speaker 1: see what was going on, and of course the Virginians 184 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:42,000 Speaker 1: had done left well. Ironically, that actually helped Washington because 185 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:46,000 Speaker 1: all the Heshians got really wet and really cold standing 186 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:48,600 Speaker 1: out there at three o'clock in the morning, so they 187 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:51,760 Speaker 1: all went back in, took off their uniforms, went back 188 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:55,600 Speaker 1: to bed, and tried to get warm. Meanwhile, Washington's running 189 00:12:55,600 --> 00:13:00,560 Speaker 1: about two hours behind, but he gets there. Since they 190 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:04,120 Speaker 1: had driven off the Americans, they assumed everything was fine. 191 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:07,240 Speaker 1: And this is the other, I think, very interesting part 192 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:14,000 Speaker 1: of this remarkable Christmas Night achievement. In Europe, armies didn't 193 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:18,360 Speaker 1: fight in snowstorms. In fact, they tried not to fight 194 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:19,679 Speaker 1: in the winter at all if they could help it. 195 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:24,840 Speaker 1: Because European armies didn't trust their men, they had to 196 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:27,679 Speaker 1: keep them very close order so that none of them 197 00:13:27,720 --> 00:13:30,840 Speaker 1: could desert. They didn't trust their common sense, So they 198 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:33,280 Speaker 1: had to be in close order so that the sergeants 199 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:35,360 Speaker 1: could tell them when to fire and when to reload. 200 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:38,760 Speaker 1: And they didn't want to be at someplace where you 201 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:42,120 Speaker 1: couldn't see very far, you couldn't keep order that frankly, 202 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:45,160 Speaker 1: we were going to be physically miserable. But they were 203 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:47,640 Speaker 1: up against an American army that were all deer hunters. 204 00:13:48,679 --> 00:13:51,240 Speaker 1: They all loved going out in the middle of the winter. 205 00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:54,199 Speaker 1: They all loved hunting. They were all very comfortable in 206 00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:57,240 Speaker 1: the woods. None of them minded the snowstorm all that much, 207 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:00,880 Speaker 1: particularly because again another one of those small pieces that 208 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:03,800 Speaker 1: make this such a miracle, the snowstorm was coming from 209 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:06,160 Speaker 1: the north, so that it was at the back of 210 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:09,520 Speaker 1: the Americans and in the face of the heshes. So 211 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:12,400 Speaker 1: the Americans just marched along. And now they were not 212 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:15,600 Speaker 1: very well clothed. Out of the twenty five hundred men 213 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:20,440 Speaker 1: that Washington had left, about one third of them did 214 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:23,960 Speaker 1: not have boots and had wrapped their feet in burlap backs. 215 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:27,880 Speaker 1: These guys were really proving how committed they were to freedom, 216 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:31,920 Speaker 1: because they were in pain for the whole march. So 217 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:35,120 Speaker 1: they arrive at Trenton the Germans still don't other There 218 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:38,720 Speaker 1: friends a very small village at that time, and it 219 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:41,600 Speaker 1: basically has just two cross streets, so if you line 220 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:46,640 Speaker 1: in your cannon upright, you can dominate both streets. And 221 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:50,240 Speaker 1: they're all sleeping in private homes and they can't get 222 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:53,920 Speaker 1: out of the houses because the Americans now have total 223 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:57,720 Speaker 1: control of the field of fire. Ultimately, after a very 224 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:03,680 Speaker 1: short skirmish, the Germans, eight hundred of them, surrendered, and 225 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:08,680 Speaker 1: Washington then shows he's a very clever man. He grabs 226 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:11,440 Speaker 1: them and he runs like crazy to get back across 227 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:14,560 Speaker 1: the river because he knows the main British army's coming, 228 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:17,520 Speaker 1: and of course if they had caught him, they would 229 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:20,720 Speaker 1: have destroyed his army. They get across the river with 230 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:23,840 Speaker 1: their prisoners, about seven hundred and fifty prisoners out of England. 231 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:28,720 Speaker 1: One American had been killed. There was a huge victory, 232 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:35,360 Speaker 1: and within about three weeks there are fifteen thousand volunteers 233 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:43,200 Speaker 1: because victory brings enthusiasts and the revolution continued. Had Washington 234 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:48,360 Speaker 1: failed to fight the battle, had he failed to win 235 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:52,320 Speaker 1: the battle, I think the odds are overwhelming that the 236 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:57,280 Speaker 1: American Revolution would have died sometime in January February seventeen 237 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:02,000 Speaker 1: seventy seven. So that particular Christmas is at the very 238 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:07,000 Speaker 1: center of the rise of America, and without it we 239 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:09,960 Speaker 1: probably would not be a country today. I find it 240 00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:14,440 Speaker 1: truly a miracle, and one that most Americans, I think, 241 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:18,280 Speaker 1: took that way. And Morsha himself said, anybody who doubts 242 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:21,240 Speaker 1: that Providence was on our side literally does not have 243 00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:24,320 Speaker 1: any idea what the fight was like. So that's part 244 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:26,760 Speaker 1: of why you had this deep sense that God was 245 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:29,320 Speaker 1: on our side, because they kept getting in these fights 246 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:31,400 Speaker 1: where they couldn't figure it any of the way for 247 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:34,240 Speaker 1: to have succeeded, except to have had some kind of 248 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:58,000 Speaker 1: divine intervention. The second battle I want to chat about 249 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:04,680 Speaker 1: it occurs one hundred and sixty eight years later, when 250 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:10,840 Speaker 1: the Americans and the British and their allies the Canadians, 251 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:15,000 Speaker 1: the Poles, the Free French have been sweeping across Europe 252 00:17:15,080 --> 00:17:20,200 Speaker 1: after landing successfully on June sixth of Normandy, and it 253 00:17:20,320 --> 00:17:24,240 Speaker 1: feels like the Germans are collapsed. They're gradually getting driven 254 00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:28,240 Speaker 1: by the Soviet army. They suffered enormous casualties over the 255 00:17:28,280 --> 00:17:32,800 Speaker 1: course of the war, and there's a general expectation that 256 00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:37,800 Speaker 1: the war could be over, if not by Christmas, certainly 257 00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:44,399 Speaker 1: shortly thereafter, and everybody was kind of relaxed. In fact, 258 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:50,040 Speaker 1: General Eisenhower, the commander of Allied Forces, had deliberately shifted 259 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:54,040 Speaker 1: some of his most badly beaten up divisions and his 260 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:58,040 Speaker 1: most inexperienced divisions to an area in the Ordade Forest, 261 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:02,120 Speaker 1: one of the great history. This is the area where 262 00:18:02,119 --> 00:18:05,399 Speaker 1: the German army cut through in nineteen forty to outflank 263 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:08,879 Speaker 1: the French and win the decisive defeat of France and 264 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:12,119 Speaker 1: driving the British off the continent. So we knew it 265 00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:16,000 Speaker 1: was usable. It was also an area which Eisenhower and Patton, 266 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:18,760 Speaker 1: when they were much younger, had actually driven around on 267 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:22,280 Speaker 1: vacation because they fully expected a Second World War. They 268 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:26,280 Speaker 1: didn't think the Germans were done, and yet there was 269 00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:29,520 Speaker 1: this general feeling that in the middle of winter it 270 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:33,600 Speaker 1: was not likely to be a problem. Furthermore, the German 271 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:37,879 Speaker 1: army had not launched a winter offensive since Frederick the 272 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:41,080 Speaker 1: Great in the seventeen seventies, and so there was a 273 00:18:41,119 --> 00:18:44,480 Speaker 1: general belief that the Germans didn't launch winter offensive, wasn't 274 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:48,440 Speaker 1: how they operated. And furthermore, they were under such enormous 275 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:54,000 Speaker 1: pressure in Italy, in France, in Russia, that they weren't 276 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:57,679 Speaker 1: in a position really to pull the other troops. Well, 277 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:02,560 Speaker 1: that was exactly the calculus that Offttler head. He intuited 278 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:07,439 Speaker 1: that the Allies would be weak along the line of 279 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:12,520 Speaker 1: the Ordun Forest, and that he had a sense that 280 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:16,480 Speaker 1: you could really drive a wedge between the British armies 281 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:19,720 Speaker 1: to the north the American armies to the south, and 282 00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:24,520 Speaker 1: drive it all the way to Antwerp and Rotterdam and 283 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:28,960 Speaker 1: seize control of the supplies. And so he scraped together 284 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:34,920 Speaker 1: every combat capable force he could find, secretly moved all 285 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:38,760 Speaker 1: of them, and then had a huge piece of luck. 286 00:19:40,119 --> 00:19:44,639 Speaker 1: The weather turned bad. The Allies relied very heavily on 287 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:49,040 Speaker 1: air power. We dominated the air. We had fighter bombers 288 00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:52,879 Speaker 1: that were able to take out German tanks. We used 289 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:57,800 Speaker 1: all sorts of capabilities against the German army, including frankly 290 00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:00,760 Speaker 1: scouting and looking for what they were doing. And suddenly 291 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:03,560 Speaker 1: the weather was bad. So now you have all of 292 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:08,080 Speaker 1: a sudden, starting on December sixteenth, nineteen forty four, a 293 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:13,520 Speaker 1: German offensive against relatively weak divisions. They were actually placed 294 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:17,080 Speaker 1: there to rest them to refit. They were not prepared 295 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:20,000 Speaker 1: for a major battle. They didn't expect the major battle. 296 00:20:20,359 --> 00:20:23,359 Speaker 1: They were looking forward within less than two weeks to 297 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:28,240 Speaker 1: celebrating Christmas, and boom, they're in the fight of their lives. 298 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:33,760 Speaker 1: The Germans start to break through. They penetrate pretty deeply 299 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:38,320 Speaker 1: into the American positions and begin to split the Americans 300 00:20:38,359 --> 00:20:42,560 Speaker 1: badly enough that Eisenhower takes the American units on the 301 00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:44,760 Speaker 1: northern side of the bubble. It was called the Balls 302 00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:47,200 Speaker 1: because if you look at it in a map, it's 303 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:52,120 Speaker 1: the balls from the east Germany towards the Atlantic Ocean. 304 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:56,840 Speaker 1: And as they're driving into this, they are separating the 305 00:20:56,880 --> 00:20:59,760 Speaker 1: Americans from the north so that they can't be controlled 306 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:04,040 Speaker 1: easily by General Bradley and the American Army group. And 307 00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:08,760 Speaker 1: so Eisenhower infuriates some of those Americans by taking those 308 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:12,280 Speaker 1: divisions and giving them to Montgomery to manage, because Montgomery's 309 00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:17,200 Speaker 1: on the northern side of the walls. Meanwhile, there are 310 00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:21,359 Speaker 1: some units that had really locked down and decided that 311 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:25,760 Speaker 1: they would fight, and it's a fascinating moment. There were 312 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:29,280 Speaker 1: paratroopers who were isolated in the town of Bastone by 313 00:21:29,359 --> 00:21:33,800 Speaker 1: Stone mattered because it was a really important crossroads and 314 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:38,640 Speaker 1: at that point, the Germans decided that they would see 315 00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:41,520 Speaker 1: if they could get the Americans to surrender, so they 316 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:45,240 Speaker 1: sent a note in to the American commander, whose answer 317 00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:49,720 Speaker 1: was one word nuts, which of course was classically American. 318 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:53,160 Speaker 1: Went all over the place. People heard about it rapidly 319 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:55,960 Speaker 1: in an age before the internet is still spread with 320 00:21:56,000 --> 00:22:00,360 Speaker 1: amazing speed, and had automatically raised me around. It's who 321 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:03,000 Speaker 1: we were. We weren't going to just fold because some 322 00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:05,280 Speaker 1: Germans were an offense. We're going to figure out a 323 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:09,639 Speaker 1: way to beat them. Meanwhile, on the southern side, Patton, 324 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:14,119 Speaker 1: at the very earliest moment, looked up and said, you know, 325 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:19,040 Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure this is a German offense. So Patton 326 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:23,600 Speaker 1: turned to his third army team and said, I want 327 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:28,760 Speaker 1: you to design two plans. We're going to take our army, 328 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:31,879 Speaker 1: which is currently facing east, and we're going to pivot 329 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:35,080 Speaker 1: it in ninety degrees so it faces north. And I 330 00:22:35,119 --> 00:22:38,520 Speaker 1: want to know whether they go up line A or 331 00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:41,000 Speaker 1: go up line B. I want to have a one 332 00:22:41,040 --> 00:22:44,640 Speaker 1: word code, so if I call you, I can say 333 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:47,600 Speaker 1: either A or B, and you're going to execute exactly 334 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:51,639 Speaker 1: that campaign. Patton then goes to the first grade meeting, 335 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:56,320 Speaker 1: which was held Edward done, and it was very famous 336 00:22:56,359 --> 00:22:59,240 Speaker 1: because when all the generals got together, remember now, they're 337 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:01,800 Speaker 1: all shocked. The war that they thought was about to 338 00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:04,879 Speaker 1: come to a close has suddenly exploded into a huge 339 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:09,240 Speaker 1: German offensive. The weather is terrible, They've lost their biggest asset, 340 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:14,359 Speaker 1: their air power. They have relatively untrained troops and relatively 341 00:23:14,359 --> 00:23:17,679 Speaker 1: exhausted troops fighting for their lives in an area that 342 00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:20,959 Speaker 1: they frankly thought was safe. And they can see that 343 00:23:21,040 --> 00:23:23,959 Speaker 1: in theory, if the Germans could keep the offensive up, 344 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:27,400 Speaker 1: they could get to the great supply depots, and they 345 00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:32,320 Speaker 1: could really tear apart the entire Allied offensive. So the 346 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:35,560 Speaker 1: key generals all arrived, and as they sit down at 347 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:37,720 Speaker 1: the table, in what I think is one of the 348 00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:41,760 Speaker 1: great moments of his career, Eisenhower looks at home and says, gentlemen, 349 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:45,400 Speaker 1: we will have no frowns at this meeting. We will 350 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:48,880 Speaker 1: have only smiles. The Germans have come out in the open, 351 00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:52,400 Speaker 1: and they've given us a chance to destroy them, so 352 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:56,359 Speaker 1: we should be happy. Now. That was such a change 353 00:23:56,800 --> 00:24:00,320 Speaker 1: for these guys who had walked in very defensive, some 354 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:03,680 Speaker 1: of them depressed, very very worried, and all of a sudden. 355 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:08,480 Speaker 1: He's like sounding totally self confident, smiling and happy. And 356 00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:11,320 Speaker 1: he turns and he says, you know, what can you 357 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:16,000 Speaker 1: guys do for me? And Patton says, well, I can 358 00:24:16,119 --> 00:24:20,720 Speaker 1: launch an offensive within forty eight hours. And I says, 359 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:24,600 Speaker 1: George one, get serious, what can you really do for me? 360 00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:28,320 Speaker 1: And he says, well, I have my guys planning it, 361 00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:31,200 Speaker 1: and I just need to know do you want this 362 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:32,920 Speaker 1: line on the map or this line of the map. 363 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:35,480 Speaker 1: You tell me which one you want. I'll call them 364 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:39,600 Speaker 1: and they will start pivoting in the next thirty minutes. 365 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:43,440 Speaker 1: And he was as good as his word. Everybody was shocked. 366 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:47,680 Speaker 1: He showed enormous aggressiveness. Again, think about this. They're taking 367 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:52,159 Speaker 1: an entire army that is focused on going east and 368 00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:55,639 Speaker 1: they are pivoting it so I can drive straight north. 369 00:24:56,640 --> 00:24:59,480 Speaker 1: And as they're doing that, they're doing it in the 370 00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:03,399 Speaker 1: snow store because they still don't have airpower. Patton himself 371 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:07,119 Speaker 1: is out there, pushing them, shoving them, leading them, getting 372 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:10,280 Speaker 1: the maximum speed out of them. And the result is, 373 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:14,040 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, the Germans are on defense. They 374 00:25:14,119 --> 00:25:17,879 Speaker 1: can't sustain their offensive, they don't have enough forces, and 375 00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:22,439 Speaker 1: the Americans have responded so rapidly that in the end 376 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:26,560 Speaker 1: they're simply going to collapse. Now, we suffered about seventy 377 00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:30,399 Speaker 1: five thousand casualist that's dead and wounded during the battle. 378 00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:33,560 Speaker 1: The Germans lost somewhere between eighty and one hundred thousand men. 379 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:38,479 Speaker 1: But the fact was by Christmas we were really rolling 380 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:42,080 Speaker 1: and it just accelerated, and by the end of January 381 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:46,679 Speaker 1: we recaptured all of the land that they had temporarily taken. 382 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:49,879 Speaker 1: We were back on offense and were moving towards the 383 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:53,560 Speaker 1: victory that would occur in May when the Germans finalists 384 00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:58,119 Speaker 1: who entered. But there was a period there just before 385 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:03,000 Speaker 1: Christmas when the American people and the British people were very, 386 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:07,800 Speaker 1: very worried, and then in an almost miraculous way, it 387 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:11,439 Speaker 1: turned into a great Allied victory instead of a Nazi victory, 388 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:15,280 Speaker 1: and people once again we're moving forward. And while we 389 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:18,120 Speaker 1: didn't get the war over by Christmas, we did get 390 00:26:18,119 --> 00:26:21,320 Speaker 1: it over by early summer and in May the Germans surrender, 391 00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:44,280 Speaker 1: which was an enormous achievement. The third great military moment 392 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:51,200 Speaker 1: in the Christmas season was I think maybe the greatest 393 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:57,159 Speaker 1: single fight the Marine Corps ever had, and is a 394 00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:01,040 Speaker 1: remarkable contrast to what was happened to the Eighth Army. 395 00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:05,119 Speaker 1: What had happened was the North Koreans had attacked on 396 00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:09,719 Speaker 1: June twenty fifth, nineteen fifty and had driven south become 397 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:13,520 Speaker 1: very close to conquering all of South Korea, and we intervened. 398 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:17,520 Speaker 1: We aultomly stopped them, and then in a brilliant maneuver, 399 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:21,600 Speaker 1: General MacArthur leap frogged all the way from the bottom 400 00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:24,160 Speaker 1: of Creed sees you pull up a mapp We were 401 00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:26,520 Speaker 1: pushed back to the very bottom of Korea, around the 402 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:30,680 Speaker 1: town of Pussan, and instead of fighting our way back north, 403 00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:35,439 Speaker 1: MacArthur used the great amphibious capability we had developed in 404 00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:38,240 Speaker 1: World War Two and leap frogged all the way up 405 00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:41,359 Speaker 1: to the port of Incheon, which is very close to 406 00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:46,080 Speaker 1: the thirty ninth parallel and is the port of the 407 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:49,720 Speaker 1: city of Soul, Korea at the capital. And so we suddenly, 408 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:53,280 Speaker 1: in one brilliant stroke, threatened to cut off the entire 409 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:57,080 Speaker 1: North Korean Army, which collapsed and during the retreat was 410 00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:01,679 Speaker 1: ultimately badly defeated. And we then d over North and 411 00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:06,119 Speaker 1: decided that we would liberate all of Korea. They'd started 412 00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:08,120 Speaker 1: this war. We were going to make sure that they 413 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:10,920 Speaker 1: truly lost it. I have a good friend who actually 414 00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:12,960 Speaker 1: got all the way up to the Yello River was 415 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:16,520 Speaker 1: standing there looking across the river at China and told 416 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:19,760 Speaker 1: me many years later that he realized in retrospect that 417 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:23,040 Speaker 1: there were already Chinese troops watching him as he stood 418 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:26,560 Speaker 1: at the yellow So we were then driving up two 419 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:30,920 Speaker 1: sides of pennsil Is very very rocky, very mountainous, and 420 00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:35,760 Speaker 1: on the western side the United States eighth Army was 421 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:39,880 Speaker 1: driving north with its Republic of units and with other 422 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:43,000 Speaker 1: elements of the United Nations forces, the Turks and the 423 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:47,280 Speaker 1: British and others. On the eastern side, an Army unit 424 00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:52,080 Speaker 1: in a very large marine contingent. We're driving up and 425 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:56,440 Speaker 1: MacArthur had talked about the boys will be home by Christmas. 426 00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:02,920 Speaker 1: So you have this whole sense that at once again people, 427 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:06,480 Speaker 1: just as they were in nineteen forty four, people were 428 00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:10,360 Speaker 1: letting their guard down, They were relaxing. Was very clear 429 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:12,760 Speaker 1: that the North Korean Army had been destroyed and was 430 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:17,040 Speaker 1: incapable of offering very much more resistance. What we didn't 431 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:22,560 Speaker 1: realize was that the Chinese felt enormously threatened at having 432 00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:27,800 Speaker 1: American forces in North Korea so threatened that they were 433 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:30,280 Speaker 1: prepared to nven in the war, which all of our 434 00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:33,960 Speaker 1: intelligence people said they would not do, and what we 435 00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:38,000 Speaker 1: didn't appreciate them. It's well worth thinking about as we 436 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:44,040 Speaker 1: think about China today. We to an extraordinary degree underestimated 437 00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:47,120 Speaker 1: the capacity of the Chinese Communist army. This is an 438 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:52,160 Speaker 1: army which had fought a civil war before World War Two, 439 00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:56,080 Speaker 1: stopped the civil war to fight the Japanese, and then 440 00:29:56,080 --> 00:29:58,400 Speaker 1: when the Japanese were defeated, went back to fighting the 441 00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:01,120 Speaker 1: civil war again, and a only won the civil war 442 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:05,000 Speaker 1: and occupied all of China except for the island of Taiwan. 443 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:10,480 Speaker 1: So this was a very competent, very experienced military force, 444 00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:14,040 Speaker 1: and it was a force which was used to operating 445 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:21,240 Speaker 1: under very difficult circumstances. They infiltrated at least two hundred 446 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:25,680 Speaker 1: and fifty thousand troops at night, all the way down 447 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:29,440 Speaker 1: the northern part of the peninsula with nobody finding out. 448 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:33,600 Speaker 1: We had complete air superiority. We had airplanes overhead all 449 00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:37,800 Speaker 1: day every day, and all day every day they hid, 450 00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:42,120 Speaker 1: that's when they slept, and ultimately had a dramatic impact, 451 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:47,760 Speaker 1: a real lesson for Americans, I think, both in the 452 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:52,800 Speaker 1: Battle of the Bulge and in the Chinese offensive in 453 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:57,400 Speaker 1: Korea in nineteen fifty is to not underestimate your opponents. 454 00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:01,240 Speaker 1: The opponent gets to be smart, your opponent gets to 455 00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:04,680 Speaker 1: be clever, your opponent gets to be courageous, and so 456 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:08,200 Speaker 1: it's very important to remember some painful lessons. Here. You 457 00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:12,880 Speaker 1: had General MacArthur, who had been extraordinarily successful in World 458 00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:16,880 Speaker 1: War Two and had been remarkably successful in the initial 459 00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:20,600 Speaker 1: amphibious landings at Incheon, and I think it was humorous. 460 00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:22,960 Speaker 1: I think as ego got the better of him. People 461 00:31:23,040 --> 00:31:25,680 Speaker 1: told him for two months that there was a problem, 462 00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:29,320 Speaker 1: there was increasing evidence that the Chinese were in North Korea, 463 00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:33,080 Speaker 1: and he just plained, wouldn't listen because it didn't fit 464 00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:37,080 Speaker 1: his preconceived notion of what was going on. Well, the 465 00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:41,960 Speaker 1: result was that the American eighth Army was way over 466 00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:45,160 Speaker 1: extended into the north, all the way up towards the Yellou, 467 00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:49,360 Speaker 1: and was not prepared to defend itself because it hit 468 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:51,959 Speaker 1: it all out offensive and it had kind of an 469 00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:55,080 Speaker 1: attitude of, hey, this is about done. The North Korea 470 00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:58,680 Speaker 1: ge whipped. The Chinese won't come in and maybe we'll 471 00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:03,600 Speaker 1: start shipping people by Christmas. Meanwhile, on the eastern side 472 00:32:03,920 --> 00:32:08,320 Speaker 1: of the mountains, the Marines in particular had a very 473 00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:11,360 Speaker 1: tough minded attitude, and this may have come in part 474 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:14,440 Speaker 1: because they had fought the Japanese and the Pacific in 475 00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:19,320 Speaker 1: World War Two and they understood how suddenly you could 476 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:23,480 Speaker 1: be ambush and how suddenly things could become extraordinarily violent. 477 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:27,120 Speaker 1: And so there was great pressure from Tokyo for the 478 00:32:27,160 --> 00:32:31,720 Speaker 1: Marines to over extend themselves and to be as incapable 479 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:35,680 Speaker 1: of defenses the Eighth Army and the Marine leaders simply 480 00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:39,120 Speaker 1: wouldn't do it. They said flatly, we are not going 481 00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:43,200 Speaker 1: to allow our forces to get beyond their ability to 482 00:32:43,240 --> 00:32:47,800 Speaker 1: defend themselves. And they kept bringing up supplies and reorganizing 483 00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:52,440 Speaker 1: and moving very carefully and very cautiously. Well the result 484 00:32:52,600 --> 00:32:57,280 Speaker 1: was when suddenly the Chinese came literally boiling out of 485 00:32:57,280 --> 00:32:59,920 Speaker 1: the mountains and out of the forest, and the enorm 486 00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:03,640 Speaker 1: a shock. This was a very bitter cold whether it 487 00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:09,440 Speaker 1: means Korea can be extraordinarily cold in November, December, January, 488 00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:11,960 Speaker 1: and so you had, for example, people who were killed 489 00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:16,280 Speaker 1: in their sleeping bags because they had been so cold 490 00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:19,760 Speaker 1: that they had taken the risk of actually zipping up 491 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:22,640 Speaker 1: their bag, which meant they couldn't get out in time. 492 00:33:23,040 --> 00:33:26,920 Speaker 1: When there was a sudden surprise attack. You had tremendous 493 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:32,640 Speaker 1: number of Chinese. They outnumbered the Marines were very substantial amount, 494 00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:36,520 Speaker 1: and they were very courageous. They were very well trained, 495 00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:40,320 Speaker 1: and they were very prepared to die if necessary to 496 00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:44,880 Speaker 1: achieve their goals. The Marines very rapidly reorganized into a 497 00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:49,400 Speaker 1: defensive force. But there are several brilliant studies of this, 498 00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:53,360 Speaker 1: one called Holdback the Night, which is a great story 499 00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:56,560 Speaker 1: written at the time about what it was like to 500 00:33:56,600 --> 00:34:00,080 Speaker 1: fight your way out. There was a movie entitled Retreat, How, 501 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:02,920 Speaker 1: which came from a famous quote from a Marine officer 502 00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:05,960 Speaker 1: who said, who are not retreating? We were fighting in 503 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:10,400 Speaker 1: a new direction because literally the Chinese had surrounded the 504 00:34:10,640 --> 00:34:14,680 Speaker 1: entire marine unit and was literally trying to stop them 505 00:34:14,680 --> 00:34:17,520 Speaker 1: from getting back to the ocean. So they had to 506 00:34:17,640 --> 00:34:20,640 Speaker 1: not only have a fighting retreat, they had to have 507 00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:24,120 Speaker 1: a fighting offensive where they were fighting their way to 508 00:34:24,160 --> 00:34:28,320 Speaker 1: the southeast to try to get to the harbor where 509 00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:32,600 Speaker 1: the US Navy and the Allied forces could withdraw once 510 00:34:32,640 --> 00:34:35,280 Speaker 1: they got there. But they were on a very narrow 511 00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:39,480 Speaker 1: road that was totally frozen. They were up against opponents 512 00:34:39,520 --> 00:34:43,120 Speaker 1: who were doing everything they could to stop them. They 513 00:34:43,160 --> 00:34:48,520 Speaker 1: were fighting straordinary cold weather, and you can imagine the 514 00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:52,200 Speaker 1: attitude of the soldiers and the marines who had been told, oh, yeah, 515 00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:55,040 Speaker 1: the war was really over. You can relax, you're gonna 516 00:34:55,040 --> 00:34:58,279 Speaker 1: be going home by Christmas, and the bitterness they felt 517 00:34:58,440 --> 00:35:03,200 Speaker 1: towards the commanders in Tokyo, in particularly in MacArthur's headquarters, 518 00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:07,960 Speaker 1: who were simply totally wrong and out of touch with reality. 519 00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:12,360 Speaker 1: The result was I think one of the greatest American 520 00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:17,640 Speaker 1: combat stories, in many ways, very very parallel to the 521 00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:21,319 Speaker 1: retreat of the ten thousand in Central Asia in the 522 00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:23,960 Speaker 1: Greek era. These were folks who, if they were going 523 00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:26,120 Speaker 1: to survive, they were going to have to fight their 524 00:35:26,160 --> 00:35:30,760 Speaker 1: way through the opponents and claw their way to the sea. 525 00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:34,440 Speaker 1: They did it, and it was an extraordinary victory, but 526 00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:38,440 Speaker 1: it was a costly, painful victory. An amazing number of 527 00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:43,040 Speaker 1: young Americans were killed, Others suffered very severe frostbite, many 528 00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:48,320 Speaker 1: were wounded. Frankly, it was probably all preventable if, in fact, 529 00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:52,200 Speaker 1: General MacArthur and his team had simply taken notice. They'd 530 00:35:52,200 --> 00:35:56,440 Speaker 1: had two months of steadily increased warnings, and if they 531 00:35:56,440 --> 00:36:00,400 Speaker 1: had pulled the American forces back into defensive positions, almost 532 00:36:00,520 --> 00:36:03,240 Speaker 1: none of this would have happened. But you can imagine 533 00:36:03,239 --> 00:36:06,480 Speaker 1: the shock in America, just as in the Battle of 534 00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:09,840 Speaker 1: the Balls, when all of a sudden, families who thought 535 00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:14,120 Speaker 1: that Timmy or Johnny were coming home realized that Timmy 536 00:36:14,160 --> 00:36:17,960 Speaker 1: or Johnny were fighting for their lives in desperately cold 537 00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:21,319 Speaker 1: circumstances and had a pretty fair chance of not making it. 538 00:36:22,080 --> 00:36:24,760 Speaker 1: I think that it had galvanized the country and focused 539 00:36:24,760 --> 00:36:27,880 Speaker 1: the country. They put us into a very different posture 540 00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:31,160 Speaker 1: in Korea, and am much in the grim determination to 541 00:36:31,239 --> 00:36:33,960 Speaker 1: be effective. And I know when my dad served in 542 00:36:34,040 --> 00:36:36,839 Speaker 1: Korea in fifty three it was seen as a very 543 00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:40,239 Speaker 1: tough war. There's a memorial to the Korean War on 544 00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:43,040 Speaker 1: the Mall which I always visited, and I recommend to 545 00:36:43,040 --> 00:36:46,200 Speaker 1: you highly of an infantry unit in the kind of 546 00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:48,839 Speaker 1: gear that they wore in that particular period. And it's 547 00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:52,200 Speaker 1: just very sobering to me thinking about what they went 548 00:36:52,239 --> 00:36:54,800 Speaker 1: through and how they went through. I wanted to share 549 00:36:55,280 --> 00:36:58,080 Speaker 1: because Christmas, which is a time of good year, it's 550 00:36:58,080 --> 00:37:01,560 Speaker 1: a time of salvation, time of generosity, it's a time 551 00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:04,600 Speaker 1: of being with family in front. There are many wonderful 552 00:37:04,719 --> 00:37:08,640 Speaker 1: Christmas stories and in many wonderful Christmas movies. But I 553 00:37:08,640 --> 00:37:11,520 Speaker 1: think it's also useful to remember that in the history 554 00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:14,520 Speaker 1: of the United States, in the struggle to remain free, 555 00:37:15,080 --> 00:37:18,000 Speaker 1: in the willingness to do what is necessary so that 556 00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:22,440 Speaker 1: America can survive, that there have been Christmases when we 557 00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:27,239 Speaker 1: have sacrificed everything. There have been Christmases when brave men 558 00:37:27,320 --> 00:37:30,680 Speaker 1: and women stood without flinching and did their job. And 559 00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:34,840 Speaker 1: that we should remember too that we're able to celebrate 560 00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:38,359 Speaker 1: this Christmas and freedom because of the many Americans over 561 00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:42,200 Speaker 1: the years we're sacrificed to make us free and then 562 00:37:42,239 --> 00:37:45,239 Speaker 1: to keep us free. And I hope as you and 563 00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:49,480 Speaker 1: your family celebrate Hanaka or celebrate Christmas, that it'll take 564 00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:53,319 Speaker 1: just a moment to include your prayers all the young 565 00:37:53,360 --> 00:37:57,880 Speaker 1: Americans who this Christmas will be scattered across the planet, 566 00:37:58,360 --> 00:38:01,920 Speaker 1: working hard, risking their lives, trying to make sure you're 567 00:38:01,920 --> 00:38:08,440 Speaker 1: both safe and free. News World is produced by Gingwich 568 00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:13,399 Speaker 1: three sixty and iHeartMedia. Our executive producers Debbie Myers, our 569 00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:17,440 Speaker 1: producer is Garnsey Sloan, and our researcher is Rachel Peterson. 570 00:38:18,239 --> 00:38:21,640 Speaker 1: The artwork for the show was created by Steve Kendeley. 571 00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:25,719 Speaker 1: Special thanks to the team at Gingwich three sixty. If 572 00:38:25,760 --> 00:38:28,279 Speaker 1: you've been enjoying news World, I hope you'll go to 573 00:38:28,320 --> 00:38:31,719 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts and both rate us with five stars and 574 00:38:31,840 --> 00:38:34,560 Speaker 1: give us a review so others can learn what it's 575 00:38:34,600 --> 00:38:37,760 Speaker 1: all about. I'm new Gingwich. This is newts World.