Battle of the Bulge by Peter G. Tsouras

Author:Peter G. Tsouras [Tsouras, Peter G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-85367-607-9
Publisher: Tantor eBooks
Published: 2004-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

The End in Bastogne

Following a short, but violent, artillery barrage, three German divisions attacked the town at dawn on the 19th. In the north, Lucht’s 2d Panzer Division attacked Team Desobry in Noville. The young team leader held out for a little over an hour before he found himself attacked on three sides and his route of retreat through Foy being threatened. Desperate to save what remained of his command, Desobry called Roberts in Bastogne and asked for permission to withdraw. Hoping to hold the perimeter long enough for the 101st to reach the town, Roberts denied the request and Team Desobry died in place. By mid-afternoon, the handful of survivors were retreating down the Foy Noville road when they were caught by elements of the 26th Volksgrenadiers which had moved behind them during the fight for Noville and cut the road. Badly wounded during the retreat, Desobry was captured outside of Foy.22

Further south, Team Cherry met a similar fate. A combined armored and infantry assault against Longvilly pushed Team Cherry out of the town. As the column retreated, it ran into a roadblock established by Bayerlein at Mageret. One of the first German artillery rounds knocked out the lead vehicles in the column and soon traffic was blocked between the two villages. Unfortunately, with soft ground to one side and high ground to the other, Cherry’s vehicles could not move off the road. As frantic American officers tried to get their vehicles moving again and smash their way through Mageret, German tanks and infantry reached the road and the slaughter began. With nowhere for the trapped vehicles to go, the destruction of Team Cherry was completed quickly. After clearing the road, the Germans proceeded down the N12 toward Bastogne and reached Bayerlein and his small force on the heights of Mardasson by early afternoon. From the heights the Germans had a commanding view of the town.

German artillery spotters quickly saw the vehicle park opposite the barracks that had been serving as Middleton’s headquarters and were soon bringing fire down on the vehicles and nearby buildings. When Middleton called Hodges to report on the situation, the First Army commander could hear the shells hitting the barracks. Reluctantly, he ordered Middleton to get what remained of his headquarters Out of the city as soon as possible. The last order Middleton issued from Bastogne was to instruct Team O’Hara to move southwest as quickly as it could and try to join American forces west of the city.

The stoves were still warm in Middleton’s abandoned headquarters when the Germans entered the town. The commanders of Lüttwitz’s three divisions were soon in communication with their chief to give him the good news. With Bastogne now in his hands, Lüttwitz felt secure in sending his armored columns toward the Meuse. After a hasty consultation with Manteuffel, Lüttwitz issued orders that his two Panzer divisions would continue their advance on the morning of the 20th, while Kokott’s Volksgrenadiers prepared to guard the southern shoulder of the advance.

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