the battle of bastogne
TRANSCRIPT
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The Battle of Bastogne
The Initial Deployment East of Bastogne
The one standing order that General Middleton gave General McAuliffe before leaving
Bastogne on the morning of 19 December was: "Hold Bastogne"*Both generals felt that theenem! needed Bastogne and the entrance it afforded to a wider comle# of roads leading
west $Map VI% During the night of the 1&th the two commanders met in the '((( )ors
command ost to confer on the uncertain tactical situation and to give )olonel *well+ whose
regiment would first be committed+ his instructions The ma sread out before *well showed
a few blue,enciled mar-s east of Bastogne where the American armored grous were
believed to be fighting at their original roadbloc- ositions General Middleton told *well that
his .ob would be to ma-e contact with these endangered forward osts *well+ however+ was
interested in the red,enciled lines and circles which showed the enem! between Bastogne
and the armored roadbloc-s (n view of the uncertain situation+ he suggested that he be given
"mission,t!e orders" which would ermit his /01st arachute (nfantr! some fle#ibilit! ofaction McAuliffe agreed+ as did Middleton+ but the latter still hoed that the roadbloc-
defenders at Allerborn+ eight miles to the east on the Bastogne road+ would somehow survive
until the /01st reached them McAuliffe2s order+ then+ was for *well to move out at 0300+
attac- eastward+ and develo the situation
At the aointed hour on 19 December *well2s /01st arachute (nfantr! marched out of the
assembl! area in column of battalions *well -new that this was no time to engage in the all,
out+ full,bodied assault tactics to which the aratrooers were accustomed He told
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BA4T5G6*
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his officers to "ta-e it eas!+" avoid commitment to an action which would involve their whole
force+ and delo! to right and left as soon as the! hit resistance so that the! would not be
easil! cut off and surrounded1
Hindsight+ of course+ bestows a view of the American and German disositions at 0300+ when
the 101st advance guard marched out+ which was denied *well and the cors and division
staffs in Bastogne The battles alread! described were now coming to a close on the roads+ in
the villages+ and through the woods east of the town as the 101st was ta-ing its stance During
the night of 1& December the three small tas- forces of ))7+ 9th Armored Division+ which
Middleton had ordered )olonel Gilbreth to osition on and overwatching the Allerborn,
Bastogne road $6 18%+ were cut to ieces 4ome men and vehicles would escae to ta-e a art
in the fight for Bastogne+ although some of )olonel Booth2s command too- si# da!s of
dodging the enem! before the! reached the American lines At ongvill!+ ne#t+ and to the
west+ on the Bastogne road+ Gilbreth had gathered what was left of ))7 and its attachedtroos to fight a rear guard action until the 19th dawned and an orderl! withdrawal might be
effected
Gilbreth started his guns dislacing to the rear some time before da!brea-+ but the main force
commenced to defile through the western e#it from ongvill! about 0&00+ onl! to be
ambushed and thrown into disorder when aroaching Mageret+ midwa! between ongvill!
and Bastogne Team )herr! $t )ol Henr! T )herr!% of ))B+ 10th Armored Division+
which had been sent along the road toward ongvill! the revious evening+ found itself
involved in a series of dis.ointed actions as enem! troos cut the highwa! Team H!du-e $1st
t *dward H!du-e% was caught u in the fight east of Mageret+ subseuentl! losing all itsvehicles in a shar and aggressive armored action which the 2d Panzercommander dignified
as an American "counterattac-" $ate on the afternoon of the 19th ieutenant H!du-e led his
men on foot out of the melee under orders to re.oin ))B He was afterward -illed at
Bastogne%
Team 7!erson $)at ;illiam some hours later )herr!2s detachment would ull bac- to Mont8
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5n the morning of 19 December+ therefore+ the .ob confronting the /01st was that of
develoing+ fi#ing+ and fighting the German detachments+ now in strength+ which stood to the
rear of the erstwhile American bloc-ing ositions and resaged the coming main effort to
crash the an?er columns through or around Bastogne
The German High )ommand was aware that the two American airborne divisions had ordersto enter the battle> in the late afternoon of 1& December interceted radio messages to this
effect reached OB WEST German intelligence -new that the Americans were moving b!
truc- and so estimated that none of these new troos would aear in the line before noon on
the 19th The German staffs believed that the two divisions would be delo!ed along a front
e#tending from Bastogne to the northeast (n an! case the German attac- lan was unfolding
about as scheduled and three German divisions were bearing down on Bastogne The 2d
PanzerDivision2s successes during the night of 1& December against the outost ositions
east of ongvill! had netted fort! American tan-s+ and the aarent crumbling of the last
defenses east of Bastogne romised uic- entr! to that cit! on the 9th
Actuall! the three German divisions moving toward Bastogne were not all maneuvering toattac- the cit! auchert2s 2d Panzer Divisionhad other fish to fr!,its ob.ective was the Meuse
bridges,and when da!light came on the 19th the division advance guard was wor-ing its wa!
to b!ass Bastogne in the north The 2d Panzer2s end run+ across countr! and on miserable
third,class roads+ collided with Ma. ;illiam 7 Desobr!2s tas- force from ))B at 6oville
$four miles north of Bastogne%+ then blundered into a series of shar actions reaching bac- to
ongvill!
5n the left thePanzer Lehr+ having sei?ed Mageret during the night+ began an attac- about
0/00 on the 19th designed to ta-e Bastogne> it was a art of this forward detachment of
Panzer Lehrwhich hit )herr!2s headuarters at 6effe )lose on the heels of Panzer Lehr+ two
regiments of the 26th ol!s "renadier Divisionhad made a right wheel with the intention of
circling through ongvill! and u?er! so as to enter Bastogne from the north via the 6oville
road @o-ott2s grenadiers+ who had accomlished a trul! remar-able feat in -eeing ace with
the mechani?ed columns of thePanzer Lehr+ b! now were sent The regimental trains were
far to the rear and resul! had to be made
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5n the revious evening the '((( )ors commander had sent the 1/&th *ngineer )ombat
Battalion $t )ol 4am Tabets% to establish a line east of Bastogne between erhas the
German infantr! were waiting for their tan-s to brea- through at Mageret The fight had
slac-ened to a small arms duel when *well2s aratrooers came on the scene he got the
gun+ then was cut down the! had
inflicted thirt!,nine casualties on )oman! (+ all of whose officers were hit+ and -illed )at
)laude D ;allace+ r+ the coman! commander
To the west+ near the hamlet of Marvie+ la! the tan-s and armored infantr! of Team 52Hara
$t )ol ames 52Hara% holding the right of the three bloc-ing ositions set u b! ))B+ 10th
Armored+ the da! before 52Hara thus far had seen no Germans His first warning that the
fight was e#anding in his direction was the "stragglers of airborne around us" and highvelocit! shellfire directed at his left tan- latoon
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with 52Hara+ erhas because of the low+ clinging fog which had reduced visibilit! to about
sevent!,five feet 5rdered to do so b! )olonel 7oberts+ the ))B commander+ 52Hara sent
tan-s bac- into ;ardin+ but the village was emt! The tan-s retired to the Marvie osition as
dar- came on+ and late in the eveningPanzer Lehroccuied ;ardin
A message from McAuliffe ended this initial da! of battle for the /01st and the regiment dugin where it stood *well now had a fair icture of the enem! to his front but no clear idea of
the fate or location of Team )herr!2s main force+ not to mention the ))7 roadbloc-
detachments
Although the /01st had delo!ed successfull! astride the main road east of Bastogne and had
develoed a s-etch! outline of the most advanced German ositions+ it had not at an! time
confronted the main German forces These+ the bul- ofPanzer Lehrand the two forward
regiments of the 26th ol!s "renadier Division+ sent most of the da! choing down the
American column traed between Mageret and ongvill! @o-ott aarentl! had e#ected to
ush his two grenadier regiments unoosed through ongvill!+ as soon as the! were rested+
in a circling march to
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enter Bastogne from the north+ but the German cors commander+ General uettwit?+ himself
too- these regiments out of @o-ott2s hand and thrust them into the battle with the American
rear guard at ongvill!,which held there longer than e#ected,and against the retreating
column en route to Mageret 4uffice it to sa! that the /01st had been effectivel! debarred
from the ongvill! arena b! thePanzer Lehrtroos holding 6effe+ Hill /10+ and the stoer
osition at Mageret B! the evening of the 19th the American troos east of Mageret were invar!ing stages of tactical dissolution,all but Team 7!erson+ still clutching its iece of Mageret
village uettwit? was elated b! this victor! over the American armor $which as an old tan-er
he attributed in large art to the sueriorit! of the anther tan- gun%+ but he reali?ed that a
recious da! had been lost and with it the chance of an armored #o$p de mainat Bastogne
At 6oville+ the left of the three bloc-ing ositions+ Middleton had assigned )olonel 7oberts
and ))B Here Team Desobr!+ organi?ed around fifteen medium tan-s+ stood athwart the
main aved highwa! running north from Bastogne to Houffali?e This force had been in
osition about five hours+ reorting all uiet+ when at 080 on the 19th German half,trac-s hit
the American roadbloc-s Americans and Germans itched grenades at each other in the fog
and one or two an?ers reached the village itself The enem!,robabl! a atrol feeling a wa!in front of auchert2s 2d Panzer,soon ulled out+ and the noise of battle died awa!
The '((( )ors commander+ much concerned b! the ga which he -new e#isted between his
southern troos and those of his cors somewhere to the north+ ordered Desobr! to investigate
the town of Houffali?e $During the night+ a atrol Desobr! had sent in that direction reorted
the road oen% Before an!thing could be done about the Houffali?e mission+ the Germans
unleashed their artiller! against 6oville auchert+ intent on regaining the momentum which
the 2d Panzerhad lost in the night fighting around Allerborn and ongvill!+ and determined
to get off the miserable side roads which he had chosen as a uic- wa! around Bastogne+ ut
all the guns that had -et ace with the forward elements into a shoot to blast a wa! through
to the west At 1000 the fog curtain suddenl! arted revealing a landscae dotted withGerman tan-s,at least thirt! of them
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for 6oville+ coming in from the north 4everal bogged down in a vain attemt to maneuver off
the road> others were sloed b! Desobr!2s coman! of 4herman tan-s and b! tan- destro!er
fire 5n the east the enem! had started an infantr! assault+ but the fog lifted before the first
waves reached the village and+ suddenl! divested of cover+ most of the attac-ers turned and
ran
Desobr! could not -now that 6oville was the focus of the entire 2d Panzermaneuver+ but he
did as- for ermission to withdraw 7oberts relied that Desobr! should use his own
.udgment+ then added that more tan- destro!ers were on the wa! from Bastogne $Desobr! had
onl! a latoon from the 309th% and that the 101st was sending a rifle battalion within the half
hour )oincident with 7oberts2 message the last of the German assault force ulled bac-
auchert had decided that the ground was too oor
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for tan- maneuver+ that reinforcements must be brought u for a headlong lunge Meanwhilethe German cannoneers continued to ummel 6oville Desobr! had man! casualties+ but
several ambulances had been wrec-ed b! shellfire and it was difficult to get the wounded out
The reinforcements reaching Desobr! consisted of a latoon from the 0/th Tan- Destro!er
Battalion $three comanies of which constituted the onl! cors reserve Middleton had to give
the 101st Airborne% and the 1st Battalion $t )ol ames arade% of the /03th arachute
(nfantr! Although McAuliffe assigned the /03th the mission of covering the northern
aroaches to Bastogne+ the remaining two battalions had a string attached as the division
reserve+ and the regimental commander+ )olonel 4in-+ was under strict orders not to move
them from their ositions .ust north of Bastogne As the aratrooers aroached 6oville+the! came under heav!+ well,aimed artiller! fire+ twent! to thirt! rounds e#loding on the
village ever! ten minutes 'ehicles and buildings were aflame,this was indeed a hot corner+
the village itself racticall! bare of life Desobr!2s detachment was delo!ed south and west
of the village> the Germans were firing from the north and east+ a more comfortable osition
since the higher ground encircling 6oville tilted u on the enem! side of the dish
B! 1=0 the 1st Battalion was read! to begin the assault against the enem!,held high ground
The center coman! wal-ed almost immediatel! into a rain of barrage fire and was stoed
with heav! losses The two remaining comanies were met with intense small arms fire but in
fifteen minutes wor-ed their wa! forward in short surts to a oint where one last dash would
ut them on the crest As the aratrooers la! here+ a mass of green,clad figures suddenl!eruted over the hill ater the 1st Battalion estimated this attac- was carried b! a rifle
battalion bac-ed b! si#teen tan-s The American assault had smac-ed headlong into the attac-
the 2d Panzerhad been read!ing since mid,morning As the fight sread+ nearl! thirt!,two
an?ers were counted on the field The two antagonists each reorted subseuentl! that "the
enem! counterattac- halted" Both robabl! were correct,although both continued to suffer
heav! casualties The German tan-s might have decided the issue+ but for over half an hour
the! sta!ed well bac- of the rifle line+ erhas fearful lest ba?oo-a teams would reach them in
the smo-e and fog billowing u the hill+ erhas fearful of the bite in the few 4hermans left
;hen a few of the enem! tan-s finall! ventured to aroach+ the American tan- destro!ers
south of the village got on the flan- of the an?ers and ut awa! five of them at 1+/00,!ards
range
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6ow as the smo-e and fog increased+ onl! small eddies bro-e the all to give a few minutes
of aimed fire Two of the airborne comanies fell bac- to the outs-irts of 6oville while the
third+ on the hill to the east+ waited for dar-ness to cover its withdrawal At one .uncture the
1st Battalion was under orders to leave 6oville+ but Brig Gen Gerald Higgins+ the assistant
division commander who was acting alter egofor McAuliffe+ told the aratrooers to sta! ut
and romised assault gun and tan- destro!er suort for the morrow
To the 6oville garrison the dar-
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hours were a nightmare *ver! half hour a gust of enem! artiller! fire shoo- the town> one
shell crashed near the American command ost+ -illing arade and wounding Desobr! Ma.
7obert nonetheless there remained two
indentations in the fast,forming German line: the thumb stic-ing out at 6oville and Team
7!erson2s little enclave on the east edge of Mageret The latter+ however+ disaeared during
the night hours+ for 7!erson+ on orders+ circled the enem! troos in Mageret and brought his
deleted command into the lines of the /01st at Bi?or! $7!erson later was -illed at
Bastogne%
General uettwit? lac-ed the full German cors he craved to throw against Bastogne on the
80th The 26th ol!s "renadier Divisioncould count on onl! two of its regimentsPanzer
Lehrhad a substantial art of the division immediatel! east of Bastogne+ but at least one
infantr! regiment+ much of its artiller!+ and the bul- of the division trains were still toilingalong the gumm! little roads ,hardl! more than trails,climbing west out of the ;ilt? valle!
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armored assault auchert therefore told his an?er grenadiers to carr! the battle in coman!
with small tan- ac-ets
;hile the German guns lastered the village the grenadiers moved in about 0/=0 on three
sides 4mo-e and swirling fog veiled the attac-ers but the 80th Armored
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and erhas half a regiment of foot At least the first art of this estimate ma! be close to the
fact+ for it is -nown that one battalion of the %d Panzer &egimentwas badl! criled at
6oville
There is an eilogue (n late afternoon+ as his soldiers o-ed about the ruins of 6oville+
auchert radioed theLIII Panzer +orpscommander for ermission to wheel the 2d Panzer
into Bastogne @rueger2s answer was romt and astringent: "
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area through Bastogne to relieve )oman! A of the engineers3
The engineers had .ust climbed out of their fo#hole line west of Marvie and turned the
osition over to the 8d Battalion when one of 52Hara2s outosts saw a German column
streaming into Marvie This was the advance guard of the .)/st &egimentwhich had finall!e#tricated itself from the ;ilt? valle! ;ith onl! a single rifle coman! and four tan-s+ the
Germans never had a chance (n an hour2s time 52Hara2s mediums had accounted for the
an?ers and the 8d Battalion had beaten the attac-ers bac- in disorder and occuied Marvie
The aratrooers waited through the da! for the main attac- to come+ but the onl! evidences
of the enem! were a smo-e screen drifting in from the east and occasional tan-s in the
distance n-nown to the Americans a shift in thePanzer Lehr2s stance before Bastogne was
ta-ing lace
The inchoate American defense forming at Bastogne was conditioned b! a set of otimistic
remises The first of these was the romised arrival of the th Armored Division from
atton2s Third Arm! in the south During the night of December the '((( )ors commander+acting on word from atton+ told McAuliffe that one combat command from the th Armored
was on its wa! to Bastogne and would be attached to the 101st At noon McAuliffe and
7oberts $who had been romised this initial th Armored force% learned that the entire
division was to be added to the Bastogne defense The certaint! of the th Armored2s
aearance e#lains in art the routine and rather cavalier treatment accorded )at Bert *?ell
and his little team from ))B+ th Armored+ when it arrived in Bastogne shortl! after noon
Iuite obviousl! McAuliffe and Middleton anticiated the earl! aearance of the entire
armored division
A second remise,acceted in most of the 101st lanning efforts on 80 December,was that the'((( )ors still had viable forces in and around Bastogne which could be emlo!ed in
common with the airborne divisions This idea+ of course+ went hand in hand with the ver!
real ignorance of enem! forces and locations which obtained both in Bastogne and at
Middleton2s new headuarters in 6eufchCteau *arlier McAuliffe and his staff had counted on
7oberts2 10th Armored combat command to reinforce a counterattac- east b! the 101st,a vain
e#ectation+ as it turned out There remained the 8&th (nfantr! Division,or at least some art
thereof (n midafternoon McAuliffe sent a liaison officer to General )ota+ whose headuarters
was now at 4ibret southwest of Bastogne+ with instructions to find out the German
disositions and to as- the uestion: ")ould the 8&th attac- towards ;ilt? in con.unction with
the 101st Airborne tomorrowJ"
)ota2s rel! is not even recorded in the 101st Airborne log After all he could give onl! one
answer: the 8&th (nfantr! Division no longer e#isted as a division $although two of its
regiments would continue in stubborn battle
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under other commands% The fall of ;ilt? on the night of 19 December had written finisto the
stor! of the 110th (nfantr!+ )ota2s single remaining regiment 5n the morning of the 80th
)ota had gone into Bastogne+ finding its streets .ammed with vehicles+ cors artiller! tr!ing to
bull a wa! through+ and a host of stragglers+ including man! of the survivors of the 110th(nfantr! General Middleton gave )ota ermission to get his eole out of Bastogne and the
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latter ordered them out on foot+ abandoning to the traffic .am those vehicles still in their
ossession $4o imressed was General )ota b! the traffic cho-ing the streets and alle!s of
Bastogne+ that he advised the '((( )ors commander to -ee all contingents of the th
Armored Division out of the town%
Desite McAuliffe2s failure to secure the immediate assistance which would ma-e a full,bodied counterattac- feasible+ it seemed that the tactical roblem facing the 101st on the
evening of 80 December remained linear+ that is+ the creation of a homogeneous and
defensible line barring entrance to Bastogne from the north and east The cors letter of
instructions reaching McAuliffe at noon on the 80th was rather more sweeing in its
definition of mission "There will be no withdrawal"this was clear enough to all concerned
"The E101st AirborneF Division will stabili?e their front lines on the front 9&9/ Ethat is+
7echtF to 4t 'ith+ south along a general line east of EHighwa!F 61/ to connect with the
th (nfantr! Division at Breitweiler" (t ma! be assumed that neither Middleton nor McAuliffe
too- this art of the order either literall! or seriousl! There had been a few indications+ and
rumors+ of enem! activit! west of Bastogne,indeed the 101st had lost some of its trains in the
division assembl! area during the revious night,but thus far all this could be charged toraiding arties roaming on the loose under cover of night in a fluid and changing battle (n
earl! evening a reort reached Bastogne that the road northwest to a 7oche and 5rtheuville
$where two latoons of the 0/th Tan- Destro!er Battalion now attached to the 101st were
oerating% was free of the enem! The roads south to 6eufchCteau and Arlon were still oen,
and waiting for traverse b! the th Armored 4o the situation loo-ed in McAuliffe2s Bastogne
headuarters at 1900 on 80 December
Across the lines the German commander+ uettwit?+ was none too leased b! the rather
dilator! oerations of his cors He -new b! this time that the American front east of
Bastogne had stiffened and that his troos had been able to find no holes 5n the other hand
the strength of his cors was increasing b! the hour as the two divisions hauled their tails u
on the mudd! roads,it loo-ed as though he had the forces needed for maneuver As a last flic-
of the hand uettwit? ordered Ba!erlein to throw the 908d into the night attac- against 6effe
This was at most a diversion+ for uettwit? had decided to enveloe Bastogne from the south
and west He intended to use the bul- of thePanzer Lehr+ leaving onl! one of its grenadier
regiments to flesh out the eastern front with the foot elements of @o-ott2s 26th ol!s
"renadier Division+ but in addition he had in hand the %.th ol!s "renadier &egimentof the
26thwhich had .ust come u behind the cors2
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south flan- All told there was a si?able motori?ed force for this venture: the reinforced
reconnaissance battalion+ the engineer battalion+ and the .)2d$as soon as it could be
disengaged% from thePanzer Lehr> lus the reconnaissance battalion and %.thfrom the 26th
ol!s "renadier Division
The immediate ob.ectives seem to have been clearl! stated The Panzer Lehrsearheads were
to advance via HomrK and 4ibret to 4t Hubert+ while the units of the 26thwould start the
attac- from an assembl! oint at 7emonfosse on the Bastogne,Arlon road with the intention
of stabbing into Bastogne from the southwest (n fact this night oeration develoed into a
mad scramble in which the troos from the two divisions .oc-e!ed for the lead as if the! werein a flat race for high sta-es
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Trul! the sta-es were high Throughout this maneuver uettwit? and his suerior+ General
Manteuffel+ had an e!e single to sha-ing the armored columns of the0LII Panzer +orpsfree
for the dash to the Meuse bridges Bastogne+ sitting in the center of the web of hard,surfaced
roads+ was imortant,but onl! as a means to a geograhicall! distant end Bastogne had failed
to fall li-e an overrie lum when the bough was sha-en+ but it could be clied off the
branch,or so the German High )ommand still reasoned,and without using Ba!erlein2s armor
The enem! drive across the south face of Bastogne and on to the west during the night of 80
December did not immediatel! .olt McAuliffe2s command> it was rather a disarate series of
clashes with scattered and unsusecting units of the '((( )ors )entral to the stor! at this
oint is the fact that b! da!light on the 81st the German infantr! following the armored troos
were ensconced on both the main roads running from Bastogne south+ while light forces were
running u and down the western reaches of the Bastogne,4t Hubert highwa! (n the north
the circle had been clamed shut during the night when the 2d Panzersei?ed 5rtheuville on
the Marche road
Bastogne Is En#ir#led
4ome of the Bastogne defenders recall in the saga of the 101st Airborne Division that their
lone fight began on 80 December "(t was on this da!+ 80 December+" reads the war diar! of
the =8th Glider (nfantr!+ "that all roads were cut b! the enem! and we were comletel!
surrounded" This is onl! hindsight The icture of comlete encirclement was built u in
McAuliffe2s headuarters onl! slowl! on the 81st+ nor did the ring at first seem to be hermetic
and contracting Doubtless the word assed among the regiments ver! raidl!,the /01st
.ournal notes at 10=0 that the last road is cut,but it was late afternoon before an armored
atrol sent out b! ))B affirmed that the wa! south certainl! was closed
;hat were the means available for defense of the Bastogne erimeterJ The 101st Airborne
was an elite+ veteran outfit at nearl! full strength+ and well acuainted with isolation as a
combat formation 5nl! five battalions from McAuliffe2s four regiments had been seriousl!
engaged in the fight thus far (ts four artiller! battalions were reinforced b! the 939th and
//th
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heading west 7eali?ing this fact+ )olonel 7obert2s got ermission to gather all stragglers into
his command 7oberts2 force came to be -nown as Team 46A ))B
ma! have had an eual number> General )ota culled two or three hundred men from Team
46A and one ma! guess there were another two or three
hundred stragglers whose identit! has been lost Man! of these men+ given a hot meal and
fort!,eight hours2 rest+ could be used and were used+ but the! aear as anon!mous figures in
the combat record $thus: "100 infantr! left for Team Browne"%
McAuliffe now had the advantage of a clearl! defined command structure Before the 80th he
and )olonel 7oberts had commanded indeendentl!+ but on that date Middleton gave
McAuliffe the "sa!" $as General )ota had advised after his visit% over all the troos in the
Bastogne sector10The resence of 7oberts would rove articularl! valuable *arl! in thewar he had been the armored instructor at the Arm! )ommand and General 4taff 4chool+
where his humorousl! illustrated "Do2s" and "Don2ts" of tan- warfare showed a -een
areciation of the roblems osed b! armor and infantr! cooeration The aratrooers were
in articular need of this advice for the! seldom wor-ed with armor+ -new little of its
caabilit!+ and even less of its limitations+ and,as befitted troos who .umed into thin air,
were a little contemtuous of men who fought behind late steel $During the Bastogne battle
7oberts develoed a formal memorandum on the roer emlo!ment of armor+ but this was
not
[460]
distributed to the 101st until 8& December% 5n the other hand the tan-ers had much to learn
from commanders and troos who were used to fighting "surrounded"
McAuliffe2s logistic means were less substantial than the tactical The airborne division
normall! carried less sul! than conventional divisions and the 101st had been hurried into
Belgium with ammunition and grenade ouches not uite full+ much individual euiment
missing $overshoes+ helmets+ sleeing bags+ and the li-e%+ and onl! a few truc-loads of 10/,
mm howit?er shells (n fact some of the first aratrooers into line had to be sulied with
ammunition from the ))B trains
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(n addition+ 7oberts had sent the ))B truc-s bac- for resul! .ust before the roads were
closed There was+ of course+ a considerable uantit! of ammunition+ food+ and other sulies
inside Bastogne which the '((( )ors had been unable to evacuate $5fficers of Middleton2s
staff bitterl! regretted the loss of the wine and liuors which had been carefull! husbanded for
consumtion at )hristmas and 6ew Lear% Bastogne was si?able enough to have some reserve
civilian stoc-s+ and the melange of armor+ engineers+ and artiller! units around the cit! had,sulies and ammunition in their own vehicles $anca-es would aear regularl! in the
rations served during the siege+ these concocted from the doughnut flour left in a huge
American 7ed )ross dum%
Through assiduous scrounging+ reuisitioning+ and an enforced ooling of unit resources+ the
G, of the 101st would be able to wor- minor logistic miracles,but these alone would not
have insured the survival of the Bastogne garrison The airborne division had been sulied
b! air during the Holland oeration+ and when+ on the 81st+ McAuliffe -new that his
command was isolated he as-ed for aerial resul! nfortunatel! no lans had been wor-ed
out in advance for airlift suort and the sul! records of the Holland camaign,which
would have made logistic calculation and rocedure easier,were bac- in so Middleton and McAuliffe had
two,wa! hone and telet!e at their disosal throughout the siege (nside Bastogne
[461]
there were enough armored and artiller! units,comarativel! rich in signal euiment,to flesh
out a seed! and fairl! reliable command and artiller! net Tactical communication be!ond
the Bastogne erimeter+ however+ as for e#amle with the th Armored+ had to be couched in
ambiguous,sometimes uite meaningless,terms
Mobile forces racing cross,countr!+ shooting u isolated osts and convo!s+ do not
necessaril! ma-e a battle The German dash around Bastogne was reeminentl! designed to
encircle+ not constrict The German commanders+ well aware of the fragmenti?ation of their
enveloing forces+ did not consider that Bastogne had been surrounded until the evening of
the 81st The ma.or enem! imact on this date+ therefore+ came as in revious da!s against the
east face of Bastogne The American erimeter+ then ta-ing form+ reresents basicall! areaction to the original German intentions with onl! slight concessions to the aearance of
the enem! in the south and west The /08d held the northern sector of the American line in
the ongchams and 4onne,
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west $The airborne engineers were not well euied with demolition matKriel and this road
had to be bloc-ed> McAuliffe honed the '((( )ors for assistance and in the earl! dar- a
detachment from the =/th *ngineer )ombat Battalion came north and did the .ob%
Directl! west of Bastogne la! the remnants of the division trains and service comanies
Defense here would devolve initiall! on the 80th Armored
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records of this battalion were lost in later fighting+ but articiants in the action sea- of a
"determined" attac- b! two German rifle battalions and "vicious close,in fighting" Although
)olonel *well e#ected a second all,out assault when da!light ended+ this never came The
.)2dhad its orders to catch u with thePanzer Lehrvan in the west and during the night
assembled for the march to re.oin General Ba!erlein
4outh of the /01st ositions the enem! seemed content to sit bac- and shell the headuarters
of the 8d Battalion+ =8th+ at Marvie The 8d Battalion records no other action than the
aearance of some tan-s and infantr! along the Arlon road forcing a flan- e#tension across
the road German evidence+ however+ sea-s of attac-s b! the .)/stin this sector which
"miscarried" 11(f discretion in this articular instance roved the better art of valor+ it
robabl! was induced b! the ))B tan-s which had ta-en osition on the Arlon road
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Battalion+ whose /0,caliber "meat choers" uic-l! ended this threat @un-el decided to
dela! an attemt for conclusion until the morrow
6orth and northwest of Bastogne the da! assed uietl!+ although small German detachments
did ma-e a few sorties on the Marche road The coman! of the =d Battalion+ =8th+ which
had been sent on a lone mission to aid the survivors of the division medical coman!+ wasattac-ed and momentaril! cut off but succeeded in re.oining the battalion
The Enemy Begins a +on#entri# (tta#!
The evening situation reort that reached OB WESTon the 81st made good reading
7undstedt was convinced that the time was rie for a concentric attac- to crush Bastogne and
ma-e this road center available for the build,u reuired
[464]
to suort the'ifth Panzer (rmyat or over the Meuse His order to Manteuffel made the
sei?ure of Bastogne a must+ but at the same time stressed the aramount necessit! of retaining
momentum in the drive west Manteuffel had anticiated the OB WESTcommand and during
the evening visited the0LII Panzer +orps2 command ost to ma-e certain that uettwit?
would start the suee?e on Bastogne the ne#t da!,but without involving the mobile armored
columns of thePanzer Lehr
Manteuffel+ uettwit?+ and @o-ott+ who was now made directl! resonsible for the conduct of
the Bastogne oeration+ were otimistic
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The battle on the 88d+ therefore+ largel! centered along an arc rather roughl! delimited b!
'illerou# and the 6eufchCteau highwa! at one end and Mande,4t *tienne+ .ust north of the
Marche highwa!+ at the other 5ne cannot sea- of battle lines in this sector: the two
antagonists were mi#ed higgled!,iggled! and for much of the time with no certain
-nowledge of who was in what village or at what crossroads (t is indicative of the confusion
revailing that the /01st tried to evacuate its regimental baggage train,which had sufferedfrom enem! shelling,through 4ibret after1ampfgr$ppe 1$n!elhad cut the road north of the
town b! the dash into 'illerou# $The /01st lost fifteen truc-s and nearl! all its bed rolls%
The arena in uestion earlier had been the 101st service area and contained in addition a good
deal of the
[465]
'((( )ors2 artiller! and trains Much of the fighting on the 88d revolved around two
battalions of armored field artiller!: )olonel aton2s /&th Armored and
Browne2s 80th+ now oerating as a combined arms team on a +000,!ard erimeter in the
neighborhood of 4enonchams Tillet la! about si# miles west of 4enonchams Much of the
intervening countr!side was in the hands of roving atrols fromPanzer Lehr+ one of which
had erected a strong roadbloc- midwa! between the two villages
5n the night of the 81st the Germans encircled Tillet+ where aton+ hard ressed+ radioed the
'((( )ors for hel Middleton rela!ed this 454 to Bastogne but Browne+ himself under
attac- b! @un-el2s 26th ol!s "renadier Divisionreconnaissance battalion+ was forced to sa!
that the /&th would have to get bac- to 4enonchams under its own ower 6evertheless+Team Lantis $one medium tan-+ two light tan-s+ and a coule of rifle suads% moved forward
to the German roadbloc-+ e#ecting to give the /&th a hand when da! bro-e18
aton and his gunners never reached Team Browne+ 1=which had had its hands full Browne2s
force not onl! had to defend a section of the Bastogne erimeter and bar the 4enonchams
entr!+ but also had to serve the eighteen 10/,mm howit?ers which+ from batter! ositions east
and south of 4enonchams+ rovided round,the,cloc- fire suort for friendl! infantr! five to
eight miles distant )lose,in defense was rovided b! a latoon of thirt! stragglers who had
been rounded u b! an airborne officer and delo!ed three hundred !ards south of the gun
ositions $This latoon held for two da!s until all were -illed or catured% Browne2s main
weaon against the German tan-s and self,roelled guns was not his howit?ers but theseventeen 4herman tan-s brought u b! Team !le and Team 'an @leef the da! before
These were disosed with nine tan-s facing a series of wood lots west of the batter! ositions+
four firing south+ and the remaining four laced on the road to 'illerou#
At da!brea- the first tas- was to clear the enem! from the woods which la! uncomfortabl!
near the firing batteries !le2s scratch force of riflemen entered the woods but found onl! a
few Germans 5ff to the northwest came the sound of firing from the area -nown to be
occuied b! a battalion of the =8th Glider (nfantr!> so Browne reorted to )olonel 7oberts
that his team would .oin this fight as soon as the woods were clear Before the sortie could be
organi?ed+ a detachment from1ampfgr$ppe 1$n!elstruc- out from 'illerou# against the
American flan- Direct tan- fire chased the enem! awa!+ but this was onl! the oener Duringthe afternoon the enem! made three searate assaults from the woods that earlier had been
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Armored andthe th Armored $so vague was information inside the erimeter% were on their
wa! to Bastogne> to the men in the line this was heartening news
;hat ma! have been the biggest morale booster came with a reverse twist,the enem!
"ultimatum" About noon four Germans under a white flag entered the lines of the 8dBattalion+ =8th The terms of the announcement the! carried were simle: "the honorable
surrender of the encircled town+" this to be accomlished in two hours on threat of
"annihilation" b! the massed fires of the German artiller! The rest of the stor! has become
legend: how General McAuliffe disdainfull! answered "6uts"> and how )olonel Harer+
commander of the =8th+ hard ressed to translate the idiom+ comromised on "Go to Hell"
The ultimatum had been signed rather ambiguousl! b! "The German )ommander+" and none
of the German generals then in the Bastogne sector seem to have been an#ious to claim
authorshi1t )ol aul A Danah!+ G,8 of the 101st+ saw to it that the stor! was circulated,
and aroriatel! embellished,in the dail! eriodic reort: "The )ommanding General2s
answer was+ with a sarcastic air of humorous tolerance+ emhaticall! negative" 6onetheless
the 101st e#ected that the coming da!,the 8=d,would be rough
The morning of 8= December bro-e clear and cold "'isibilit! unlimited+" the air,control
osts hail! reorted all the wa! from the nited @ingdom to the fo#holes on the Ardennes
front To most of the American soldier! this would be a red,letter da!,long remembered,
because of the bombers and fighter,bombers once more streaming overhead li-e shoals of
silver minnows in the bright winter sun+ their sharl! etched contrails ma-ing a wa-e behind
them in the cold air
(n Bastogne+ however+ all e!es loo-ed for the suat lanes of the Troo )arrier )ommand
About 0900 a athfinder team droed inside the erimeter and set u the aaratus to guidethe ),2s over a dro ?one between 4enonchams and Bastogne The first of the carriers
droed its si# araac-s at 11/0+ and in little more than four hours 81 lanes had been
vectored to Bastogne *ach lane carried some twelve hundred ounds+ but not all reached the
dro ?one nor did all the araac-s fall where the Americans could recover them
6evertheless this da!2s dro lessened the inch,as the records of the 101st gratefull!
ac-nowledge 5n 8 December a total of 130 lanes would ta-e art in the dro> oor fl!ing
weather on )hristmas Da! virtuall! scrubbed all cargo missions,although eleven gliders did
bring in a team of four surgeons and some 5 badl! needed b! 7oberts2 tan-s The biggest
airlift da! of the siege would come on the 83th with 8&9 lanes fl!ing the Bastogne run1/
The bul- of the air cargo brought to Bastogne during the siege was artiller! ammunition B!the 8th the airborne batteries were down to ten rounds er tube and the wor- horse 80th
Armored
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4L BL A(7Pathfinder $nit 5aove7 sets $p radar e8$ipment4 9edi#al s$pplies 5elo:7
are
draggedy hand from drop zone4
[469]
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ver! lucrative targets This battalion+ covering a =30,degree front+ would in fact be forced to
ma-e its original 1+00 rounds last for five da!s The two 1//,mm howit?er battalions were
reall! awing at the bottom of the barrel The 939th fired thirt!,nine rounds on 8 December
and two da!s later could allow its gunners onl! twent!,seven rounds+ one,si#th the number of
rounds e#ended er da! when the battle began
The airdro on the 8=d brought a dividend for the troos defending Bastogne The cargo
lanes were all overwatched b! fighters who+ their rotective mission accomlished+ turned to
hammer the Germans in the Bastogne ring During the da! eight!,two ,2s lashed out at this
enem! with general,urose and fragmentation bombs+ naalm+ and machine gun fire The
101st reorted to Middleton+ whose staff was handling these air stri-es for the division+ that
"air and artiller! is having a field da! around Bastogne"
The German attac- on the 8=d was mounted b! the 26th ol!s "renadier Divisionand the
attached regiment left behind b!Panzer Lehr ac-ing the men and tan-s for an assault
around the entire erimeter+ General @o-ott elected to continue the fight at 4enonchams
while attac-ing in two sectors diametricall! oosite each other+ the Marvie area in thesoutheast and the
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the =d Battalion+ however+ ulled bac- closer to Bastogne This enem! effort
also e#tended to embrace Team Browne More infantr! were hurried to 4enonchams on lighttan-s+ and at 1&=0 McAuliffe sent one half of his mobile reserve $Team )herr!% to give a
hand against the German tan-s But the American tan-s+ tan- destro!ers+ and artiller! alread!
on the scene were able to handle the an?ers without additional hel,and even while this fight
was on the cannoneers around 4enonchams turned their ieces to lob shells across the
erimeter in suort of the hard,driven aratrooers and tan-ers at Marvie
During the hours of light the .)/stmade no move to carr! out its scheduled attac- between
Marvie and the Arlon road Iuite ossibl! the activit! of the American fighter,bombers+ once
more in the s-ies+ made it necessar! to wait for nightfall Through the afternoon the enem!
shelled the 8d Battalion+ =8th+ and its command ost in Marvie As night came on the
barrage increased in intensit!+ sweeing along the battalion front and onto its northern flan-,be!ond Marvie,where Team 52Hara stood with its tan-s
At 1&/ the .)/st$with at least two tan- comanies in suort% commenced a co,ordinated
attac- delivered b! latoons and comanies against the front manned b! the 8d Battalion and
Team 52Hara135ne uic- rush ut an enem! detachment on a hill south of Marvie which
overloo-ed this village The latoon of aratrooers on the hill was surrounded and destro!ed+
but when a half,trac- and a brace of tan-s tried to move down the hill into Marvie a luc-!
shot or a mine disabled the half,trac-+ leaving no wa! ast for the tan-s 5n the Bastogne,
Arlon road a grou of tan-s $twelve were counted% started north toward the right flan- of the
8d Battalion Here )oman! < later reorted that the tan-s "made reeated attemts to
overrun our ositions but were halted" (t is robable that the three medium tan-s from Team
52Hara and the three tan- destro!ers from the 309th Tan- Destro!er Battalion which stood
astride the road $not to mention the dar-ness and artiller! fire% had a more chastening effect
on the an?ers than the small arms fire of the aratrooers
The Germans seem to have had the village of Marvie as their main ob.ective for b! midnight
the fight had died down all along the line e#cet at Marvie+ where it burst out with fresh
virulence (t is estimated that at least one rifle battalion and some fifteen tan-s were thrown
against )oman! * $now reinforced b! an understrength coman! of airborne engineers% and
Team 52Hara
[471]
sing the hill which earlier had been wrested from )oman! G as a mounting bloc-+ three
German tan-s made their wa! into the south edge of Marvie+ but 52Hara2s tan-s and assault
guns stoed a ma.or enetration from the east b! gunning down the an?ers silhouetted in
the glare of burning buildings+ thus enabling the Americans to hold on in the north half of the
village The threat of a breach here imelled McAuliffe to send the remaining half of Team
)herr! to Marvie Because this switch stried Bastogne of its last counterattac- force+
)herr!2s detachment+ which had gone west to assist Team Browne+ was recalled to Bastogne
An hour before dawn on the 8th the battle ended and uiet came to Marvie 52Hara2s troos
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had accounted for eight an?ers in this fight+ but the village was still clutched b! both
antagonists
The battle on the 8=d had been viewed in a somewhat somber light inside Bastogne That
evening+ onl! a few minutes after the German attac- began in the Marvie sector+ t )ol
Harr! ; 5 @innard $the 101st Airborne Division G,=% telehoned his oosite number atthe '((( )ors command ost The gist of his reort+ as recorded in the cors G,= .ournal+ was
this: "(n regard to our situation it is getting rett! stic-! around here The! Ethe th Armored
DivisionF must -ee coming The enem! has attac-ed all along the south and some tan-s are
through and running around in our area 7euest !ou inform th Armored Division of our
situation and as- them to ut on all ossible ressure"
The events of the ast hours had shown that the force under McAuliffe2s command was
overe#tended at a number of oints The artiller! groument west of Bastogne was
articularl! e#osed+ and the =8th Glider (nfantr! had alread! been forced to shorten its
lines Then too the segments of the erimeter defense were not as well coordinated as the!
might be The tan-ers of ))B comlained that the! had no idea of the airborne ositions+ anduite robabl! the regiments of the 101st were ha?! as to the location of the small tan- and
tan- destro!er detachments on their flan-s
)olonel @innard+ whose shar tactical sense was rated highl! b! all the commanders who
wor-ed with him during the siege+ drew u on 8 December a lan to regrou the Bastogne
forces The lan was ut into oeration that same evening @innard2s scheme laced all four
regiments of the 101st Airborne on the line as combined arms teams Team 52Hara and a
latoon of the 0/th Tan- Destro!er Battalion were attached to the /01st The /03th+ whose
sector had been uiet+ got two latoons of the 0/th but no tan-s The /08d was given two
latoons from the 0/th and Team Anderson $it is s!mtomatic of the shoestring defense
which erforce had evolved at the erimeter that )atain Anderson2s "team" consisted of two
cavalr! assault guns+ one tan- destro!er+ and two .ees% The =8th too- over the =83th
Airborne *ngineer Battalion+ two latoons of the 9th Armored *ngineer Battalion $which had
won distinction in the 6oville fight%+ and four latoons of the 0/th Also attached to the
=8th was the amalgam of infantr!+ tan- destro!ers+ and tan-s which had grown u around
Browne2s 80th Armored
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MA
7oberts $)olonel Browne was wounded b! a shell fragment on the 8th and died the ne#t
da!% 1
This read.ustment of the 101st ositions resulted in a taut and tenuous line aro#imatel!
si#teen miles $Map 4% That it could not be defended in eual strength at all oints was not
onl! a militar! ahorism but a simle fact dictated b! the troos available and the accidents of
the ground )reation of a tactical reserve was therefore mandator!+ albeit difficult of
accomlishment with the limited mechani?ed force at McAuliffe2s disosal The 101st
reserve+ as now organi?ed+ consisted of 7oberts2 ))B> that is Teams )herr! and Arnsdorf
$with erhas nine medium and five light tan-s oerational at an! given time% lus a art of
the original Team 46A
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woefull! limited,as shown b! the commitment of Team )herr! on oosite sides of the
erimeter during 8=,8 December
General uettwit?+ with onl! a reinforced division to use against Bastogne+ was worse off
than McAuliffe He had been given rather vague romises of reinforcement+ but no decision
was rendered b! the High )ommand until the 8=d when Hitler agreed to release two freshdivisions $the .th Panzerand /th Panzer "renadier% from the O1Wreserve 5nce these
troos were handed over to(rmy "ro$p B+
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the troos had in each other> a lesson for future commanders ma! be read in the considerable
effort ut forth b! McAuliffe+ 7oberts+ and the regimental commanders to arise all the
troos of the "situation"
)hristmas *ve in the German headuarters brought forth some cognac and a few "Prosits" but
in the main was devoted to rearations for a ma.or attac- on )hristmas Da! As late as theevening of the 8th uettwit? hoed to obtain more troos from the /th Panzer "renadier
Division+ but the
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A BA4T5G6*4T7**TA
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The original time schedule was e#ceedingl! otimistic: to ut in the infantr! assault at 000>
to brea- through the American rifle line b! 0300+ at which time the artiller! could see to fire
on targets of oortunit! and the tan-s would be able to move with seed> and to rush an
armored grou from the /th Panzer "renadierinto Bastogne between 0&00 and 0900 hours
before the American fighter,bombers too- to the air
The otimism breathed b! this schedule must have e#ired shortl! after it was ut on aer
although the lan remained @o-ott has recorded his shoc- and surrise at the wea- state of
the reinforcements brought in b! Dec-ert: the //th &egiment$three battalions of fusiliers%+
the reconnaissance battalion and two armored field artiller! battalions of the /th Panzer
"renadier Division+ a coman! of tan- destro!ers+ and seventeen tan-s belonging to the
//th Panzer Battalion Hitler2s failure to name Bastogne as the rimar! ob.ective had been
reflected in the dilator! and contradictor! orders issued b! the higher commanders for the
emlo!ment of Dec-ert2s division True+ the second of Dec-ert2s regiments $the /)*th% finall!
had been given to the0LII Panzer +orps+ but on )hristmas *ve it was toiling slowl! toward
the east side of Bastogne and would not arrive in time to .oin the battle )ol ;olfgang
Mauc-e+ commander of the //th+ ob.ected,as strongl! as a colonel would dare,when hereceived his orders toward dus- on the 8th He had been given no time for reconnaissance>
no coordination had been arranged with the tan-s suosed to suort the //th Mauc-e2s
sueriors siml! ointed out the tremendous advantage that would accrue to a surrise attac-
on )hristmas Da!,he had his orders19
The main assault+ handed the elements of the /th Panzer "renadier+ was to be a straight
thrust over
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/08d was delo!ed on the northwest edge of the village+ its right flan- .oining the 8d
Battalion in a large wood lot midwa! between )hams and ongchams )lad in white snow
suits the first German assault art!+ some fift! grenadiers from the ,,th+ cret forward under
the waning moon toward )hams At 000 this grou dashed into the village and the German
attac- began More of the enem! moved through the woods against the left flan- of the 8d
Battalion+ and within the hour a full German battalion had .oined the fight )oman! Bmoved u as a bac-sto if its sister coman! should be engulfed or ushed aside+ but the
confused melee around )hams in the redawn dar-ness inned the Germans down
Meanwhile the two assault battalions of the /th Panzer "renadier Divisionwere moving
against the =d Battalion of the =8th The tan- grou on the right of the German line drew
ahead of its marching artner and an hour and a uarter after the advance began reorted to
@o-ott that the onl! evidence of American reaction was some tan- or tan- destro!er fire
coming in from the south Thirt! minutes later a brief and otimistic radio message flashed to
the rear: the tan-s and the infantr! battalion festooned thereon had reached the western edge
of Bastogne But elation at the German command ost was short lived> word that the German
tan-s were in the streets of Bastogne never came The commander of the //thsent a liaisonofficer forward to find the battalion or its tan-s+ but without success German forward
observers were alerted to listen for the sound of German tan- fire,but all the! could hear was
the crash of artiller! fire and the crum of e#loding mortar shells
The stor! of the lost tan- grou is soon told The eighteen Mar- ('2s and the riding grenadiers
had bro-en through the ositions held b! )omanies A and B of the =8th Glider (nfantr!
before dawn and got as far as the battalion command ost 4everal of the enem! tan-s assed
straight through batter! ositions of the //th the aratrooers2 ba?oo-as accounted for
two more
The half of the enem! tan-,infantr! formation which had -et on toward Hemroulle after-nifing through the =8th fo#hole line received its #o$p de gr;#ein a fur! of cross fire laid
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down b! four of the 0/th tan- destro!ers+ tan-s from Team 7oberts+ the 3=d arachute
so the! la! in the snow and too- their losses The regimentalcommander+ )olonel Mauc-e+ began in midmorning to re,form his remaining troos+ ulling
what was left of the /st Battalionbac- to a hill southeast of
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faced arts of the .)/stand %.thawa! from Bastogne in suort of the aratrooers 6ow
word came that the th Para#h$te Divisionhad bro-en and that the %.th &egimentwas under
attac- @o-ott had little to give the %.th+ onl! five or si# tan-s which had .ust been reaired+
and he did not dare ut these on the road until dar-ness sent the American fighter,bombers
home Both @o-ott and the cors commander+ uettwit?+ still e#ected the main battle to be
fought on the Arlon or 6eufchCteau road+ but in the late afternoon the commander of the %.thradioed that American tan-s had bro-en through farther to the west at Assenois @o-ott as-ed
uettwit? for hel+ but the latter had emt! hands ate that night new orders came from