Siege of Bastogne

Introduction
The Siege of Bastogne was a battle that happened in December 1944 between American and
German forces at the Belgian town of Bastogne, as part of the larger Battle of the Bulge. The
battle was considered as one of “the two most critical tests of the army of the United States in
World War 2, The other one being D-day and the Normandy campaign. The goal of the German
Army was to capture the harbor at Antwerp. To reach it before the Allies could regroup and
bring their superior air power to Reinforce the area. German mechanized forces had to seize the
roadways through eastern Belgium. Because all seven main roads in the densely wooded
Ardennes highlands converged on Bastogne , were very vital to the Capture of Bastogne . The
siege took place from 20 to 27 December until it was interrupted by American troops led by
General George Patton. General George Patton also believed that “The Bastogne operation is the
biggest and best the Third Army has accomplished.” “I hope, "he went on, "The troops get the
credit they deserve for their hard work".

Background
After the mass success of invading Normandy and the later eastward expansion to France, the
allied front lines extended from Nijmegen, Switzerland to the valuable port city of Antwerp
which was followed by the allies taking control of all German territory near the city of Aachen
by winter. Which led to Adolf Hitler surprising his generals with the news that he had decided to
launch a massive counterattack on the western front. The main goals of Operation Wacht am
Rhein were to regain the strategic initiative, inflict a defeat, and forcing the American and British
into a negotiated peace as soon as that happened Germany would be able to throw all its
remaining force against its soviet enemy in the east. The furher was convinced that the gamble
was worth the risk and Despite the major warnings from his senior commanders including Gerd
von Rundstedt and Walther Model, the plan was not cancelled and the date was set to December
16, 1944.Meanwhile the allied commanders considered the Ardennes attack to be unsustainable
for a large scale German attack mainly due to terrain issues, In addition the allies had reports
suggesting the German divisions near the Ardennes where extremely weak which led to the allies
not reinforcing the Ardennes with extra troops. This is where the axis forces used a small hub
city called Bastogne. Bastogne was a hub city that several important roads led to and from, it was
also mainly guarded by the 28th infantry which had been involved in continuous Nonstop gun fire
from 22 July to the 19th of November. This allowed the allies to believe that Bastogne would be
an easy target which would help them heavily in the war.

THE BUILDUP

The role of the capture of Bastogne was given to Luttwitz’s who at the time was commanding
the 5th panzer army. Luttwitz decided to attack the 11km long front with his 3 different divisions.
These 3 divisions were the 26th Volk grenadier, the 2nd Panzer, and the Panzer lehr division
leading behind them. On the evening of 15 December, the 26th Volk grenadier set up an outpost
on the west bank of the river Moor, where they began assembling a departure point close to the
American troops. The Germans attacked swiftly, with their advances made possible by the
weight of multiple battalions. In the village of Weiler, American soldiers kept their position for
several hours, as German engineers completed the bridges over the Our before dark. On
December 19, the 28th Division's command post was moved to Bastogne. The division's last
stand at Wiltz was taken by the 3rd battalion of the 110th.

THE BEGINNING OF THE ATTACK

Team Desobry, was tasked with defending Noville. With the help of a few Hellcat tank
destroyers, the paratroopers attacked multiple units. The Panzer division was tasked with seizing
a major highway and other aims near Bastogne. Due to the lack of progress on the German side,
it decided to organize a combined arms attack to take Noville. Team Desobry's high speed
highway to reach the blocking position was one of the few cases where the Hellcat was used to
get ahead of an enemy force. The attack of 1st Battalion and the 705th TD Battalion's Hellcat
tank destroyers destroyed over 30 German tanks and inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy
forces.. The heavy losses inflicted by the enemy tank destroyers deceived the German
commander into thinking that the village was being defended by a much stronger force. Instead
of pushing back the enemy's advance, he decided to delay the attack and set the stage Bastogne.
By the time the 1st Battalion pulled out of Noville on the 20th, the village of Foy half-
way to Bastogne centre . By the time 1st Battalion made it to the safety of American
lines, it had lost 13 officers and 199 soldiers, out of about 600 troops, and was assigned
as the division reserve. Team Desobry lost a quarter of its troops and was reduced to just
four medium tanks.

THE ATTACK
The 101st Airborne shaped an inside and out border utilizing the 502nd PIR on the northwest
shoulder to obstruct the 26th Volk grenadier, the 506th PIR to impede section from Noville, the
501st PIR shielding the eastern methodology, and the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment dispersed
from Marvie in the southeast to Champs in the west along the southern edge, increased by
architect and gunnery units connecting holes the line. The division administration region toward
the west of Bastogne had been assaulted the principal night, causing the deficiency of its whole
clinical organization, and various help troops were used as infantry to build up the flimsy lines.
CCB of the tenth Armored Division, seriously debilitated by misfortunes to its Team Desobry
(Maj. William R. Desobry), Team Cherry (Lt. Col. Henry T. Cherry), and Team O'Hara (Lt. Col.
James O'Hara) in deferring the Germans, shaped a versatile "fire unit" of 40 light and medium
tanks (counting overcomers of CCR ninth Armored Division and eight substitution tanks found
unassigned in Bastogne). Three cannons' contingents were appropriated and shaped into a
transitory gunnery bunch. Each had twelve 155 mm (6.1 in) howitzers, giving the division
weighty capability in many directions confined simply by its restricted ammo supply. Col.
Roberts, directing CCB, likewise gathered 600+ strays from the defeat of VIII Corps and framed
Team SNAFU as a further band-aid power.

Many mounted guns weapons were used in an immediate discharge job against adversary
protection, with north of 2000 rounds used for this reason on December 20. The division's
antiaircraft batteries were likewise moved into the forefronts to discharge against foe defensive
layer to expand their 57mm (about 2.24 in) enemy of tank guns [10]: 37–38. Because of the
strong American protection toward the north and east, XLVII Panzer Corps leader Gen. von
Lüttwitz chose to encompass Bastogne and strike from the south and southwest, starting the
evening of 20/21 December. German Panzer observation units had introductory achievement,
almost invading the American ordnance positions southwest of Bastogne prior to being halted by
a stopgap power. Every one of the seven expressways prompting Bastogne were cut by German
powers by early afternoon on 21 December, and by dusk the mixture of airborne and heavily clad
infantry powers were perceived by the two sides as being encircled.

The American fighters were dwarfed 5 to 1 and were inadequate in chilly climate gear, ammo,
food, clinical supplies, and senior initiative (as many senior officials, including the 101st's
authority—Major General Maxwell Taylor—were somewhere else). Because of the most
exceedingly terrible winter climate in memory, the encompassed U.S. powers could not be
resupplied via air nor was strategic air support accessible because of shady climate.

In any case, the two Panzer divisions of the XLVII Panzer Corps—in the wake of using their
versatility to disconnect Bastogne, went ahead with their main goal towards the Meuse on 22
December, rather than assaulting Bastogne with a solitary enormous power. They abandoned
only one regiment to help the 26th Volk grenadier Division in catching the intersection. The
XLVII Panzer Corps examined various marks of the southern and western guarded border in
echelon, where Bastogne was protected by a solitary airborne regiment and backing units serving
as infantry. This played into the American benefit of inside lines; the protectors had the option to
move mounted guns discharge and move their restricted impromptu defensively covered powers
to meet each progressive attack. It was on the 22nd of December that General von Lüttwitz
presented the accompanying interest for give up to his American partner ordering the American
powers in Bastogne, Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe. To the U.S.A. Leader of the
encompassed town of Bastogne.

AFTERMATH

The 101st Airborne Division's setbacks from 19 December 1944 to 6 January 1945 were 341
killed, 1,691 injured, and 516 missing. A few regiments inside the 101st were nicknamed "The
Battered Bastards of Bastogne", because of their part in holding the significant junction town
during the Battle of the Bulge. The tenth Armored Division's CCB caused around 500 casualties.

Augusta Chiwy, a medical caretaker who regulated guide to the injured during the attack, was
respected with the Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service by the Ambassador to Belgium
Howard Gutman in December 2011.

For its guard of Bastogne, the central command of the 101st Airborne Division was granted the
Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), with a decoration, weaved BASTOGNE, for the division's
tones. Additionally, the division was granted the Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 with Palm,
Streamer weaved BASTOGNE, and referred to in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for
activity at Bastogne.

CONCLUSSION

The Battle of the Bulge was one of the most significant battles of World War II, marking the last
major German offensive on the Western Front. The battle began on December 16, 1944, and
lasted for six weeks, resulting in significant casualties on both sides.

Despite initial successes, the German offensive failed due to the overwhelming strength and
resilience of the Allied forces, who were able to regroup and push the Germans back. The battle
marked a turning point in the war, as it became clear that Germany's defeat was inevitable.