16th December 1944 Battle of the Bulge begins

Discussion in 'NW Europe' started by CL1, Dec 15, 2017.

  1. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

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  2. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Battle of the Bulge | U.S. Army Center of Military History.
    The Americans suffered some 75,000 casualties in the Battle of the Bulge, but the Germans lost 80,000 to l00,000. German strength had been irredeemably impaired. By the end of January 1945, American units had retaken all ground they had lost, and the defeat of Germany was clearly only a matter of time.
     
  3. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

  4. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

  5. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

  6. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

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  7. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

  8. Rookie

    Rookie Member

    Thanks to all who contributed to this excellent thread. Your knowledge and willingness to share is heartwarming and awesome. I've learned a lot.
     
  9. stolpi

    stolpi Well-Known Member

    Bump

    16 Dec 1944 was a Saturday
     
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  10. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    December 16, 1944
    The Ardennes


    The December 16th situation map shows the front line in this sector thinly held by the U.S. Army VIII Corps comprised of the 106th Infantry Division, 28th Infantry Division, the reduced 9th Armored Division, and the 4th Infantry Division arrayed from north to south. The VIII Corps headquarters was located in Bastogne. The VIII Corps was holding the southern edge of the U.S. First Army front lines adjacent to the U.S. Third Army. By 12:00pm on the first day of the attack, December 16, there were twice as many German divisions

    Interactive Timeline  |  The Battle of the Bulge  |  Articles and Essays  |  World War II Military Situation Maps  |  Digital Collections  |  Library of Congress
     
  11. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

  12. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Chapter 25-THE ARDENNES: BATTLE OF THE BULGE


    There is an axiom that weather on the battlefield is divided equally between the combatants-but its impact on military operations is not equal in amount or direction. The German selection of a target date for the commencement of the Ardennes offensive turned on the prediction of poor flying weather. This type of weather had a useful side effect during the rupture of the American lines since it veiled the attacker with fog and mist, a very important feature of the initial German successes just as it had been in the great offensives of 1918. The high pressure system which came in from the Atlantic on 18 December, however, worked momentarily against the attacker. A thaw set in which slowed his tanks and the erstwhile heavy ground fog began to show sudden openings, such as those which exposed the German tanks and infantry during the fight at Noville. On the 20th and 21st the higher ground began to freeze in patches, leaving stretches of the Ardennes roads slippery and muddy. By the 22d competing weather systems from Russia and the Atlantic had brought on a hodgepodge of snow, blizzards, fog, and rain. In the north the Sixth Panzer Army was bogged by rain and mud, in the south the Fifth Panzer Army was hampered in its swing around Bastogne by fog and snow, and along the German supply roads back over the Eifel snow fell continuously.

    The dramatic change of the 23d, brought by cold, dry winds from the east, stripped the German armies of their immunity to air attack. But this was not the whole story. Snow began to drift in the Eifel hills, bringing traffic on the main supply roads west of the Rhine almost to a standstill. Horse-drawn snowplows were few and ineffective, hastily erected snow fences were torn down by troops scrounging for firewood, there was no gravel available, and a large number of the engineer construction battalions had been taken west for employment as infantry. By the time power snowplows reached the Eifel the American fighter-bombers were strafing and bombing every large vehicle that moved. Engineers were brought into the Eifel, but their very efforts delayed the German truck columns so urgently needed farther west.1

    For five days the weather favored the Americans, in the air and on the ground. Superior numerically in tanks, the Americans benefited more than the Germans from the sure footing the big freeze provided for armor. Then, on 28

    [649]

    December, came clouds and overcast followed, a day later, by arctic air from Scandinavia, heavy snows, blizzards, and greatly reduced visibility at ground level. Vehicular movement was slow, the riflemen exhausted themselves wading through the drifts, and the wounded-those in a state of shock-died if left in the snow for more than half an hour or more. This was the state of the weather when, on 3 January, the Allies began their final counterattack.
     
  13. stolpi

    stolpi Well-Known Member

    True: How favorable weather and the incomplete build up for the offensive, until the last moment, competed on the German side and eventually led to the selected opening date of Dec 16th - initially set for the 10th (taken from my old essay: "Wacht am Rhein", Sixth Panzer Army's preparations for the Ardennes Offensive, Sept - 16 Dec 44" - based on study of German documents at the BAMA and Militargeschichtliches Forschungamt).


    Wetter.jpg
    Transcripted German weather forecast of 1st Dec 1944. It concluded that in general a period of bad flying weather prevailed between 10 and 20 December. This report was decisive for setting the opening date on 10 Dec 1944. After that followed one delay after another because of the unfinished preparations (document from BAMA).
     

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    Last edited: Dec 18, 2023
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  14. Sheldrake

    Sheldrake All over the place....

    Does anyone know any source for German vehicle serviceability in the approach to the Ardennes. I recall seeing a figure of 20% AFVs dropping out on road moves, but I can't remember .where.
     
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  15. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

  16. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

  17. stolpi

    stolpi Well-Known Member

    By Dec 21st, 1944, 30 Corps had completed its redeployment to meet the German threat in the Ardennes.

    The 30 Corps HQ was established at Hasselt in Belgium and took under command the Guards Armoured Division, the 43rd Wessex and the 53rd Welsh Division. The 29th Armoured Brigade, alerted from training grounds near Ypres, guarded the Meuse bridges between Namur and Givet.

    Montgomery also alerted the 6th Airborne Division to move at once to the Continent. The arrival of this formation, which was resting and refitting at its base camps in Britain, would necessarily take some time, since it was to travel by ship and road transport to the Ardennes; first elements of the Airborne Division arrived on 26 December 1944 near the Meuse.

    The 51st Highland Division was also involved in the British southward concentration, but initially was placed under command of the Ninth US Army, to act as a reserve in the Maastricht area. On Christmas Day, in response to a renewed enemy drive by 2nd SS Panzer Corps along the main Bastogne - Liège road, the Highland Division was put under command of the First US Army and hurriedly moved to the southern outskirsts of Liège, to protect the city which was a vital communication and logistical hub for the Americans.

    See on British involvement in the Ardennes: 16th December 1944 Battle of the Bulge begins
     
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  18. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    On 16 December 1944 Hitler launched an offensive through the Ardennes aimed at driving a wedge between the allies, securing Antwerp and the important fuel supplies, cutting off the forces in the north and reversing the tide of the war in Germany's favour. The attack came as a complete surprise to the Allies. For this offensive, which became know as the Battle of the Bulge, Hitler assigned three armies. These were, in the north the Sixth SS Panzer Army which would attempt to break through to Liege, in the centre the Fifth Panzer Army which was to attack towards the St Vith and Bastogne, and in the south the Seventh Army directed on Luxembourg.

    Determined American resistance deprived the Germans of early success and only the Seventh Army managed a breakthrough with the 1st SS Panzer Division which raced towards Malmedy, Stavelot and Liege. The offensive slowed but by 19th December the Germans were closing in on St Vith and Bastogne. Although the defenders of St Vith were forced to retreat they had inflicted a serious delay on the Germans. Meanwhile the refusal of Bastogne to surrender ( "Nuts", the US commander's reply to the request going down in history) prevented a breakout in the south.

    Meanwhile on 19th December, Eisenhower cancelled the Allied offensive operations elsewhere and ordered Patton to attack the southern flank of the German salient and gave Montgomery command of additional US troops to assist his own in driving down on the northern flank of the German salient.

    The US counter attack began on the 22nd December. The Allied operations had been hindered in the first week of the offensive by thick fog making air operations impossible. When this lifted on 23rd December the air superiority of the allies was a crucial in both resupplying Bastogne and in attacking the Germans.



    Read more:
    Ardennes - Battle of the Bulge, January 1945 | 51st Highland Division


    Ardennes - Battle of the Bulge, January 1945 | 51st Highland Division


    upload_2023-12-22_10-19-21.png
     
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  19. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Interactive Timeline  |  The Battle of the Bulge  |  Articles and Essays  |  World War II Military Situation Maps  |  Digital Collections  |  Library of Congress

    December 23, 1944
    Bastogne's Envelopment Begins


    Bastogne's envelopment begins as the German main advance widens and moves north and south of the town. However, the 4th Armored Division, 10th Armored Division, 26th Infantry Division, and the 80th Infantry Division from General Patton's Third Army have moved against the southern flank of the German main advance.
     
  20. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

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