During the summer break, the 15-Minute History podcast team are republishing some of their favorite episodes. This episode originally aired on May 4, 2023.
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On the morning of January 26th, Murphy and his men saw movement in the tree line ahead. As the morning fog cleared, over two hundred German infantrymen and six Mark VI Tiger Tanks appeared and began a counterattack.
I will stop here for a moment and give you an opportunity to take in this scene. First, consider eighteen men with two armored vehicles against two hundred infantry. Faced with just these odds, there is no strategic or tactical way Murphy’s men could hold the line. Second, add the armor. A single Tiger tank was near impossible to destroy by Allied armor. To put it in perspective, one Tiger Tank could take out more than twelve American Sherman tanks before being crippled enough to be put down. It fired an 88-millimeter shell, the most powerful of the German artillery, and could decimate an entire town without any support. Six of these advanced on Murphy and his eighteen men. Six. I don’t need to tell you the odds of the eighteen men winning against such a force, because there are no odds. It's zero. Listen now and join us in awe at what happened next. Remember…this is real history.
Join us as we teach you about the life and heroism of Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier in WW2.