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"Nuts!"

Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 8:17 pm
by Kyler
On this day in 1944, General Anthony McAuliffe replied "Nuts!" to General Heinrich Freiherr von Luttwitz demand for surrender of the encircled American forces in Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge.

One of the most famous albeit also funniest remarks made by a general during wartime.

Re: "Nuts!"

Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:04 pm
by lwd
Also one disputed by some.

Re: "Nuts!"

Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:23 pm
by Kyler
True,

Some historians believe a expletive was used instead, but McAuliffe's personal aid that was with him in Bastogne said McAuliffe said "Nuts!" since he wasn't a person prone to using foul language very much.

It is one of the those things that we will never know for sure, but it is still funny.

Re: "Nuts!"

Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2009 1:43 pm
by RF
Not as rude as the name of one Waffen SS detachment, Gertz von Berlingen, or rather the quote that person is alleged to have made.......

Re: "Nuts!"

Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2009 10:50 am
by hammy
RF wrote:Not as rude as the name of one Waffen SS detachment, Gertz von Berlingen, or rather the quote that person is alleged to have made.......
It is actually Gotz von Berlichingen , who is a character in Goethe's play "Sturm und Drang" ( I think there's an umlaut-two dots-over the "O" ) in gotz which gives it an "oer/ uer" sound --- exactly like like Goering , the same situation .

When Hermann von Ruckteschell was arguing over the name of Hilfskreuzer Michel -- or was it Widder ? he is supposed to have lost his rag a bit and said "you can call her G v B for all I care! "

The character in the play makes a famously (in Germany) rude retort , which I couldn't possibly post on here as it is so coarse that it would reconfigure your hard drives !

Re: "Nuts!"

Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 10:46 am
by RF
Ruckteschell got his way over naming Michel on this one. I gather that Michel was actually named after Archangel St Michael, the protector of the Jewish nation, whereas the actual name Michel in German refers to a caricature in folklore who is rather short on intelligence, which was why Raeder was not impressed with the name.

The retort you refer to would be well known today - and perehaps more understandable than ''nuts.''

Re: "Nuts!"

Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 3:17 pm
by aurora
WHERE THE "NUTS" CAME FROM
The message was brought in to the Division Headquarters by Major Alvin Jones, the S-3, and Colonel Harper, the Regimental Commander. They brought the message to me, the G-3 and Paul Danahy, the G-2. My first reaction was that this was a German ruse, designed to get our men out of their fox holes. But be that as it might, we agreed that we needed to take the message up the line.
We took it first to the acting Chief of Staff of the Division, Lt. Col. Ned Moore. With him, we took the message to the acting Division Commander General Tony McAuliffe. Moore told General McAuliffe that we had a German surrender ultimatum. The General's first reaction was that the Germans wanted to surrender to us. Col. Moore quickly disabused him of that notion and explained that the German's demanded our surrender. When McAuliffe heard that he laughed and said: "Us surrender? Aw, nuts!" the date was December 22nd, 1944 McAuliffe's original retort was shortened to Nuts! and sent to the German commander