Contents
About the Book
About the Author
Also by Peter Caddick-Adams
Title Page
Dedication
Glossary
Orders of Battle
Rank Table
Foreword
Introduction
Part One
1. In the Eagle’s Nest
2. The Machinery of Command
3. I Have Made a Momentous Decision!
4. Adolf Hitler
5. Unconditional Surrender
6. A Bridge Too Far
7. A Port Too Far
8. Heroes of the Woods
9. Who Knew What?
10. The Cloak of Invisibility
11. This is a Quiet Area
12. Brandenberger’s Grenadiers
13. The Baron
14. We Accept Death, We Hand Out Death
Interlude
Part Two
15. Null-Tag
16. The Bloody Bucket
17. The Baron’s Blitzkrieg
18. Golden Lions
19. They Sure Worked Those Two Horses to Death
20. ‘A 10 Per Cent Chance of Success’
21. Stray Bullets Whined Through the Trees Around Us
22. The Conference
23. The Tortoise Has Thrust His Head Out Very Far
Part Three
24. A Pint of Sweat and a Gallon of Blood
25. A Man Can Make a Difference
26. No More Zig-Zig in Paris
27. The Hole in the Doughnut
28. Nuts!
29. Head For the Meuse!
30. The River of Humiliation
31. Roadblocks
32. Malmedy
33. The Northern Shoulder
34. Those Damned Engineers!
35. End of the Bulge
36. The Performance of a Lifetime
Part Four
37. Beyond the Bulge
38. On to Berlin!
39. Punctuation Marks of History
40. Reputations
Acknowledgements
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Copyright
SNOW AND STEEL examines Hitler’s last great throw of the dice, ‘The Battle of the Bulge’, launched on 16 December 1944 and fought in the wintry forests of the Ardennes.
The Allies assumed the Germans were beaten, but due to a massive intelligence failure, thousands of Wehrmacht troops and tanks appeared, as if from nowhere.
Code-named Herbstnebel (Autumn Mist), for a fleeting moment it seemed as though the Nazi war machine had broken through the allied lines of Belgium and Luxembourg and might throw them back to the Normandy beaches.
In the first major reassessment of the Ardennes campaign for over twenty years, Caddick-Adams, who has witnessed the modern military campaigns of the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan, uses many new sources to examine the US and German armies of 1944 and the decisions taken by their commanders.
The author builds on his interviews with hundreds of veterans and local civilians as well as numerous visits to the Bulge battlefields since the 1970s to produce a balanced analysis of the month-long offensive.
He ranges from front-line soldiers to Hitler and Eisenhower to argue that the campaign, which saw the encirclement of Bastogne, was the US Army’s finest hour. This was the battlefield of the Band of Brothers.
Snow and Steel also traces the unique legacy of the Battle of the Bulge into the Cold War era, NATO war plans and the Arab–Israeli wars, and assesses its significance in our understanding of the Second World War today.
This is one of the touchstone battles of the Second World War, written by an author with a fast-growing, worldwide reputation.
PETER CADDICK-ADAMS is a military historian and lecturer at the UK Defence Academy. The author of several books and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, he holds a PhD and is a reserve officer with experience of war zones including the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan. A sought-after analyst of current defence and security issues, he is also a distinguished battlefield guide, having led over 200 official visits to more than fifty battlefields around the world.
Monty and Rommel: Parallel Lives
Monte Cassino: Ten Armies in Hell
To Roger Marsh Blomfield
1925–2012
Housemaster and History Teacher
Shrewsbury School
| Ia | German chief of staff (at division), or chief of operations (corps and above), sometimes |
| Ib | German chief quartermaster/supply staff officer |
| Ic | German chief intelligence staff officer |
| IIa | German Adjutant for officers |
| IIb | German Adjutant for non-commissioned personnel |
| I SS Panzer Corps | Gruppenführer Hermann Priess’s 1st SS Panzerkorps |
| II SS Panzer Corps | Obergruppenführer Willi Bittrich’s 2nd SS Panzerkorps |
| III Corps (US) | Major-General John B. Millikin’s 3rd Corps (Third Army) |
| 4 × 4 | US four-wheel-drive vehicle, usually a ¼-ton jeep or ¾-ton Dodge |
| V Corps (US) | Major-General Leonard T. Gerow’s 5th Army Corps (First Army), headquarters at Eupen |
| 6 × 6 | US six-wheeled cargo truck, usually a 2½-ton ‘Jimmy’ |
| VI Corps (US) | Major-General Edward H. Brooks’ 6th Corps (Seventh Army) |
| VII Corps (US) | Major-General J. Lawton Collins’ 7th Corps (First Army) |
| VIII Corps (US) | Major-General Troy H. Middleton’s 8th Corps, (First, then Third Army), HQ originally Bastogne, then Neufchâteau |
| 88 | The 88mm anti-tank/anti-aircraft gun, also widely used by GIs to mean German artillery, assuming that every enemy gun was an ‘88’ |
| XII Corps (US) | Major-General Manton S. Eddy’s 12th Corps (Third Army) |
| XV Corps (US) | Major-General Wade H. Haislip’s 15th Corps (Seventh Army) |
| XVIII Airborne Corps (US) | Major-General Matthew B. Ridgway’s 18th Airborne Corps |
| XXX Corps (British) | Lieutenant-General Sir Brian Horrocks’ British 30th Corps |
| XXXIX Panzer Corps | Generalleutnant Karl Decker’s 39. Armeekorps |
| XLVII Panzer Corps | General Heinrich von Lüttwitz’s 47. Panzerkorps |
| LVIII Panzer Corps | General Walther Krüger’s 58. Panzerkorps |
| LXVI Corps | General Walther Lucht’s 66. Armeekorps |
| LXVII Corps | General Otto Hitzfeld’s 67. Armeekorps |
| LXXIV Corps | General Karl Püchler’s 74. Armeekorps |
| LXXX Corps | General Franz Beyer’s 80. Armeekorps |
| LXXXV Corps | General Baptist Kneiss’ 85. Armeekorps |
| 150 Panzer Brigade | Special Forces troops commanded by Otto Skorzeny |
| AAA | Anti-Aircraft Artillery |
| AAR | After Action Report |
| Abteilung | German battalion or detachment |
| Adlerhorst | Eagle’s Nest, codename for Hitler’s HQ at Ziegenberg |
| AEF | American Expeditionary Force, First World War US Army in France |
| AIB | US Armored Infantry Battalion |
| ‘All American’ | James M. Gavin’s US 82nd Airborne Division |
| Amel | German name for Amblève |
| AMGOT | Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories |
| Ami | German slang (abbreviation) for American |
| Army Group ‘B’ | Field Marshal Walther Model’s Heeresgruppe B, with operational command of Herbstnebel |
| Army Group ‘G’ | Heeresgruppe G, south of Model’s ‘B’, led by Hermann Balck (until 24 December 1944), subsequently Johannes Blaskowitz |
| Army Group ‘H’ | Heeresgruppe H, north of Model’s ‘B’, led by Kurt Student |
| Aufklärungs | German military term meaning reconnaissance |
| ASTP | Army Specialised Training Program, GI scholarship programme at universities, terminated 1944 |
| A/T | Anti-Tank |
| B-17 | US four-engined Boeing ‘Flying Fortress’ bomber |
| B-24 | US four-engined Consolidated ‘Liberator’ bomber |
| B-25 | US twin-engined North American ‘Mitchell’ bomber |
| B-26 | US twin-engined Martin ‘Marauder’ bomber |
| BAOR | British Army of the Rhine, post-Second World War occupation army |
| BAR | US Browning Automatic Rifle, 0.30-inch magazine-fed light machine-gun |
| Baraque/Baracke | Belgian/German term for a crossroads with a military checkpoint (from the word for barrack, or military hut) |
| Battalion, or Bn. | Single-arm unit, usually 500 to 1,000 men in strength and commanded by a lieutenant colonel or a major |
| battery | Artillery unit of company size, of between four and eight guns |
| BDM, Bund Deutscher Mädel | Nazi youth movement, girls’ equivalent of Hitlerjugend |
| ‘Beetle’ | Nickname for Walter Bedell Smith (1895–1961), SHAEF Chief of Staff |
| Befehlspanzer | Command tank, fitted with extra radios |
| ‘Big Red One’ | Clarence R. Huebner’s US 1st Infantry Division |
| Black Watch | A kilted Highland regiment from Scotland in XXX Corps |
| Bletchley Park | Allied code-breaking centre in Buckinghamshire, England |
| ‘Bloody Bucket’/ ‘Keystone’ | Norman D. ‘Dutch’ Cota’s US 28th Infantry Division |
| Bodenplatte | ‘Baseplate’, German codename for 1 January 1945 air attack |
| Bofors | Allied 40mm anti-aircraft gun |
| Bosche | Old French name for German invaders |
| ‘Brad’ | Nickname for General Omar Nelson Bradley (1893–1981) |
| Brigadeführer (SS Rank) | Brigadier-General (US one-star) |
| Bronze Star | US award for valour below Silver Star, established 1944 |
| Browning machine gun | As well as the BAR (q.v.), the US Army operated .30-inch and .50-inch belt-fed machine guns, both manufactured by the Browning Arms Company. The former were used on tripods by infantry units, the latter generally mounted on vehicles |
| Bundeswehr | Modern German Army, founded in 1955 |
| Burp Gun | US slang for German MP-40 Schmeisser machine pistol |
| C-47 | US twin-engined Douglas ‘Skytrain’ or ‘Dakota’ (RAF designation) transport aircraft, twenty-eight paratroopers / 6,000 lbs payload, became the post-war DC-3 civil airliner |
| CCA, B, or R | Combat Command ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘R’ (for Reserve), temporary combined arms combat groupings of a US armored division |
| CCS | Combined Chiefs of Staff, Anglo-US supreme military body for strategic direction of the Second World War, established 1942. |
| ‘Carpetbagger’ | Airborne supply drops to resistance movements, hence specialist ‘Carpetbagger’ squadrons |
| Caserne | French/Belgian term for barracks |
| Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron | US Cavalry battalion |
| ‘Checkerboard’ | Walter E. Lauer’s US 99th Infantry Division |
| CG | Commanding General (corresponding to UK term GOC) |
| Chemical Mortar Battalion | Operated 4.2-inch (107mm) mortars, which fired high explosive, white phosphorus (incendiary) and smoke marker shells up to 4,400 yards (US Army) |
| Christrose | Initial German codename for Herbstnebel |
| CIC | US Counter-Intelligence Corps, founded 1 January 1942 |
| CIGS | British Chief of the Imperial General Staff (Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke), senior military adviser to Churchill |
| Clerf | German name for Clervaux |
| CO | Commanding Officer |
| Combined Arms | Usually a combination of infantry, artillery, armour (and sometimes air) assets. |
| Company, or Co. | Single arm unit composed of two or three platoons, c. 200 men, commanded by a captain or major. US companies lettered ‘A’ to ‘D’ formed an infantry regiment’s 1st Battalion, ‘E’ to ‘H’ the 2nd, and ‘I’, ‘K’, ‘L’ and ‘M’ (there was no ‘J’), the 3rd battalion. German companies numbered 1–4 formed their I Battalion, 2–8 the II Battalion and 9–12 the III. |
| COM-Z | Communications Zone, US area behind front line to logistics ports, commanded by Lieutenant-General J. C. H. Lee |
| CP | Command Post |
| C-rations | Assortment of drab-green food tins and packets, plus accessories of gum, cigarettes, matches, toilet paper and tin opener |
| Das Reich | German 2nd SS Panzer Division |
| Der Führer | Regiment of Das Reich Division |
| Distinguished Service Cross | America’s second highest decoration for valour, established 1918 |
| Division | The smallest standard combined-arms formation, 10,000–15,000 men in strength and usually commanded by a major-general |
| DR, Deutsche Reichsbahn | German Railways |
| Enigma | German enciphering machine whose secrets were unlocked at Bletchley Park (q.v.) |
| Ersatzheer | German Replacement Army (Stauffenberg was originally its chief of staff, until 20 July 1944). Afterwards commanded by Heinrich Himmler |
| ETHINT | Post-Second World War US Army European Theater Historical Interrogations Program |
| ETO | European Theater of Operations |
| FA | US Army Field Artillery (FAB = FA Battalion), with twelve 105 or 155mm guns |
| Fallschirm Division | German parachute division |
| Fallschirmjäger | German paratrooper |
| Fallschirmpionier | German parachute engineer |
| Fahnenjunker | Officer cadet, all German officers had to serve in the ranks before commissioning |
| Feldwebel | German Army/Luftwaffe rank of Sergeant (senior to Unteroffizier) |
| Fifteenth Army (US) | US Army formation led in 1945 by Gerow, then Patton |
| Fifth Panzer Army | German formation commanded by General Hasso von Manteuffel |
| Firefly | Sherman tank mounting British 17-pounder gun |
| First Army (US) | Formation led by Lieutenant-General Courtney H. Hodges, based in Spa until 18 December, Chaudfontaine until 22 December, then Troyes, headquarters codename ‘Master’ |
| Flak | Fliegerabwehrkanone, German anti-aircraft gun, or unit |
| Focke-Wulf | Focke-Wulf 190 single-seat German fighter |
| Fort Benning, Georgia | US Army infantry school since 1918 |
| Fort Knox, Kentucky | US Army armour school 1918–2012 |
| Fort Leavenworth, Kansas | US Army Command and General Staff College since 1881 |
| Freiherr | German term of nobility, equivalent to Baron |
| Fronthasen | ‘Front hare’, German slang for veteran soldier |
| Führerbunker | Hitler’s command bunker, latterly in Berlin where he died |
| Führerbefehl | Order emanating directly from Hitler |
| Führer-Begleit-Brigade | Hitler’s (literally leader’s) Escort, German mini-division, commanded by Oberst Otto Remer |
| Führerhauptquartier | Hitler’s personal headquarters |
| FUSAG | First US Army Group, fictional command, led by Patton |
| G-1 | Personnel officer or department (division level and above) |
| G-2 | Intelligence officer or department (division level and above) |
| G-3 | Operations officer or department (division level and above) |
| G-4 | Supply officer or department (division level and above) |
| G-5 | Civil affairs officer or department (division level and above) |
| Garand | US M-1 rifle, used .30-06-inch cartridges in an eight-round clip |
| Gauleiter | Senior Nazi official, presiding over each of the 43 Gaue (districts) of Nazi Germany, answerable only to Hitler |
| Gefreiter | German rank of Lance Corporal |
| Generalfeldmarschall | German Field Marshal (five-star rank) |
| Generaloberst | German General (four-star rank) |
| General der Infanterie, der Panzer, etc. | German Lieutenant-General (three-star rank) |
| Generalleutnant | German Major-General (two-star rank) |
| Generalmajor | German Brigadier-General (one-star rank) |
| Gestapo | Abbreviation of Geheime Staatspolizei, Secret State Police |
| GI | American soldier |
| GOC | General Officer Commanding (corresponding to US term CG) |
| ‘Golden Lions’ | Alan W. Jones’s US 106th Infantry Division |
| Graf | German term of nobility, equivalent to Count |
| Granatwerfer | German mortar (literally ‘grenade-thrower’) |
| Grease Gun | US copy of Schmeisser machine pistol, .45-inch calibre |
| Greif | Griffin, German codename for Skorzeny commando operation |
| Grenade | Allied operation launched with Operation Veritable |
| Grenadier | German infantryman |
| GrossDeutschland | Greater Germany/name of elite German division |
| Gruppe | Group (usually German air force) |
| Gruppenführer | SS rank equivalent to Major-General |
| Halifax | RAF four-engined bomber, manufactured by Handley-Page |
| Hauptquartier | Headquarters |
| Hauptmann | German army/Luftwaffe Captain |
| Hauptscharführer | SS rank equivalent to Battalion Sergeant Major |
| Hauptsturmführer | SS Captain |
| Heinie | Allied slang for a German (also Jerry, Bosche, Kraut, Hun) |
| Herbstnebel | ‘Autumn Mist’ (or Fog), final German codename for Ardennes offensive |
| Hetzer | Small, turretless, 15-ton German tank destroyer, 75mm gun |
| HIAG | Hilfsgemeinschaft auf Gegenseitigkeit der Angehörigen der ehemaligen Waffen-SS (Mutual Help Association of Former Waffen-SS Members), founded in 1951 by former Waffen-SS officers |
| HJ, Hitlerjugend | Hitler Youth, modelled on Boy Scouts, also the 12th SS Panzer Division |
| I & R | (US Army) Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon |
| IDF | Israeli Defense Forces |
| Ike | Universal nickname for Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) |
| ‘Indianhead’ | Walter M. Robertson’s US 2nd Infantry Division |
| Infatuate | Allied operation to capture Walcheren, November 1944 |
| IPW | Interrogation of Prisoner of War team, attached to each US division |
| ‘Ivy’ | Raymond O. ‘Tubby’ Barton’s US 4th Infantry Division |
| Jabo | German abbreviation for Jagdbomber (Allied fighter-bomber) |
| Jagdpanther | German turretless tank destroyer, 88mm gun on Panther (q.v.) suspension |
| Jagdpanzer IV | German twenty-five-ton tank destroyer with 75mm gun, built onto a Panzer Mark IV suspension |
| Jagdtiger | Turretless seventy-ton tank destroyer on Tiger II (q.v.) suspension with 128mm gun |
| Jägeraufmarsch | German fighter plane concentration |
| JCS | US Joint Chiefs of Staff, military chiefs’ committee to coordinate army and naval activities, established 1942 |
| Jeep | US GP (General Purpose, hence Jeep) 4 × 4 vehicle (also known as a Peep in US armour and cavalry units) |
| Jerry | Allied slang for a German (also Heinie, Bosche, Kraut, Hun) |
| Jerrycan | Military twenty-litre/five-gallon fuel can, modelled on the German invention |
| Jimmy | US 6 × 6 cargo truck, mostly manufactured by GMC (hence ‘Jimmy’) and mainstay of the ‘Redball Express’ |
| Junkers-52 | German tri-motor transport aircraft, seventeen paratroopers/4,000 lbs payload |
| Kampfgruppe | (Plural Kampfgruppen) German combat group of variable size often a combined arms task force, typically named after its leader |
| Kampfwert | German military term meaning combat readiness state |
| Kanonier | German artillery private |
| King Tiger | Also Royal Tiger, sixty-nine-ton German Tiger II tank, 88mm main gun |
| K-rations | US individual packaged meal units for breakfast, lunch and supper |
| Kraut | Allied slang for German soldier |
| Kriegsakademie | German military staff college in Berlin, two-year course |
| Kriegsberichter | German war correspondent |
| Kriegsschule | German army schools for officer and NCO instruction in infantry, artillery, armour, etc. tactics |
| Kriegsmarine | German war navy |
| Kriegstagebuch | German war diary |
| Kübelwagen | German four-wheeled military Jeep made by Volkswagen |
| Lancaster | RAF four-engined bomber, manufactured by Avro |
| Landser | German slang for German soldier |
| Lehr | Panzer Lehr, armoured division formed from instructors at panzer schools, led by Generalleutnant Fritz Bayerlein |
| Leibstandarte | Hitler’s Life Guard, later the 1st SS Panzer Division |
| Leutnant | German army/Luftwaffe Second Lieutenant |
| LST | Allied Landing Ship Tank naval vessel |
| Luftwaffe | German air force, established 26 February 1935 |
| Lüttich | German name for Liège |
| M-1 | Standard US semi-automatic .30-inch calibre Garand rifle Also M-1 carbine, lightweight weapon, chambering special 0.30-inch (short) cartridge from a fifteen-round magazine |
| M-3 | US 0.45-inch light machine-gun, dubbed the ‘Grease Gun’ from its appearance and copied from the MP-40 Schmeisser |
| M-4 | US Sherman medium tank, many variants |
| M-5 | US Stuart high-speed light tank, turreted 37mm main gun |
| M-7 | US Priest, 105mm self-propelled gun |
| M-8 | US Greyhound six-wheeled armoured car, turreted 37mm main gun |
| M-10 | US tank destroyer, three-inch (76.2 mm) gun |
| M-18 | US Hellcat tank destroyer, 76mm gun, used a unique Buick-designed suspension |
| M-36 | US Jackson tank destroyer, 90mm main gun |
| Magic | Japanese code deciphered at Bletchley Park (q.v.) |
| Market Garden | Allied airborne operation, 17–25 September 1944 |
| Mauser | German 7.92mm bolt-action five-round rifle, first issued in 1898 |
| Medal of Honor | America’s highest award for valour |
| Messerschmitt | The Messerschmitt 109 and 262 were single-seat German fighter aircraft, the latter a jet |
| MG-34 or 42 | German belt-fed 7.92mm machine-gun, often known as the Spandau or ‘Hitler’s band-saw’ |
| MIA | Missing in Action |
| Michelin | French tyre and map-making company |
| MLR | Main Line of Resistance (US Army term) |
| Monty | Nickname for Sir Bernard Montgomery (1887–1976) |
| Mosquito | RAF high-speed, twin-engined aircraft made by De Havilland |
| MP-40 | German Schmeisser 9mm machine pistol, the ‘Burp Gun’ |
| MP-44 | Sturmgewehr, German assault rifle, with signature curved magazine, containing thirty 7.92mm (short) rounds |
| MSR | Main Supply Route (US military logistical term) |
| NATO | North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, founded 1949 |
| NCO | Non Commissioned Officer |
| Nebelwerfer | German six-barrelled mortar on two-wheeled trailer |
| Ninth Army (US) | American formation led by Lieutenant-General William H. Simpson, located at Maastricht, headquarters codename ‘Conquer’ |
| Ninth Army (German) | German formation led by Walther Model in Russia |
| Nordwind | ‘North Wind’, German 1 January 1945 operation south of Ardennes |
| Null-Tag | Sometimes O-Tag (Zero Day), German equivalent of D-Day |
| OB West | Oberbefehlshaber West; Supreme Command of German forces in the West – von Rundstedt or his headquarters |
| Oberfeldwebel | German Army/Luftwaffe rank of Master Sergeant/WO2 |
| Oberführer | SS rank of Senior Colonel, no exact Allied equivalent |
| Obergefreiter | German Army/Luftwaffe Corporal |
| Obergruppenführer | SS rank equivalent to Lieutenant-General |
| Oberleutnant | German Army/Luftwaffe First Lieutenant |
| Oberscharführer | SS rank equivalent to Company Sergeant Major |
| Oberst | German Army/Luftwaffe Colonel |
| Oberstgruppenführer | SS rank equivalent to Colonel General (‘Sepp’ Dietrich) |
| Oberstleutnant | German Army/Luftwaffe Lieutenant-Colonel |
| Obersturmbannführer | SS rank equivalent to Lieutenant-Colonel |
| OCMH | Office of the Chief of Military History (US Army) |
| ODESSA | Organisation der Ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen, post-Second World War Nazi bureau that ran secret escape routes out of Europe |
| Oflag | German Offizierlager, officers’ POW camp |
| OKH | Oberkommando des Heeres (High Command of the German Army, Chief of OKW Staff, was Guderian in December 1944) |
| OKL | Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (Air Force High Command, established 5 February 1944) |
| OKW | Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (German Armed Forces High Command, Keitel was Chief in December 1944) |
| OP | Observation Post |
| OSS | Office of Strategic Services, modelled on British SOE, established 13 June 1942, later became the CIA |
| Ostfront | Eastern Front |
| OT, Organisation Todt | Nazi Civil Engineering Service, headed by Albert Speer |
| Overlord | Allied operation to invade Normandy, beginning 6 June 1944 |
| P-38 | US twin-engined Lockheed ‘Lightning’ multi-role fighter |
| P-47 | US single-engined Republic ‘Thunderbolt’ fighter, usually used in ground attack role |
| P-51 | US singled-engined North American ‘Mustang’ fighter, used to escort bombers and intercept opposing aircraft |
| Panther | German Mark V battle tank, forty-five tons, 75mm main gun |
| panzer | German for armour or tank |
| Panzer Mark IV | Standard twenty-five-ton German tank of 1943–4, with 75mm main gun |
| Panzerfaust | ‘Tank Fist’, German throw-away anti-tank weapon |
| Panzergrenadier | German mechanised infantry soldier or unit |
| Panzerjager | German anti-tank gun or unit |
| Panzerschreck | ‘Tank Terror’, German bazooka-like anti-tank weapon |
| Panzerwaffe | Armoured branch of German armed forces |
| PFC | Private, First Class |
| Phantom | British GHQ Liaison Regiment under Montgomery’s personal command |
| PI | Photo Intelligence |
| Pionier | German military engineer |
| PIR | Parachute Infantry Regiment |
| Platoon | infantry unit of 30–50 troops or armour unit of four tanks |
| POW or PW | Abbreviation for Prisoner of War |
| Plunder | Anglo-US-Canadian Rhine crossings of 23–24 March 1945 |
| Priest | M-7 self-propelled 105mm artillery piece on tracked Sherman suspension |
| PTSD | Post Traumatic Stress Disorder |
| Purple Heart | US medal awarded to those wounded or killed, established 1932, with awards backdated to 1917 |
| RAD, Reichsarbeitsdienst | German Labour Service, compulsory for young men prior to military conscription |
| RAF | Royal Air Force |
| RB | Rifle Brigade, a British Army battalion |
| ‘Railsplitters’ | Alexander R. Bolling’s US 84th Infantry Division |
| ‘Red Ball Express’ | US trucking operation from Normandy to the front lines, August–November 1944 |
| REFORGER | Post-Second World War REturn of FORces to GERmany NATO military exercises |
| Regiment, or Regt. | US or German term for a single-arm unit, consisting of two or three battalions; a typical infantry regiment was 3,000 men and usually commanded by a colonel |
| Reichsbahn | German state railway network |
| Reichsführer-SS | Leader of the SS, Heinrich Himmler |
| Reichskanzlei | Hitler’s Reich Chancellery building in central Berlin |
| Reichsmarschall | Rank above Generalfeldmarschall, only used by Göring |
| Reichswehr | German Army 1921–35 |
| Ritter | German title of nobility, equivalent to Knight (‘Sir’) |
| Ritterkreuz | German Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross, worn at the neck |
| Rollbahn | German march route, assigned to panzer units |
| Rottenführer | SS rank of Corporal |
| R and R | Rest and Recuperation, time away from the front |
| RSO | Raupenschlepper Ost, German military truck on caterpillar tracks |
| RTR | Royal Tank Regiment, British armoured formation |
| S-1 | Personnel officer or section (regiment and below) |
| S-2 | Intelligence officer or section (regiment and below) |
| S-3 | Operations officer or section (regiment and below) |
| S-4 | Supply officer or section (regiment and below) |
| SA, Sturmabteilung | Storm Detachment, pre-Second World War Nazi ‘brownshirt’ paramilitaries |
| SACEUR | Supreme Allied Commander Europe, established 2 April 1951, first holder of post was Eisenhower |
| SAM | Surface to Air Missile |
| SAS | Special Air Service, British special forces regiment |
| SCR | US Signal Corps Radio |
| ‘Screaming Eagles’ | Maxwell D. Taylor’s US 101st Airborne Division |
| Scharführer | SS rank of Staff Sergeant |
| Schütze | SS rank of Private |
| Schwere | Heavy, as in Schwere-Panzer-Abteilung (heavy tank battalion) |
| Schwimmwagen | German amphibious jeep, manufactured by VW |
| Second Army | British formation commanded by General Sir Miles Dempsey |
| Seventh Army (German) | Formation led by General Erich Brandenberger |
| Seventh Army (US) | Formation led by General Alexander M. ‘Sandy’ Patch |
| SHAEF | Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, in Versailles, codename ‘Shellburst’ |
| Sherman | The M-4 standard Allied tank of 1943–5 |
| Siegfried Line | Western frontier defence lines, of dragon’s teeth, bunkers and minefields (German Westwall) |
| SIGINT | Signals Intelligence |
| Silver Star | US award for valour above Bronze Star, below Distinguished Service Cross, established 1918 |
| Sippenhaft | Guilt and punishment extended by the Nazis to families of those accused of treason after 20 July 1944 |
| Sixth Army Group (US) | Formation commanded by General Jacob ‘Jake’ L. Devers |
| Sixth Panzer Army | Formation led by Oberstgruppenführer Sepp Dietrich containing mostly SS troops |
| ‘Skyline Drive’ | GI name for road that ran from St Vith to Diekirch, on high ground west of and parallel to River Our |
| SLU | Special Liaison Unit, Ultra-cleared liaison officers |
| SNAFU | Situation Normal, All F***ed Up; in Bastogne, Team SNAFU was formed from stragglers to repel German penetrations |
| SOE | British Special Operations Executive, special forces organisation which aided partisans and resistance units, established 22 July 1940 |
| SP | Self-propelled (armoured vehicle) |
| SPECOU | Special Coverage Unit of the US Army Signal Corps |
| Spitfire | RAF single-engined fighter, made by Supermarine |
| Spitze | ‘Point’ or vanguard of German Kampfgruppe |
| Squad | smallest military unit of eight to twelve soldiers (corresponds to British army section) |
| SS, Schutzstaffel | Protection Squad, Hitler’s original ‘blackshirt’ bodyguards |
| Stahlhelm | German steel helmet |
| Stalag | German Stammlager, prisoner of war camp for all ranks |
| Standartenführer | SS rank equivalent to Colonel |
| Stars and Stripes | US daily military newspaper, founded 1861 |
| Stösser | German parachute drop behind US lines |
| StuG, Sturmgeschütz | German twenty-five-ton turret-less mini-tank, with 75mm main gun |
| Sturmbannführer | SS rank equivalent to Major |
| Sturmgewehr | German MP-44 assault rifle |
| Sturmmann | SS rank of Lance Corporal, or PFC |
| T/4 | US rank of Technician Fourth Grade with status of Sergeant |
| TD | US tank destroyer, either a towed 57mm gun or an M-10, M-18 or M-36 tracked armoured vehicle |
| TF | US Army Task Force |
| Third Army (US) | George S. Patton’s command, based in Nancy, headquarters codename ‘Lucky’ |
| Tiger | German tank, the sixty-nine-ton Tiger II was used in the Ardennes. Term was widely used by GIs to denote German tanks, though very few were actually Tiger IIs |
| Totenkopf | Death’s head insignia worn by tank and SS personnel |
| Tracer | Illuminating ammunition to help correct aim |
| Twelfth Army Group (US) | Commanded by General Omar Bradley, based in Luxembourg, headquarters codename ‘Eagle’ |
| Twenty-First Army Group | Commanded by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, based at Zonhoven, Belgium, headquarters codename ‘Lion’ |
| Typhoon | RAF single-seat, ground-attack fighter, manufactured by Hawker |
| Ultra | Codename for process of deciphering German Enigma traffic, hence ‘Ultra-classified’ documents and ‘Ultra-cleared’ officers |
| Unteroffizier | German Army/ Luftwaffe rank of Sergeant |
| Unterscharführer | SS rank of Sergeant |
| USAAF | United States Army Air Force, succeeded in 1947 by the USAF |
| USAEUR | United States Army Europe |
| USO | United Service Organization, provided live entertainment shows to US troops overseas, established 1941 |
| V-1 | ‘Doodlebug’ flying bomb, Vergeltungswaffe-1 (Vengeance Weapon) |
| V-2 | Rocket Vergeltungswaffe-2 (Vengeance Weapon) |
| Varsity | Allied airborne operation supporting the Rhine Crossings, 24 March 1945 |
| Vaterland | Fatherland |
| Veritable | Allied operation to clear the Reichswald, February–March 1945 |
| VMI | Virginia Military Institute, US military school attended by Patton, founded 1839 |
| Völkischer Beobachter | Nazi Party daily newspaper widely circulated throughout Germany |
| VolksArtillerie | Artillery units working with Volksgrenadier divisions |
| Volksdeutsche | Citizens of a non-German country considered by the Nazis to be ethnically German |
| Volksgerichtshof | People’s Court |
| Volksgrenadier | German People’s infantry division organized in late 1944 |
| Volkssturm | People’s Militia Home Guard, established 18 October 1944 |
| VolksWerfer | Nebelwerfer units working with Volksgrenadier divisions |
| WAC | (US) Women’s Army Corps, established 1 July 1943 |
| Wacht am Rhein | Penultimate codename for Ardennes offensive, after the popular nineteenth-century German song (see also Christrose and Herbstnebel) |
| Waffen-SS | The ‘Fighting SS’ (as opposed to other branches) |
| Wald | Wood or forest, as in Hürtgenwald, Krinkelterwald, Reichswald |
| Wehrmacht | German Armed Forces (excluding SS) |
| West Point | US Military Academy for officers, established 1802 |
| Westwall | German Siegfried Line (q.v.) |
| ‘Windhund’ | Greyhound, nickname of 116th Panzer Division (Waldenburg) |
| Wirbelwind | ‘Whirlwind’, German four-barrelled 20mm anti-aircraft tank |
| Wolfsschanze | Hitler’s headquarters, near Rastenburg in East Prussia |
| XO | Executive Officer, US term for second in command |
| Ziegenberg | Location of Hitler’s headquarters near the Schloss Kransberg |
| Zug | German Platoon, hence Zugführer – platoon commander |
Showing principal units only
US Forces in the Bulge on 16 December 1944
TWELFTH ARMY GROUP
Lieutenant General Omar N. Bradley
(Chief of staff: Maj. Gen. Leven C. Allen, HQ: Luxembourg)
US FIRST ARMY
Lt. Gen. Courtney H. Hodges
(Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. William B. Kean, HQ 16 December: Spa)
Troop B, 125 Cavalry Recon Sqn
5 Belgian Fusilier Bn, 99 Inf Bn (Norwegian-Americans)
526 Armored Inf Bn, 143 and 413 Anti Aircraft Artillery Bns
825 Tank Destroyer Bn (towed), 9 Canadian Forestry Co.
61, 158, 299, 300 and 1278 Engineer Combat Bns
V Corps
Maj. Gen. Leonard T. Gerow, HQ: Eupen
51, 112, 146, 202, 254, 291, 296 Engineer Combat Bns
186 and 941 Field Artillery Bns, 62 Armored FA Bn
102 Cavalry Group, Mechanized (38 and 102 Cavalry Recon Sqns)
78th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Edwin P. Parker)
309, 310 and 311 Inf Regts
95 Armored FA Bn, 709 Tank Bn, 893 Tank Destroyer Bn
99th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Walter E. Lauer)
393, 394 and 395 Inf Regts
196, 776 and 924 FA Bns, 801 TD Bn (towed)
2nd Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Walter M. Robertson)
9, 23 and 38 Inf Regts
16 Armored FA Bn, 18, 200, 955 and 987 FA Bns
741 Tank Bn, 644 (M-10) and 612 (towed) TD Bns
CCB, 9th Armored Division (Brig. Gen. William H. Hoge)
27 Armored Inf Bn, 14 Tank Bn, 16 Armored FA Bn
VIII Corps
Maj. Gen. Troy H. Middleton, HQ: Bastogne
35, 44, 159 and 168 Engineer Combat Bns
333, 559, 561, 578, 740, 770, 771, 965 and 969 FA Bns
274 Armored FA Bn
14 Cavalry Group, Mechanized (18 and 32 Cavalry Recon Sqns)
(Col. Mark A. Devine)
106th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Alan W. Jones)
422, 423 and 424 Inf Regts
28th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Norman D. Cota)
109, 110 and 112 Inf Regts
630 TD Bn (towed), 687 FA Bn, 707 Tank Bn
4th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Raymond O. Barton)
8, 12 and 22 Inf Regts, 81 and 174 FA Bns
802 (towed) and 803 (M-10) TD Bns, 70 Tank Bn
CCA and CCR, 9th Armored Division (Maj. Gen. John W. Leonard)
52 & 60 Armored Inf Bns, 2 & 19 Tank Bns, 3 & 73 Armored FA Bns
German Forces in the Bulge on 16 December 1944
OB WEST
Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt
(Chief of Staff: General der Kavallerie Siegfried Westphal)
ARMY GROUP ‘B’
Generalfeldmarschall Walther Model
(Chief of Staff: General der Infanterie Hans Krebs)
GERMAN SEVENTH ARMY
General der Panzertruppen Erich Brandenberger
(Chief of Staff: Generalmajor Freiherr Rudolf von Gersdorff)
LXXX Corps
General der Infanterie Franz Beyer
408 VolksArtillerie Korps, 8 VolksWerfer Brigade, 2 and Lehr Werfer Regts
212 Volksgrenadier Division (Generalmajor Franz Sensfuss)
316, 320 and 423 Volksgrenadier Regts
276 Volksgrenadier Division (Genlt Kurt Möhring /Oberst Hugo Dempwolff)
986, 987 and 988 Volksgrenadier Regts
340 Volksgrenadier Division (Oberst Theodor Tolsdorff)
208, 212 and 226 Volksgrenadier Regts
LXXXV Corps
General der Infanterie Baptist Kniess
406 VolksArtillerie Korps, 18 VolksWerfer Brigade
11 Sturmgewehr (StuG) Brigade (Oberstleutnant Georg Hollunder)
5 Fallschirmjäger Division (Oberst Ludwig Heilmann)
13, 14 and 15 Fallschirmjäger Regts
352 Volksgrenadier Division (Oberst Erich Schmidt)
914, 915 and 916 Volksgrenadier Regts
79 Volksgrenadier Division (Oberst Alois Weber)
208, 212 and 226 Volksgrenadier Regts
LIII Corps (committed 22 December)
General der Kavallerie Edwin von Rothkirch und Trach
9 Volksgrenadier Division (Oberst Werner Kolb)
36, 57 and 116 Volksgrenadier Regts
15 Panzergrenadier Division (Oberst Hans-Joachim Deckert)
115 Panzer Bn, 104 and 115 Panzergrenadier Regts
Führer-Grenadier-Brigade (Oberst Hans Joachim Kahler)
GERMAN FIFTH PANZER ARMY
General der Panzertruppen Freiherr Hasso von Manteuffel
(Chief of Staff: Generalmajor Carl Wagener)
LXVI Corps
General der Artillerie Walther Lucht
460 Heavy Artillery Bn, 16 VolksWerfer Brigade
18 Volksgrenadier Division (Oberst Günther Hoffmann-Schönborn)
293, 294 and 295 Volksgrenadier Regts
62 Volksgrenadier Division (Oberst Friedrich Kittel)
164, 193 and 190 Volksgrenadier Regts
XLVII Panzer Corps
General der Panzertruppen Freiherr Heinrich von Lüttwitz
766 VolksArtillerie Korps, 15 VolksWerfer Brigade, 182 Flak Regt
2 Panzer Division (Oberst Meinrad von Lauchert)
3 Panzer Regt, 2 and 304 Panzergrenadier Regts
9 Panzer Division (Generalmajor Harald von Elverfeldt)
33 Panzer Regt, 10 and 11 Panzergrenadier Regts
Panzer Lehr (Generalleutnant Fritz Bayerlein)
130 Panzer Regt, 901 and 902 Panzergrenadier Regts
26 Volksgrenadier Division (Oberst Heinz Kokott)
39 Fusilier, 77 and 78 Volksgrenadier Regts
Fuhrer-Begleit-Brigade (Oberst Otto Remer)
LVIII Panzer Corps
General der Panzertruppen Walther Krüger
401 VolksArtillerie Korps, 7 VolksWerfer Brigade, 1 Flak Regt
116 (Windhund) Panzer Division (Generalmajor Siegfried von Waldenburg)
16 Panzer Regt, 60 and 156 Panzergrenadier Regts
560 Volksgrenadier Division (Oberst Rudolf Langhauser)
1128, 1129 and 1130 Volksgrenadier Regts
XXXIX Panzer Corps (committed end of December)
Generalleutnant Karl Decker
167 Volksgrenadier Division (Generalleutnant Hans-Kurt Höcker)
331, 339 and 387 Volksgrenadier Regts
GERMAN SIXTH PANZER ARMY
Oberstgruppenführer Sepp Dietrich
(Chief of Staff: SS Brigadeführer Fritz Krämer)
Fallschirmjäger Bn (Oberst Freiherr Friedrich-August von der Heydte)
506 Heavy Panzer Bn (Tiger II)
2 Flak Division, 4 Todt Brigade
I SS-Panzer Corps
Gruppenführer Hermann Priess
388 and 402 VolksArtillerie Korps, 4 and 9 VolksWerfer Brigades
1 SS-Leibstandarte Panzer Division (Oberführer Wilhelm Mohnke)
1 SS-Panzer Regt, 1 and 2 SS-Panzergrenadier Regts
12th SS-Hitlerjugend Panzer Division (Standartenführer Hugo Kraas)
12 SS-Panzer Regt, 25 and 26 SS-Panzergrenadier Regts
3 Fallschirmjager Division (Generalmajor Walther Wadehn)
5, 6 and 9 Fallschirmjäger Regts
12 Volksgrenadier Division (Generalmajor Gerhard Engel)
27 Fusilier, 48 and 49 Volksgrenadier Regts
277 Volksgrenadier Division (Oberst Wilhelm Viebig)
289, 990 and 991 Volksgrenadier Regiments
150 Panzer Brigade (Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny)
LXVII Corps
Generalleutnant Otto Hitzfeld
405 VolksArtillerie Korps, 17 VolksWerfer Brigade
3rd Panzergrenadier Division (Generalmajor Walther Denkert)
103 Panzer Bn, 8 and 29 Panzergrenadier Regts
246 Volksgrenadier Division (Oberst Peter Körte)
352, 404 and 689 Volksgrenadier Regts
272 Volksgrenadier Division (Oberst Georg Kosmalla)
980, 981 and 982 Volksgrenadier Regiments
326 Volksgrenadier Division (Oberst Erwin Kaschner)
751, 752 and 753 Volksgrenadier Regts
II SS-Panzer Corps
Obergruppenführer Willi Bittrich
410 VolksArtillerie Korps, 502 SS-Heavy Artillery Bn
2nd SS-Das Reich Panzer Division (Brigadeführer Heinz Lammerding)
2 SS-Panzer Regt, 3 and 4 SS-Panzergrenadier Regts
9th SS-Hohenstaufen Panzer Division (Oberführer Sylvester Stadler)
9 SS-Panzer Regt, 19 and 20 SS-Panzergrenadier Regts
US Forces in the Bulge, 1 January 1945
TWELFTH ARMY GROUP
Lt. Gen. Omar N. Bradley
(Chief of Staff: Maj. Gen. Leven C. Allen, HQ: Luxembourg)
US FIRST ARMY
Lt. Gen. Courtney H. Hodges
(Chief of Staff: Maj. Gen. William B. Kean, HQ: Chaudfontaine / Troyes)
V Corps
Maj. Gen. Leonard T. Gerow, HQ: Eupen
102 Cavalry Group, Mechanized (38 and 102 Cavalry Recon Sqns)
1st Infantry Division (Brig. Gen. Clift Andrus)
16, 18 and 26 Inf Regts, 745 Tank Bn, 634 and 703 TD Bns
2nd Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Walter M. Robertson)
9, 23 and 38 Inf Regts, 741 Tank Bn, 612 and 644 TD Bns
9th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Louis A. Craig)
39, 47 and 60 Inf Regts, 38 Cavalry Recon Sqn (attached), 746 Tank Bn
78th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Edwin P. Parker)
309, 310 and 311 Inf Regts, 709 Tank Bn, 628 and 893 TD Bns
CCR, 5th Armored Division (attached), 2nd Ranger Bn (attached)
99th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Walter E. Lauer)
393, 394 and 395 Inf Regts, 801 TD Bn
VII Corps
Maj. Gen. J. Lawton Collins
4th Cavalry Group, Mechanized (4th and 24th Cavalry Recon Sqns)
29 Inf Regt, 509 Parachute (Para) Inf Bn
740 Tank Bn, 759 Light Tank Bn, 635 TD Bn
2 Armored Division (Maj. Gen. Ernest N. Harmon)
41 Armored Inf Regt, 66 and 67 Armored Regts
3 Armored Division (Maj. Gen. Maurice Rose)
36 Armored Inf Regt, 32 and 33 Armored Regts
83 Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Robert C. Macon)
329, 330, and 331 Inf Regts, 774 Tank Bn
84 Infantry Division (Brig. Gen. Alexander R. Bolling)
333, 334, and 335 Inf Regs, 771 Tank Bn
XVIII Airborne Corps
Maj. Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway
14 Cavalry Group, Mechanized (18 and 32 Cavalry Recon Sqns)
7 Armored Division (Brig. Gen. Robert W. Hasbrouck)
23, 38 and 48 Armored Inf Bns, 17, 31, and 40 Tank Bns
434, 440 and 489 Armored FA Bns
30 Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Leland S. Hobbs)
117, 119 and 120 Inf Regts, 743 Tank Bn, 99th Inf Bn (attached)
517 Para Inf Regt (attached), 526 Armored Inf Bn (attached)
75 Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Fay B. Prickett)
289, 290 and 29 Inf Regts, 750 Tank Bn
82 Airborne Division (Maj. Gen. James M. Gavin)
504, 505, and 508 Para Inf Regts, 325 Glider Inf Regt
551 Para Inf Bn (attached)
US THIRD ARMY
Lt. Gen. George S. Patton, Jr
Chief of Staff: Brig. Gen. Hobart R. Gay, HQ: Nancy
III Corps
Maj. Gen. John B. Millikin, HQ: Arlon
6 Cavalry Group, Mechanized (6 and 26 Cavalry Recon Sqns)
4 Armored Division (Maj. Gen. Hugh J. Gaffey)
10, 51 and 53 Armored Inf Bns, 8, 35 and 37 Tank Bns
6 Armored Division (Maj. Gen. Robert W. Grow)
9, 44 and 50 Armored Inf Bns, 15, 68 and 69 Tank Bns
26 Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Willard S. Paul)
101, 104 and 328 Inf Regts, 735 Tank Bn
35 Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Paul W. Baade)
134, 137 and 320 Inf Regts
90 Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. James A. Van Fleet)
357, 358 and 359 Inf Regts
VIII Corps
Maj. Gen. Troy H. Middleton, HQ: Neufchâteau
9 Armored Division (Maj. Gen. John W. Leonard)
27, 52 and 60 Armored Inf Bns, 2, 14 and 19 Tank Bns
11 Armored Division (Brig. Gen. Charles S. Kilburn)
21, 55 and 63 Armored Inf Bns, 22, 41 and 42 Tank Bns
17 Airborne Division (Maj. Gen. William M. Miley)
507 and 513 Para Inf Regts, 193 and 194 Glider Inf Regts
28 Infantry (Maj. Gen. Norman D. Cota)
109, 110 and 112 Inf Regts, 707 Tank Bn
87 Infantry Division (Brig. Gen. John M. Lentz)
345, 346 and 347 Inf Regts, 761st (Black Panthers) Tank Bn
101 Airborne Division
(Brig. Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe/Maj. Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor)
501, 502 and 506 Para Inf Regts, 327th Gilder Inf Regt
1 Battalion, 401 Glider Inf Regt
XII Corps
Maj. Gen. Manton S. Eddy
2 Cavalry Group, Mechanized (2 and 42 Cavalry Recon Sqns)
4 Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Raymond O. Barton)
8, 12 and 22 Inf Regts, 70 Tank Bn
5 Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. S. Leroy Irwin)
2, 10 and 11 Inf Regts, 737 Tank Bn
10 Armored Division (Maj. Gen. William H. H. Morris, Jr)
20, 54 and 61 Armored Inf Bns, 3, 11, and 21 Tank Bns
80 Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Horace L. McBride)
317, 318 and 319 Inf Regts, 702 Tank Bn
TWENTY-FIRST ARMY GROUP
Field Marshal Sir Bernard L. Montgomery
(Chief of Staff: Maj. Gen. F.W. de Guingand, HQ: Zonhoven)
BRITISH SECOND ARMY
General Sir Miles Dempsey
(Chief of Staff: Brigadier Harold ‘Pete’ Pyman)
XXX Corps
Lt. Gen. Sir Brian Horrocks
6 Airborne Division (Maj. Gen. Eric L. Bols)
3 and 5 Para Brigades, 6 Air Landing Brigade
51 Highland Division (Maj. Gen. Tom G. Rennie)
152, 153 and 154 Inf Brigades
53 Welsh Division (Maj. Gen. Robert K. Ross)
71, 158 and 160 Inf Brigades
29 Armoured Brigade (Brig. Roscoe B. Harvey)
(3 Royal Tank Regiment, 2 Fife & Forfar Yeomanry, 23 Hussars, 8 Rifle Brigade)
33 Armoured Brigade (Brig. H.B. Scott)
(144 Royal Armoured Corps, 1 Northamptonshire Yeomanry,
1 East Riding Yeomanry)
* Some of these ranks, particularly at Senior NCO level, do not quite equate because of the different ways that the German Army, Waffen-SS, US Army and British/Canadian armies organised their units; e.g. the Germans had more NCO ranks because they had NCO platoon commanders; other titles reflected a function, rather than a rank. The US Army also altered its NCO ranks after WW2.
** Now Sergeant 1st Class.
I am a creature of the British Army. My father served in the Second World War. My grandfather and his brother commanded battalions in the First World War; their father was an officer in the Militia. My first experience of uniform was joining the cadet battalion of my school in the days when Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery was still alive. Shrewsbury School, which nurtured my love of history, had produced several distinguished leaders of 1914–18 and General Sir Miles Dempsey, commander of the British Second Army in North West Europe during 1944–5. Although my nation’s army has educated me, clothed me, fed me and kept me safe from harm, there is no land force I admire more for its adaptability and perseverance than that of the United States, with whom I have soldiered throughout the Balkans, in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Twice in the twentieth century it returned to fight and spill its blood in Europe, despite 18 per cent of Americans being of Germanic descent.1 Thus, it makes perfect sense to me for, a Briton, to be writing about America’s finest hour in Europe. Winston Churchill once observed, ‘A nation that forgets its past has no future’. His words could not better describe the purpose of this book. Having walked the woods of the Ardennes for over thirty years with soldiers and civilians, and interviewed hundreds of eyewitnesses, my aim has been not only to remember and commemorate those who fought and died in the Bulge, but also to remind another generation of the debt we owe to our forebears.
In many ways the Ardennes has changed very little since 1945. Cities, with their wealth, recover from battle more quickly. The poorer, rural backwaters get left till last. The Ardennes are now pretty and quaint – and peaceful. The summer months see the landscape swarming with hikers and picnickers. Yet the keen eye will find buildings that still bear the scars of shellfire. Foxholes and craters still litter the forest floors. War photographers of both sides captured this small, intimate battlefield like no other, and today it is possible to match a huge number of their photographs with the same locations. Local farmers were thrifty and repaired their homes and barns, rather than demolishing them and rebuilding. That is what makes the Battle of the Bulge so fascinating to study. Using photographs and eyewitness testimony, the visitor can retrace the footsteps of the generation who fought here, with more ease than in almost any other battlefield in history.
I first became acquainted with the area in the summer of 1978 when I joined some friends who had restored a selection of Second World War military vehicles. We toured the Ardennes battlefields in the company of a dozen veterans of the Bulge campaign. Our jeeps, trucks and half-tracks, correctly painted in olive drab and bearing white stars, in some cases driven by veterans of the Second World War, brought tears to the eyes of the older residents who were transported back immediately thirty-four years.2
I practised my schoolboy French on a local Belgian farmer who beckoned us to follow him. Our jeeps laboured up a small forest track. ‘Here,’ he said dismounting, ‘were the American lines.’ Sadly there was nothing to see. I kicked idly at a pile of pine needles . . . and stubbed my toe. Not on a stone, but on an entrenching tool. Slowly the forest floor revealed its secrets. A German mess tin mangled by mortar fire, shell cases, cartridges. An American helmet. I reached down to pluck a bullet I could see under some twigs, and found I’d pulled out an entire belt of German machine-gun ammunition. And less welcome, a hand grenade rolled into view. It was as though the battle had finished yesterday. Naturally, this made a big impression on a seventeen-year-old school boy. Ever since, I’ve tried to capture the memories of those who witnessed the battle – soldiers and civilians. Most of them are no longer with us, and since then I have gone on to become a soldier and experience my own wars.
Each year, military units from the United States, Britain and other NATO countries explore the Ardennes battlefields. This is partly to honour their forebears, but also to study how soldiers and their leaders behave in combat. Such expeditions are highly relevant to any understanding of war. To comprehend how the combatants died, survived and made a difference in 1944–5 is to understand how they will do so in future wars. The weapons may change, but human beings do not. Despite globalisation and the lure of technology, campaigns like the Ardennes remind us that, in most cases, to prosecute war with success, ultimately you must do this on the ground, the way the Roman legions did, by putting your young men (and today, women) in the mud. In this respect, the Battle of the Bulge is the most significant campaign to study, for it was when armies fought not only each other, but the elements. It was when people battled with snow and steel.
‘An ever famous American victory.’
Winston S. Churchill, 18 January 1945
Nestling deep in the Ardennes, overlooked by hills and woods, Hotton is an unremarkable Belgian town of fewer than 1,500 souls, sitting astride the River Ourthe.1 It is as close to the centre of the region as it is possible to be, and is really two towns. Divided by the water, it has a few shops, several cafés and its church, dedicated to St Pierre, which sits on the west bank, and is attended mostly by the farmers who make up the local community. This sleepy crossroads settlement, with its stone farmhouses and wooden barns, still bears a close resemblance to the 1940s town, although the number of modern structures, including the church, make it obvious that vicious fighting occurred here.
The road signs point you south to Rendeux and La Roche-en-Ardenne, or westwards, to Rochefort and Marche; beyond lies Dinant on the River Meuse, a mere twenty-four miles from Hotton.
Walk down the main street and you can picture the 5th Panzer Division racing through, on their way to the Meuse during the Saturday afternoon of 11 May 1940. Clattering down the cobbles from the east, young, keen and scenting victory, the black-clad tank men easily captured Hotton’s little bridge over the Ourthe, despite attempts by Belgian pioneers to destroy it. At the same hour three miles south, other panzers belonging to an obscure major-general named Erwin Rommel were splashing across a ford, upriver at Beffe.
At 08.30 a.m. on the winter solstice, Thursday, 21 December 1944, the panzers returned, following the same route, aiming again for Hotton’s bridge. This time it was men from 116th Panzer Division, called the ‘Windhund2