Battle of the Bulge - St Vith - US 106th Infantry Division (Battleground Europe)

BATTLE OF THE BULGE

m w w d by John Kline

Mlchael Toihumt

WaWng t h Salient by I r i l Reed Wood and H m bg Pulgel Cave V p r ~Bill 60 $1 Nigd Ceve Yprm-hbshtw Weby PeterMdham wriz~ Wtpsm W W by Nigel Cave

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Battleground Europe BATTLE OF THE BULGE

SAINT VITH

Michael Tolhurst

LEO COOPER

COMBINED PUBLISHING Pennsylvania

F h t p d l i h d h 1W Reprinted 2000 by

LEO w 1 m an imprint of Pen 8r $word Books Limited 47 C h I k b S ~$amkp*thWrWre ,

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Copyright0 Mike T o h r a t

ISBN U 55052 &? 5 A QP c a t a l p mcad of this bonk is available fwmn th?BtCttsh Library

For up-t~dateI n f o M i ~ non 0 t h titles pPodud under the L& Cooper tmpvint, p l m fdqhors~or write to:

Published under license in the United States of America by

CONTENTS Foreword by John Mine ....... ,.., ...........,.. Intmduction -.,. .- . . . , . . . . . . . . . ..............

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Glossary....-,.,-+,+.,

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Chapter 1 THE GOLDEN LIONS Birth of la Division................

Chapter 2 INTO THELINB A w i d in B~giutttand t h 'Ghast'Front ,..,.. ., .. ..,..... ., -...33 Chapter 3

THE GERMAN PLAN O p m t i o ~'Watch on fh Mine'.........................................................

51

Chapter 4 THE ATTACK Satufhy 16 December 1944

61

Chapter 5 THE INEVITABLE Sumder

103

Chapter 6 THE AFTERMATH Prisoners of War............. ....-................................................. .. .A

Chapter 7 TOURING THE BATTLEFIELD TODAY ...........

123 ..... 137

FOREWORD

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Mike Tolhurst, author, and Pen & Sward Boob Ltd have done an exceIlent job in this military history guide covering the actions of the 106th Infantry Division during the 'Battle of the Bulge' in Baf tlepoud St Vith. I met Mike, through correspondence, in the early '903,He had been, and has been since, vacationing in the Ardenna area. He understands he 106th Infantry Division's positions as well as any person I have ever met. His intimate knowledge of the afea, gleaned over the years, mkes him a good authority and a great choice for authoring such a fine history guide as Baftlepsrnd St Vith. St Vith was the primary objective far the Germans as they bmke through the defences of the 106th Infantry Division, entrenched along the S h e e Wl, 16th December 1944. St Vith, a transportation hub with a failroad and five main mads, was a major objective ih the German Offensive timetable. Theh httk O d e s dictated that it should be taken on the first day of battle. Had this been achieved +heiradvance to the Meuse River would have been open. The &mans never seized St Wth until days later. Tua much time, too many resburces had been wasted because of the stubborn resistance of thej106thMantry Division. What would have happened at Bastogne had those German troops, held up at St Wth, k e n available far use in the fight for that town? The German General Staff realized that once their timetable had been thrown out at St Vith they would be unable ta get back on schedule. Mike T ~ b m i ' suse of veterans' accounb makes his Wtofy ~ t ~WSOXML y Here you will r e d how it wm from the mldim.&f $oughttPle BaBh His intimate b~w1edg:eof he Wtq is hvduable to those who wish to browse the are% to E e I md erne the happenings of thw times. Whm you t a b &t? tpiiila and ma& thmi~& the battle n m you walrB e me,w d e r how the war was ever foughk twe.It isj a b t a M d y beartW curnki-y It wsm a pity &at @

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INTRODUCTION l'he purpose of Ws book is not to caduse the reader with

m y complexitis arising hum the 'Battle of the Bulge' (December 1944 - January I%@), nor get invalved with the politics or c~ntmvmialdecisions made, but to give an idea, basically, how fhe battle came about and, because of the vwb~essof the Megrwyld area, to cancentrate on am the

p r t h of it. The httk w a ~the biggest pitched engagemenf of the Western Front, invo1ving over one million men. It was HI4m's b t desperate gamble and was prababJy m e of the mast a s & n h h g episodes of World War TI, dso the most contwversid. It shook the Western Alliance, incredible P m W M q GmMmq's wwtward m@romh from kllpnd to $wlf#rland ww the mueh rauntord SbgMed Une w West Wail. P~o~)aganda d d the ictes fhat tt woukf p m m m hpregnmfde &trier to thr Alllee. In

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p ~ h x e mci s maGhim gun posts, with overlapping i ~ d d set nr kte$W&M bmtween 200 and 400 yard8 behlnd 'dragon's b t h ' ot ?he &qjftML b , These defences began to be brenched In Sephrnkr the h r t M s t ~ t 4 o belng n In tha a m of the Ardennm.

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confusion reigned, and it finalIy broke the Germans. It was a time of triumph and a t the same time deep m~onalhumiliation, owing to the fact that the Americans e largest mass surrender or reversal of arms since xepfion of Bataan 1942) the Civil War (186146). the beginning of December 1944 it seemed to the Allies the Germans were on their last legs. They had been mnstant pressure since the D-Day landings six pmviousIy, and had been chased back into their own The end was in sight, 'Home for Christmas,"arat the Year,was an the lips of the fighting men. emher the Allies had forged ahead and had come bad against the 'Westwall' or 'Siegfried Line' as it was 4. Bitter fighting had found the Allied troops in amongst formidable obstacle. The long over-stretched supply originating from the Normandy beaches, and the mtIy captured port of Antwerp, were now beginning It was decided to stop the offensive for the winter, en the line and allow the much-needed supplies to

such part of the 'Westwall' was deep in the Belgian

Qsman prtmnara stlearn b e k through the an*N-fa~kbbsMm nt athe

5legma Lthe in Septermtier4944.

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The BriWt and Awrkm Gemmh were way &e waf dwlctp.He dmt

Gwrmsn w n c n h bunker on top of Schnee Elfel showing heavy damage. These positions were occupied by Americans prior to the German attack In December 1944.

decided that, if he could split the two factions there might be a chance he could sue for peace, on his terms. Hitler's plan was simple. In the north, under old Party bully boy and now SS General, Sepp Dietrich, and his Sixth SS Panzer Army would charge through between Monschau and the Losheim Gap (a natural break in the otherwise hilly terrain which gave easier east-west access) and head straight for Antwerp. This would then force a wedge between the British and American Armies. In the centre, General von Manteuffel's Fifth Panzer Army was to capture the two major rail and road centres at St Vith and Bastogne deep in the Ardennes and then drive on to Brussels. Finally, the Seventh Army, under General Brandenberger to the south, was to provide flanking protection for the two northern attacks. But before Manteuffel could get to St Vith and Bastogne he would have to eliminate this furthest penetration, or salient, which by this time was being held by the green and untried US 106th Division. So under complete secrecy and unknown

GLOSSARY

AIB AT BATT BAZOOKA CAV

CP CO ENG

FAB

Anti Aircraft Armored Division Approx 10,937 men Divided into 3 sections: Combat Command A (CCA) Combat Command B (CCB) Combat Command R (CCR) (Reserve) Armored Infantry Battalion (Fully mechanized infantry usually carried in half tracks) Anti-Tank Battalion (Approx 871 men) American hand held anti-tank rocket. Cavalry (A small highly mechanized group used for reconnaissance and screening. Organized into 'Troops', containing M5 light Stuart tanks, M8 Arrnoured Cars and Jeeps.

Cofnmand Post ar Hgadquarters Company @pprox 193 men) Combat E@r &#Won (Appm 647 men). Attached to a Divisim. Division (Approx 14,253men with 2,012 vehicb$ Meld Artillery Battallon [&ppn,x 5Qa men). Split Into t h e Batterfm

Infantry Medical as in Medical Battalion (Approx 465 men) American Armoured Car. 6 wheels, mounting a 37mm gun. 4 crew, max speed 56 mph.

PANZER

Garrmn fur O r o u r (Eg Tank). ~

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infantry. ~ a n#dd n fAward) for being woan$ed &laction.

PURPLE HEART

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REGT

Regiment United States (Approx 3118 men) M4 standard American tank used by every Allied nation. Crew of 5, with a speed of 24 - 29 mph. There were many different variants, but most were armed with either a 75mm or 76mm

SHERMAN

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anythQupto45asmBgtm and a small infantr). wnt-t. Tank destroyer.(Either the selfpropelled type, as in the MI0 tank destwyar, this nountad a 3i~chgun,hadamax:~.of 3(Xmphwithaaauof5.0rthe .towedtppaIwhichwasa3inch

VGD

rixb.

m.pSaI@i. Came into

Gaae m,'m:&.k,,@utility

Gennan B8mm gun,much feared by the Allieg. It was mounted on %m tanks, or as a field piece in either the ground or anti-

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C H AONE ~

THE GOLDEN LIONS (1943-1944) Birth of a Division

The b w a n d bat& k t i m

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y on Monday 15 Ma~ch,1%. A large l h w w h e 1\3k, in front of No 2 Outdoor Theatre at Fa?J i t e h , 19

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