Chapter Six
Third Army’s troops had been streaming north towards Bastogne and by 22 December III Corps was in position to break Fifth Panzer Army’s ring of steel around the town. 4th Armoured led the attack from the south and for four days the Shermans battled their way forward while 26th and 80th Infantry Divisions expanded the shoulders of the armoured thrust. Finally on 26 December the breakthrough was made and Bastogne was relieved, but the battle for the town was far from over. Fighting intensified as XII Corps joined the fray but Manteuffel refused to withdraw and threw extra troops in to break the American corridor.
Meanwhile, a new German offensive was about to break in Alsace. As early as 21 December Hitler had decided to attack Sixth Army Group’s front, weakened by Patton’s departure. Only this time General Devers was waiting. American intelligence had spotted the buildup of enemy troops. General van Obstfelder’s First Army opened Operation Nordwind during the dying hours of 1944 and on New Year’s Day General Patch’s Seventh Army was driven back towards the Saverne Gap. Over the next four days the German advance pushed forward ten miles but the high water mark fell well short of the passes across the Vosges Mountains. Nordwind had failed and from now on the Germans would be on the defensive.
Back in the Ardennes while Patton had wanted to strike at the base of the Bulge, Bradley decided to relieve the pressure on First Army and designated Houffalize as his first objective, putting pressure on the apex of the German Salient. In the final days of 1944 both Bradley and Montgomery put the final touches to their dispositions and by the beginning of January the stage was set; it was time to erase the Bulge.
Previous page : GIs of the 10th Armoured Infantry Battalion have left their halftracks behind as they advance across open fields during 4th Armoured Division’s attack towards Bastogne. 111-SC-199295
Once the Allies had assembled their reinforcements, General Bradley and Field Marshal Montgomery turned to the offensive.The ferocity of an artillery bombardment is perfectly captured as a line of 155mm Howitzers pound the German lines throughout the night. 111-SC-197828
A 105mm Howitzer shells German positions from beneath its camouflage netting. 111-SC-197357
During the day M10 Tank Destroyers would work closely alongside the infantry to provide direct fire support against armoured vehicles and strongpoints. At night they were able to offer indirect supporting fire to the hard-pressed GIs. 111-SC-199555
Street fighting was dangerous and bloody. Two men take up covering positions while their buddy runs across to join them. 111-SC-198028
GIs ignore the pile of bodies on the foreground while moving in on another enemy strongpoint. Two cautiously peer around a corner while their squad leader points out the cellar where the Germans are hiding. 111-SC-198029
Sergeant Urban Minnicozzi and Private Andy Masiero of the 290 Regiment load their rifles on the rooftop perch.The two are sniping at German positions near Beffe during 75th Division’s defence of the Our the River. 111-SC-198884
75th Infantry Division counterattacked and captured Grandmenil on 5 January in its first battle.This soldier of 289 Regiment could not help his curiosity and was photographed inspected a knocked out Panzer V ‘Panther’ tank. 111-SC-198438
Three Shermans mounting 105mm guns bombard German troops as they advance on the important road junction at Manhay. 750th Tank Battalion was supporting 7th Armoured Division fight to stop 2nd SS Panzer Division’s advance. 111-SC-198396
General Omar Bradley, Twelfth Army commander, gives an impromptu press conference. The relationship between the Army and the press corps was difficult during the German offensive as Bradley was forced to report setback after setback. Everyone was eager for good news. 111-SC-198587
Young soldiers, both American and German had to fight in appalling conditions, killing when necessary, to survive. Private Frank Vukasin loads a new clip into his rifle next to the bodies of two Germans during the fierce fighting for the Rochefort Salient, one of deepest penetrations made by the Fifth Panzer Army. 111-SC-198859
Having broken the cordon around Bastogne, the Germans retaliated and tried to cut the corridor. 35th Division fought back against XXXIX Armeekorps and these GIs are trudging up a snow-covered slope near Hollange heading for the front line. 111-SC-198423
As a blizzard sets in GIs fight the elements to erect a barbed wire fence. Snow, rain, ice and mud were common enemies during the fighting in the Ardennes. 111-SC-198182
Privates Joseph Latrell and Harry Fafer carefully watch a group of German soldiers. As the Allies went over to the offensive the number of German prisoners began to rise rapidly. 111-SC-197873
Paratroopers of the 504 Regiment trudge through the woods near Heersbach to join 82nd Airborne Division’s counter-attack. 111-SC-197342
Privates Edward Keefer and Donald Skinner man their .05 calibre anti-aircraft gun on a frosty afternoon while a supply column crosses a viaduct in the background. 111-SC-198548
An infantry commander clings to the turret of a tank destroyer as he shouts directions to the crew. 111-SC-197356
As 90th Division joined Third Army’s counter attack towards the Our River, a shell splinter killed Colonel George B. Randolph, 712th Tank Destroyer’s commander. There is no time to stop and grieve; the ‘Tough Hombres’ had to push on towards Wiltz. 111-SC-198482
A Sherman tank of the 2nd Armoured Division crawls past a disabled Panther as it moves towards Grandmenil. The difference in size between the Allied and German machines is apparent. 111-SC-198602
XXXXVII
Panzerkorps and 1 SS Panzerkorps turned their attentions on the corridor to Bastogne, counterattacking 4th Armoured Division and 35th Infantry Division. Here tanks and infantry wait in defensive positions for the German attacks to begin. 111-SC-198607
An ambulance from the 463rd Evacuation Company bypasses one of Kamfpgruppe Peiper’s King Tiger tanks on the road into La Gleize. This particular example was shipped back to the United States for examination. 111-SC-198642
A Sherman of the 3rd Armoured Division passes a German Panther tank in the woods around Bovigny. The division was the ‘Spearhead’ of First Army’s attack on Fifth Panzer Army’s salient as it pushed towards Houffalize. 111-SC-199158
Soldiers of the 23 Infantry Regiment join 2nd Infantry Division’s advance towards Krinkelt. Some men discovered that the new snowsuits could be too effective and these GIs have painted large orange circles on their backs to aid identification and prevent accidents. 111-SC-199634
After successfully stalling the German advance across the Elsenborn Ridge these soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division were moved into Murringen on New Year’s Eve ready to counter-attack. 111-SC-199633
As 2nd Infantry Division went over to the offensive the GIs were able to study the results of their handiwork close up. The remains of this armoured German column has been bulldozed aside to allow the ‘Indianhead’ Division to advance. 111-SC-199680
Tank destroyers, such as this M18, helped 12th Armoured Division thwart Hitler’s second offensive, Operation Nordwind. First Army’s offensive in northern Alsace failed to achieve the sort of breakthrough experienced in the Ardennes and exhausted Hitler’s final reserves. 111-SC-198093
Treating casualties during the Battle of the Bulge was a logistical nightmare. The rapidly moving front lines, cold weather and difficult terrain all conspired against the wounded men. Men of the 26th Division look around anxiously for signs of a sniper, as one of their buddies lies wounded on the cold ground during 104 Regiment’s attack on Wiltz. 111-SC-199092
Evacuating casualties from the wooded hills of the Ardennes could be a hear trending race against time. Corporal Clyde Behr, Private Perry Whorley and Technician Tony Ferraro struggle to rescue a wounded comrade from the wooded hills around Berle with the aid of a sledge-mounted stretcher. 111-SC-199102
Two military policemen tower above their captives. Standards for the élite German SS divisions had been lowered as the war took its toll. After three weeks of bad news, press photographers were eager for images depicting German defeats.The obvious physical superiority of these GIs when placed alongside Hitler’s crack troops was just what was needed for the ‘folks back home’. However, in this case the Germans likely come from the 12th SS Hitler Jugend Panzer Division and would be teenagers. Taylor Library
Sergeant Charles Tenbarges of the 325 Glider Regiment guards a prisoner who had wrapped himself in a blanket for camouflage as he advanced towards 82nd Airborne Division’s lines. 111-SC-198884
A combination of heroic last stands by makeshift combat teams, poor weather and bad luck stalled the German advance long enough to allow General Bradley and General Montgomery to deploy their reinforcements. With the counter-offensive underway prisoners began to flood in. 111-SC-198768
A teenage soldier of an SS unit grimaces for the camera. Hitler had scoured Germany for young and old men to fill out the ranks of the divisions gathered for the Wacht am Rhine offensive. 111-SC-197548
The final leg to the aid station could be treacherous in the bleak weather conditions. These medics are evacuating wounded along an icy road during 84th Division’s counter-attack towards Laroche. 111-SC-199079
The Germans had no time to dispose of their dead as they withdrew from the Bulge. Taylor Library