Post 7694
Siege of Bastogne
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Siege of Bastogne
Part of the Ardennes Offensive (World War II)
101st Airborne Division troops watch as C-47s drop supplies over Bastogne, 26 December 1944
Date
Siege: 20–26 December 1944
Counterattacks: Fighting ends 17 January 1945
Location
Bastogne, Belgium
50°00′00″N 5°43′17″ECoordinates: 50°00′00″N 5°43′17″E
Result
American victory
Belligerents
United States
Nazi Germany
Commanders and leaders
Anthony McAuliffe(101st Airborne)
William L. Roberts (Combat Command B (CCB), 10th Armored Division)
Creighton Abrams(37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division)
George S. Patton(Third Army)
Hasso von Manteuffel(5th Panzer Army)
Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz (XLVII Panzer Corps)
Wilhelm Mohnke (I SS Panzer Corps)
Units involved
Initially parts of:
101st Airborne Division
CCB of the 10th Armored Division
CCR of the 9th Armored Division
705th Tank Destroyer Battalion
35th and 158th Combat Engineer Battalions
58th and 420th Armored Field Artillery Battalions
755th and 969th Field Artillery Battalions of 8th Corps
Team SNAFU[2]
Eventual Participants:
4th Armored Division (United States)
6th Armored Division (United States)
11th Armored Division (United States)
35th Infantry Division (United States)
87th Infantry Division (United States)
90th Infantry Division (United States)
Initially parts of:
26th Volksgrenadier Division
5th Parachute Division
Panzer Lehr Division
2nd Panzer Division
Total: All or parts of 7 divisions[5]
Eventual Participants:
1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
Führerbegleitbrigade
12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend
9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen
Strength
101st: 11,000 enlisted + 800 officers
Remaining units: 11,000+
Total: 22,800+ men
54,000+ men
Casualties and losses
3,000+ total casualties (2,000 in the 101st)
unknown
The Siege of Bastogne was an engagement in December 1944 between American and German forces at the Belgian town of Bastogne, as part of the larger Battle of the Bulge. The goal of the German offensive was the harbour at Antwerp. In order to reach it before the Allies could regroup and bring their superior air power to bear, German mechanized forces had to seize the roadways through eastern Belgium. Because all seven main roads in the densely wooded Ardennes highlands converged on the small Belgian town of Bastogne (in German: Bastnach, in Luxembourgish: Baaschtnech) only a few miles away from the border to neighbouring Luxembourg, control of its crossroads was vital to the German attack. The siege lasted from December 20–27, after which the besieged American forces were relieved by elements of General George Patton‘s Third Army.
101st Airborne troops picking up air-dropped supplies during the siege.
Background
After the successful Invasion of Normandy and the subsequent eastward push through France, the Allied front lines extended from Nijmegen in the north down to neutral Switzerland in the south. The valuable port city of Antwerp had been captured during the push, and by the time winter arrived, the Allies even had control of German territory near the city of Aachen. Adolf Hitler soon laid out a plan to attack the Allied lines in Belgium and Luxembourg; 25 divisions would launch a surprise attack through the Ardennes, with the aim of crossing the Meuse River (called Maas in German and Flemish) and recapturing Antwerp. Despite major misgivings from his senior commanders, including Gerd von Rundstedt and Walther Model, the plan was not modified and the jump-off date was eventually set as 16 December 1944. Meanwhile, the Allied commanders considered the Ardennes area to be unsuitable for a large-scale German attack, mainly because of terrain issues. In addition, intelligence reports suggested that the only German divisions stationed in the area were weary, and in the weeks leading up to the assault, no Allied commander saw reason to believe that an attack was imminent. Bastogne, a hub city that commanded several important roads in the area, was defended mainly by the 28th Infantry Division, which had seen continuous fighting from 22 July-19 November, before being assigned to this relatively quiet area. The Allies believed only an infantry division was present opposite the 28th Infantry, and they believed any attack along this sector would be limited in scale. The seven roads in and out of Bastogne were critical to the movement of German armor, making Allied retention of the roads imperative.
44th Armored Infantry soldiers and 6th Armored Division tanks near Bastogne, 31 December 1944
Hasso von Manteuffel—commanding the 5th Panzer Army—gave Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz′s XLVII Panzer Corps the responsibility of capturing Bastogne, before crossing the Meuse near Namur. Lüttwitz planned to attack a 7 mi (11 km) front with three divisions: the 26th Volksgrenadier and the 2nd Panzer would lead the assault, with the Panzer-Lehr-Division behind them. Opposing this significant force were two battalions of the 110th Infantry Regiment (the third was held back as a division reserve), responsible for a 9 mi (14 km) front along the Our River which forms the border between Germany and neighbouring Luxembourg. The Allied forces were gathered into small groups at major Luxembourgish villages, with outposts along the river manned only during the daytime. The forces were too thin to maintain an even battle line, they focused their attention on the four roads that crossed the Our.
Hasso-Eccard Freiherr von Manteuffel
Freiherr von Manteuffel in May 1944
Born
14 January 1897
Potsdam, Brandenburg
German Empire
Died
24 September 1978 (aged 81)
Reith, Tyrol
Austria
Allegiance
German Empire (to 1918)
Weimar Republic (to 1933)
Nazi Germany (to 1945)
West Germany
Years of service
1908–45
Rank
General der Panzertruppe
Commands held
Panzer-Grenadier-Division Großdeutschland
Battles/wars
World War I
World War II
Operation Barbarossa
Battle of Tunisia
Battle of the Bulge
Siege of Bastogne
Awards
Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
Other work
Politician
Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz
Born
6 December 1896
Krumpach, Province of Silesia,Kingdom of Prussia Germany nowBorów, Lower Silesian Voivodeship,Poland
Died
9 October 1969 (aged 72)
Neuberg, Hesse, West Germany
Allegiance
German Empire (to 1918)
Weimar Republic (to 1933)
Nazi Germany
Service/branch
Heer
Rank
General der Panzertruppe
Commands held
2nd Panzer Division
XLVII Panzer Corps
Battles/wars
World War I
World War II
Awards
Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
Members of C Company, 9th Engineers, conduct a memorial service for those killed during the siege, 22 January 1945.
Due to heavy rain preceding the German attack, only one of the roads was in good enough condition to be used as a crossing point — the northernmost road, which crossed the Our at Dasburg on its way to the Luxembourgish town of Clervaux (in German: Klerf, in Luxembourgish: Klierf) and Bastogne. The 2nd Panzer Division was assigned to cross the river along this road, while the 26th Volksgrenadier Division would construct a bridge near Gemünd for its crossing. Lüttwitz realized the importance of the road network of Bastogne — he knew that the town had to be captured before his corps could venture too far westward. Therefore, he ordered the Panzer-Lehr Division’ to push forward to Bastogne as soon as his other troops had crossed the Clerf River in Northern Luxembourg.
Infantry of relief force near Bastogne, December 1944.
The attack
On the evening of 15 December, the 26th Volksgrenadier established an outpost line on the west bank of the Our, something they did routinely during the nighttime. At 03:00, engineers began ferrying men and equipment over the river where they began assembling at the departure point, quite close to the American garrisons. At 05:30, the German artillery began bombarding the American positions, knocking out telephone lines, as the infantry started to advance. The Germans attacked swiftly, their advances made possible by sheer weight of numbers. In the Luxembourgish village of Weiler, one American company, supported by some mortars and a platoon of anti-tank guns, lasted until nightfall against repeated attacks from multiple German battalions. German engineers completed bridges over the Our before dark, and armor began moving to the front, adding to the Germans’ vast numerical superiority. But in the end, the Germans were significantly delayed by the American defenders—their plan to cross the Clerf River by nightfall on the first day was delayed by two days.
On 19 December, the 28th Division command post transferred to Bastogne from Wiltz, a large Luxembourgish town to the southeast. At Wiltz, the division put up its last stand; 3rd Battalion of the 110th—supported by armor and artillery—arrived at the town around noon of that day. The 44th Engineer Battalion was set up north of the town, but they were soon overwhelmed and retreated into the town, blowing up a bridge behind them. This small force—numbering no more than 500 in total—held out until the evening, when their position became completely untenable and they retreated to the west. With the 110th Infantry completely destroyed as an effective combat unit, it would be up to the rest of the Allied army to defend Bastogne.
Commitment of reserves
Despite several notable signs in the weeks preceding the attack, the Ardennes Offensive achieved virtually complete surprise. By the end of the second day of battle, it became apparent that the 28th Infantry was near collapse. Major General Troy H. Middleton, commander of VIII Corps, was given Combat Command B of the 10th Armored Division to assist in the defense of Bastogne.
Troy Houston Middleton
Lieutenant General Troy Middleton, 1945
Born
12 October 1889
Copiah County, Mississippi
Died
9 October 1976 (aged 86)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Place of burial
Baton Rouge National Cemetery
Allegiance
United States
Service/branch
United States Army
Years of service
1910–1937
1942–1945
Rank
Lieutenant General
Unit
7th Infantry Regiment
Commands held
World War I
39th Infantry Regiment
47th Infantry Regiment
World War II
45th Infantry Division
VIII Corps
Battles/wars
Mexican Border Campaign
Occupation of Veracruz
Skirmish with Villistas
World War I
Second Battle of the Marne
Meuse-Argonne Offensive
World War II
Operation Husky
Operation Avalanche
Operation Cobra
Battle for Brest
Battle of the Bulge
Awards
Distinguished Service Medal (2)
Silver Star
Legion of Merit
Other work
Dean of Administration, LSU
Acting Vice President, LSU
Comptroller, LSU
President, LSU
CCB consisted of the 3rd Tank Battalion, 20th Armored Infantry Battalion, C Company 21st Tank Battalion, B Company 54th Armored Infantry Battalion, C Company, 609th Tank Destroyer Battalion, 420th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, and three companies of support troops. General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S. Third Army was not happy about giving up the unit right before he planned an offensive near Mainz but General Omar Bradley, commander of the12th Army Group, ordered General Patton to release the unit.
George Smith Patton, Jr.
Patton as a lieutenant general.
Nickname(s)
“Bandito”, “Old Blood and Guts”, “The Old Man”
Born
November 11, 1885
San Gabriel, California, U.S.
Died
December 21, 1945 (aged 60)
Heidelberg, Germany
Buried at
American Cemetery and Memorial,Luxembourg City
Allegiance
United States of America
Service/branch
United States Army
Years of service
1909–45
Rank
General
Unit
Cavalry Branch
Commands held
Seventh United States Army
Third United States Army
Fifteenth United States Army
See other commands [show]
Battles/wars
See battles [show]
Awards
Distinguished Service Cross (2)
Distinguished Service Medal (3)
Silver Star (2)
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star
Purple Heart
Complete list of decorations
Relations
Maj. Gen. George Patton IV (son)
Gen. John K. Waters (son-in-law)
Signature
Meanwhile, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander, ordered forward the SHAEF reserve, composed of the 82nd Airborne Division, commanded by Major GeneralJames Gavin, and the 101st Airborne Division, temporarily under command of Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe, at Reims.
James M. Gavin
James M. Gavin, then a major general
United States Ambassador to France
In office
1961–1962
President
John F. Kennedy
Preceded by
Amory Houghton
Succeeded by
Charles E. Bohlen
Personal details
Born
March 22, 1907
New York City, New York, U.S.
Died
February 23, 1990 (aged 82)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Awards
Distinguished Service Cross(2)
Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star (2)
Purple Heart
British Distinguished Service Order
French Legion of Honor
Military service
Nickname(s)
The Jumping General
Slim Jim
Jumpin’ Jim
Allegiance
United States of America
Service/branch
United States Army
Years of service
1924–1958
Rank
Lieutenant general
Commands
505th Parachute Infantry Regiment
82nd Airborne Division
Battles/wars
World War II
Operation Husky
Operation Overlord
Operation Market Garden
Korean War
Anthony C. McAuliffe
Brigadier General Anthony C. McAuliffe during World War II
Nickname(s)
“Old Crock”[1]
Born
July 2, 1898
Washington, D.C.
Died
August 11, 1975 (aged 77)
Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C.
Buried at
Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance
United States
Service/branch
United States Army
Years of service
1918–1956
Rank
General
Commands held
Chemical Corps
United States Army Europe
Battles/wars
World War II
Awards
Distinguished Service Cross
Army Distinguished Service Medal w/ OLC
Silver Star
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star w/ OLC
Relations
Helen Whitman McAuliffe (1897–1983), wife
Patricia A. McAuliffe (1921–2001), daughter
John Hillary McAuliffe (1923–1979), son
These were veteran troops that had served with distinction since the parachute drops in Normandy and were resting and re-equipping after two months of combat in the Netherlands after Operation Market Garden. Both divisions were alerted on the evening of 17 December, and not having transport automatically assigned for their use, began arranging trucks for movement forward. The 82nd—longer in reserve and thus better re-equipped—moved out first. The 101st left Camp Mourmelon on the afternoon of 18 December, with the order of march of the division artillery, division trains, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment(PIR), 506th PIR, 502nd PIR, and 327th Glider Infantry Regiment (GIR). Much of the convoy was conducted at night in drizzle and sleet, using headlights despite threat of air attack to speed the movement, and at one point the combined column stretched from Bouillon, Belgium, back to Reims.
The 101st Airborne was originally supposed to go to Werbomont on the northern shoulder but was rerouted to Bastogne, located 107 miles (172 km) away on a 1,463 feet (446 m) high plateau, while the 82nd Airborne, because it was able to leave sooner, went to Werbomont to block the critical advance of the Kampfgruppe Peiper (Combat Group Peiper). The 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion—in reserve 60 miles (97 km) to the north—was ordered to Bastogne to provide anti-tank support to the armor-less 101st Airborne on the 18th and arrived late the next evening. The first elements of the 501st PIR entered the division assembly area 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Bastogne shortly after midnight of 19 December, and by 09:00 the entire division had arrived.
Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe sent the 501st PIR southeast through Bastogne at 06:00 to develop the situation. By 09:00, it had advanced and deployed on either side of the highway to Magéret and Longvilly, where the Panzer-Lehr-Division (Armored Training Division) was engaged in an all-day action to destroy the armor-infantry combat teams assigned to slow the German advance. The 506th followed shortly thereafter, its 1st Battalion was sent to Noville to re-enforce Major Desobry’s team from the 10th Armored CCB while the other two battalions were ordered to act as reserves north of Bastogne. The 502nd PIR marched north and northwest to establish a line from Champs east to Recogne, while the 327th GIR, newly arrived, protected the division service area southwest of Bastogne until German intentions could be deciphered.
Initial combat at Noville
On 19–20 December, the 1st Battalion of the 506th PIR was ordered to support Team Desobry (Maj. William R. Desobry), a battalion-sized tank-infantry task force of the 10th Armored Division assigned to defend Noville located north-northeast of both Foy and of Bastogne just 4.36 mi (7.02 km) away. With just four[12] M18 tank destroyers of the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion to assist, the paratroopers attacked units of the 2. Panzerdivision, whose mission was to proceed by secondary roads via Monaville (just northwest of Bastogne) to seize a key highway and capture, among other objectives, fuel dumps — for the lack of which the overall German counter-offensive faltered and failed. Worried about the threat to its left flank in Bastogne, it organized a major combined arms attack to seize Noville. Team Desobry’s high speed highway journey to reach the blocking position is one of the few documented cases in which the top speed of the M18 Hellcat (55 mph (89 km/h)) was actually used to get ahead of an enemy force as envisioned by its specifications.
The attack of 1st Battalion and the M18 Hellcat tank destroyers of the 705th TD Battalion together destroyed at least 30 German tanks and inflicted 500-1,000 casualties on the attacking forces in what amounted to a spoiling attack. The 3rd Battalion was ordered forward from a reserve position north of Bastogne to ease the pressure on 1st Battalion by occupying a supporting position in Foy to the south.
The heavy losses inflicted by the tank-destroyers deceived the German commander into believing the village was being held by a much stronger force and he recoiled from further attacks on the village, committing a strategic error while seeking tactical advantage — significantly delaying the German advance and setting the stage for the Siege of Bastogne just to the south.[12] This delay also gave the 101st Airborne Division enough time to organize defenses around Bastogne. After two days, the 2nd Panzer Division finally continued on its original mission to the Meuse River. As a consequence of its involvement at Bastogne, and its failure to dislodge the airborne forces, the column ultimately ran out of fuel at Celles, where it was destroyed by the U.S. 2nd Armored Division and the British 29th Armoured Brigade.
By the time the 1st Battalion pulled out of Noville on the 20th, the village of Foy half-way to Bastogne center had been captured from the 3rd Battalion by a separate attack, forcing the 1st Battalion to then fight its way through Foy. By the time 1st Battalion made it to the safety of American lines, it had lost 13 officers and 199 enlisted men, out of about 600 troops, and was assigned as the division reserve. Team Desobry lost a quarter of its troops and was reduced to just four medium tanks when it passed through the lines of 3rd Battalion.
Battle
19–23 December 1944
The 101st Airborne formed an all-round perimeter using the 502nd PIR on the northwest shoulder to block the 26th Volksgrenadier, the 506th PIR to block entry from Noville, the 501st PIR defending the eastern approach, and the 327th GIR scattered from Marvie in the southeast to Champs in the west along the southern perimeter, augmented by engineer and artillery units plugging gaps in the line. The division service area to the west of Bastogne had been raided the first night, causing the loss of almost its entire medical company, and numerous service troops were used as infantry to reinforce the thin lines. CCB of the 10th Armored Division, severely weakened by losses to its Team Desobry (Maj. William R. Desobry), Team Cherry (Lt. Col. Henry T. Cherry), and Team O’Hara (Lt. Col. James O’Hara) in delaying the Germans, formed a mobile “fire brigade” of 40 light and medium tanks (including survivors of CCR 9th Armored Division and eight replacement tanks found unassigned in Bastogne).
Three artillery battalions were commandeered and formed a temporary artillery group. Each had twelve 155 mm (6.1 in) howitzers, providing the division with heavy firepower in all directions restricted only by its limited ammunition supply. Col. Roberts, commanding CCB, also rounded up 600+ stragglers from the rout of VIII Corps and formed Team SNAFU as a further stopgap force.
As a result of the powerful American defense to the north and east, XLVII Panzer Corps commander Gen. von Lüttwitz decided to encircle Bastogne and strike from the south and southwest, beginning the night of 20/21 December. German Panzer reconnaissance units had initial success, nearly overrunning the American artillery positions southwest of Bastogne before being stopped by a makeshift force. All seven highways leading to Bastogne were cut by German forces by noon of 21 December, and by nightfall the conglomeration of airborne and armored infantry forces were recognized by both sides as being surrounded.
The American soldiers were outnumbered approximately 5-1 a