The Battle of the Bulge: An Eyewitness Account

Remembrance and Records: World War II Through Archival Collections

Published Jan 27, 2025 by
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Over the next year, in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, Joyner Library Special Collections will be highlighting items from the East Carolina Manuscripts Collection that relate to the conflict and the individuals who served.

The Battle of the Bulge: An Eyewitness Account

80 years ago, this week marks the end of one of World War II’s bloodiest and most decisive battles. Beginning December 16, 1944, the German military leaders launched what would be their last major offensive of the war attempting to break through Allied lines. The fighting that followed would be known as the Battle of the Bulge and the Allied victory would signal the inevitable fall of Nazi Germany.

Involving over 700,000 Allied troops stretched over 75 miles within the Argonne Forest the Germans sought to exploit the battle-weary and inexperienced American soldiers stationed there for rest and recovery. The Germans intended to break the Allied lines pushing into Belgium to re-open supply lines to Germany and break Allied morale. The Germans threw everything they could at the mostly American troops in the Argonne, dropping paratroopers behind Allied lines, sending English-speaking German soldiers dressed in American military uniforms to spread chaos and misinformation, and massacring captured civilians and soldiers to decrease morale. While initially effective, the American soldiers fought back with bravery and ferocity despite the snow, cold, and every attempt the Germans threw at them.

The story of the battle through the eyes of Jim Morton, a member of the 506th Parachute Infantry, 101st Airborne Division helps to illustrate the conditions on the ground and the trials faced by American soldiers. Accessible via the Robert Frederick Sink Papers, Morton penned a letter to his commanding officer Colonel Robert Frederick Sink upon his recovery in Woodrow Wilson General Hospital, thanking Sink for his leadership and unwittingly saving his life. Morton details how a bottle of cognac gifted to him by Sink helped him stay alive after being wounded during the battle.

In the correspondence, Morton describes the difficulty of receiving medical treatment on the battlefield once wounded and the obstacles faced by those who needed to be evacuated. Morton details how German Panzers wounded him in the fighting near Noville[sic], four miles north of Bastogne, Belgium. While being attended to by a medic named Gibson, Morton and Gibson were both hit by fragments from another Panzer attack. With four other wounded Americans, Morton was transported by jeep to an aid station before being loaded into an ambulance heading to the 39th Evacuation Hospital in Virton.

On the way, the ambulance was hit by shell fragments further injuring the wounded inside. Without morphine, Morton and his companions drank the cognac gifted to him by Sink to alleviate the intense physical pain. Upon arrival at Virton, Morton states that the surgeons were not thrilled with the soldiers’ state of inebriation; however, Morton credits the cognac with helping him deal with the pain, keeping his spirits up, and alleviating the shock of the event.

The Allies would win the battle, defeating the Germans on January 25, 1944. Afterward, British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill stated, “This is undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war and will, I believe, be regarded as an ever-famous American victory.” In a few short months, the Germans would surrender bringing an end to the fighting in Europe.

Visit the Ship’s Log, as well as Joyner Library’s social media channels, to learn more about materials related to World War II that are a part of the East Carolina Manuscripts Collection’s holdings. Joyner Library Special Collections will be displaying an exhibit of items and individual stories related to World War II during the summer and fall of 2025.

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