United States Army in World War II
European Theater of Operations

The Ardennes:
Battle of the Bulge

Hugh M. Cole

CMH Publication 7-8

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF MILITARY HISTORY
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WASHINGTON, D.C., 1965

Library of Congress Catalog Number: 65-60001

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C., 20402


This volume, one of the series UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II, is the eighth to be published in the subseries, THE EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS. The volumes in the overall series will be closely related and will present a comprehensive account of the activities of the Military Establishment during World War II. A list of subseries is appended at the end of this volume.

 

UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II
Stetson Conn, General Editor

Advisory Committee
(As of 1 July, 1964)
 
Fred C. Cole
Washington and Lee University
Lt. Gen. August Schomburg
Industrial College of the Armed Forces
James A. Field, Jr.
Swarthmore College
Maj. Gen. Hugh M. Exton
U.S. Continental Army Command
Earl Pomeroy
University of Oregon
Brig. Gen. Ward S. Ryan
U.S. Army War College
Theodore Ropp
Duke University
Brig. Gen. Elias C. Townsend
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College
Lt. Col. Thomas E. Griess
United States Military Academy

 

Office of the Chief of Military History
Brig. Gen. Hal. C. Pattison, Chief of Military History

Chief Historian Stetson Conn
Chief, Histories Division Col. Albert W. Jones
Editor-in-Chief Joseph R. Friedman
Chief, Editorial and Graphics Division Col. Walter B. McKensie


. . . to Those Who Served


CONTENTS


Forward vii

Preface

ix
Chapter     Page
I. THE ORIGINS 1-18

  Hitler's Perspective, September 1944 3

  How the Plan Was Born

9
II. PLANNING THE COUNTEROFFENSIVE 19-32

  Details of the Plan 19

  The Big Solution 27

  A Double Envelopment?

29
III. TROOPS AND TERRAIN 33-47

  The Order of Battle 33

  The Allies Return to the Attack 36

  The Terrain

39
IV. PREPARATIONS 48-74

  Deception and Camouflage 48

  The Western Front in Early December 51

  The Intelligence Failure 56

  The German Concentration 63

V. THE SIXTH PANZER ARMY ATTACK 75-106

  The 99th Division Sector 77

  The Initial Attack, 16 December 80

  The First Attacks in the Monschau-Hofen Sector Are Repulsed, 16 December 86

  The German Effort Continues, 17-18 December 90

  Losheimergraben Is Lost 92

  The German Attack Toward Rocherath and Krinkelt, 16-17 December 95

  The 395th Infantry Conforms to the Withdrawal 101

  The 2d Division Gives Up the Wahlerscheid Attack 103

  The 394th Infantry Abandons the Murringen Position

105
VI. THE GERMAN NORTHERN SHOULDER IS JAMMED 107-135

  The 2d Division Withdraws 107

  The 1st Infantry Division Sends Reinforcements to Butgenbach 112

  The Defense of the Twin Villages, 18 December 113

  The Last Attack at Hofen Fails, 18 December 119

  The 2d Division Withdraws to the Elsenborn Line, 19 December 120

  The Enemy Tries the Western Flank, 19-23 December

128
VII. BREAKTHROUGH AT THE SCHNEE EIFEL 136-172

  Introductory Note 136

  Dispositions of the 106th Infantry Division 137

  Enemy Preparations for Another Cannae 142

  The Attack in the Losheim Gap 145

  The Attack Hits the 106th Division 151

  The 424th Infantry and CCB, 9th Armored 158

  Cannae in the Schnee Eifel 161

  The Question of Air Resupply

171
VIII. THE FIFTH PANZER ARMY ATTACKS THE 28TH INFANTRY DIVISION 173-209

  The 110th Infantry Sector, 16-18 December 176

  The 112th Infantry Sector, 16-20 December 193

  The Fall of Wiltz

205
IX. THE ATTACK BY THE GERMAN LEFT WING: 16-20 DECEMBER 212-237

  The 109th Infantry Defense on the Sauer and Our Rivers, 16-20 December 214

  Elements of the 9th Armored Division Battle at the Sauer, 16-20 December

227
X. THE GERMAN SOUTHERN SHOULDER IS JAMMED 238-258

  The German Thrust Begins 240

  Southern Flank-A Summing Up

258
XI. THE 1ST SS PANZER DIVISION'S DASH WESTWARD, AND OPERATION GREIF 259-271

  Kampfgruppe Peiper on the Move 260

  Operation Greif

269
XII. THE FIRST ATTACKS AT ST. VITH 272-293

  The 7th Armored Division Move to St. Vith 273

  The Enemy Strikes at the St. Vith Perimeter

280
XIII. VIII CORPS ATTEMPTS TO DELAY THE ENEMY 294-309

  CCR, 9th Armored Division, and the Road to Bastogne 294

  The Advance of the XLVII Panzer Corps 298

  Team Cherry on the Longvilly Road 300

  The 101st Airborne Division Moves Into Bastogne

305
XIV. THE VIII CORPS BARRIER LINES 310-329

  Middleton's First Moves 311

  The Gap North of Bastogne 316

  Defense Southwest of Bastogne 322

  Renewed Drive Around Bastogne

323
XV. THE GERMAN SALIENT EXPANDS TO THE WEST 330-367

  The 30th Division Meets Peiper 334

  The West Flank of the XVIII Airborne Corps, 20 December 352

  Action in Front of the XVIII Airborne Corps Right Wing, 20 December 354

  The Net Closes on Peiper

359
XVI. ONE THREAT SUBSIDES; ANOTHER EMERGES 368-392

  The Attempt To Relieve Peiper's Kampfgruppe 368

  The 3d Armored Division Is Checked, 21-23 December 377

  The Fight at the Baraque de Fraiture Crossroads, 23 December

388
XVII. ST. VITH IS LOST 393-422

  The Defenders of St. Vith Pass to the XVIII Airborne Corps 393

  The Enemy Closes on the St. Vith Salient 401

  The Final Withdrawal From the St. Vith Sector

407
XVIII. THE VII CORPS MOVES TO BLUNT THE SALIENT 423-444

  Division of the Battlefield 423

  The VII Corps Assembles 427

  German Armor Advances on the VII Corps 435

  The Main Battle Is Joined, 24 and 25 December

438
XIX. THE BATTLE OF BASTOGNE 445-481

  The Initial Deployment East of Bastogne 445

  Bastogne Is Encircled 459

  The Enemy Begins a Concentric Attack 464

  The Battle on Christmas Day

478
XX. THE XII CORPS ATTACKS THE SOUTHERN SHOULDER 482-508

  The End of the Defensive Battle, 22 December 482

  The XII Corps Moves to Luxembourg 485

  The XII Corps' Counterattack

489
XXI. THE III CORPS' COUNTERATTACK TOWARD BASTOGNE 509-555

  Preparations for the Attack 509

  The 80th Division Advance 515

  The 26th Infantry Division Attack 520

  The 4th Armored Division Attack 523

  The 80th Division Battle in the Woods, 25-26 December 532

  The 26th Division Fight for a Bridgehead on the Sure, 24-27 December 540

  The 4th Armored Division Reaches Bastogne

547
XXII. THE BATTLE BEFORE THE MEUSE 556-577

  The Meuse River Line 556

  The Meuse Seems Within Reach 562

  The Celles Pocket 565

  The Fight at Humain 570

  The Fight at Verdenne

574
XXIII. THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE SALM AND THE OUR: 24 DECEMBER-2 JANUARY 578-605

  The Battle at the Manhay Crossroads 583

  The Fight in the Aisne Valley 593

  The 2d SS Panzer Is Halted 595

  The 82d Airborne Withdraws From the Salm River Line 598

  "The Sad Sack Affair" 601

  The Elsenborn Shoulder

603
XXIV. THE THIRD ARMY OFFENSIVE 606-648

  Widening the Bastogne Corridor 606

  The Opposing Grand Tactics 610

  The Sibret-Villeroux Actions 615

  The Two Attacks Collide 617

  The III Corps Joins the Attack 627

  The Lone Battle of the 26th Division 637

  The VIII Corps' Attack Continues

643
XXV. EPILOGUE 649-676

  The Weather 649

  The Opposing Troop Strengths 650

  The Opposing Weapons 651

  The Artillery Arm in the Ardennes 656

  The Air Weapon 660

  Logistics 663

  The Turning Point in the Ardennes 668

  The Place of the Ardennes Offensive in World War II

673
 
Appendix     Page
A. TABLE OF EQUIVALENT RANKS 677
B. RECIPIENTS OF THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS 678-679
 
  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE 680-681
  GLOSSARY  
  CODE NAMES  
  BASIC MILITARY MAP SYMBOLS  

 
MAPS
 
1. The Western Front, 15 December 1944 52
2. The XVIII Airborne Corps Meets Kampfgruppe Peiper, 20-25 December 1944 347
3. The XVIII Airborne Corps West Flank, 20 December 1944 355
4. Bastogne, 25-26 December 1944 473
  Maps I-X Are in Inverse Order Inside Back Cover  
I. The Ardennes Counteroffensive: The German Plan, December 1944  
II. The Sixth Panzer Army Attack, 16-19 December 1944  
III. The LXVI Corps Attacks the 106th Infantry Division, 16-19 December 1944  
IV. The Fifth Panzer Army Attacks the 28th Infantry Division, 16-19 December 1944  
V. The Seventh Army Attack, 16-19 December 1944  
VI. Bastogne, 19-23 December 1944  
VII. The XVIII Airborne Corps Sector, 21-23 December 1944  
VIII. Between the Salm and the Meuse, 24-27 December 1944  
IX. The Southern Shoulder, 22-26 December 1944  
X. Widening the Bastogne Corridor, 24 December 1944-2 January 1945  
 

ILLUSTRATIONS
 
1. Adolf Hitler 2
2. Generaloberst Alfred Jodl 16



Last updated: March 4, 2003

Transcribed and formatted by Jerry Holden for the HyperWar Foundation