In the aftermath of the Battle of Kasserine Pass, US II Corps passed to the command of General Harold Alexanders 18th Army Group. [68] After capturing Honsfeld, Peiper detoured from his assigned route to seize a small fuel depot in Bllingen, where the Waffen-SS infantry summarily executed dozens of U.S. Around 0730 hours the lead Panthers throttled forward and attempted to force the issue. He later moved to Spain and South America.[38]. This is an apolitical forum for discussions on the Axis nations and related topics hosted by the Axis History Factbook in cooperation with Christian Ankerstjernes Panzerworld and Christoph Awender's WW2 day by day. [45], The Wehrmacht's code name for the offensive was Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein ('Operation Watch on the Rhine'), after the German patriotic hymn Die Wacht am Rhein, a name that deceptively implied the Germans would be adopting a defensive posture along the Western Front. Some of the injuries sustained before death included bayonet wounds to the head, broken legs, and their fingers cut off. The Fifth Panzer Army under General Hasso von Manteuffel was assigned to the middle sector with the objective of capturing Brussels. As he withdrew from Cheneux, American paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division engaged the Germans in fierce house-to-house fighting. The plan originally called for just under 45 divisions, including a dozen panzer and Panzergrenadier divisions forming the armored spearhead and various infantry units to form a defensive line as the battle unfolded. [133], Eisenhower based his decision on various military and political realities. . Order of Battle for the Kampfgruppe Hansen in December 1944. The II Parachute Corps was tasked with contributing 100 men from each of its regiments. Pressed for time, Peiper ordered his rear-guard units to eliminate the Americans in Stavelot and follow his advance, an order that would eventually seal his fate. Constituted in 1901, it has served in conflicts from the Philippine-American War to the Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in . The foggy autumn weather also prevented Allied reconnaissance aircraft from correctly assessing the ground situation. While the German command did not reach its goals, the Ardennes operation inflicted heavy losses and set back the Allied invasion of Germany by several weeks. 29.03.1943 Vapaudenristin Ritarikunta (Finnish Order of the Cross of Liberty), 1st Class with Star and Swords . [27], Field Marshal Montgomery's Operation Market Garden had achieved only some of its objectives, while its territorial gains left the Allied supply situation stretched further than before. Run time : 1 hour and 20 minutes. A battle-hardened unit, the Leibstandarte was filled with both young, green troops, and combat veterans in almost equal number. The Panthers stopped, buttoned up and held firm along the road with their accompanying infantry already in the outlying buildings of Stoumont. Their ideas shared the same fate as Dietrich's objections.[91]. [55][pageneeded]. [21] The "Bulge" was the largest and bloodiest single battle fought by the United States in World War II[22][23][24] and the third-deadliest campaign in American history.[25]. The offensive went forward regardless. Now clear of any anti-tank fire from within the town or from the fields beside it, the Panthers rolled. APR 03, 2017 . 5 Kampfgruppe (4) 5 Kavallerie (12) 5 Kavallerie-Division 1 (2) 5 Korps-Abteilung D (1) . . SS-Sturmbannfhrer Knittel crossed the bridge at Stavelot around 19:00 against American forces trying to retake the town. In the northern sector opposite the 99th, this included more than 4,000 deaths and the destruction of 60 tanks and big guns. [31], Adolf Hitler first outlined his planned counter-offensive to his generals on 16 September 1944. [32][33], Hitler initially promised his generals a total of 18 infantry and 12 armored or mechanized divisions "for planning purposes. It also stresses the role played by poor Allied security: "The Germans have this time prevented us from knowing enough about them; but we have not prevented them knowing far too much about us".[198]. "[115] That reply had to be explained, both to the Germans and to non-American Allies. As a result, parts of the 2nd Panzer Division were cut off. Within a week 250,000 troops had been sent. The assault, despite initial success by its tanks in penetrating the American line, was defeated and all the tanks destroyed. [102], Unlike the German forces on the northern and southern shoulders who were experiencing great difficulties, the German advance in the center gained considerable ground. Brigadefhrer Hugo Kraas (from 13 November 1944 - 8 May 1945) 25th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment Hitlerjugend, Standartenfhrer Kurt Meyer (until 14 June 1944), Obersturmbannfhrer Karl-Heinz Milius (from 14 June 1944) II. After a brief visit to Berlin, Hitler traveled on his Fhrersonderzug ('Special Train of the Fhrer') to Giessen on 11 December, taking up residence in the Adlerhorst (eyrie) command complex, co-located with OB West's base at Kransberg Castle. by Timo 22 Aug 2004, 13:49, Post The powerful Waffen SS Panzer Divisions, Leibstandarte and Hitler Jugend were expected to burst through the American lines along what would be called the Northern Shoulder and blast their way to the port of Antwerp. In France, orders had been relayed within the German army using radio messages enciphered by the Enigma machine, and these could be picked up and decrypted by Allied code-breakers headquartered at Bletchley Park, to give the intelligence known as Ultra. The objective was the "Baraque Michel" crossroads. Many thanks to my friend James for getting it. For the OP "After the Battle" publishing's "Battle of the Bulge: Then and Now" covers this group in a series of photos covering pages 203-227. Dec 18, 2018 - Explore Herzog's board "Kampfgruppe Hansen" on Pinterest. 2. [63][32], The attack on Monschau, Hfen, Krinkelt-Rocherath, and then Elsenborn Ridge was led by the units personally selected by Adolf Hitler. While the Allies recovered from their losses within days, the operation left the Luftwaffe ineffective for the remainder of the war.[118]. The 112th Infantry Regiment (the most northerly of the 28th Division's regiments), holding a continuous front east of the Our, kept German troops from seizing and using the Our River bridges around Ouren for two days, before withdrawing progressively westwards. The answer to both questions isyes 8), The LSSAH Kampfgruppen you mean? ASIN : B00I2TDL8E. Two days earlier, on December 17, an order had been issued to the veteran American 30th Infantry Division to deploy into position in the vicinity of Eupen, to block the thrust of Kampfgruppe Peiper and prepare to form and hold a defensive line from Malmedy to the small town of Stoumont. Reply. [79][80] In 2001, a group of people began working on a tribute to the eleven black American soldiers to remember their sacrifices. After the war Hasso von Manteuffel, who commanded the 5th Panzer Army in the Ardennes, was imprisoned awaiting trial for war crimes. Preceded by bombardments from artillery and aircraft, German armies poured across their western borders. Some German units employed American vehicles during the Ardennes offensive. Two major special operations were planned for the offensive. Untested troops of the 99th Infantry Division prevented the best equipped armored units of the German army from advancing and forced them to reroute their troops to unfavorable alternative routes that considerably slowed their advance. To the disbelief of the other generals present, Patton replied that he could attack with two divisions within 48 hours. The positions of the Allied armies stretched from southern France all the way north to the Netherlands. Due to the news blackout imposed on the 16th, the change of leadership to Montgomery did not become public information until SHAEF announced that the change in command had "absolutely nothing to do with failure on the part of the three American generals". The Germans shot this iconic image near the crossroads between Poteau and Recht, site of Kampfgruppe Hansen's ambush of 14th Cavalry Group early the morning of Dec. 18, 1944. . Somewhere between 65,000-125,000 Germans troops were killed, wounded, captured or missing during those furious six weeks of fighting. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during Wor The OKW decided by mid-September, at Hitler's insistence, that the offensive would be mounted in the Ardennes, as was done in 1940. As the battle ensued, on the northern shoulder of the offensive, Dietrich stopped the armored assault on the twin villages after two days and changed the axis of their advance southward through the hamlet of Domne Btgenbach. German planning for the counteroffensive rested on the premise that a successful strike against thinly manned stretches of the line would halt Allied advances on the entire Western Front. Knittel pressed forward towards La Gleize, and shortly afterward the Americans recaptured Stavelot. This included SS-Gruppenfhrer (Major General) Kurt Meyer, commander of the 12th SS Panzer (Armor) Division, captured by Belgian partisans on 6 September 1944. The Germans attacked a weakly defended section of the Allied line, taking advantage of heavily overcast weather conditions that grounded the Allies' superior air forces. Sixth Panzer Army commander Sepp Dietrich ordered Hermann Priess, commanding officer of the I SS Panzer Corps, to increase its efforts to back Peiper's battle group, but Prie was unable to break through. The Luftwaffe lost 277 planes, 62 to Allied fighters and 172 mostly because of an unexpectedly high number of Allied flak guns, set up to protect against German V-1 flying bomb/missile attacks and using proximity fused shells, but also by friendly fire from the German flak guns that were uninformed of the pending large-scale German air operation. As they did so, they were immediately engaged by four Sherman tanks from the 743rd Tank Battalion. The Allies pressed their advantage following the battle. "[100], In the center, the town of St. Vith, a vital road junction, presented the main challenge for both von Manteuffel's and Dietrich's forces. Von Rundstedt set up his operational headquarters near Limburg, close enough for the generals and Panzer Corps commanders who were to lead the attack to visit Adlerhorst on 11 December, traveling there in an SS-operated bus convoy. by Andy H 22 Aug 2004, 12:22, Post [134] The Soviet Union would have also benefited from a rapid German collapse, and its participation in the war against Japan was greatly desired. American forces bore the brunt of the attack. The High Command of the Allied forces had planned to resume the offensive by early January 1945, after the wet season rains and severe frosts, but those plans had to be postponed until 29 January 1945 in connection with the unexpected changes in the front. [83][84] Peiper detoured north towards the villages of La Gleize and Cheneux. What remained of the two companies began to pull back towards the edge of town, as the advancing German tanks fired directly into the houses and buildings along the road to clear out any defenses. Montgomery, refusing to risk underprepared infantry in a snowstorm for a strategically unimportant area, did not launch the attack until 3 January. [149], Focusing exclusively on his own generalship, Montgomery continued to say he thought the counteroffensive had gone very well but did not explain the reason for his delayed attack on 3 January. What crewmen survived poured out of the burning tank and ran for cover. While having the effect of keeping the Allied aircraft grounded, the weather also proved troublesome for the Germans because poor road conditions hampered their advance. On the same evening the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division under Maj. Gen. James Gavin arrived and deployed at La Gleize and along Peiper's planned route of advance. [172][173], In response to the early success of the offensive, on 6 January Churchill contacted Stalin to request that the Soviets put pressure on the Germans on the Eastern Front. On December 18, 1944 , very early in the morning , the " 14th Cavalry Group " U.S. fell into an ambush of "Kampfgruppe Hansen "on the road between Post and Recht . The Allies relied too much on Ultra, not human reconnaissance. It is not the lack of roads as much as the lack of almost anything else on which to move that matters. Indeed Peiper got closest to the Meuse but got encircled in La Gleize. Training time, equipment and supplies were inadequate during the preparations. The Panzer-Lehr division tried to relieve them, but was only partially successful, as the perimeter held. The Wehrmacht kept some of the old nomenclatura, e.g. The 29th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Italian) also Legione SS Italiana ( German: 29. Kampfgruppe Hansen. One of the fault lines between the British and American high commands was General Dwight D. Eisenhower's commitment to a broad front advance. On 24 December, German forces made their furthest penetration west. By the beginning of February 1945, the lines were roughly where they had been in December 1944. The Americans' initial impression was that this was the anticipated, localized counterattack resulting from the Allies' recent attack in the Wahlerscheid sector to the north, where the 2nd Division had knocked a sizable dent in the Siegfried Line. . by Tolga Alkan 22 Aug 2004, 15:55, Post [197] It sets out the various indications of an impending offensive that were received, then offers conclusions about the wisdom conferred by hindsight; the dangers of becoming wedded to a fixed view of the enemy's likely intentions; over-reliance on "Source" (i.e. Preliminary figures cited by SHAEF G-2 as cited by Pogue: 8,407 killed, 20,905 missing, 46,170 wounded. While operations continued in the autumn, notably the Lorraine Campaign, the Battle of Aachen and fighting in the Hrtgen Forest, the strategic situation in the west had changed little. As Prahms Panther rounded the corner of the main road and entered Stoumont, the last remaining American anti-tank gun opened fire. [175] It had been brought forward from 20 January to 12 January because meteorological reports warned of a thaw later in the month, and the tanks needed hard ground for the offensive (and the advance of the Red Army was assisted by two Panzer Armies (5th and 6th) being redeployed for the Ardennes attack). Panther number 225, commanded by SS Rottenfuhrer Franz Prahm, was the first tank in the column. As a result, they made little progress throughout the battle. Eleven black American soldiers were tortured after surrendering and then shot by men of the 1st SS Panzer Division belonging to Schnellgruppe Knittel. The unit was upgraded to division status on 10 February 1945. To Jochen Peiper, it must have appeared that he had won the day, that the route out of the Amblve Valley to the Meuse was now wide open and victory would be his. In the book Steel Rain it show the OOB of this Kampfgruppe as. The battle was militarily defined by the Allies as the Ardennes Counteroffensive, which included the German drive and the American effort to contain and later defeat it. The Americans of the 117th Infantry Regiment and the 743rd Tank Battalion had recaptured the town. Here is the composition on 24 September 1944. The Germans also referred to it as Ardennenoffensive ('Ardennes Offensive') and Rundstedt-Offensive, both names being generally used nowadays in modern Germany. [citation needed]. On the following day of 26 December the spearhead of Gen. Patton's 4th Armored Division, supplemented by the 26th (Yankee) Infantry Division, broke through and opened a corridor to Bastogne. Max joined the NSDAP, Nr 478376, on 01-03-1931 and the SS, Nr 27813, on 01-08-1931, he was apprenticed to a locksmith. In the west supply problems began significantly to impede Allied operations, even though the opening of the port of Antwerp in late November improved the situation somewhat. Most of the units committed to the offensive reached their jump off points undetected. A team of volunteer surgeons flew in by military glider and began operating in a tool room.[116]. The primary military objectives were to deny further use of the Belgian Port of Antwerp to the Allies and to split the Allied lines, which potentially could have allowed the Germans to encircle and destroy the four Allied forces. British XXX Corps was significantly reinforced for this effort. As soon as the firing began, the prisoners panicked. [178], During World War II, most U.S. black soldiers still served only in maintenance or service positions, or in segregated units. Although the offensive was effectively broken by 27 December, when the trapped units of 2nd Panzer Division made two break-out attempts with only partial success, the battle continued for another month before the front line was effectively restored to its position prior to the attack. The struggle for the villages and American strong points, plus transport confusion on the German side, slowed the attack sufficiently to allow the 101st Airborne Division (reinforced by elements from the 9th and 10th Armored Divisions) to reach Bastogne by truck on the morning of 19 December. In October, the First Canadian Army fought the Battle of the Scheldt, opening the port of Antwerp to shipping. With his fuel situation at a critical level, he ordered his Panthers to retreat back to Stoumont. Montgomery's contribution to restoring the situation was that he turned a series of isolated actions into a coherent battle fought according to a clear and definite plan. [186], At Bletchley Park, F. L. Lucas and Peter Calvocoressi of Hut 3 were tasked by General Nye (as part of the enquiry set up by the Chiefs of Staff) with writing a report on the lessons to be learned from the handling of pre-battle Ultra. Last Updated: 28 July 2013. [39] The plan banked on unfavorable weather, including heavy fog and low-lying clouds, which would minimize the Allied air advantage. by Lasse 22 Aug 2004, 13:11, Post [96], Following the Malmedy massacre, on New Year's Day 1945, after having previously received orders to take no prisoners,[97] American soldiers murdered approximately sixty German prisoners of war near the Belgian village of Chenogne (8km from Bastogne). Founded in 1999. [95] They had little time to establish any unit cohesion or train together. Post Hosted by Christoph Awender. Armies listed 75,482 casualties (8,407 killed, 46,170 wounded and 20,905 missing); British XXX Corps losses to 17 January 1945 were recorded as 1,408 (200 killed, 969 wounded, and 239 missing. Indeed Peiper got closest to the Meuse but got encircled in La Gleize. [144] Montgomery started with giving credit to the "courage and good fighting quality" of the American troops, characterizing a typical American as a "very brave fighting man who has that tenacity in battle which makes a great soldier", and went on to talk about the necessity of Allied teamwork, and praised Eisenhower, stating, "Teamwork wins battles and battle victories win wars. After the 20 July 1944 attempt to assassinate Hitler, and the close advance of the Red Army which would seize the site on 27 January 1945, Hitler and his staff had been forced to abandon the Wolfsschanze headquarters in East Prussia, in which they had coordinated much of the fighting on the Eastern Front. [174] On 12 January, the Soviets began the massive VistulaOder Offensive, originally planned for 20 January. The National WWII Museum Digital Collections. By this time, it was palpable to virtually the entire German leadership including Hitler himself that they had no realistic hope of repelling the imminent Soviet invasion of Germany unless the Wehrmacht was able to concentrate the entirety of its remaining forces on the Eastern Front, which in turn required that hostilities on the Western and Italian Fronts be terminated. I found the northern flank of the bulge was very disorganized. It was the German paratroopers' only night time drop during World War II. German paratrooperstake cover from American fire as they attempt to aid a wounded man. [85], At dawn on 19 December, Peiper surprised the American defenders of Stoumont by sending infantry from the 2nd SS Panzergrenadier Regiment in an attack and a company of Fallschirmjger to infiltrate their lines. By this time the German Army suffered from an acute manpower shortage, and the force had been reduced to around 30 divisions. As squadron commander, it was his job to inspect the battlefield and the aftermath of the attack afterwards, which he did at low altitude. Peiper turned north and halted his forces in the woods between La Gleize and Stoumont. Sunday, April 02, 2017 - 12:29 PM UTC. Germans forces at Arnhem are the II S.S. Panzer Korps and Kampfgruppe . There are a lot of photos of this group, the convoy of American vehicles around them, and a little bit of data on where they are from. One officer, Lt. Col. Harry Kinnard, noted that McAuliffe's initial reply would be "tough to beat." The Germans' initial attack involved around 410,000 men; just over 1,400 tanks, tank destroyers, and assault guns; 2,600 artillery pieces; and over 1,000 combat aircraft, as well as large numbers of other armored fighting vehicles (AFVs). 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