This was the delaying action fought by a handful of US divisions spread thinly along the "Western Wall", and the massed formations of krau - uh, German armor and infantry at the soft spot of their choosing - a place on the map where France, Belgium, and Luxembourg meet just to the east of Bastogne.
These guys suffered and witnessed horrible casualties, but they delayed the k-k-German advance long enough that Bastogne could be occupied by the 101st Airborne and elements of (I believe) the 10th Armored division.
In particular, the commanding General of the 110th Regiment / 28th Division (Pennsylvania National Guard), received orders from higher up that "No one comes back." And in fact the entire 28th Division was written off as "destroyed in action" before the Christmas day this story refers to.
Other US divisions fared little better under the concentrated attack in the first 3 days. Ordinary American soldiers, most of them conscripts and every one of whom had been minding their own business on the day the war started, held the (*ahem*) enemy up for three days.
To paraphrase Bob Dole, far too many of them died within the first 3 days, and not enough of them who came home were willing to talk about it.
This is what caused the crossroads at Bastogne to not be occupied by the enemy when the 101st arrived and began setting up position. Same for St. Vith to the north, which some say was equally important.
Recommended reading:
To Save Bastogne, by Robert Phillips
http://www.amazon.com/save-Bastogne-Robert-H-Phillips/dp/B001KUV06W/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1293219599&sr=1-2
Alamo in the Ardennes, subtitled "The Untold Story of the American Soldiers Who Made the Defense of Bastogne Possible", By John C. McManus:
http://www.amazon.com/Alamo-Ardennes-American-Soldiers-Bastogne/dp/0451225589/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1293219599&sr=1-3
Well done, dad.
I also read an article, again by Germans who fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
They said they were ultimately stopped by American Combat Engineers blowing bridges just as the got to them. No one ever hears about them but the enemy gave them credit.
Thanks for your post!
The same 28th Division had just been mauled at the Heurtgen and was sent to the Ardennes to refit and ‘rest’ then found itself again in a savage fight...this time to buy time for reinforcements (the 101st) to come up. They traded time for their lives.
Twice, the dead, and the survivors of the ‘Bloody Bucket’ deserved much better senior leadership (Corps and above) than they received.
Merry Christmas, Keystone Division bump...
regards,