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BATTLE FACTS

The coldest, snowiest weather “in memory” in the Ardennes Forest on the German/Belgium border.

Over a million men, 500,000 Germans, 600,000 Americans (more than fought at Gettysburg) and 55,000 British.

3 German armies, 10 corps, the equivalent of 29 divisions.

3 American armies, 6 corps, the equivalent of 31 divisions.

The equivalent of 3 British divisions as well as contingents of Belgian, Canadian and French troops.

100,000 German casualties, killed, wounded or captured.

81,000 American casualties, including 23,554 captured and 19,000 killed.

1,400 British casualties 200 killed.

800 tanks lost on each side, 1,000 German aircraft.

The Malmedy Massacre, where 86 American soldiers were murdered, was the worst atrocity committed against American troops during the course of the war in Europe.

The 106th Infantry Division, average age of 22 years, suffered 564 killed in action, 1,246 wounded and 7,001 missing in action at the end of the offensive. Most of these casualties occurred within the first three days of battle, when two of the division’s three regiments was forced to surrender. The largest mass surrender of American troops in the European Theater of Operations

In it's entirety, the “Battle of the Bulge,” was the worst battles - in terms of losses - to the American Forces in WWII.

'To the German Commander,

'Nuts!

The American Commander.'

-- General Anthony McAuliffe - Response to the German demand for the surrender of Bastonge

'This is undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war and will, I believe, be regarded as an ever-famous American victory.'

-- Winston Churchill

Great thread today! the numbers of soldiers involved in this is staggering and I was only used to hearing of such forces on the Eastern Front, or from WWI.In my travels in Luxembourg, you can see the locals have not forgotten the valiant American efforts and that small country is dotted with memorials and cemetaries honouring those who fought and died.

SAM, thanks for sharing your history and scrounging talents with us everyday. I'm having a party tonight, so I may not be able to get back in here. I just wanted to let you know I appreciate and love the threads everyday.

Bump in memory of my uncle & bronze star recipient, Sgt Elwood Barry, a medic in the 84th infantry(Railsplitters) Belgium 12/44.

I know three men who participated in this battle. Two, my Uncle Mulford Jerrel, and my Uncle James Zickler, were on "our side". Both were truck drivers supporting Infantry. Mutt (Mulford) was caught in the open on a solid rock hillside. Artillery and tank fire opened up in his area. He was totally exposed so he proceeded to dig a foxhole with his barehands in the rock. He lost all of his fingernails but was not hit.

Jim survived also and went on to a career as a long-haul trucker - St. Louis to Cincinnati to Indianapolis to St. Louis - for the next 30 years.

The third person I knew well was Eberhart Reimers. He was on "the other side". As a 15 year old auxiliary trooper in the German Infantry he found himself in a foxhole with another young man his age. An artillery burst turned his companion into a red mist. His view was that wherever the Germans had a rifle the Americans had an artillery piece. He later went on to get his college education and emigrated to Cleveland. At the age of 50 he completed a Doctorate at University of Tokyo. You could turn him 15 years old again by asking about the Bulge.

My uncles would become 25 years old when asked about the Bulge.

All of the men there saw more death than any human being should.

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 2nd Armored "Hell on Wheels" Division moved 100 miles south in one night under highest security (no lights on icy roads) and met the German spearhead (2nd Panzer Division) as it approached the Meuse. In the ensuing battle (it peaked on Christmas Day) the Panzer Division was destroyed.

When I talk to my uncle about the Battle of the Bulge, the first thing he says is, "We weren't prepared for that bitter cold! We lost more guys because their feet froze off then we did because of battle." I am going to quote from his 90th Infantry History of WWII:

"Trench foot, too, inflicted more than its share of casualties as the malady hit the 90th with epidemic force. Men limped into battle on senseless swollen feet. Some were carried to their weapons. P-47's of the XIX Tactical Air Force joined the fight, but not with guns or bombs. They came in low, swooped over the area at tree top level, and dropped their freight with heartening accuracy...medical supplies for the wounded and sick."

The above quote comes just days before the Battle of the Bulge, as the 90th fought to cross the Seigfried Line.

"December 15th, and the Division, fighting along the narrowest zone in its combat history, had made only minor penetrations into the Siegfried Line. Casualties due to wounds, sickness, exposure and trench foot, were wreaking havoc. Therefore, it was determined to storm into Dillingen itself, occupy the city as a stronghold, and then cross the Prims River, turning south to make contact with the 95th Division, still severely engaged in Saarlautern. The infantry, aided as usual by the effective support of armor and accurate artillery fire, pushed across the railroad tracks and reduced staunchly defended pillboxes which faced them in profusion.

In the fighting that followed, the 90th pushed resolutely into the city of Dillingen, clearing block after block of the enemy. The densest portions of the Siegfried Line had been successfully negotiated, and Dillingen was in process of falling to the 90th. House by house and room by room the 90th pushed through the city. In spite of the fact that no bridge had been built to span the Saar River, the Division had succeeded in crushing one by one the defenses that constituted the "invincible" Siegfried Line. The shadow of the 90th had fallen squarely on the heartland of Germany.

"And suddenly the picture changed. In the north, in Luxembourg and Belgium, General von Rundstedt hurled his best divisions into a final counteroffensive. Before the fury of the attack the American lines bent back. In the Moselle-Saar triangle another enemy assault was in preparation. The spearheads acrosss the Saar were exposed and vulnerable. In view of these rapidly altering developments, the 90th was ordered to disengage, to return its forces to the west bank of the Saar.

"Never before in the history of the Division had it disengaged, and its first experiene was fraught with difficulty and danger. Only one ferry, one footbridge and few assault boats were available for the maneuver that was to move the entire Division across the river under enemy observation.

"On December 19th the withdrawal began. As the troops retired they destroyed all equipment which might possibly be of aid to the enemy, mined the areas they abandoned and moved slowly westward. For three days the operation continued, while the enemy remained in complete ignorance of what was occurring. "Crews, working on the bridge and ferry sites, performed miracles in moving vehicles and armor across the Saar. roads on the eartern side became impassable, and each vehicle required winching through the mud and over the steep banks. Enemy artillery destroyed the ferry, and with only a few hours remaining in which to complete the withdrawal, 25 armored vehicles remained on the wrong side of the river. In the darkness and in the freezing waters, under continuous shelling the men at the river slaved through the night to salvage what they could. Only the wrechage of six vehicles remained as a prize for the Germans when the withdrawal was completed. "And so the crossing of the Saar was successfully accomplished, the Siegfried Line Cracked, and another triumph almost with the grasp of the 90th. But the fortunes of war had not entirely erased the Division's achievements at Dillingen. For now the men of the 90th knew that the Siegfried Line could be broken, and they knew also that if they had done it once they could do it again."

Another GREAT thread. Thanks for all your hard work in keeping history alive. :)

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Toward FREEDOM

Oh no, I posted this post on yesterday's thread, LOL!!! Anyway, here it is again. :-)

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]

On 22 December 1964, at a press conference in Watertown, New York, 'General von Manteuffel stated "on the evening of 24 December 1944, I recommended to Hitler's Adjutant that the German Army give up the attack and return to the West Wall." He stated that the reason for this recommendation was due to the time lost by his Fifth Panzer Army in the St. Vith area. In a question and answer period, after I had recently talked on the Battle at St. Vith, a college ROTC student said, "General, what is the principle job of a general in the conduct of such a battle as St. Vith?"
My answer was: "It is to prevent the confusion from becoming disorganized."
NOTE (Edited for currency, but General Clarke's advice is still applicable): Years ago this battle was fought as the result of a massive surprise attack on the Western Front. Now, several United States divisions and other NATO troops are facing new threats in Europe, facing forces that could launch another such surprise attack. The pattern, of the battle could well follow this one...surprise, cut off units, bad weather, short supply, disrupted communications, loss of contact and pervasive confusion. For these reasons the study of this battle is of value today.
-- General Bruce C. Clarke, Ret.

Famous Watertown, huh? ;-)

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.