Chapter XXII
[1] Montgomery, Normandy to the Baltic, p. 280ff; The Memoirs of Field Marshal Montgomery, p. 276. The latter touches on the Ardennes campaign only lightly.
[2] For a Belgian view of the German offensive, see Paul Levy, Les Heures Rouges des Ardennes (Bruxelles, 1946). It may be added that not a single act of sabotage at the Meuse crossings was reported during the entire Ardennes campaign. Headquarters Advance Section, G-3, History of Operations: December 1943-1 July 1945.
[3] The more general impact of the Ardennes on the American supply bases and logistical system is treated in Roland G. Ruppenthal, Logistical Support of the Armies, UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II (Washington, 1959), vol. II.
[4] On 23 December Montgomery ordered all demolition charges removed from the bridges in the British sector. SHAEF SGS 381/2 Germany, German Counter Offensive, vol. I.
[5] Manteuffel"s recollections of this period are very vivid: see MS # B-151a.
[6] See Chapter XVIII for the earlier story of the 2d Panzer advance guard.
[7] General Collins had a detailed memorandum on these events prepared by his staff and later kindly provided a photostat copy to the author.
[8] The present chapter will be concerned only with the battles fought by those troops of the VII Corps which were west of Hotton on 25 December. The next chapter will deal with the remaining combat elements of Collins' corps as these played their part in the XVIII Airborne Corps' fight farther east.
[9] For the American sources used in this chapter see the bibliographical notes included in the foot-notes to Chapter XVIII. There are a number of combat interviews covering the 2d Armored Division during this period. General Harmon's own story is told in an article entitled, "We Gambled in the Battle of the Bulge," The Saturday Evening Post (October 2, 1948).
[10] British participation is acknowledged in the CCB AAR, 25 December 1944. See also MS, 30 Corps, Operations during the German Attack in the Ardennes, December 1944-January 1945 in Hist Div ETOUSA files.
[11] CCB AAR, 26 Dec 44.
[12] The dramatic end of the hopes nourished for the 2d Panzer and Panzer Lehr find expression in very detailed recollections by Lauchert; Bayerlein, MSS # A-941, A-943, and A-944; and Luettwitz, MSS # A-938 and A-940.
[13] CCR AAR, 27 Dec 4.
[14] 2d Armored still was in contact with the enemy on 8 December. Pvt. C. W. Dillingham was given the DSC for bravery in breaking through a defended roadblock with his tank; Pfc. F. S. Rose was given the DSC for crawling with a broken leg for one and a half miles through snow and cold to bring aid to his mortally wounded scout section leader after their jeep had hit a double Teller mine.
[15] Sources used in this section are the same as those cited in Chapter XVIII
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Last updated 13 December 2005 |