J'ACCUSE NUTS

The 22^nd December turns up two rather different matters of military history.

Dreyfuss

One which led to a scandal that ran for some 12 years and has been the subject of a number of films and portrayals. It was known as L’Affair Dreyfus. On the 15^th October 1894, Captain Alfred Dreyfus was arrested for treason. His trial began on the 19^th December1894 at the Cherche-Midi prison, and lasted four days. The court was composed of seven judges, none of them an artilleryman. The president was Conel Maurel. Dreyfus was unanimously pronounced guilty at he last hearing on 22^nd December 1894. He was sentenced to transportation for life to a fortress, preceded by military degradation. 

Zola

From that moment on, the incident developed into a grand scandal. Despite very strong evidence exonerating Dreyfus, his wrongful conviction was not overturned until 1906; however, the initial scandal led to an extraordinary piece of writing by Emile Zola who published an open letter in the newspaper L’Aurore, on the 13 January 1898 which ran it under a banner headline J’Accuse…! 

It was addressed to the then President Félix Faure. It caused quite a stir and led to Zola’s own prosecution for libel and for which he was found guilty on the 23^rd February 1898. He fled to England to avoid imprisonment, as all French ‘rebels’ of note.  In any event it was an extremely effective and performative piece of writing. On July 12, 1906, Dreyfus was officially exonerated by a military commission. The day after his exoneration, he was readmitted into the army with a promotion to the rank of Major ("Chef d'Escadron"). A week later, he was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour.

McAuliffe

The other piece of writing, which has moved into the realms of legend, occurred during the German counter offensive in 1944, known as the Battle of the Bulge.  Acting command of the United States 101^st Airborne Division and its attached troops fell to General Anthony Clement  McAuliffe. At Bastogne, the 101st was besieged by a far larger force of Germans under the command of General Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz.

On the 22^nd December, 1944, through a party consisting of a major, a lieutenant, and two enlisted men under a flag of truce that entered the American lines southeast of Bastogne (occupied by Company F, 2nd Battalion, 327th Glider Infantry), General von Lüttwitz sent the following ultimatum to Gen. McAuliffe:

To the U.S.A. Commander of the encircled town of Bastogne.

The fortune of war is changing. This time the U.S.A. forces in and near Bastogne have been encircled by strong German armoured units. More German armoured units have crossed the river Our near Ortheuville, have taken Marche and reached St. Hubert by passing through Hompre-Sibret-Tillet. Libramont is in German hands.

There is only one possibility to save the encircled U.S.A. troops from total annihilation: that is the honourable surrender of the encircled town. In order to think it over a term of two hours will be granted beginning with the presentation of this note.

If this proposal should be rejected one German Artillery Corps and six heavy A. A. Battalions are ready to annihilate the U.S.A. troops in and near Bastogne. The order for firing will be given immediately after this two hours term.

All the serious civilian losses caused by this artillery fire would not correspond with the well-known American humanity.

The German Commander.

According to various accounts from those present, when McAuliffe was told of the German demand for surrender he said "nuts". At a loss for an official reply, Lt. Col. Harry Kinnard suggested that his first remark summed up the situation well, which was agreed to by the others. The official reply was typed and delivered by Colonel Joseph Harper, commanding the 327^th Glider Infantry, and his S-3, Major Alvin Jones, to the German delegation. It was as follows:

To the German Commander,

NUTS!



The American Commander

Suffice it to say, the Germans were perplexed at the short reply. Harper offered an explanation of the meaning of the word to the Germans, telling them that in "plain English" it meant "Go to hell." The word choice came directly from McAuliffe and was typical for him. Vincent Vicari, his personal aide at the time, recalled that "General Mac was the only general I ever knew who did not use profane language. 'Nuts' was part of his normal vocabulary." Another example of how a single word can explode.
A current tour guide tells the story with a little variation.