Anthony McAuliffe (centre) and his officers in Bastogne, Belgium, December, 1944. The commander of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne would go down in history for his defiant, one syllable reply to a German surrender ultimatum. //

“McAuliffe realized that some kind of answer had to be offered and he sat down to think it over. After several minutes he admitted to his officers that he did not know what to say in response.