Buckeye67
12-19-2005, 04:15 AM
Sixty-one years ago - The Battle of the Bulge began:
From wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bulge)
The German assault began on December 16, 1944, at 0530 hrs with a massive artillery barrage on the Allied troops facing the 6th SS Panzer Army. By 0800 all three German armies attacked through the Ardennes. In the northern sector Dietrich's 6th SS Panzer Army assaulted Losheim Gap and the Elsenborn Ridge in an effort to break through to Liège. In the centre von Manteuffel's 5th Panzer Army attacked towards Bastogne and St. Vith, both road junctions of great strategic importance. And in the south Brandenberger's 7th Army pushed towards Luxembourg in their efforts to secure the flank from Allied attacks.
Mimicking tactics the Russians had used against German lines with devastating results during Operation Bagration the German first wave consisted mostly of infantry, who cleared the way and created pincers in the front that could be exploited by armored troops. The initial advance caught the Americans by surprise and many forward-deployed units surrendered, but strong resistance further back greatly slowed the German advance.
Attacks by the 6th SS Panzer Army infantry units in the north fared badly due to unexpectedly fierce resistance by the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division and U.S. 99th Infantry Division, which was attached to the 2nd, at the Elsborn Ridge, stalling their advance; this forced Dietrich to unleash his panzer forces early. Starting on December 16, however, terrible snowstorms engulfed the Ardennes area. While having the desired effect of keeping the Allied aircraft grounded, the weather also proved troublesome for the Germans as poor road conditions hampered their advance, and thousands of vehicles got bogged down in massive traffic jams.
The Germans fared better in the center and the south as they attacked positions held by the U.S. 28th Infantry Division and the U.S. 106th Infantry Division. All along the lines, however, the inexperience of some of the German troops was evident. They tended to attack from the open and marched without cover, making them prime targets for American ambush. The recent Allied development of proximity-fuzed artillery shells took a heavy toll on troops out in the open.
Hitler had predicted it would take Eisenhower two or three days to realize that the fighting in the Ardennes was a major offensive and not a local counter-attack. His prediction was proven quite wrong; before the first day was finished, Eisenhower—ignoring the advice of his staff—had ordered vast reinforcements to the area. The Red Ball Express stopped delivering supplies and started moving troops. Within a week 250,000 troops had been sent. At the same time the 101st Airborne Division (along with a combat team from the U.S. 10th Armored Division) was ordered to move and defend the town of Bastogne. (Citizen Soldiers, p 201). The 82nd Airborne Division was also thrown into the battle north of the bulge, near Liège.
For further information:
http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/wwii/7-8/7-8_cont.htm
http://ardenne44.free.fr/page2.html
http://www.battleofthebulge.org/
There is also an excellent post by Donald Burgett (A Co, 506th PIR, 101st ABN) on the Trigger Time (http://www.101airborneww2.com/) forum about his experience, not to mention his excellent book "Seven Roads to Hell".
Panoramic view of the Bois Jacques area:
http://ww2panorama.org/panoramas/bastogne
(Apologies for this being a few days late, I've been ill all week.)
From wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bulge)
The German assault began on December 16, 1944, at 0530 hrs with a massive artillery barrage on the Allied troops facing the 6th SS Panzer Army. By 0800 all three German armies attacked through the Ardennes. In the northern sector Dietrich's 6th SS Panzer Army assaulted Losheim Gap and the Elsenborn Ridge in an effort to break through to Liège. In the centre von Manteuffel's 5th Panzer Army attacked towards Bastogne and St. Vith, both road junctions of great strategic importance. And in the south Brandenberger's 7th Army pushed towards Luxembourg in their efforts to secure the flank from Allied attacks.
Mimicking tactics the Russians had used against German lines with devastating results during Operation Bagration the German first wave consisted mostly of infantry, who cleared the way and created pincers in the front that could be exploited by armored troops. The initial advance caught the Americans by surprise and many forward-deployed units surrendered, but strong resistance further back greatly slowed the German advance.
Attacks by the 6th SS Panzer Army infantry units in the north fared badly due to unexpectedly fierce resistance by the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division and U.S. 99th Infantry Division, which was attached to the 2nd, at the Elsborn Ridge, stalling their advance; this forced Dietrich to unleash his panzer forces early. Starting on December 16, however, terrible snowstorms engulfed the Ardennes area. While having the desired effect of keeping the Allied aircraft grounded, the weather also proved troublesome for the Germans as poor road conditions hampered their advance, and thousands of vehicles got bogged down in massive traffic jams.
The Germans fared better in the center and the south as they attacked positions held by the U.S. 28th Infantry Division and the U.S. 106th Infantry Division. All along the lines, however, the inexperience of some of the German troops was evident. They tended to attack from the open and marched without cover, making them prime targets for American ambush. The recent Allied development of proximity-fuzed artillery shells took a heavy toll on troops out in the open.
Hitler had predicted it would take Eisenhower two or three days to realize that the fighting in the Ardennes was a major offensive and not a local counter-attack. His prediction was proven quite wrong; before the first day was finished, Eisenhower—ignoring the advice of his staff—had ordered vast reinforcements to the area. The Red Ball Express stopped delivering supplies and started moving troops. Within a week 250,000 troops had been sent. At the same time the 101st Airborne Division (along with a combat team from the U.S. 10th Armored Division) was ordered to move and defend the town of Bastogne. (Citizen Soldiers, p 201). The 82nd Airborne Division was also thrown into the battle north of the bulge, near Liège.
For further information:
http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/wwii/7-8/7-8_cont.htm
http://ardenne44.free.fr/page2.html
http://www.battleofthebulge.org/
There is also an excellent post by Donald Burgett (A Co, 506th PIR, 101st ABN) on the Trigger Time (http://www.101airborneww2.com/) forum about his experience, not to mention his excellent book "Seven Roads to Hell".
Panoramic view of the Bois Jacques area:
http://ww2panorama.org/panoramas/bastogne
(Apologies for this being a few days late, I've been ill all week.)