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Eight Hours To Glory, the 82nd Airborne during the Salerno Invasion
Print Size: 30" X 15"
Hold To The Last Round
 by James Dietz
Description: 
On December 16, 1944, began the "Battle of the Bulge," considered by many, including Sir Winston Churchill, as the greatest battle ever fought by the American Army. The 28th Division was positioned in the very center of the German attack, just west of the Our River in a front of about 25 miles. Since this was supposed to be a quiet sector where no enemy action was expected, the three Regimental Combat Teams of the Division could only defend this wide area by establishing isolated strong points to block the main roads leading from East to West. The distances between positions prevented them from being mutually supporting and thus easily surrounded and cut off from reinforcement. In the unlikely event of an attack, the plan was to withdraw and delay.

When the German offensive opened, however, the order was changed to "Hold at All Cost," and thus each of the strong points had to fight its own battle. Rather than giving terrain for time as initially intended, it now became necessary to sacrifice lives for time until reinforcements from reserve units could be brought forward. The strong points of the Division, although surrounded, cut off, and facing increasing enemy forces as the fight went on, held for almost three full days, thus upsetting the German timetable. This gave the Allies time to move major reinforcements forward to Bastogne and St. Vith.

This print was taken from the magnificent painting depicting one of the great strong point actions which occurred in the town of Hosingen, Luxembourg, where "K" Company of the 110th Infantry Regiment and "B" Company of the 103rd Engineer Battalion (Combat) fought for the better part of three days. Although surrounded and greatly outnumbered, the soldiers of these two units held their ground with only a reinforcement of five tanks from the 707th Tank Battalion reaching their position. In this defense, these brave men inflicted an estimated 2,000 casualties upon their attackers and totally upset the German timetable. The 28th Division soldiers fought to the last round and were then authorized to break into small groups and escape as best they could.

The gallant defense of Hosingen, which is depicted in this painting, like the action at the other strong points of the 28th Division, sacrificed men for time. This effort clearly helped save Bastogne, only 18 miles to the west, and bought precious time for the Allies. The painting and the limited edition prints are dedicated to all the brave men of the 28th Division whose courage and sacrifice delayed the German advance and contributed greatly to the final outcome of the "Battle of the Bulge."

PUBLIC EDITION:
1000 Limited Edition, Signed and Numbered prints
$125.00 + $15.00 SH (PA residents please add 6% sales tax)

 
Jim Dietz has gained international recognition in aviation, military and automotive art circles for his unique approach to these genres. "The people, settings and costumes are what make early 20th Century history exciting and romantic to me." It is this feeling that makes Jim Dietz and his artwork so different from his contemporaries. Rather than simply illustrate hardware, Jim prefers to portray human involvement, to show in his paintings the interaction between man and machine-after all, he says, "it is the people who make machines great-by design, by operation and by dedication."

A native of San Francisco, Jim graduated from Art Center College of Design in 1969 and began a successful illustration career in Los Angeles. The subject matter varied from automobiles to action scenes to romantic book covers. A steady flow of work from New York clients enabled Jim and his wife to move to Seattle in 1978, where he began to fulfill his dream of specializing in historical
Artist Jim Dietz with "Silencing The Guns" signer Major Richard Winters.

aviation, automotive and military art. His clients have included Boeing, Bell Helicopter, Federal Express, Allison, Cessna, Flying Tigers, the Indianapolis 500, BMW, the National Guard and many U.S. Army organizations and associations.

Jim lives in Seattle with his wife, Patti, son, lan and his Australian Shepherd, Tazzy, who is seen often in Jim's paintings. His studio resembles a World War I aviator's bar, filled with flying and automotive memorabilia, wooden props and model airplanes.