Public Radio East serves Eastern North Carolina by providing news, fine arts, and informational programming that challenges, stimulates, educates, and entertains an intellectually curious audience.

© 2026 Public Radio East

Public Radio East
800 College Court
New Bern, NC 28562

EIN 56-1802728
Public Radio For Eastern North Carolina 89.3 WTEB New Bern 88.5 WZNB New Bern 91.5 WBJD Atlantic Beach 90.3 WKNS Kinston 89.9 W210CF Greenville
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

The Battle of the Bulge Remembered

NPR | By Walter Cronkite
Published December 27, 2004 at 12:00 AM EST
An American soldier holds German prisoners at gunpoint in the snow in the Ardennes region of Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944.
An American soldier holds German prisoners at gunpoint in the snow in the Ardennes region of Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944.

Sixty years ago this holiday season, the German army tried to push the Allies back one last time, as World War II neared its end in Europe. Earlier in 1944, the Allied army fought its way ashore at Normandy.

But in December, German leader Adolf Hitler surprised the Allies with an offensive across Belgium and Luxembourg. By Christmas Eve, German forces had pushed the American defense line back 60 miles and trapped the 101st Airborne Division at Bastogne.

This punch was the "bulge" of the Battle of the Bulge. Hitler's plan was to reach the Meuse River, move north and capture the port at Antwerp, then offer terms for an armistice. The Germans never reached the Meuse.

Former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite was with Gen. George Patton's 3rd Army that Christmas and covered the American counter-offensive for the wire service then known as United Press. Cronkite reflects on what remains the largest pitched battle in the history of American arms.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite has covered virtually every major news event during his more than 65 years in journalism - the last 54 affiliated with CBS News. He became a special correspondent for CBS News when he stepped down on March 6, 1981 after 19 years as anchorman and managing editor of the CBS Evening News. Affectionately nicknamed "Old Iron Pants" for his unflappability under pressure, Mr. Cronkite's accomplishments -- both on-air and off -- have won him acclaim and trust from journalism colleagues and the American public alike.