Well sorry about the broken birfs. But thank you for posting the carnage. It helps me (and all of us) to remember that the front axle isn't bulletproof and we need to wheel accordingly.
They're not fragile by any means, but they can break... As you've shown us.
M, did you yank the jeep out by reversing out like shown in the picture?
Did you (do you) have front diff locks? Was it engaged?
Although I've never experienced a blown birf, I've pulled my fair share of stuck vehicles, but always using a winch.
I've read on a few sites that trying to...
Not exactly, but close enough not to fret over. The rear shackle allows the end of the spring to lift upwards a wee bit when the spring compresses, essentially rotating the entire spring upwards a tad from the back... maybe changing the pinion angle minus a degree or two.
But that is all...