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The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Battle of The Bulge - Dec. 16th, 2002
http://hometown.aol.com/dadswar/bulge/index.htm ^ | Wesley Johnston

Posted on 12/16/2002 5:38:35 AM PST by SAMWolf

U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues

Where Duty, Honor and Country
are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.

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The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.

We hope to provide an ongoing source of information about issues and problems that are specific to Veterans and resources that are available to Veterans and their families.

In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support.

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Click on the pix

The Ardennes Offensive:
Dec. 16, 1944 - Jan. 25, 1945

Overview of the Battle of the Bulge


Note: Since all the mentions of this army and that army can become confusing, German units are given in italics, and American units are in normal type.



The Battle of the Bulge began with the German attack (Operation Wacht am Rhein and the Herbstnebel plan) on the morning of December 16, 1944. Two later attacks on New Year's Day 1945 attempted to create second fronts in Holland (Operation Schneeman) and in northern France (Operation Nordwind).

The overall German plan is laid out in the map above (from Hugh Cole's official history "The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge", Map IX). In the original plan, three Armies (the Sixth Panzer Army [referred to by Hitler as Sixth SS Panzer Army but not formally designated as SS at the time - Cole, p. 76], Fifth Panzer Army, and Seventh Army) would attack.

In a revised plan on November 1, 1944, the Sixth Panzer Army, for political reasons [Cole, p. 34], was given the official role of making the main effort and capturing Antwerp.



The Fifth Panzer Army was not designated as the main force in name, but it actually had the responsibility of hitting the center of the American lines, promptly capturing the highly strategic rail and road center of St. Vith, and driving on to capture Brussels.

The Seventh Army in the south was to peel off as it moved west and then turn and form a defensive line, in order to form a buffer area to prevent U.S. reinforcements from hitting the Fifth Panzer Army.

In the offical order signed by Hitler on November 10, 1944, the Fifteenth Army was added [Cole, pp. 34-36]:

The Fifteenth Army "was not to be employed until the Allies had reacted in force to the German attack, and in any case could not be expected to launch a large-scale attack until the Allied front east of Aachen had been drastically denuded of troops."

In fact, on December 13, 1944, the US 2nd Infantry Division began an attack in the Fifteenth Army area that further nullified any effect the Fifteenth Army might have in the attack.

With the exception of the critical road and rail center at St. Vith, the main towns were to be bypassed by the attacking panzer (armored) forces, so that the speed of the attack would not be slowed. Rear echelon infantry would clean out the bypassed towns. The military goal was to capture Antwerp and cut off the Allied troops to the north. The political goal was to cause division among the Allies and destroy the Allied coalition.

The terrain was the dense Ardennes Forest. The weather was chilly mist and fog, so that Allied air support was nullified until December 23. (In fact, one of the German plans was named Herbstnebel or Autumn Mist.) In addition, ground visibility for the troops was often very low, due to the trees and fog. The dense forest had very few roads, none of which were large. Traffic jams on both sides of the front were a major problem for both Armies.



The only railroad on the entire front to cross from Germany into Belgium came to St. Vith, Belgium, making St. Vith, which was also a major road junction the most vital initial prize the Germans sought, in order to allow supplies to flow to support the remainder of the attack. It was no accident that St. Vith was right in the very center of the Fifth and Sixth Panzer Armies: St. Vith had to be the main line of supply for both Armies. The German plan called for capture of St. Vith by 1800 on December 17 by Fifth Panzer Army, but the defenders held at St. Vith until late on December 21. This led the German Fifth Panzer Army Commander, Gen. Hasso von Manteuffel, to recommend to Hitler's adjutant on December 24 that "the German Army give up the attack and return to the West Wall." Manteuffel's reason for this recommendation was "due to the time lost by his Fifth Panzer Army in the St. Vith area." [Manteuffel press conference of 22 December 1964 in Watertown, NY]

Hitler did not accept Manteuffel's recommendation, and the German supplies began to run out. German columns ran low on gas and ammunition well before reaching even their first major goal: the Meuse River. On December 23, the weather cleared, and Allied planes finally filled the skies in support of the besieged American troops. (Some of the GI's had wondered why they saw German planes before that, despite the conditions, but saw no American planes.)



Slowly but surely the Allies -- from the North, the West, and the South -- closed the salient, the Bulge. The First US Army troops from the north met the Third US Army troops from the south at Houffalize, Belgium on January 16, 1945. St. Vith was recaptured on January 23, 1945. The ending date of the Bulge is considered as January 25, 1945, since this was the date on which the lost positions were officially thought to have been completely regained. In fact, as a series of letters in the VBOB "Bulge Bugle" have noted, some positions were not regained until after January 25, 1945.

In the largest battle ever fought by the U. S. Army, with 600,000 GI's involved, it is difficult to place one unit or location ahead of another in importance. But the reality is that two crucial stands at the front lines are what really doomed the German attack to certain failure:

Holding the Northern Shoulder:
The 99th Infantry Divsion and the 291st Engineer Combat Battalion bore the brunt of the Sixth Panzer Army attack on Day 1, and they held most of their ground, creating what would become the northern shoulder. (Keep in mind that the southern shoulder was one that the Germans themselves intended to form with their Seventh Army -- which they pretty much succeeded in doing.)

Holding St. Vith:
The 7th Armored Division and the 106th Infantry Division, with elements of the 9th Armored Division and 28th Infantry Division, held St. Vith four days beyond the German timetable. Even the German Fifth Panzer Army commander recognized that the attack was doomed as a result.



It is significant to note that the 7th Armored Division was near Aachen, Germany when the German attack began. The 7th Armored Division had to move 60-70 miles to the south on Day 2. If the 99th Infantry Division and 291st Engineer Combat Battalion had not held on the northern shoulder, the 7th Armored Division never would have reached St. Vith. Even when the 7th Armored Division had reached St. Vith, it was the troops on the northern shoulder and the newly arrived 82nd Airborne Division that kept a very narrow escape route open for the virtually surrounded defenders of St. Vith. But once the defense of St. Vith was set up, that defense also bolstered the defense of the northern shoulder, as both defenses forced the German columns off of their planned routes and led to considerable congestion as the Gemran columns were then funneled in between the northern shoulder and the St. Vith salient.

But what about Bastogne?
In popular thinking, the Battle of the Bulge is synonymous with the Battle of Bastogne. This is very unfortunate, since it ignores the real military keys (holding the northern shoulder and holding St. Vith) to the defeat of the Germans. Journalists hungry for some sign of American success at stopping the German onslaught played up the defense of Bastogne, where Gen. Anthony McAuliffe (101st Airborne Division) said "Nuts" to a German surrender demand and where the Third US Army (10th Armored Division) broke through the German Seventh Army's buffer to reach the surrounded town on Day 3 of the Battle of the Bulge. This was truly heroic stuff.

But from a military strategy point of view (and this can easily be seen on the map above), while Bastogne was a strategically important major road junction for sustaining the attack, it was on the periphery of the attack and well behind the initial front lines. The German plan was to have the panzers bypass Bastogne and let the later echelons of infantry and artillery units clean it out. And the panzers did succeed in bypassing Bastogne, so that their plan in that sector was on schedule. As a source for rallying U. S. spirits, the defense of Bastogne and McAuliffe's "Nuts" were a success.

But from a strategic perspective, the German fate had already been sealed at St. Vith, when they could not take that critical supply center on Day 2 - nor on Days 3, 4, 5, and most of 6. Bastogne did not become surrounded by forces intent on taking it until the night of December 21, Day 6 of the Battle of the Bulge. And the famous "Nuts" did not come until December 22, Day 7. Heroic as the deeds of the defenders of Bastogne were, the defense of Bastogne is a very important secondary element but not one of the true strategic keys to the German failure.





Since the battle was so complex, it is important to consider some basic organizing themes.



TOPICS: VetsCoR
KEYWORDS: ardennes; bulge; freeperfoxhole; wwii
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To: AntiJen
LMAO!
201 posted on 12/17/2002 1:22:37 AM PST by MistyCA
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To: AntiJen; SAMWolf
Sorry I missed you guys. I had to go to the airport. :)
202 posted on 12/17/2002 1:23:32 AM PST by MistyCA
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To: PhilDragoo
Thanks Phil, always good to see you drop in.
203 posted on 12/17/2002 5:53:09 AM PST by SAMWolf
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To: SAMWolf
Excellent thread on The Bulge. Bump for later discussion on my own time...
204 posted on 12/17/2002 6:10:35 AM PST by OKSooner
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To: SAMWolf
It is a pleasure receiving this mail. Excellent post.
205 posted on 12/17/2002 6:16:54 AM PST by tomball
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To: SAMWolf
Thank you for this information about the Battle of the Bulge. My father fought here, at Normandy, and other places. Reading about what these men went through explains why my father had "shell shock" (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) so badly it eventually killed him.
206 posted on 12/17/2002 7:12:54 AM PST by Humal
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To: Humal
I thank your father for his service, my condolances on his passing.
207 posted on 12/17/2002 7:31:24 AM PST by SAMWolf
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To: SevenofNine
China gave ton of nuke arms to NOrth Korea

OH! No, that's not good at all.

208 posted on 12/17/2002 7:47:40 AM PST by Jen
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To: All
The Foxhole has relocated to this NEW THREAD.
209 posted on 12/17/2002 7:49:47 AM PST by Jen
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To: AntiJen
Good idea with one big problem: In many cases, these women refuse to divulge the identity of the real father. Whether they are embarrassed by who they slept with, or whether they don't know his name, or whatever, they won't tell. This unfortunately is part of the reason that the system is the way it is. Thats why I believe the only solution is to stop the money flow. You want to get divorced? You want custody of your kids? Then you support them. If you want your former spouse to help, then keep him part of the kid's lives. If he doesn't want to help, so be it. If they know up front that those are the rules of the game, then perhaps it will change some behaviors. But we have to stop scamming half the population (men) in the name of "the children".
210 posted on 12/17/2002 9:41:24 PM PST by ChicagahAl
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To: ChicagahAl
Huh? I think you meant to post your comments on a different thread to somebody else, because I don't know what you are talking about.
211 posted on 12/17/2002 10:33:34 PM PST by Jen
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To: SAMWolf
My grandfather fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
212 posted on 12/17/2002 10:51:40 PM PST by Sir Gawain
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To: Sir Gawain
Thanks to your grandfather for his service, Sir Gawain
213 posted on 12/18/2002 5:45:59 AM PST by SAMWolf
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To: Sir Gawain

My second Cousin more than likely died 66 years ago defending Munshausen Luxembourg as part of Company C, 1st battalion 110th Division.

He was found buried in the church cemetery in March 1945 along with 5 other GI’s by the Parish Priest.


214 posted on 12/17/2010 12:37:46 PM PST by wordsofearnest (Evan Bayh gave Indiana a twofer.)
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To: wordsofearnest

Battle of the Bulge 69th Anniversary. RIP Victor J. Mangin & Ralph C. Dages.


215 posted on 12/16/2013 7:31:38 AM PST by wordsofearnest (Proper aim of giving is to put the recipient in a state where he no longer needs it. C.S. Lewis)
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